I will start with the fact that I don’t have a solution to this, but just looking at OF1 & OF2 side-by-side I noticed how extremely reduced the clarity became …
I am mostly using 3 lists:
Actionable (contains all tasks that I am able to start today)
Due (contains all tasks I need to finish within the next 2 weeks)
Today (Contains all flagged tasks from the other lists)
In the morning I go through ‘Actionable’ and ‘Due’ and pick the tasks for ‘Today’. I also have “routine” tasks such as Inbox Zero set in the Miscellaneous category so that they get somewhat separated from the “real” tasks.
In OF1 my “Today” view looks like this:
So I clearly know that first I need to get my routine tasks done (blue), then my due ones (red) and then can go on to the other (less) important tasks.
In OF2 this is completely non-distinguishable …
What do you guys think? Is this too special a use case or should this issue be addressed?
Would you prefer colors as they were in OmniFocus 1 (distinguishing only by the state of the action), or would you prefer to be able to assign colors to specific folders, projects, and contexts?
I’d love to color-code Folders, making my main areas distinguishable in mixed lists. Since supposedly many also have a work and a personal calendar that each have a definite color to me it would make much sense having the same rule kick in with OF2.
Maybe You could even add both action coloring from OF1 with colouring the background just as You are currently colouring the background of the active task in this blue hue. Maybe even less of color, very very light background hue…
I actually haven’t thought about that too much. I guess I am kind of “abusing” the alternative coloring of the Misc category in OF1.
While I would probably be fine with the way it was before - the real solution would be category / folder / contexts coloring. This might break your “don’t change the library structure” approach though …
Folders and Projects would be less useful for me. I’ve never really used coloured folders in the Finder either. But Contexts and actions would be useful. I do miss the inline styling for actions. But then wouldn’t the currently identifier (circle) also need to change? I like the aesthetic you are achieving, and maybe the OF1 free-for-all styling options would be to far in the other direction.
Color coded folders went away in the OS didn’t it - at least in the sidebar, I believe. Would be nice to add a little color to OmniFocus tasks the way you could in OF1, to format sections better.
It seems to me that OF2 doesn’t suffer seriously for the lack of it, at least once I adapt to the new scheme.
I’d still like to add a little bit of color, though.
Both sound interesting. How would those mingle with each other? (Not running OF1 in easy reach at the moment).
I guess it comes down to which is most vulnerable to overuse & clutter.
I would love to have color coding by folder! Aesthetics are nice but speed of use is important too. It’s traders desktops show red for down prices and green for up - you can see at a glance how the market or a sector is moving. That said, if you choose to not color-code anything, you would see the same minimalist non-invasive look you have now.
Different Coloured Flags (Which also set the text colour) would be perfect. Then you can set your own Categories: Work, Home, Important, Important and urgent…
I prefer to be able to assign colors to specific folders, projects, and contexts. If I do my task list on Omnioutliner using colors makes reading quick and clear. Thanks for asking.
Assigning colors to specific folders, projects, and contexts would be amazing! If not to the text itself, to the background of the action. That would be huge.
Yes absolutely needed. I would like to have both options in fact…by state or by folder/context/project. If I had to choose I think I would sooner be able to assign color by folder/project/context. Just as I have different colored calendars for different areas of life. I also agree that the option to colour either the text or the background would be best for flexibility. OF would benefit hugely from this IMO.
