Let’s try to avoid making assumptions or sweeping statements like “vast majority”. Forum posts are great sources of information, but they by no means should be construed as a representative sample of any population.
The feedback about any given issue is going to tend to skew towards the unhappy side, because unhappy people are more motivated to take action than happy ones. In many cases, the latter population would really rather get on about their day. As another example, this effect is why some developers feel the need to “encourage” positive reviews on the app store by various means.
It’s true that the change we made last week appears to have made more people happy than it did unhappy. We don’t have any plans to reverse it. Still, @noahread and @boldfish aren’t the only folks who feel the way they do; we’ve gotten emails. Their viewpoint is valid. They didn’t argue against the thing you wanted (and got) - they deserve the same courtesy in return.
I didn’t argue against them. I said that the data density increase was a godsend for the vast majority (which it was), and that if I was in charge I’d accommodate everybody by having a slider in the preferences so that people can have the density they feel comfortable working with.
I’m beginning to wonder if the people clamouring for more data density are actually using GTD the way it’s intended. at the task level you should really only be viewing next actions, and a project review should be the only place you need to see all your next actions for the single project.
I loved the clean and open look of the new OF2 beta, but now I’m not as enamoured. Maybe I should have just waited.
You guys must have carefully considered the design originally - why are you tinkering with it now?
GTD is about focussing on what you can do right now, not being overwhelmed by everything you have to do.
There are only two references to GTD on the OmniFocus page. I believe that OF is a tool that can be used by anyone for productivity purposes, and as such, should be malleable to whatever workflow fits anyone. Data density is a relevant consideration.
It’s like buying a new car, but your visors have somehow become smaller for aesthetic purposes. Not exactly the most ideal situation in the world, in terms of safety.
In regards to tinkering with UX – mistakes happen. The first version of OmniFocus 2 was scrapped (after the iOS 7 reveal, Mavericks reveal, …), for those who have been testing since March of 2013.
It’s not that it no longer supports it – it’s just that its scope and its mission has expanded beyond just GTD to a more general-purpose application.
It’s like the Mac – used to be just for graphic designers, print editors and video production. It still does this kind of stuff, but it’s scope has expanded.
thanks savantier - you’re right - my remarks about the checkboxes and flags are not really connected with data-density directly, but my main point is about text styling and a response to boldfish’s on ‘tinkering with the design’.
i love change! i like to see things shaken up, but as people use OF in so many different ways, i’m completely with you with regard to being able to set things up to our liking.
my first impression when i opened up the new beta was ‘wow. how clean. how beautiful’. it was only through use that i found some shortcomings. overall tho. i love OF2 - i used to get pretty overwhelmed at times with OF 1.
Yep, I didn’t like the first beta either, but I did feel very attracted to the first iteration of the new beta. That said I’m sure I’ll get used to whatever the final design tinkering leads to - for me OF is about ease of capture, automated prompting and quick reviews.
I myself do subscribe to the GTD theory, but I am aware that other people don’t.
I’m also drawn to highly productive, workflow enhancing utilities such as OmniGroup’s – DEVONthink, Tinderbox, … But at the same time, we should be appreciative of other people who do see the utility of OmniFocus as a list-making manager.
The great thing about utilities is that it is extensible and flexible – you can use it in a simple way, or in a very advanced and highly efficient way.
In regards to being able to see ‘next actions clearly’, surely that’s an argument for an increase in data density.
Fair point. Perhaps it ties in with the ongoing debate about checkbox location. Previously the checkboxes on the left provided immediate visual structure in terms of the hierarchy.
Now it’s just arrows, and for some indents, there is the absence of the arrow which makes it confusing.
The benefits of having checkboxes on the left is that it provides visual hierarchy. The triangular arrows only appear when there is a child task, and the checkbox appears where there is a finish-able/checkable task.
This sort of iconography is useful as it allows you to quickly scan the structure of your tasks as you scroll down.
In OmniFocus 1, hence the duality of this combination – 1) Downwards-facing triangular arrow signifying its status as a parent task and 2) Checkbox signifying a task.
This gives coherence to a visual structure.
Whereas in OmniFocus 2, there’s a slight confusion here. There’s half of the visual structure, accorded by the downwards-facing triangular arrow. But as highlighted with the red box – it’s abruptly cut off there. It’s hard to quickly scan through a significant amount of task and get a general impression of the overall structure when the checkbox is omitted.
Couldn’t agree more. The little checkboxes on the left provided a visual continuity that I truly miss in OF2. It’s not a deal-breaker, but it does make scanning the page and finding what you’re looking for just a wee bit less easy.
And your illustration of data density perfectly captures it. If the goal is to be able to find what you’re looking for quickly and easily, the decreased data density of OF2 fights that, in my opinion. I have to scroll a lot more to find what I used to find easily.
