Gtd & omnifocus 3 setup guide table of contents (continued) projects and next actions (continued) 15 setting up clippings 16 setting up mail drop 16 creating email support folders 17 integrating with your calendar 17 syncing to ipad® and/or iphone® 18 using the web version of omnifocus 18 using siri with omnifocus populating omnifocus. OmniFocus for the Web: So. By Rose Orchard. Rose writes about how she uses OmniFocus for the Web at home and at work — on a bunch of different computers, including Windows. Blowing Up Your Workflow with OmniFocus 3 by Allen Pike. Allen writes about taking a fresh look at your workflow and using the new features in OmniFocus. OmniFocus for the Web is a companion to OmniFocus 3 for Mac and OmniFocus 3 for iOS, available as part of an OmniFocus subscription. Using your web browser, you can view your projects, add actions, mark actions as complete, and more. It’s currently designed for use on a computer rather than use on a phone. Check browser compatibility. Please note that OmniFocus for the Web is not a standalone product: you will need to set up your OmniFocus database using OmniFocus 3 for Mac or OmniFocus 3 for iOS before you can start using the web service, and some features of the native apps (such as the Review perspective) are not currently available on the web.
Appendix A
This appendix collects the useful gestures found throughout OmniFocus in one convenient place for reference, and helps you make the most of working with a connected keyboard by listing the keyboard shortcuts that are available based on your current place in the app.
Useful Gestures
Most of the interactions in OmniFocus are evident based on what you see on screen, but there are some time-saving shortcuts that aren’t always as easy to find. This section lists gesture-based interactions available throughout the app that make common actions even more convenient.
Pull to Clean Up
In compact views, pull down from the top of the outline to clean up the current view.
In wide views, this is replaced by the Clean Up button.
Pull to Sync
- Pull down from the top of the screen (in the sidebar on wide views, anywhere on compact views) to prompt OmniFocus to sync.
Swipe in the Outline
- Swipe an action or Inbox item row from right to left to delete it. Tap More to add a due or defer date, or reschedule.
- Swipe an action or Inbox item row from left to right to flag or unflag it, or to tag or untag it with the Forecast tag .
Swipe in the Sidebar
- Swipe a project from right to left to delete it. Tap More to review it, add a due or defer date, or reschedule.
Swipe a project from left to right to flag or unflag it, or to tag or untag it with the Forecast tag .
Swipe a tag from right to left to delete it.
Drag and Drop From the Outline
Drag and drop items within the outline to reposition them, or create groups by dropping items on top of other items.
Drag items from the outline to a project or tag in the sidebar to add them to that project or tag.
Drag items from the outline to a date in the Forecast date row (either in the Home tile or the Forecast perspective outline) to assign that due date to them.
- Drag items from the outline to other iOS apps to add them in plain text TaskPaper format.
Drag and Drop To the Outline
From outside OmniFocus, drag text rows to add each row as an item.
Drag rows from OmniOutliner, OmniPlan, and OmniGraffle’s outline view to add them as OmniFocus items.
Drag images from Photos or Safari to add them as items with the image file attached.
Drag messages from Mail to add them as items with links to the original messages in the notes field.
Drag files of any type from the Files app (or elsewhere) to create new items and add the files as corresponding attachments.
Drag and drop between apps is currently supported on iPad only.
Drag and Drop in Home
- With OmniFocus Pro, tap and hold a tile in the Home view to enter Tile Editing mode. Drag perspective tiles to rearrange them.
Drag and Drop in the Sidebar
- In the sidebar for Projects and Tags, drag and drop rows to rearrange them within the current level of hierarchy.
Drag New Inbox Item
- Drag the New Inbox Item button anywhere in the outline to add an item there, pre-filled with attributes corresponding to the current perspective and item location.
Tap and Hold...
Items in the outline to open their contextual menus.
Back to instantly go Home.
Shake to Undo
- On iPhone, shake the device to mimic the effect of tapping Undo .
Keyboard Shortcuts
If you’re using OmniFocus for iOS with an external keyboard, you can take advantage of the app’s built in keyboard shortcuts for many common tasks.
Anywhere in the app, press and hold the Command key on your connected keyboard to view a list of available shortcuts. There are some common shortcuts that work no matter where you are; others are specific to your current view.
| Action | Shortcut |
|---|---|
| Universal Shortcuts (available anywhere in the app) | |
| Cut | Command-X |
| Copy | Command-C |
| Paste | Command-V |
| Undo | Command-Z |
| Redo | Shift-Command-Z |
| Inspector Shortcuts (when editing item details) | |
| Edit Note | Command-’ |
| Set/Remove Flag | Shift-Command-L |
| Info | Control-1 |
| Note | Control-2 |
| Attachments | Control-3 |
| Save (when adding a new item only) | Command-S |
| Save Plus (when adding a new item only) | Option-Command-S |
| Cancel | Command-. |
| Delete | Command-Delete |
| Previous Item | Command-↑ |
| Next Item | Command-↓ |
| Projects Perspective Shortcuts | |
| New Project | Shift-Command-N |
| New Folder | Option-Shift-Command-N |
| Tags Perspective Shortcuts | |
| New Tag | Control-Command-N |
| Review Perspective Shortcuts | |
| Mark Reviewed | Shift-Command-R |
| Navigation Shortcuts (outside the new item editor) | |
| OmniFocus Settings | Command-, |
| New Inbox Item | Control-Option-Space |
| New Action | Command-N |
| Sync | Shift-Command-S |
| Search | Command-F |
| Favorite Perspectives | Command-0 through Command-9 |
| Collapse All | Control-Command-0 |
| Expand All | Control-Command-9 |
| Home | Shift-Command-H |
| OmniFocus Help | Command-? |
Other Keyboard Tips
In perspectives other than Forecast, if you have a hardware keyboard attached you can press the down arrow key to select the first item in the outline (even if nothing is selected), then use the arrow keys to keep moving through your items.
