#Omnifocus 3 for mac editing theme manual#

If I had to actually see the taskвЂ™s details all day, that probably wouldnвЂ™t work for me, but since I can collapse the tag section, I remain aware of how many tagged items there are total, and when IвЂ™m ready to work on them, I can choose to reveal task details without opening a separate view. In Things I store these items in the Someday list, but I donвЂ™t always remember to check there when the dayвЂ™s work is done I vastly prefer how OmniFocus enables keeping those tasks close at hand, in the same view I live in all day. IвЂ™ve created a Forecast tag for tasks that donвЂ™t need to be accomplished by any set time, but that I want to work on whenever I get through my dayвЂ™s agenda early. You can only have a single tag appear in Forecast, but one benefit for that tag is that after youвЂ™ve set it, you can easily apply it to tasks with a simple swipe gesture.ДЇorecast was already the view I used most in OmniFocus 2, and the addition of tagged items makes it an even better work hub. Tagged tasks in Forecast do not count toward the number of due tasks displayed in the sidebar, and you can easily collapse the tag inside Forecast so those tasks are only visible when you want them to be. This can be set up by visiting Forecast, tapping the eye icon for view options, then selecting a tag to display.

The last notable change is a small feature I like quite a bit: your today screen inside Forecast can now house not just tasks due today, but also those assigned a certain tag. Fortunately, version 3 changes that, enabling simple drag and drop reordering in a tag view just like you get inside a project view.

#Omnifocus 3 for mac editing theme manual#

With contexts in version 2, you could sort tasks by an automatic method, but making manual adjustments was impossible. Second, manual sorting is now possible within tags.

First, multiple tags can be assigned to a task, which was not previously possible with contexts. They still do mostly the same thing as before, but with a mere rebranding IвЂ™m now much more okay with them.ДЄs I said, tags are mostly the same, with a few exceptions. Tags, however, are a common organization method in other apps, and using them optionally, as best suits your needs, feels perfectly acceptable in OmniFocus 3. IвЂ™m guessing IвЂ™m not the only user to feel that way. In OmniFocus 2 I never used contexts the way they were intended, and as such it always felt like I was missing out on the way the app was supposed to be used. OmniFocus 3 replaces contexts with tags, which are mostly identical in function, but even with just a name change, they now feel much more modern and less a fundamental part of how the app works. Gone are the days of contexts вЂ“ a carry-over from David AllenвЂ™s Getting Things Done methodology. In that vein, many of OmniFocus 3вЂ™s biggest features focus on enabling the app to morph to your needs. The more flexible a task management system, the more likely it will work for a broad base of users. Outside of a lovely new design, where icons and fonts are bolder and everything feels more fresh, my favorite changes in OmniFocus 3 are this increased flexibility, which encompasses a lot of new and updated features, and its excellent iPad improvements. In more ways than ever before, OmniFocus provides the tools to make the app your own. This improved user friendliness is achieved thanks to a new level of flexibility that can, upon tweaking your ideal setup, obscure the appвЂ™s complexity in everyday use. OmniFocus 3, released today for iOS (and later coming to the Mac), adds even more power and options to the appвЂ™s existing toolset, yet rather than growing more complex in the process, itвЂ™s surprisingly become more approachable. On this complexity spectrum, OmniFocus has historically been the poster child for the weightier end: if you have a lot of complicated projects that need a high degree of structure, thereвЂ™s no better place to start than OmniFocus however, for lighter needs, IвЂ™ve always found its myriad of options too overwhelming to recommend. Some aim to remain simple and user-friendly, while others try to put every tool at your disposal, endearing themselves to power users while scaring off prospective customers who need a bit less.

Task management is a tough problem to solve, because every option out there is optimized for specific use cases, resulting in different complexity levels. Realistically though, youвЂ™ve resigned yourself to the fact that the вЂњperfect task managerвЂќ doesnвЂ™t exist, and likely never will. You may have chosen an app and settled in with it, but some of its design choices donвЂ™t quite fit with your way of working, so youвЂ™re always keen to try the latest and greatest app that comes along.

If youвЂ™re anything like me, you probably remain perpetually dissatisfied with your task management setup.