Forecast perspective 2.0 with custom filters and options

I really wish there was a way to unlock the full potential of the forecast perspective with custom filters and options.

The perspective is currently just left at its bare-bones, which is hardly understandable as it could be immensely useful to many with its integrated calendar view if it was more flexible. I am currently not using it at all, since I want to see flagged tasks as well.

What I would like to see at the core is the ability to apply the same filters and options as in custom perspectives.

e.g.

  • flagged actions
  • different levels of availability
  • sorting and grouping options
  • etc.

as well as the options to show how many actions have been deferred to each date and to have the calendar shown separately above (not interleaved).

Is there a reason this is not possible yet? Seems like a no-brainer.

Send in your +1 email to Omnigroup if you would like to see this as well.

Edit: omnifocus@omnigroup.com for the lazy!

11 Likes

+1
I also do not use the forecast view very often.
Another option than extending the forecast view would be the support of the sidebar calendar in custom perspectives.

1 Like

Totally agree here. I used to lament the not quite usefulness of the forecast view but have since thought allowing for calendar with filtering in perspectives would be even more useful. Ultimately I think I (we?) are jut looking for that elusive single view which lays out my day in front of me. I find that (believe it or not) Informant does this really well in their focus view. Gives me:

  1. Weather (not super necessary but a nice touch)
  2. Todays Calendar
  3. Tasks (you can stack 'Smart Filters) - so I can below the list of calendar items see: Due, then tagged ā€œWaitingā€, then Next, or whateverā€¦point is I can lay out exactly the information I need.
  4. A super nice feature in informant is notesā€¦an being able to attach notes to daysā€¦and have them appear in the focus new.

So using the focus view I can have access to everything I need to progress through my day.

I am hesitant to use Informant because frankly Iā€™m not convinced it has a future. New company, not a lot of communication as to roadmap, Alex (the original founder/creator) is basically gone. Shame. So much potential there - oh and it integrates with reminders. So much going for it.

Anyhowā€¦bit sidetracked there. If OF could d those thingsā€¦that would be the ultimate for me.

Also a great option, yes!

Sometimes I wonder why the most minute and sophisticated filters can be set up, but such significant options are not available consistently across the software.

Any other improvement suggestions for forecast?

+1 Totally agree. I Use OmniFocus extensively, but am currently not using the Forecast perspective for this exact same reason.

I thought about what I would want in a single view but realized that I would be cramming so much information on to the screen would just scream ā€œoverloadā€ for me.

Later, I realized I wanted my lists to be as short as possible so that I have a smaller task list to focus on. I decided to show just the perspectives i wanted to see:

  1. Due tasks grouped by due date
  2. Big Rock projects and their associated remaining tasks
  3. Calendar to see my schedule. I do OmniFocus tasks in the small pockets of time between the hard-set appointments I canā€™t get around (dentist appointment, meetings, picking up the kids from school, etc.).

So I have OmniFocus set up to show the two perspectives

  1. Due tasks
  2. Big Rock projects (a project based perspective that is focused on 2-3 projects. It shows the remaining tasks in each Big Rock project).

Then I have a Fantastical window showing my schedule.

Now, I have pretty much everything I want to look at when Iā€™m in action mode. When Iā€™m in planning mode, Iā€™ll visit the other perspectives.

Right now the only thing Forecast does for me is keep my home screen from looking like something I designed myself in Keynote.

It seems crazy that active flagged tasks canā€™t appear there. Iā€™d imagine that Flags indicate importance to some if not most users of the app.

Also seems like the forecast calendar module could be something that could live at the top of any perspective. Guessing thatā€™s not so easy on the back end.

Things 3 really got the calendar/tasks view right with their Today view. And I hate them for it šŸ˜‚

Most of my tasks donā€™t have a true time associated with them. I wish you could remove the time from a task all together.

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