There’s lots in store for OmniFocus in 2018, including OmniFocus 3 for Mac & iOS and OmniFocus for the Web.
OmniFocus, which is now ten years old, was prominently featured in today’s Omni Roadmap 2018 post. OmniFocus has come a long way in the past decade and the Omni Group has a well-deserved reputation for keeping up with advances in macOS and iOS.
OmniFocus 3 will continue this tradition with some innovative new features and enhancements. And the Omni Group revealed that they’re building OmniFocus for the Web, a simplified version of OmniFocus that will give you basic access to your OmniFocus data on Windows.
New Features in OmniFocus 3
Omnifocus 3 Web
Here’s a summary of some of the new features and enhancements that are coming to OmniFocus 3.
- Multiple Tags – In OmniFocus 3, contexts will become “tags”, and you’ll be able to assign multiple tags to actions. Tags can represent traditional GTD contexts (e.g. @home or @braindead), but are not limited to contexts. For example, you could have a tag of #today for everything you want to get done today and a tag of #vacation to flag actions that you want to complete before you go on vacation.
- Manual Sorting – A common frustration among OmniFocus users is the inability to manually rearrange actions when viewing them by context. This is all changing with OmniFocus 3. In addition to being able to specify the order of tasks within a project, you’ll be able to reorder by tag. For example, you’ll be able to define the order of actions that are tagged with #today independently from the ordering of these tasks in other tags and projects.
- Flexible Scheduling – OmniFocus’ current repeat functionality is genuinely useful, but has its limitations. For example, there isn’t currently an easy way to have an action repeat on the first Thursday of each month. OmniFocus 3 will introduce flexible scheduling, employing a design principle called progressive disclosure to help ensure that this new flexibility doesn’t come at the expense of a tedious and complicated user interface.
- Flexible Notifications – OmniFocus 3 improves the way in which notifications are delivered and gives you more control over how and when you’re notified. For example, perhaps you’d like to be notified when an action becomes available or one week before something is due. Tasks can have even have multiple notifications and, for things that are particularly time-sensitive (e.g. taking medication), you can choose to be notified every few minutes until the action is marked complete.
- Design Enhancements – I’ve seen first hand how much thought the Omni Group puts into their products, so it’s not surprising that OmniFocus 3 will come with many meticulously crafted design changes. This includes features for onboarding new users and design aesthetics that will make OmniFocus feel right at home on the latest versions of macOS and iOS.
- Multiple Item Selection on iOS – OmniFocus 3 for iOS will gain a feature that Mac users have enjoyed for many years: multiple item selection and bulk editing. For example, you’ll be able to select a group of actions and, with a few taps of your finger, assign them all the same tag or defer date. On the iPad, you’ll even be able to drag all of the selected items to another app.
- Powerful Automation – Automation is a popular topic here on Learn OmniFocus. Our live sessions have showcased a variety of ways to automate OmniFocus on Mac and iOS, and Fraser Speirs wowed us with some amazing iOS automations using Workflow. While this is all great, it would be even better if automation workflows worked on both Mac and iOS. To take automation to the next level, the Omni Group will be introducing JavaScript-based automation capabilities that will make it possible to create multi-platform scripts. We’ll be monitoring these developments closely and sharing some of our favourite scripts.
- Collaboration – Whether you’re a solopreneur or the CEO of a Fortune 500 company, you need a way to manage your personal tasks; details that other people don’t need to know about that help you honour your commitments and responsibilities. OmniFocus is fundamentally a personal task manager, and OmniFocus 3 won’t change that. But, you’ll be able to share specific tasks with other OmniFocus users. Once linked, both people will be able to see updates on the status of specific tasks.
Help Test OmniFocus 3
If you’re eager to get your hands on these new features sooner rather than later, consider signing up for OmniFocus TestFlight. Keep in mind that you’ll be using a pre-release version of OmniFocus that isn’t feature complete and will have some bugs.
OmniFocus for the Web
Last but not least, there’s some good news for those of you want access to your OmniFocus database on non-Apple devices.
The Omni Group are building OmniFocus for the Web. It will be a greatly simplified version of OmniFocus that will give you basic access to your OmniFocus database. You won’t have advanced features like Review and Custom Perspectives, but you will be able to see what’s in your Inbox, in addition to having access to projects, tasks and their associated notes and due dates. You’ll also be able to make basic edits, such as marking task complete and editing notes.
OmniFocus for the Web isn’t intended to be a stand-alone product. Instead, it’s a complement to OmniFocus’ Mac and iOS apps that will no doubt be invaluable when you’re sitting in front of your Windows computer at work.
Subscribe to the Omni Group’s newsletter to be notified when OmniFocus for the Web is available for testing.
Omnifocus 3 Website
Supporting You in Using OmniFocus 3
Omnifocus 3 Webster
I’m already dreaming up some innovative ways to make good use of these wonderful new features. In particular, the ability to add multiple tags will open up some productive new workflow possibilities, and ultimately make OmniFocus an even more useful element of your productivity system.
I’m putting plans in place for new content that will showcase OmniFocus 3 features and build on workflows and best practices that we’ve been sharing since Learn OmniFocus launched in 2014. In the meantime, I’ll also continue to support you in making effective use of OmniFocus 2.
To stay in the loop, make sure you’ve signed up for our mailing list. We’ll also be posting updates on Facebook and Twitter.
Omnifocus 3 Webdav
Kudos to the Omni Group
Omnifocus 3 Web App
Many thanks to the Omni Group for all of the work that they’re putting into this upcoming release. They’re a great group of people who have a genuine passion for productivity and an outstanding reputation for delivering quality products.