I just gave this a try.
It is not ideal, since there is too much information on the Project side of the screen. All we really need is a Project/Single-Action List view. However, it does have one added benefit – it is full screen. This blocks out all of the noise from email, etc. and makes it easier to focus on getting through my inbox.
I’m still on OF1 due to this issue. I will move to OF2 when they finally hear us.
I do not believe they would :|
No Kidding. So it isn’t just me. I’ve been staring at this issue since the OMF2 release and its been really frustrating. THe OmniFocus Ninjas have always been great about responding to bugs I found in earlier version. This just seems like a no brainer to see your folders and be able to clean up the inbox without thinking too much about it.
Genius Move! Maybe I will do that right now!
Still waiting… I’m using the two windows-solution, but it is far from ideal on a small screen. I wonder: would it really make so much harm to the structure if the inbox was placed at the top of the projects list, like in OF1 (but without the Library folder)? And, if it does, couldn’t we have a setting for showing/hiding it there?
It seems pretty clear that, at nearly TWO YEARS after the introduction of OF2, Omni have no real plans to fix the issue here. That’s super disappointing.
I’ve stayed on OF1, but given this realization I guess I need to find something else. Eventually, relying on discontinued and unsupported software will bite you in the butt, so I’d rather find a supported home.
Suggestions?
OF2 is actually a splendid product! I can’t live without it, and I can’t think of going back to OF1. I doubt you will find an app from another company that will suit you better, as you already use OF1. Try OF2 and see if you can find your way to handle the inbox issue till Omni fixes it. They will do.
Glad you’re happy, but this is a dealkiller for me. I tried to use OF2 at launch, but found it a total nonstarter.
I’m not interested in the low-data-density two-window BS they apparently think of as reasonable now.
I reverted to OF1 and took Omni at their word that they’d be fixing this in a future release – but, again, that was TWO YEARS AGO, and the proof is in the pudding. They’re not gonna do it.
OF1 still works, but they’ll stop updating it if they haven’t already, and that means eventually either it’ll stop working because of breaking changes in OSX, or it’ll stop syncing because of iOS client changes.
Consequently, I’m looking for something else so I can make a move on MY time and not because OF1 suddenly stops working with OS X Mendocino or whatever.
Plenty of discussions here about alternatives. Things, 2Do come up frequently. I’ve tried both, don’t like them, but you might.
FWIW, my major issues with Things is that Cultured Code seem to be struggling to support and develop it - Things 3 has been real soon now literally for years. Having just been stung by the shuttering of Circus Ponies Notebook I don’t feel inclined to go to another product that looks to me to be at risk
2Do - I just don’t like the interface. That’s a matter of taste. Lets of functionality
100% agree and been waiting 8 years for some things lol…wondering if it’s going to take a serious competitor to OF to spur some of these changes?
Well said…“their version of GTD”. I find it odd they stick so dogmatically to their vision as well while ignoring essential GTD tenants like “energy level”. I do appreciate what they’ve done well but the epic wait for other improvements is starting to wear on me as well.
I’m a recent convert from Things to OmniFocus, and I discovered this thread after struggling to find an option to enable this critical but apparently non-existent feature.
Clearing the inbox requires moving each item into a project, but since there’s no clear way to do this from inside the inbox I don’t understand the purpose of even having it. I do understand that there’s a “project” field that auto-populates, but this requires me to retain a working memory of the names of 30+ projects. This is not mentally possible for me.
I display my task lists on a second vertically oriented monitor in full-screen mode, so a two window setup is not a solution that I can use.
Some friends have been curious about my recent switch, but unfortunately I’ll need to suggest that they stay with Things.
Muscle memory is a very hard thing to lose when switching from one app to another. I tend to be a keyboard jockey and love the auto populate feature in the projects field. I just hit a few keys and can find just about anything. I can also click on the project drop down menu to see a list of projects easily. Send an email to OmniFocus support and get your vote counted to get your inbox feature request in.
There is no way I am going back to Things. No more user forums and also a sense of quiet as Things users wait for the next big update has left me dangling over there. I do hope there is a Things update to keep it interesting but switching muscle memories to OmniFocus has been a great ride.
Actually, you only need to remember one or two letters- the rest will then be offered by the parsing engine. Depending on the project count this might be superior to having a looooong list of projects to drag into. At least that was one of the issues to go away from Things.
Everyone thinks differently - qed
I’ve found one solid trick that may help others who think more spatially than textually: include common synonyms at the end of a project title. These essentially function like tags when paired with the project name parser.
There had been a few cases where I accidentally created duplicate projects after some terminology switched in my head and couldn’t be found by the parser (e.g. “clean” vs “organize”). This implicit tagging has really mitigated this issue, reducing confusion and mental load.
Now the only thing missing is true global search from the dang search window.
Without first having to evoke the changed perspective.
Oh, and actually I have an app on my phone and iPad, that does exactly that within my OF database (hint,hint)
What app do you use for that?
FWIW, I set up a Search Perspective that shows everything, and has a saved string in the search window. The string is a couple of symbols that never appear in my database, so the Search Perspective comes up fast and empty. The search field highlights autoamtically.
I have the Perspective assigned to a Keyboard Maestro hotkey. When I want to find something in OF, I hit the hotkey, type the search string and find it in a few seconds.
Haha, it’s the stupid iOS version of OmniFocus. Scroll to reveal settings, search, select “everything”, find globally. I have no clue why this is possible on my iPhone and not on the Mac.
