[tedhogan]

I just tried the on-hold context and it works very well for what I need.

I do think that loosing the original context could be an issue though. I can see how this loss of information may compromise a user's system.

I vote for an "on-hold" (or something similar) for individual actions. That way all of the important information is kept with the action.

Ted

[Jon C]

Originally Posted by Ambar

I agree with jonwalthour. When I have called someone, I check that action off and create a new one in a Waiting For context.

Q: Is it possible to move an action between contexts, so in the above example rather than delete the action and then create a new 'waiting-for' version of the same thing you can just drag the original action into a 'waiting for' list?

I'm not a current user, I'm considering switching to Omnifocus iPhone when the latter arrives in the UK, and since something similar to the above (recategorising actions as waiting-fors) is what I currently do when doing GTD with my Sony Ericsson P910i, and I'd be sad to lose that functionality.

Thanks - Jon

[Toadling]

Originally Posted by Jon C

Q: Is it possible to move an action between contexts, so in the above example rather than delete the action and then create a new 'waiting-for' version of the same thing you can just drag the original action into a 'waiting for' list?

Absolutely. Just drag the action onto the desired context in the sidebar and the action will be assigned the new context.

I think people tend to create a new action simply because it's easy and then you have a record trail of when the initial call was placed.

Since OmniFocus for the iPhone has not been released yet, it's not clear how this will work in that version of the app.

-Dennis

[Craig]

Another way to change context than dragging and dropping (one that I've found myself using more) is to change the context in the inspector.

You can do this following a Duplicate command if you want to leave a trail.

[BevvyB]

Another vote here for individual on hold items

Been trying to figure it out myself in the software, and now I'm in this thread because it was driving me mad - so it must be needed!

You know it doesn't have to be complicated at all. Just another flag which is called 'On Hold' which can be searched in the same way. Just another simple user preference like Flag. And the option for items flagged with 'On Hold' to either be visible but greyed out or not visible at all.

We just need another flag and we're done. Flag 2 = On Hold.

REASON:

When you have contexts for different people that you work with often and there are a lot of them, it is a complete pain in the arse to have TWO contexts for each of them:

Fred
Fred - Waiting

You're basically doubling the people contexts you have. This is ridiculous.

One way that this could be enhanced is to be able to mark contexts as a new 'People' contexts category which allow extra functions.

Putting stuff on hold should feel like a quick keyboard tap to grey something out and shouldn't take too much thought. I feel that moving things from one place to the other is the wrong mindset for what it feels like to put things 'On Hold'. If I had On Hold subsets in my folders of my projects it would all feel bloated and I DON'T WANT TO KEEP MOVING STUFF AROUND. I'm sorry but putting stuff ON HOLD just doesn't feel like something I do with a drop down list full of other stuff.

So - how about just a simple key-tap to grey something into 'On Hold' like a hidden flag, and you can let us do what we like with it. Flag 2.

[Lucas]

I know that reading this is going to be annoying, but why not just applescript a button for your toolbar that puts the selected items into the on hold context?

[TVGuy]

This doesn't exactly nor fully address the comments here-in.

But it might possibly somewhat address the scenario of on-hold items.

Now-Up-To-Date, that long in the tooth calendar application that I am still using after some twelve years or something, has always had the ability to show a ToDo in process but not completed. When you first click on the checkbox for a ToDo item, it simply places a hash mark (or hyphen) in the box and doesn't affect the item in any other way. This way, at a glance, you can see that twelve of your three hundred item ToDo list are "in process" or "on hold" or whatever other attribute you wish to personally assign.

When you click the checkbox a second time, it actually marks it off as done.

This, of course, requires two clicks on every completed action item -- which might be too tedious for some users. But it is a simple and effective process that I have grown used to and enjoy.

Maybe it could be a preference item -- use it if you want or turn it off if you don't.

Again, this doesn't really fully address the 'on hold' issue as requested. But it is sort of an alternative that could possibly be easily implemented. And it would certainly help me to see what items are in process or on hold at a glance without affecting the context or moving it into another project or folder.

[abh19]

I've never used paper GTD lists, but I think the "waiting for" context is more necessary for paper lists than for the computerized version. It keeps your action lists free of un-doable clutter, and keeps every item on only one list at a time. But, since OF sorts actionable items on demand, I think it's OK to depart from the standard GTD rules here and allow single actions to be put on hold while maintaining their original context. They would remain, in hidden form, on the appropriate context list.

Doing it this way would also be more intuitive, since it's the same process we use to put projects on hold. Just click the hold button and the pause icon shows up next to the action.

[CorgiGirl]

Originally Posted by BevvyB

Another vote here for individual on hold items

I can't tell you how many times I have wanted to place an action or action group on hold. Countless times. I've resorted to using no context for now, doesn't really solve the issue for me however :) I like to preplan out groups of actions, or create action group templates (as part of a bigger project) where I assign contexts. I would like to place this preplanning on hold. Adding in future dates gets confusing, because I export my OF data in OP, and having future dates defeats the purpose for that use. :)

Add in 1 vote for me!

[henri]

It seems like we'll eventually have the possibility to put actions on hold. Hallelujah!

Meanwhile, here's a workaround I just started using: for certain Single Action Lists, I have two versions: "List 1" and "List 1 - on hold". Of course, the former is active, and the latter is on hold. I move items back and forth between the two lists, as needed. This means that the actions can keep their actual context, and things don't vanish from consciousness because both lists are periodically reviewed.

I also use the future start date for some things, but that's not always appropriate, as it's easy to misjudge what to choose as a start date, and things often come back too soon, creating unnecessary maintenance work. The future start date approach, by the way, would be vastly more useful if you were able to sort by start date in planning mode. Apparently that possibility is also coming in 1.5.