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OmniFocus 4 Reference Manual

Commands and Shortcuts

This chapter collects useful commands and shortcuts found throughout OmniFocus into one place, while linking back to where you might find a given command in the app.

Bare Key Editing

When using a Mac, or an iPad with hardware keyboard, it is now possible to begin editing a specific field. (Note that this also works with an iPhone when using a hardware keyboard.)

There are some difference between using this with a Mac or iPad, that are worth keeping in mind.

When using a Mac, it is possible to tab through the fields on a row. As you might guess, using a bare key editing shortcut while you’re in a field will simply type the character into the field. If you’d like to use a bare key editing shortcut to jump to a specific field, you first need to end editing of the current row, which you can do using either Return or Command-Return. When using a Mac, the bare key editing shortcuts will only work on visible fields, as set in Layout Settings.

When using an iPad, it is not possible to tab through fields, as OmniFocus 4 uses Apple’s new Focus system for keyboard navigation (not to be confused with our Focus, which can be enabled using a keyboard!). Tabbing will move between parts of the screen (such as the Perspectives Bar, Sidebar, and Outline), instead of through fields in a row. Once you have selected a row in the Outline (by tabbing to the Outline, and then using up and down arrow keys to navigate), typing any of these bare key editing shortcuts will begin editing the field. When using an iPad, it is also possible to edit fields that are not currently visible, as set in Layout Settings. One final tip on an iPad: if editing a field presents a pop-up menu, tabbing will get you to the next part of the menu (such as when navigating from the search field to the list of tags), and typing Command-. (or using your esc key) will end editing, saving the current information.

  • Mark Complete/Active (Space bar)
  • Mark Dropped/Active (Option-Space bar)
  • Mark Flagged/Unflagged (F)
  • Edit Title (E)
  • Edit Note (N)
  • Edit Project (P)
  • Edit Tags (T)
  • Edit Due (D)
  • Edit Defer Until (Shift-D)
  • Edit Repeat (R)
  • Edit Estimated Duration (Shift-T)
  • Edit Notifications (Shift-N)
  • Edit Completion Date (C)
  • Delete (Command-Delete)

Mac Menu Bar

Below is a list of all the menu bar items or commands on a Mac.

If you’re using OmniFocus on a Mac, or on an iPad or iPhone with an external keyboard, you can take advantage of the app’s built in keyboard shortcuts for many common tasks. When using an iPad, press and hold the Command key on your connected keyboard to view a list of available shortcuts. The same keyboard shortcuts will work on an iPhone with external keyboard, but pressing an holding the Command key does not present the same list of available shortcuts.

If you’d like to set up a keyboard shortcut for a menu item that doesn’t have one, open the Keyboard pane of macOS System Preferences and choose the Shortcuts tab. Pick App Shortcuts from the list on the left, then click the plus button beneath.

Choose OmniFocus.app from the Application drop down list that appears, then enter the exact text of the menu command you’d like a shortcut for in the Menu Title field. Put your cursor in the Keyboard Shortcut field, then press the key combination you want for the shortcut. Finally, click Add to save your new custom shortcut.

Return to OmniFocus and give it a try!

OmniFocus Menu

The OmniFocus menu holds commands related to the OmniFocus application itself. Check for updates, view and modify your settings, and license or unlock OmniFocus.

File Menu

The File menu contains commands related to OmniFocus on a database level. Add new items or Quick Open others; importing, exporting, archiving, and restoring your database also happen here.

Edit Menu

The Edit menu contains commands and items related to editing actions, projects, folders, tags, and groups. Cut, Copy, Paste, and Undo are all found here.

Organize Menu

The Organize menu contains commands that manipulate items in your database based on their hierarchical position. This is primarily useful when working with nested projects and groups.

View Menu

The View menu contains options for quickly changing the view of your OmniFocus data. Show and hide various parts of the interface, and expand or collapse the details of items in the outline here.

Perspectives Menu

The Perspectives menu holds commands for quick navigation to all things related to both the default, built-in perspectives and the custom perspectives available in OmniFocus Pro. Keyboard shortcuts assigned to perspectives also appear in this list.

Format Menu

Formatting commands only work in note fields.

