I am not finding a preference in Omnifocus 2 for location of the Archive file. Also, it doesn’t seem to be picking up the old one. I would like my archived items to go to the existing archive file. Is there a way to do that? Thanks!
OmniFocus 2 keeps all its file in a sandbox, which has a different location that the OF 1 files. The easiest way to access the data files is from ‘File’ → ‘Show Backups…’. If you go one level up, you’ll fold the actual OF data file (called OmniFocus.ofocus) and the archive file (called Archive.ofocus-archive). You can copy your old OF1 archive file into the sandboxed folder and OF2 will use it.
@JeroenSangers is correct: OmniFocus 2 keeps the vast majority of its data inside its container, including the archive. I just want to add a couple minor details:
- There’s no preference for moving the archive file – OmniFocus 2 requires the file be inside the container. If it’s important to you to move this file, we’d love to hear why.
- The first time you try to archive in OmniFocus 2, the app should prompt you to migrate your existing OmniFocus 1 archive if possible. This requires that (a) you have no OF2 archive yet and (b) your OF1 archive exists in the default location.
- If you’re not prompted to migrate your archive, as @JeroenSangers mentions, you can manually move the archive to the OF2 container and OmniFocus 2 will begin using it.
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While moving this file would likely not be in my top 5 list for improvements to Omnifocus 2, being able to specify the location is of some value to me. Omnifocus is very important to my life and the information in it is very important to me. This file is one of my key documents and is therefore important to my key document backup strategy. Most software that I use allows me to store the documents I create in the places I choose. I have designated places on my computer that I keep my key files and so if I am unable to move this file and have Omnifocus work properly, I will have to set up some workflow to copy the file at intervals to the desired location.
I agree we need to be able to place it in a location we choose. I live in the cloud. Every file I need … or so I thought … was in the cloud. I just moved to a new laptop, and migrated everything perfectly. Except my archive file. All OF data prior to a week ago is now gone. My mistake for not taking action here first, but I want to “set it and forget it”. I want to point my archive to a cloud folder so that its always available. If I need to dig out an action completion date or action note, I can’t.
I completely agree that we need to be able to specify the location for both the backups and the archive.
People choose Omnifocus because of it’s flexibility and reliability for task management and for this I am a huge fan.
This particular missing element forces workarounds for users backup strategies and is a major detractor for me.
I may be a little late to this discussion, but have just noticed the change in the OF backup location. I agree with others on this thread that it’s important to restore the ability for users to be able to choose the backup location. Archives are now in a program (non-data) folder which is 11 levels deep; not at all where I would expect to find them!
I keep multiple backups of all my important data, both on site and off, and it’s very worrying to find that all the OF archives now reside in a more-or-less hidden location that cannot easily be incorporated into a sensible backup schedule without special handling.
Please allow me to option of being able to store archives in my documents/archives folder.
Michael
I don’t know how large the archive container can be but as my main drive is only a 128gb ssd, I try to keep all non essential/immediately required info on my local HDD. I think it is more than appropriate that I be able to move my archives outside the “container” system, which I already find confusing and in some respect totalitarian. Basically I want to be able to keep my SSD as clean as I can, and keeping archive data there is just counter intuitive.
I agree with Mike—having the same issue regarding a cloud-centric data-storage paradigm. Here’s what I just sent to Omni support:
I’m in the process of moving everything into a cloud-based environment. OmniPresence syncs my Omni-related apps (including OmniFocus). Dropbox for most other things.
For this reason it would be nice to be able to place the OmniFocus archive backed up automatically to OmniPresence (especially if this would allow me to archive from any computer). Barring that, a preference for where to store the archive would be nice so I could use Dropbox to keep a copy of it.
I would like to move the archive file when I move to a new computer. I do not want to lose the history.
I do not set up my new computer by migrating all of the cruft from the earlier machine. I start with a clean install.
