Feat. Req. - tasks/project alerts separate from due date [Poss. after 2.0 ships]

This is something I was hoping would be in OmniFocus 2, but I don’t seem to see an option.
I do realize that there is a review mode, but since we can’t get alerts on when a task needs to be reviewed (this also might be a nice feature) it would be nice to add arbitrary alerts for a task.

For example, if I just want to remind myself to go shopping, creating a task that says go shopping and then setting it “Due” for some time is weird, because then I get the alert, but it’s overdue, when in reality it isn’t. I just wanted to be reminded about it at that time.

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This is the sort of feature that requires a change to our file format, not simply an extra text field. We’ve chosen not to change our file format for 2.0, to maintain sync compatibility with our current iOS apps and even OmniFocus 1 for Mac. It’s certainly something to consider for the future.

Would 1 alert per action suffice? Or would you sometimes want to be able to set a couple?
How important is it for those alerts to be snoozable?

Thanks for getting back to me on this!

I saw the discussion topic about sending in feature requests over email from now on, so after this one, I won’t be posting any in the forum, but since you did respond I just wanted to provide you with some feedback.

That makes complete sense to maintain the file format, so I totally get where you are coming from. A nice compromise might be allowing us to be reminded on the iPhone app of when items become available. It could be an optional setting. Even more, another compromise, which I would sort of like to see anyway, would be allowing us to be alerted of when an item needs to be reviewed, on the iPhone app and the Mac app. I love the concept of the next review, and that could totally be used to accomplish the same thing as I am trying to do here. In essence that is what I am going for, maybe the task isn’t “Due” but I just want to be reminded to look at it, or review it.

It is not really all that important that I be able to snooze the alarm, as far as I know, no alerts in OmniFocus can be snoozed anyway, and it has barely ever crossed my mind. And lastly, if you did end up trying to go with a completely separate alert from start date and/or review date, to answer your other question, one alert would suffice. Obviously it would be nice to be able to set more than one, but just to get the base functionality I would want, one would do the trick.

Anyway, thanks so much for the response. Being a part of testing this beta app and seeing that people are actually listening is really awesome!

Are there any updates on this? I’ve seen that it has been marked as “Poss. after 2.0 ships”

At the very least, just bringing the “Due Soon” alerts to the iPhone app would make a huge difference.

Seeing alerts when the item is already due, to me is sometimes frustrating, and part of the point of having things in a system is so that it will remind me when it is actually useful.

It also seems like in some way, shape, or form, this feature has been requested by people throughout the forums, and through email from reading a bit.

Any updates would be appreciated :)