Automation Menu (Pro)

With OmniFocus Pro, use JavaScript plug-ins to automate task management in OmniFocus.

Window Menu

When you have multiple database windows open in OmniFocus, use the Window menu to choose between them. This menu also allows you to use Quick Entry and the Attachment List.

Help Menu

Access a variety of support resources using the Help menu in OmniFocus, including this documentation, release notes, and contact with our friendly Support Humans.

Shortcut Menus

This section needs revision, and does not fully reflect the current state of OmniFocus 4.

Many of the commands described in the Keyboard Shortcuts section can also be found in both Row Shortcut Menus and Sidebar Shortcut Menus on Mac, iPad, and iPhone. While menu bar menus and commands are always displayed on macOS (though whether or not they are available may change), shortcut menus update depending on your selection. This section will therefore include all possible shortcut menu items, though not all will appear in every situation.

Edit Shortcut Menu

Organize Shortcut Menu

Schedule Shortcut Menu

Top-Level Shortcut Menu

Keyboard Shortcuts

The keyboard shortcut table from earlier version of OmniFocus will return in the near future. For now, each command in the Commands Reference should have the appropriate keyboard shortcut(s) listed, to make them easy to find.

Commands Reference

These are listed in alphabetical order, and link back to where they can be found in OmniFocus. That location may be different, depending on whether you are using a Mac, iPhone, iPad, or Apple Watch.

About OmniFocus

Available on Mac in OmniFocus menu
Available on iPhone and iPad in Settings
Available on iPhone and iPad in Help toolbar item
Available on Apple Watch via Settings.

View details about your copy of OmniFocus. This is good for checking exactly which version you’re using, which can be very helpful when contacting our Support Humans. Some versions of this screen also include a link to write a review on the App Store.

Add Action

See new action

Add Folder

Available on Mac in Project sidebar action menu.
Available on iPhone and iPad in Project sidebar more menu.

Creates a New Folder at the selected location in the Sidebar.

Add Inside

Available on Mac and iPad in Organize menu
Shift-Command-] on Mac, iPhone, and iPad

Create a new item belonging to the selected item; for instance if you have a project selected, this adds an action to the project; if you have an action selected, it turns that action into the parent of an action group, and adds an additional action inside.

Available on Mac in Edit menu.

Create a hyperlink to an item within OmniFocus, or beyond. See also Edit Link.

Add Outside

Available on Mac and iPad in Organize menu
Shift-Command-[ on Mac, iPhone, and iPad

Create a new item at the same level as the selected item’s parent; for instance if you have an action selected at the top level of a project, this creates a new project.

Add Perspective (Pro)

Available on Mac in Perspectives menu.

Creates and begins editing a new custom perspective.

Add Project

Available on iPhone and iPad in Project sidebar more menu.

Creates a New Project at the selected location in the Sidebar, with the Default Project Type (Parallel or Sequential) that you have chosen.

Once the project has been created, you can change the Project Type.

Add Parallel Project

Available on Mac in Project sidebar action menu.

Creates a new Parallel project at the selected location in the Sidebar.

This has the same affect as using New Project, following by setting Project Type to Parallel.

Add Sequential Project

Available on Mac in Project sidebar action menu.

Creates a new Sequential project at the selected location in the Sidebar.

This has the same affect as using New Project, following by setting Project Type to Sequential.

Add Single-Action List

Available on Mac in Project sidebar action menu.

Creates a new Single Action List at the selected location in the Sidebar.

This has the same affect as using New Project, following by setting Project Type to Single Action List.

Add Tag

Available on Mac in Tags sidebar action menu.
Available on iPhone and iPad in Tags sidebar more menu.

Creates a New Tag at the selected location in the Sidebar.

Add Tutorial Items

Available on Mac in Help menu.

When you first launch OmniFocus a sample project is added to your database to help you get started. If you want it back, choose this command to recreate it (it’ll be added to your existing projects non-destructively).

Always Open in a New View

Available on Mac in Perspectives List_

On a Mac, this command will display as either Always Open in a New Window or Always Open in a New Tab; please see the note in Open in New View about how this interacts with your System Settings.

Enable this setting to always open the perspective in a new view when you navigate to it, whether you are selecting it from the Perspectives menu, or using the Perspectives List.

