Soooo glad I didn’t buy OF2, which I nearly did thinking this would be sorted out soon after release. Ive a feeling it will never be included.
Its quite amusing in a way, what with it being a GTD software: Seems to be systemic of GTD developers, look at Culture Codes Things 3. Maybe a more accurate abbreviation would be IMGIDBMLN - I Might Get It Done But More Likely Not.
I no longer need to have two windows open or need a spring loaded folder type of feature. I just use the inspector panel to type in the first few characters easily and choose the project or context. This is much faster than dragging a task over to a project or context.
The inspector panel seems to be a great alternative solution. It is so much faster to type in a few letters instead of drag and drop.
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Using the inspector doesn’t seem to allow dropping an inbox item into a folder unless I’m missing something. I didn’t realize how much I use drag and drop to organize my inbox until now when it’s all gone.
Using the 2 windows approach dumps the newly created project at the bottom of the particular folder. OF1 put it at the top if you landed on the folder or wherever I placed it if I wanted it down a bit.
Is there any way to get that same level of functionality back?
If you would, send in your e-mail vote for a feature request to omnifocus@omnigroup.com and ask to have the projects panel visible in the inbox perspective.
Let’s say:
- I create an inbox item that will probably become a project.
- Later I’m clearing clearing my inbox and I encounter that item.
- I decide I want to move the item (as a project) into an existing folder.
How do I do that?
I realize that I can go to the folder and re-create the item as a new project within that folder. What I want to do is shift the inbox item to a folder without leaving the inbox.
This is a common feature request. There is no way to immediately convert an inbox item into a project at a specific place in your folder hierarchy.
In the meantime, you can drag the inbox item to the Projects tab to convert it into a project. Then you can switch to the Projects tab to move it into the correct folder.
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In addition to what @KyleS describes, you can also immediately convert an Inbox item into a project at the very end of your library using the Convert to Project menu item (in the Edit menu, using the shortcut ⌘!).
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It’s not perfect, but a close answer is to type out the full project hierarchy you want into the project box, using : as separators, ending with the new project name you want, hit control return, and that will create a new project with that name in the folder hierarchy. If you want, then you can delete the action or add to its text to make it more specific.
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Thanks for the help. I do hope the next version of OF 2 will make it possible to:
a) View one’s list of projects (and folders) while also viewing the inbox
b) Drag (or move by some other means) an inbox item to an existing project
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Hi James
You’re not the only one hoping that Omni addresses this issue. There’s a related thread here: Viewing the Inbox at the same time as Projects? [Available in v2.10]
A.
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I’m in the “me too” camp. I find myself using folders at the Project level more frequently and I’m spoiled by the iOS ability to make these moves. The command+! is helpful but a little “more” would be really nice.
YES, please bring back the simple drag and drop to move stuff from inbox to projects easily!
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Hi James,
this is the way how I do it:
When the Inbox Item is marked, I hit cmd-! on my keyboard. This converts it into a project and jumps to the project view with the new project at the topmost level in the project list on the left.
From there, I am able to drag the project to any place in the project structure I want to.
So, the only additional thing I have to do is hitting cmd-! right at the start. No other click or keypress necessary compared to OF1. I can well live with that. The functionality is still there, it is a slightly different workflow with a neglectable detour. But no reason to cause such a hazzle as in this thread.
Best regards,
Ralf
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Not exactly true, it lands at the bottom of your projects list. I don’t see any way to easily place it into a hierarchy of folders. I have over 500 projects in my OF system, the OF1 workflow was simple because I could see the structure while processing my inbox and place items easily into any place I deemed appropriate.
2 windows doesn’t work because there isn’t enough screen real estate to have both windows open at the same time on a MacBook esp if you also want to see the inspector. I’ve already compacted the OF2 view of things to try to get rid of the useless white space.
I dont’ always make inbox items projects. I’m guessing about half of mine become projects, the rest are actions or notes for existing projects. It was really easy in OF1 to dump those into a project or into a folder.
I too have to go back to OF1 to process my inbox without drag or friction.
Well, to me, it is no bother that it is at the bottom of the structure, since I don’t even look at it. After hitting cmd-! the project is in the middle pane. From THERE I drag it into the project structure on its left. I find it very handy, since in most of the cases I can scroll its destination right beside the project and have to drag it only a couple of millimeters. I only have about 160 projects, but I guess this approach gains advantage, the longer the project list.
Sure, this does not work for inbox entries, that should become actions in project. But in this case I use the keyboard and the project field to quickly enter anything that resembles the target project and OF is top notch in making a good guess of the right project.
So for me, it is exactly the same as in OF1, minus the cmd-! keyboard shortcut.
I simply don’t understand how this issue hasn’t been fixed yet? There are well over 200 comments in this thread stating how important it is to be able to see Projects while processing the Inbox. Many comments dating back almost a year. And still no sign of a fix? I’m a long-time user who initially complained a lot about the new OF2, but have pushed through and, over time, it has grown on me. At present, this is still the biggest unresolved headache.
For me, it’s not about drag-and-drop. I’d much rather process from the keyboard. HOWEVER, what I do need to do on a regular basis is follow up on a task that I’ve just processed and reorganize it in the project list. I often add an intermediate task to a sequential project, a task that needs to go before some existing tasks. So, even after filing from the Inbox, I need to go in an manually place it within the project order. If I don’t go in an reorganize at the moment of processing, theres a danger the task will be lost until my next review. The lack of a Project list view from the Inbox makes this whole process added friction, which is exactly what I don’t want. I’ve read all the various hacks, but they are all just a little more hacky than just PUTTING THE PROJECT LIST IN THE INBOX PERSPECTIVE.
Please stop being dogmatic, Omnifocus. This is obviously something people want. Please don’t try to foist a workflow on us. I guess I could always use OF1 for inbox processing. Is that the workflow you envisioned?
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Hi jgarr,
I do understand you very well. I, too, adopted quite will to OF2 over time and have some additional benefit esp. with the forecast view. I, too,have a headache. Mine is with font coloring. I don’t dark grey on light grey in small font. I don’t see very well.
As long as this is not working, I will live with work arounds and hacks as you call them. One, that has grown on me is the one in the previous post. Some other ones even turned out to be my preferred workflow. I expect that from a product that changes its design fundamentally. Some things suit me better other I loath.
I have the same issue as you with the reorganization of projects from Inbox. Also, I like to work from the keyboard and not touch the mouse too often. As I described above, I hit cmd-! to create a project from Inbox and in the view that opens from this shortcut, I can work well on its structure. When I want to add an inbox item to a project, the quickest way for me to find the project is to type part of its name or something similar into its project entry field and OF does a good job of finding the right project for me. Once that entry (and the context field) is filled, I hit alt-cmd-r twice. This brings me into context and then to the project. And there I can work on its structure. Works better for me than finding it tin the project list. BUT: This only works, when a context is entered (always with me) and the task is not filtered out of the context list (e.g. because it is not active).
When you enter the project into the inspector, does it give you the arrow to go directly to the project?
