Several omnifocus requests with easy implementation

OmniFocus
#1

Hello. Here are several requests for features that I think would be easy to implement but would vastly improve users personal workflows.

"Clean inbox which have…"- additional features
Currently we have the option to choose if we want tasks to move from the inbox if they a) have a tag b) have a project, both a & b and finally either a or b.
I would like to have the following options additional to these:

  • estimated duration (some users try to have estimated durations on every task and their perspectives depend on this. To allow this setting would help users avoid the mistake of not putting one in)
  • due-date. (similar to the motivation above, some users put due dates on every task).

Date-filters in perspectives
Some perspectives are built to show only items that hasn’t been touched for long.
Example: show me the tasks that hasn’t been modified for 3 months.
Implementation: add the option “Changed the last (day/week/month/year)”.

Additional to the last mentioned request I would like to see options for due-dates.
“Due within… (day/week/month/year)”.

Presentation sorting in perspectives ASC or DESC
Perspectives should have the ability to sort both ascending and descending.
At the moment, ascending is the only option. If I want to show my most procrastinated tasks, at this current moment I need to collapse all the changed items until I reach the bottom. I simply want to remove distractions.

Badge customisation
Badgecount at this date is only determined by the following options: “flagged”, “due soon” or overdue. For making it easier for people to customize the app for their personal workflow I think tags and perspectives should also be available options.

Example: in the settings, I want to the badge to the items that either flagged, due and have the work tag.
Implementation: add the setting along with the other badge settings.

Additional to this, I would like to have the option to not count the projects as a task. At this date it is counted just as any other task.
Example for this need: If I have five projects with one task left which all have a due date, this is counted as 10 items in the forecast. I would like to see this as 5 remaining items.
Implementation suggestion 1: Let me, in the settings, decide if a project should count in the badge and forecast.
Implementation suggestion 2: A compromise would be to count a project UNLESS it is set to “complete with last action”. If I have a project set to complete with last action, and finish that action, that WAS NOT two actions. That was only one.

Lastly…
iOS task duration should be any number, not just “5, 10…”.
Adding tasks with images through shortcuts on iOS is broken.
Allow for users to see the month view in forecast on iOS.

Final idea
Create an “add to imbox” app on iOS for fast collection. Super simple, no additional features than the pop-up and “add to inbox”.

  • edit: I know that this can be done with shortcuts or variants with url-schemes. However, I think it would be much more reliable and better user experience to have an inbox app.
2 Likes
#2

On a quick skim, I agree with many of these! The iOS task duration one I’ve submitted before, in fact.

Just noting that these feature requests only really count if you submit them to the team via email. omnifocus@omnigroup.com (I think—that’s from memory). I’d submit each as a separate request!

1 Like
#3

Thanks! I will do that!

#4

Have you considered making this with Shortcuts? You could simply use “Add task to OmniFocus”, tap into the boxes and add an “Ask when Run” variable to the fields you want to fill in, and then add that shortcut to your home screen. Of course, you could also force touch the OF app icon and jump straight into adding to the inbox ;)

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#5

I use Drafts to quickly add things to OF inbox. I set up an action to add each line of text to Reminders, which OF will capture. It’s very snappy compared to a Shortcut that does the same.
Or you could set up a Reminders list just for OF to import and add things to it for a quick way to do what you’re after.

3 Likes
#6

Unknown

Nothing is as simple is it seems.
The trick to simplicity is to make it look easy…

I’m sure the Omni Ninjas have tons of feature requests. It’s not always the “easy” ones that get implemented first. It’s not always the “loudest” ones that get implemented first. For the moment, OmniFocus for the Web is taking center stage in their skunkworks lab. When that’s done, they’re on to the next feature in line. Send in your feature request to OmniFocus@omnigroup.com as suggested earlier to get your vote in.

#7

Thanks for your reply Rosemary. As a big Automators fan I’m quite certain of this option ;)
The suggestion was mainly due to making the experience better, even though I have fixes or ways to get around most of the request in my original post.

An alternative way to set up the add-to-inbox icon, not relying on shortcuts (the jump-between-apps can be a bit annoying), is by using an icon as a link to the add-to-inbox url-scheme (omnifocus:///add). I’ve used a configuration profile to set up this link. You can read more about how I do it here. Hope it sparks some ideas or is of some interest!

:)

1 Like
#8

Thanks for the answer.
Of course things often are a lot harder than they seem, but that does not mean that all things are hard or that things can’t be easy. “Nothing is ever simple” is a very cute illustration, but it is untrue. Most of my request already rely on existing data types and filters set in place. I genuinely do not think that most of them would be hard.

I’ll send my request to the e-mail! :)

1 Like
#9

Yeah, there are a number of threads about the date issue in which it’s pointed out that OF exposes only a fraction of what’s possible given that it’s a sqlite database under the hood. Almost everything you’re requesting just involves adding UI to expose existing data and structures.

Take a look at this python script used by an Alfred workflow to query the OF database… https://github.com/rhydlewis/search-omnifocus/blob/master/queries.py

1 Like
#10

Can you describe how to add a url like that directly onto the homescreen? I have a few uses for that but didn’t think it was possible.

#11

this may be the simplest way to go about it

1 Like
#12

As @dfay mentioned, you can do it by using shortcuts. HOWEVER. This is ugly. It takes a couple of more seconds, you have to watch the phone jump between apps, and if you use down time for shortcuts then it won’t work.

The other method is by using config profiles, that is, you generate an xml file which you open on your device. The config profile results in an icon on your homescreen. While this might seem as taking a very long time, I can assure you that it doesn’t. Someone created a website to build these quickly.

These are all the steps needed:

  1. Go to this link: https://icustom.tooliphone.net/ on your iOS device.
  2. “start now” > “choose application type”: “Manual”.
  3. Enter a valid url-scheme, enter an icon image.
  • The url-scheme for adding to inbox is: omnifocus:///add
  • The url-scheme to a custom perspective is: omnifocus:///perspective/TheNameOfYourPerspective
  1. Download the config file.
  2. Open the settings > Genereal > Profiles.
  3. Approve the config profile that you genereated.
  4. Try it out, smile!
  5. optional: brew some coffee, do someone a favour. call your parents.
2 Likes
#13

Actually that’s not how the linked shortcut works at all. It creates the links which subsequently run directly (albeit with a brief splash screen), without the shortcuts app. And it’s open source.

#14

It seems that you are right! You can have down time enabled for shortcuts and the shortcuts will still run. Just tried it to be sure. Thanks! However, I still prefer the method I mentioned above. Less flashing and a bit quicker.

#15

You can do this now. Create a perspective that shows remaining actions (unless for some reason you want to include completed actions), and then under Presentation, choose Group and Sort: Individual Actions, Group actions by: Changed, and Sort actions by: Changed. The result is a perspective that will show you the last time you changed each action, in the following groups: today, yesterday, within the last week, within the last month, within the last 3 months, etc.

#16

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