Anonymize Database

Available on Mac in Help menu.

Create a copy of your current database with all identifying text and attachments converted to anonymous entities. This is useful for exchanges with Omni support, or for sharing your database with other OmniFocus users without divulging the details of your private goings-on.

API Reference (Pro)

Available on Mac in Automation menu
Available on iPhone and iPad in Automation settings.

Item is labeled Automation API Reference on iPhone and iPad

Learn more about what you can do with Omni Automation in OmniFocus by viewing the available classes along with their constructors, functions, and properties.

Apply/Remove Forecast Tag

Available on Mac and iPad in Edit menu
Available on Mac, iPhone, and iPad in shortcut menus
Control-Command-L on Mac, iPhone, and iPad

Add (or remove) the Forecast Tag to the selected action, action group, or project.

Archive Old Items

Available on Mac in File menu.

Move some or all of your completed or dropped items into an Archive.

It is not possible to archive from iPad or iPhone, but it is possible to Delete Old Items from settings.

Attach File

Available on Mac in Edit menu
Available on Mac, iPhone, and iPad in inspector

Choose a file to insert in the note area of the selected item.

Attachment List

Available on Mac in Window menu
Available on iPhone and iPad in Attachments settings

Open a list of all attachments in your database.

This list displays all of the files in your OmniFocus data, with links to their corresponding project or action. Note that a single attachment can be linked to multiple projects or actions. Sort attachments by file size, date added, or name (Mac only) and delete any unwanted ones here.

On iPhone, and iPad, tap an individual attachment for a detail view which lists the attachment file size, the number of references to the file in your OmniFocus data, and a list of projects and actions that link to the attachment. Tap one of the linked items to go straight to where the file is attached, or tap Delete in the upper right to remove the file from your database.

On Mac, expand the disclosure triangle to the left of the attachment image to see a list of projects and actions that link to the attachment. Double-clicking on the attachment row, or single clicking on the name of the linked action or project, will open that action or project in a new view. With one or more rows selected, click on the Delete button to remove the attachments, or the Export button to save them outside of OmniFocus.

AutoFill

Available on Mac in Edit menu
Available on iPhone and iPad in editing menu

This is a system-level command, which allows auto-filling either Contacts or Passwords. It is not available on macOS Ventura, but is available on macOS Sonoma, iPadOS 17, and iOS 17.

Automation API Reference

See API Reference

Automation Console

See Show Console

Bigger

Available on Mac in Format menu
Command-+ on Mac on Mac, iPhone, and iPad

Increase the size of the selected note text.

Bold

Available on Mac and iPad in Format menu
Command-B on Mac, iPhone, and iPad

Embolden the selected note text.

Bring All to Front

Available on Mac in Window menu.

Gather all of your OmniFocus windows up in front of other applications’ windows.

Clear Console (Pro)

Available on Mac in Automation menu.

Clears the Automation Console display.

Clear Style

Available on Mac in Format menu
Available on iPhone and iPad in editing format menu
Control-Command-Delete on Mac

Applies only to selected text in the note field.

Re-formats selected text in notes. Removes all styles, such as bold, italic, underline, bulleted lists, custom fonts, text and background colors, and sizes. Result should be clean text, with no apparent formatting. Attachments and links are preserved.

Contrast with Simplify Style

Clean Up

Available on Mac and iPad in Organize menu
Available on Mac, iPhone, and iPad in Toolbar
Available on iPhone and iPad when pulling to sync
Command-K on Mac, iPhone, and iPad

Make OmniFocus clean up after itself, so that all items obey your View Options filter. Also, move any inbox items to which you’ve assigned projects or tags to where they belong. Note that switching perspectives will also clean up the view, as will pulling down to sync, on an iPhone or iPad.

Changed

Available on Mac and iPad in Perspectives menu
Available on iPhone and iPad in Quick Open.

Open the built-in Changed perspective in the current OmniFocus window to view recent changes you’ve made. Unlike other built-in perspectives, Changed doesn’t stay in the Perspectives Bar once closed, unless you favorite it.

Check for Updates

Available on Mac in OmniFocus menu. (Direct Download version only)

See if there is a new version of OmniFocus available to download. You can also configure automatic checking in Update settings. Versions of OmniFocus from the App Store use Apple’s process for updates.

