It’s now six months since Ken Case said that this deficiency would be remedied ‘soon’. In that time we’ve had 2.6, 2.7, and now here’s 2.8 with no sign of the return of a basic feature of version 1.
I don’t want to have to juggle multiple windows on my MBP, I don’t want to have to run searches or open tabs, I just want to see my Inbox and my Projects in the same window at the same time. Every Weekly Review (120+, of them over the last two and a half years) has begun with the same frustrating round of ‘resize window, open second window, switch first window to Inbox, close info panel, switch second window to Projects, resize windows so as not to overlap’…and if opening multiple windows is such an obvious, natural ‘Mac’ solution, why does relaunching OmniFocus only open one of the previously open windows?
I used to use OmniFocus because it was the best. Now I use it because the alternatives are worse. That shouldn’t be mistaken for being the same thing.
Process the inbox via drag and drop - without 2 windows
(Not sure if this came up in the forum before)
TLDR
Within projects create a “Inbox - Processing” project
assign all inbox items to this project - via select all and info pane
go to projects and assign all tasks to projects via drag and drop
Detailed Instructions
add tasks into the inbox (as normal)
go to the the projects tab.
Create a project called “Inbox - Processing” (or whatever you see fit to name it) and make sure it is at the top of the projects list.
go back to the inbox tab
select all tasks
in the righthand info pane, select the “Inbox - Processing” from the project dropdown
click the cleanup button in the window toolbar up top (could also use the menu bar command) (the manual cleanup can be configured if in settings > organization > “Cleanup inbox items which have” : A Project - is selected)
go to the projects tab
select “Inbox - Processing” and you can now drag and drop - in one window!
This is not an ideal workflow, but since the OmniGroup will not change the way OmniFocus works - this is the next best thing. Thoughts?
KEVIN: Hey guys, for April Fools why don’t you remove a core piece of functionality people have taken for granted since day one?
MATT: you’re a genius Kevin! What would we do without you?
KEVIN: I don’t actually work here, I’m just delivering this pizza. Sign, please?
—
INT: Omni Offices, May 21 2014
MATT: hey guys, anyone remember what feature it was we took out as an April Fools prank? No? Ah well, I’m sure people will let us know if it was anything important.
(REOPENS SIGNAL TO NOISE POST ABOUT IGNORING CUSTOMER REQUESTS FOR AS LONG AS POSSIBLE)
—
INT: Omni Offices, October 25 2014
MATT: hey guys, should we finally address this 300+ post thread about restoring the Inbox to the Projects list? Then again, Apple are replacing the function keys on a laptop that won’t be available anytime soon: we could put all our programming resources into supporting that. What do you think, Kevin?
@SlowMotn, I have thought about this workaround before, but for some reason never tried it. It made a big difference. As I have the main Omnifocus window covering my whole Macbook screen, the two window solution has always been clumsy, forcing me to repeatedly put the Inbox window in front after opening a project to be able to put an Inbox task in a certain position in the project. With an ”Inbox - Processing” project, I could not only reach all projects directly, I could also, when needed, command-click on a project to show its tasks and drag a task from ”Inbox - Processing” directly to the desired position.
Very nice, indeed. It just makes it even more strange that the original problem hasn’t been fixed yet, 300 posts later. To me, it would be fine if it simply looked like this: the original Inbox at the top of the project list.
There is a problem, though, with this solution, @SlowMotn. I have some projects with contexts set on the project level. When I drag a task from the inbox to one of those projects, the task as intended receive the project context, but when I drag a task from ”Inbox - Processing”, it doesn’t. I suppose this is a bug and have reported it to The Omni Group, but I would be happier if they would make the ”Inbox - Processing” solution redundant…
Big review of the state of OmniFocus by Gabe on Macdrifter. I wonder what he has to say about Inbox processing?
Moving a lot of tasks out of the OmniFocus Inbox on the Mac still feels ridiculous. It either requires two windows (one showing the Inbox tasks and one showing the project list) or a variety of clicks, tabs, and returns. This has been broken for a very long time and makes me dread processing my Inbox. Getting things out of the Inbox should be easy and fast. Omni makes it a time consuming chore.
@kcase - I note that the EOY is only a couple of weeks away. Is this on track? I am going to guess not, given that the current Sneak Peek does not include this feature. So you (probably) missed the EOY target you mentioned in August, but is introduction of the feature delayed by a considerable amount of time… or might we expect to see it sometime in Q1 of the approaching new year?
Well you can drag it to the inbox. Or if you want to use the keyboard, move it inside another project temporarily so that it becomes a task and then empty the project field so that it goes into the inbox.
