[curt.clifton]

The Edit --> Sort options sort whatever is selected. If you have actions selected in the main pane, it sorts those. If you have projects or folders selected in the side bar, it sorts those. So changing the name as you suggest wouldn't be correct.

That said, the sorting behavior is difficult to discover. In planning mode, changing the sorting of the view just changes the sorting of the project headings. The actions inside them are not sorted. In context mode, changing the sorting of the view changes the sorting of the actions themselves. But neither of those change the underlying data.

[whpalmer4]

Originally Posted by Chris

It's not obvious (to me anyway) that changes in the ordering of the sidebar are changes in the data rather than changes to the view of the data. (Or for that matter, that sorting in the main pane doesn't affect the underlying data; I don't see the basis on which you're making this distinction.) It's also not obvious that the sorting in the Edit menu will be applied to the sidebar and not the main pane. It's also not obvious that when items in the sidebar are selected that using the View>Sorting>Name choice will affect the items in the main pane.

It may not be obvious, but it is true. Perhaps the easiest way to see this is to open a second window. Select a handful of projects in the sidebar in one window and apply a View->Sorting sort to it. Notice that the display in the other window does not change. Now do the same thing, except with Edit->Sort and notice that the display in the other window does change. View settings are independent from window to window; changing the view in one window doesn't affect another. Changing the data affects all windows showing the changed data.

Another method to see the difference is to observe the modification date/time on Library/Application Support/OmniFocus/OmniFocus.ofocus (in your home directory). Changing the view bar settings or using the View menu to sort the view differently will not cause the modification time to change, but applying the Edit->Sort operations will (OmniFocus promptly writes every change to disk to help guard against loss).

If you change the focus to the main pane and try to do Edit->Sort you'll find that the choices are grayed out and thus not available.

At the least I would expect the Edit>Sort>By Name to be called something like Edit>Sort in Sidebar>By Name. Right now the interface gives no clue that one option affects the view in the main pane and the other affects the view in the sidebar.

Isn't it generally understood that commands in the Edit menu operate on the current selection? If you observe the highlighting in the sidebar vs. the main panel, it does indicate where the focus is currently.

If you have a feature or enhancement request, to be sure that the Omni developers see it and consider it, you need to either use Help->Send Feedback or email to omnifocus@omnigroup.com to get it to them.