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Feature request: Syncing Dashboard Widget Thread Tools Search this Thread Display Modes
Hi,
I think there's a really cool way for OmniFocus to be even more invisible but usable.

Make a live-updating Dashboard widget!

Each widget would show all the next actions in ONE context. Pop up Dashboard to see your next actions -- fast and easy.

You might also be able to check off "completed" in the widget which would then communicate with OmniFocus, thus showing the new next actions.

At present I use "DoBeDo" for this, which syncs my actions with iCal, which then has to be synced with my GTD program. It's clunky, but the workflow is really cool.

BUT what if the widget synced with OmniFocus directly? Wouldn't that really get the application out of the way and let people get back to actually doing their actions? The app could literally be HIDDEN and then the user just brings up Dashboard.

Come on, you know it's a great idea!

Egregea
 
No doubt in my mind that we'll get this one way or another - either the Omni guys will develop a widget, or some enterprising coder will hack one together via the AppleScript interface

I'd love to see this as well!
 
Notice that one of the nifty things being said about iPhone in current releases is that it contains widgets... It occurs to me that an OmniFocus widget might be an excellent path of least resistance to put the application on the iPhone AND make it highly visible on F12/desktops at the same time...
 
Wow, hale2! That would be way cool!
 
I fully agree! I cast my vote for publishing hooks for a widget or Omni making one.

I would love to have a Dashboard widget that show all of the Next Actions or the Next Actions of a specific project.

I have been looking for a good to-do system, and I believe I found it with OF, and the addition of a great Dashboard widget would make life so much easier for me. Especially if that widget would be resizable, so I can make it fit my layout.
 
I fifth that motion. Firstly, that mini-window-perspective-thing that Ethan mentioned in the video would be perfect for an OF widget --- BOOM! All Flagged tasks right there! OF wouldn't have to be running.

Second:
I would like to see Quick Entry implemented within a widget.

I currently use Tadalist's widget to quickly add To Do actions to my Tadalist (which I can access via PC browser @ work). Super convenient - exactly the kind of thing Dashboard is good for. CTRL-OPTION-SPACE is a good implementation for bringing up the Quick Entry box, but it requires OmniFocus to be open. As the owner of a pokey G4 PowerBook, I often close all not-being-used apps so that a power-app can hoard the memory/CPU cycles. Having to Re-Open OF takes the "Quick" out of "Quick Entry." But Dashboard is never turned off.

Last edited by BonafideBM; 2007-11-25 at 10:27 PM..
 
I too would love to see a Dashboard widget for OF. Currently I have a facsimile of this using iCal syncing to the DoBeDo widget. But iCal syncing is inconsistent and troublesome, and requires quite a bit of tinkering to make it work. I would prefer a dedicated widget that would bypass iCal and allow next actions and "due soon" actions to show up immediately, without any user-initiated syncing from within OF, which is currently necessary for iCal syncing to work.

Another point worth making: although I love OF's functionality, I don't love it's interface. Whenever I'm working directly in OF, I feel like I'm in a planning mode. Having a widget that provides a simple list of todos, with a minimum of extra information, would allow the user to interact with OF without being pulled back into planning mode.
 
Quote:
Originally Posted by caaronbrown View Post
Having a widget that provides a simple list of todos, with a minimum of extra information, would allow the user to interact with OF without being pulled back into planning mode.
While a Dashboard widget might be a useful addition, have you tried creating a trimmed-down window and saving it as a perspective?

Click image for larger version

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Does that help?

-Dennis


UPDATE - That screen shot is actually from planning mode. It might be better to set up such a perspective in context mode instead. Then you could display only a list of actions without project headers. Just a thought.

Last edited by Toadling; 2008-06-09 at 09:53 AM..
 
yea, a widget would be great to have... just a quick one button view of what's next. maybe some awesome quicksilver actions/trigger will arise and do just that.
 
Dennis,

Yes, that does help, and I'll make use of it until a widget appears.

But I like going into the dashboard to check my todos; it pulls me out of the flow for just a minute to let me take a look at what I've done and what I need to do.
 
 


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