Can we have a back button?

One of the biggest interruptions to flow when using omnifocus is when I’m at a perspective like today or review and want to navigate temporarily to a particular project or context but then switch back and continue my review or looking at my today list.

At the moment, the flow is interrupted because I’m either having to locate back to where I was in my previous perspective or review.

To improve this in Omnifocus 2, can we simply have a back button? Just like a browser?

18 Likes

It sounds like you want a feature analogous to the old “Switch” menu item, which is being discussed in another thread.

Extending this to have a “history” (like a web browser) is actually a significant design challenge. If maintaining just one level of history is sufficient for your needs, I think you would do well to email us and express your support for bringing back the Switch feature.

3 Likes

Cool. I wasn’t aware of this switch feature even in OF 1. But if that’s what it does then great. I hope it gets integrated.

I really would like to see back and forward buttons added to OmniFocus. This would be helpful both for pros and novices, for quickly navigating between recent views, and in particular for getting back to a carefully prepared previous view setting, after inadvertently switching to a different view/perspective, e.g. in the way I just did, when testing Quick Open, and forgetting/not seeing the open in a new window check box…

I understand that keeping a history of view states, and deciding what state information to keep, may not be trivial. Yet I believe having back/forward navigation buttons in OF would be even more useful than in Evernote, where I use these buttons a lot, after they got added.

3 Likes

I agree with the forward/back buttons similar to Evernote. It would be really helpful to have the same thing in OF. I use the ones in Evernote a lot.

2 Likes

Back Button: +1 :-)

2 Likes

Same here, would love to see a “Back” button

1 Like

Don’t forget to email omnifocus@omnigroup.com with a link to this thread to vote for this feature.

1 Like

+1 for a back button!

1 Like

Also need this feature.

BTW, please have a look at MS OneNote. It has the Back/Forward button and I frequently use it.

1 Like

Doubt that we will see this functionality soon (desirable though it is) - the workaround in the meantime is

  1. file–>new window (alt-cmd-n)
  2. in the new window navigate to where you want to go and do what you want to do
  3. File–>Close (cmd-w) the ‘temporary’ window which leaves your original perspective/view in place and intact.

Back button PLEASE!

1 Like

Please, I hope this is still being considered. The problem with the workarounds, for instance opening up new items in another window, is anticipating what you’re going to need, prior to knowing you’re going to need it! I don’t know I’m going to need something until I need it. This happens naturally when moving tasks from one project to another. A back button that just remembers one level would be terrific for natural workflow.

2 Likes

Dan Byler’s Focus in New Window script comes to my rescue in these situations. From any perspective, select a task in the outline. Run the script from the toolbar. You get a new window of the project’s task in Project view. Press ⌘⌥R if you want to jump to that task in Context view. Edit the task or view its surroundings. Close the window. You’re back in the original perspective without window scrolling or other changes (unless you had completed the task when focused in the new window).

There is a view setting that allows you to open a perspective in a new window.

If the checkbox is on, OmniFocus will show the perspective in a new window.

It is set to default to off. If you have a perspective icon in the toolbar, you can option-click the icon and it will open the perspective in a new window.

If the perspective setting is set to on, option-clicking on a perspective icon in the toolbar will cause the opposite effect - show the perspective in the current window.

1 Like

+1 for a back button

2 Likes

Be sure to email Omni so your vote gets counted.

2 Likes

Any updates on this? Cannot belive that it has not been implement in all those years.
Also look here: Go to the previous view

And here: "Switch" between Project & Context View, like in v1?

1 Like

Our forums are designed primarily as a place for customers to help each other use OmniFocus more effectively. If feature requests arise from those discussions organically, that’s great!—but bumping multiple long-dead topics for the same feature request does not contribute to helpful discussion between OmniFocus users.

2 Likes