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OF + IPhone = Useless Thread Tools Search this Thread Display Modes
I'm surprised to be saying this considering I'm a huge fan of OF for the desktop, but OF FOR THE IPHONE IS CRAP!! I've got to call it for what it is.

I'm sorry, but I've done everything suggested to get my IPhone and OF database to sync and it has been a total nightmare. I have no confidence this thing will ever sync.

I've spent time a lot on the phone with tech support and still no luck. I hate to say it but I'M NOT A FAN at all!!! Do other users share this sentiment?

Dutch5050
 
I was having problems getting the two in sync. The sync times were incredibly long. There was a script that I ran which consolidated my database and now my sync times are extremely fast.

I can't find the post for that script. There was a new OF version released last week. Omni may have included the consolidating script in the new version?

Someone from Omni may need to point you in the right way.

I don't know how you are trying to sync. I use MobileMe and it works extremely well (after I ran that script to clean up my database).

If you use MobileMe, one thing you could try is to reset the database on the iPhone app, and then sync the iPhone.
 
My guess is that most of the other users do not share the sentiment that OmniFocus for iPhone is crap. However, I can see how as far as you are concerned, not able to get it to sync, that it has certain crap-like characteristics :) Shall we see if we can get it working? It's unlikely that they put in code specifically to make it fail when you use it, so it's a promising sign that countless others have gotten it working.

Are you using Bonjour sync, or WebDAV? What does OmniFocus on the phone report for its version? If you are using WebDAV for the sync, are you using MobileMe for the WebDAV service, or something else? What exactly happens when you try to sync?
 
I'm using MobileMe. I agree that I don't think Omni Group has put in code to not have it work for users. One of the things is that I had a pretty big file (4mb+). I archived my old data which brought the file down to (2.5mb). I just tried to run the coalesce script and followed the directions as noted on the post. Each time I tried to change the name of my old Omnifocus file on my idisk server it kept giving me an error message saying that it couldn't change the name because the program was still in use--though I had quit the program entirely. Do you think I should download OmniFocus 1.5? I haven't yet.
 
2.5 still seems pretty big to me. I don't have a whole lot of stuff. But when I don't sync for a while it gets up near 2G, I sync, and it gets back down to 160K when I run the coalesce script. I see a HUGE difference in sync times when my database is that small. I use mobile me also.

Do you have attachments pasted in? (may not be the right term) I've only been using OF since August, but still...2.5 sounds really, really big.
 
Quote:
Originally Posted by dutch5050 View Post
I'm using MobileMe. I agree that I don't think Omni Group has put in code to not have it work for users. One of the things is that I had a pretty big file (4mb+). I archived my old data which brought the file down to (2.5mb). I just tried to run the coalesce script and followed the directions as noted on the post. Each time I tried to change the name of my old Omnifocus file on my idisk server it kept giving me an error message saying that it couldn't change the name because the program was still in use--though I had quit the program entirely. Do you think I should download OmniFocus 1.5? I haven't yet.
At this moment, I've got a 4.1 MB file. The sync function works fine with it syncing to MobileMe's WebDAV server, though I'm only using desktop clients, no iPhone or iPod Touch here.

There could be a couple of things contributing to the mix here. First, I would suggest you update your desktop version to the 1.5 GM release. I can think of no reason why you should not run that instead of any other version you might have; it is certainly no worse and it might be better than what you have now.

I do wonder why you are getting an error when you try to rename the OmniFocus.ofocus file on the iDisk, but it is easy to work around that. Go to OmniFocus Preference, click on the Sync tab, and simply tell it to use a different file for the database, such as "New OmniFocus.ofocus", by adding the filename to the end of the path (after "Documents/") and clicking the Sync Now button. It should have no trouble doing that if you've got your username and password set correctly, your network is connected to the world at large, and MobileMe is functioning. After doing that, go to the Sync settings on the iPhone and do the Get Settings from Mac bit after clicking the corresponding button on the desktop. Have the iPhone do a sync. This should also work if it is able to connect to MobileMe and it got the settings correctly. Try that and report back. This course of action assumes that you don't have changes on the iPhone that haven't been applied to the desktop database and which need to be preserved. If you do, the job becomes a bit more complicated, but not impossibly so.
 
OF for the iPhone is excellent. Getting the syncing to work takes some knowledge of networking (pretty low level) but that is not OF's fault. I've had zero issues getting it to sync with MobileMe, with WebDAV and now with Bonjour. If your file gets corrupted, all you have to do is make a new one - there are quite a few discussions about how to do that here.

To say that OF for iPhone is crap is more a reflection of the user's isolated experience or frustration than it is for the many of us that use and find it to work very well and with no issues.

J.
 
Can I hazard a guess - do you have iDisk synching on (whereby you get a local copy of your iDisk on your Mac?
 
I do have my IDisk syncing. I can't believe I'm back on this forum considering I've pretty given up on the idea of syncing OF on my IPhone. I've had conversations with tech service and still no help. Whatever eveyone else is doing to get to get it all to sync doesn't seem to work or I just don't understand it. Its been an awful experience. I was so psyched to have OF sync to my phone and I am astonished how impossible its been--I'm very dissappointed.
 
Yes it is...OF and synching to the IPhone is not as good as it should be. From the video, one gets the idea that syncing is about the easiest thing ever--it's not. From what I've read, there are a lot of people who are having serious sync issues. From a business standpoint, I would be very hesistant putting a product on the market for $20 and not having one of the product's key attractions working suitably. I've found syncing to my IPhone an awful experience. Which unfortunately is a negative reflection on the product.
 
 


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