I’ve taken an hour to read through the history of this thread and hoping I missed something.
Please tell me there is a way to visually process inbox items into projects or contexts without using the two window solution. I love OF and invested in OF2 right away.
I’ve not been able to nail why I don’t like dealing with my inbox (which get’s quite large at times) --until now. If this has been fixed, I’m happy to be a dork and ask the obvious. Please b1tch slap me down with the answer. If this feature still hasn’t made the priority cut, please do the right thing and fix it. Maybe whoever rules the roadmap doesn’t need this because they aren’t visual thinkers? Perhaps the powers that be (whom are likely organized and happy with current workflow anyways) might have pity on those of us that are not.
@bryan.rank, unfortunately we’re still waiting and hoping for a one window solution. Hopefully @kcase will have some good news about this in his 2017 roadmap for the company, which he probably will present soon on the The Omni Blog. To make sure that The Omni Group hear your opinion, I recommend you to e-mail your thoughts to omnifocus@omnigroup.com, as this forum primarily is meant for user discussions.
Thanks Jan, so I’m not crazy, a slacker for not reading, or missing something. Guess I’ll just be bumm’n --waiting on the [of] bus with the rest of you femms. ;)
What I have been doing to ease the problem is to use the merge windows command incorporating 2 pages together. Then you can simply drag the inbox item to the other tab pause for a second until the other tab opens and then continue dragging your item/task to the destinations folder/context/date of your choice. Simpler than some of the workarounds suggested but still not perfect.
I found a solution to this about two years ago: I switched to 2Do
I’ve been checking back every few months since mid 2014, and it does tickle me that Omni have still yet to address this issue… Despite a monumental number of enquiries, complaints and requests!
I’ve also visited 2Do once every 6 months. I always return back to OmniFocus. There’s just not enough for me to stay in 2Do.
Every app will never have “all” the features unless you custom-build an app yourself. For every app, there are workarounds. And no, “workaround” is not a dirty word… If the inbox is a deal breaker then there are many alternative apps. Overall, OmniFocus’ features have made up for the inbox. Yeah, it’s annoying but it’s not the straw that broke the camel’s back.
Would I like to have the inbox feature implemented now? Of course, but using the workarounds has alleviated that and the other features more than make up for it.
I’m a longtime and continuing user of OmniPlan, OmniOutliner, OmnIGraffle and — since it was KinklessGTD — OmniFocus. I can’t think of a single new feature of OF2 that has been an improvement for me.
Perspective Tabs take up space that toolbar perspective icons didn’t, the Review perspective lacks flexibility and I have no use for the Forecast view (tasks and projects are to be done asap; I set very few due dates).
By contrast, the difficulty of theming, the drop in viewable information density, and continuing stupidities (e.g. why does a project disappear from the ‘Stalled’ perspective as soon as I try to add an action to it, rather than when I complete adding the action?) has made OF2 an ongoing irritation of which my weekly round of ‘resize window, open second window, switch first window to Inbox, close info panel, switch second window to Projects, resize windows so as not to overlap’ is the most galling. I don’t want workarounds, I just want OF2 to be as friction-free as OF1.
At this rate, I can’t help but think that OmniFocus 3 is going to have a “groundbreaking” feature to reduce the friction of processing: the ability to to view the Inbox in the Projects list…
While it’s great to finally see the Inbox in the same window as my Projects, it’s still a workaround, requiring multiple actions if I want to flip from this view to another perspective and back. It’s the best solution thus far, but I’m reluctant to celebrate in case Omni take this as problem solved (assuming that Omni give a damn, which the preceding 318 posts suggest might not be the case ;)
We use the features that mean more to us. If you don’t have a lot of due items, the forecast is useless and can be hidden from the toolbar and sidebar. If the Review feature is not important then it can be hidden as well.
Everyone of us will use the features differently based on our needs. I couldn’t live without the review perspective because it is a crucial element to my workflow. I haven’t quite figured out how to use the Forecast more often. I tend to go back to Fantastical for my calendar usage. I’ve learned to take advantage of the sidebar icons as well as the toolbar icons. I was contemplating how to use the sidebar and toolbar in this post: http://discussion.joebuhlig.com/t/16-the-checklist-manifesto-by-atul-gawande-bookworm/614/2?u=wilsonng
I believe this has been corrected with the view settings which allows you to switch between fluid and custom layout.
OmniFocus will always be in a constant state of development. They’ll add new features and see how consumers react. Oftentimes, they’ll re-add something in response (custom layouts and theming are making a comeback).
