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JKT · Jul 22, 2009, 05:18 PM

I don't know about anyone else but Apple's push notification system has proved to be completely underwhelming for any of the apps I use. OmniGroup quickly realised it wouldn't work for OmniFocus because alerts needed to be time based and push doesn't work for iPod owners away from a net connection. So they've come up with a solution that is the next best thing to an official API from Apple (which doesn't exist yet of course) for hooking into Calendar on the iPhone or iPod. You can now get time based alerts with OmniFocus 1.5.2 because it can be set up to synch all your due dates to a CalDAV calendar on the WebDAV server you are using (e.g. MobileMe's iDisk or any of the free services you can use). Then it subscribes you to the calendar in the Calendar app, thus alerting you at a defined time prior to your due time for each action even when OmniFocus isn't running. Awesome.

turtle777 · Jul 22, 2009, 09:54 PM

Interesting concept. I haven't really tested it yet, but I will when I'm back home.
(Does that mean you have to configure your Mac's Calendar to work this "magic" ?)

OTOH, the shortcoming is purely iPod related. People need to understand that the lack of constant data connection will limit the usefulness of some applications.

-t

JKT · Jul 23, 2009, 04:11 AM

Actually, the shortcoming is entirely iPhone OS related. It is pretty ****ing ridiculous that there is no API available to developers that permits them to create time-based alerts without a connection to the net.

Fwiw, the install base for OmniFocus is apparently about 50% iPod users so push is utterly useless for them. Personally, I think it is also completely useless for many iPhone users too.

Btw, instructions for how to set up the alerts in OmniFocus are here

kylef · Jul 23, 2009, 02:58 PM

Can Omnifocus sync to-do events over the air wirelessly; whether or not you are on a) the same Wi-Fi network or b) any Wi-Fi network at all (ie. on 3G)? I've been searching for this in a To-Do for a very long time. Omnifocus seems to fit the bill, but I don't want to spend the £12 or whatever it costs just to find out!

turtle777 · Jul 23, 2009, 11:26 PM

Originally Posted by kylef

Can Omnifocus sync to-do events over the air wirelessly; whether or not you are on a) the same Wi-Fi network or b) any Wi-Fi network at all (ie. on 3G)? I've been searching for this in a To-Do for a very long time. Omnifocus seems to fit the bill, but I don't want to spend the £12 or whatever it costs just to find out!

Yes, but you need to have a WebDav server to hold the data.

Syncing works via WiFi, 3G, Edge, or even GPRS.

-t

turtle777 · Jul 23, 2009, 11:30 PM

Ok, so I set up my iPhone's OF to do that. Seems to work.

What I can't get done is to use the same calendar for my desktop version of OF. Because it's subscribed, I can't make any changes to it from my Mac.

So, what's the deal with that ?

-t

Big-C · Jul 24, 2009, 12:31 AM

Apparently, the next version of OmniFocus (1.7) should allow editing from the desktop...

turtle777 · Jul 24, 2009, 12:45 AM

Yep, would make sense.

For now, I haven't turned on Calendar syncing for my OF desktop client.
I'll just sync first to my iPhone, and then to the OF calendar, and then subscribe to the OF calendar via my desktop Mac calendar.

A lot of steps, but works pretty much w/o and manual involvement.

-t

JKT · Jul 25, 2009, 08:58 AM

Fwiw, when you synch your iPhone, the calendar is synched at the same time. There isn't any need to do it separately again.

turtle777 · Jul 25, 2009, 02:49 PM

Originally Posted by JKT

Fwiw, when you synch your iPhone, the calendar is synched at the same time. There isn't any need to do it separately again.

What do you mean by "synch" the phone ?

Via iTunes ?

I haven't figured out yet how often the subscribed calendar gets updated, and how to force that. But it seems to be happening in a timely manner, so it's not really that important.

-t

JKT · Jul 27, 2009, 09:08 AM

Sorry for the lack of clarity:

When you synch your tasks etc added to OmniFocus on your iPhone to the WebDAV server it also synchs any due dates to the calendar at the same time. There is no need to synch OmniFocus on your iPhone and then perform a second synch for your calendar separately, which is what your post implied you were doing ...

turtle777 · Jul 27, 2009, 09:53 AM

Originally Posted by JKT

Sorry for the lack of clarity:

When you synch your tasks etc added to OmniFocus on your iPhone to the WebDAV server it also synchs any due dates to the calendar at the same time. There is no need to synch OmniFocus on your iPhone and then perform a second synch for your calendar separately, which is what your post implied you were doing ...

No, that's not what I meant.

I'm clear on OF side, how it syncs and changes that calendar on the WebDav server.

But how often / at what point does the iPhone calendar app update the subscribed WebDav calendar file ?

-t

kman42 · Jul 27, 2009, 10:07 AM

OF calendar reminders are incredibly annoying. I woke up this morning to eight notifications telling me of the things I have due today. That's just obnoxious. This is mostly apple's fault for having a terrible notification UI, but it still stinks for now so I'm turing it off.

Big-C · Jul 28, 2009, 09:31 AM

I also thought the calendar notifications would work out well, but have changed my mind. Seeing those items on the calendar just feels like clutter. I also thought I could better track projects by looking at them in iCal, but since they are all combined into one calendar, it didn't work out like I had hoped.

I've gone back to using Prowl, which I'm really happy with, especially since it can be expanded to other events on my computer besides omnifocus.