I know I can assign a specific location to a tag for easy reminders. That works great. But sometimes I just want the location to be generic. For example, I want to pick up a book at Barnes and Noble. It doesn’t have to be the specific Barnes and Noble on Smith Street. It could be any Barnes and Noble. It would be cool if I could be reminded when I’m in the vicinity of that store.
I guess, taken to more of an extreme, it would be nice to know that I’m near a grocery store, not a specific grocery store at a specific address.
As it stands, you can only get location-based notifications if the tag is associated with a specific location (e.g. the Barnes and Noble location on Smith Street).
You can, however, assign a search (e.g. nearest Barnes and Noble) to a tag, then use the build-in Nearby perspective on iOS/iPad to identify actions that can be performed close to your currently location. It would mean developing a habit of checking this notification.
You could potentially use Shortcuts to prompt you to look at the Nearby perspective under specific situations (e.g. at a certain time of day or when you enter a region of town where you typically go shopping.
When you add the tag you can select Location and then Search. This allows you to search for “Barnes and Noble” and then choose the generic search or a specific address.
Thank you both for your quick responses (and your good work at Learn OmniFocus, where I’m also a member).
It seems as though the location-based tags are half-useful for me. Yes, if I use the generic “assign search to tag” these location will appear when I elect to view the Nearby perspective. That’s helpful, for sure. But they won’t alert me proactively the way a location-based tag set with a specific address will.
You’re very welcome, Robert (and thanks for being a Learn OmniFocus Member! :)
I recommend submitting a request to be notified based on searches to The Omni Group (use Contact Omni or by emailing omnifocus@omnigroup.com).
There may be some technical reasons (i.e. iOS/iPadOS limitations) that area preventing the Omni Group from supporting notifications based on searches. It does add a layer of complexity as they search would need to be performed regularly as you move around through the day, which could put an additional load on the battery.