Clear Flag

See Set/Clear Flag

Close

Available on Mac in File menu
Command-W on Mac

Close the frontmost window. Even if you close the last remaining OmniFocus window, you can always open a new one.

Close Account

Available on Mac in Manage Omni Account and Purchases… menu item
Available on iPhone and iPad in Omni Account screen

Sends an email requesting to close your Omni Account. You will receive an automatic email response at the registered email address for the Omni Account, which you then need to reply to, in order to actually close your account. Accidentally tapping this button will not close your account.

Collapse All

Available on Mac and iPad in View menu
Control-Command-0 on Mac, iPhone, and iPad

Collapse everything in the sidebar or the outline to the top level only.

Collapse Item(s)

Available on Mac and iPad in View menu
Command-0 on Mac, iPhone, and iPad

Hide the children of the selected items.

Collapse Item(s) Completely

Available on Mac and iPad in View menu
Option-Command-0 on Mac, iPhone, and iPad

Hide all descendants of all currently expanded items in the sidebar or the outline.

Compact Database

Available on Mac in File menu
Available on iPhone and iPad in Data settings

Rewrites your OmniFocus into a simple structure, which can be helpful for increasing performance if OmniFocus appears to be slow or unresponsive. This command is only available when not syncing; if you are syncing, compacting happens automatically when all of your devices are up to date.

Completed

Available on Mac and iPad in Perspectives menu
Available on iPhone and iPad in Quick Open.

Open the built-in Completed perspective in the current OmniFocus window to view your completed actions and projects. Unlike other built-in perspectives, Completed doesn’t stay in the Perspectives Bar once closed, unless you favorite it.

Configure (Pro)

Available on Mac in Automation menu
Available on iPhone and iPad in Automation settings.

Opens Automation Configuration, where you can add, remove, and manage your Omni Automation Plug-Ins, as well as change scripting-related security settings.

Note that this item is named Manage Plug-Ins on iPhone and iPad.

For sample plug-ins and to learn more about scripting OmniFocus, visit the Omni Automation website. For information on installing plug-ins, see the Omni Automation article Installing Plug-Ins.

Contact Omni

Available on Mac in Help menu
Available on iPhone and iPad in Help toolbar item
Available on iPhone and iPad in Help settings.

Compose an email to the OmniFocus support team. We’d be happy to give advice, answer questions, or listen to your feedback. This email will also include information about the version you’re running, which operating system you’re running it on, and what type of license you have; leaving this information in place helps us quickly assist you.

Convert to Action

Available on Mac, iPhone, and iPad in shortcut menus

Convert the selected item(s) from project(s) to action(s). Contrast with Convert to Project

Convert to Project

Available on Mac and iPad in Edit menu
Available on Mac, iPhone, and iPad in shortcut menus
Command-! on Mac, iPhone, and iPad

Convert the selected item(s) from action(s) to project(s). Contrast with Convert to Action

Copy

Available on Mac and iPad in Edit menu
Available on Mac, iPhone, and iPad in Edit shortcut menu
Available on iPhone and iPad in editing menu
Command-C on Mac, iPhone, and iPad

Put a copy of the selected text or item(s) on the clipboard, so you can copy the selection somewhere else.

Available on Mac in Edit menu
Available on Mac in Perspectives List
Available on Mac, iPhone, and iPad in Edit shortcut menu

Put a link to the selected item(s) on the clipboard; when you paste it, you get links for each selected item, to allow easy reference from another location.

Copy As TaskPaper

Available on Mac in Edit menu
Available on Mac, iPhone, and iPad in Edit shortcut menu

Copy the selected items with the tag syntax used by Hog Bay Software’s TaskPaper to-do list app.

See our OmniFocus TaskPaper Reference Guide support article for more information.

Copy Style

Available on Mac in Format menu
Option-Command-C on Mac

Copy the style of the selected text, so that you can apply it elsewhere with the Paste Style command. This uses a special style clipboard, so you don’t lose the data in the normal clipboard.

Customize Toolbar

Available on Mac in View menu.

Choose which controls appear in the main window’s toolbar.

Cut

Available on Mac and iPad in Edit menu
Available on Mac, iPhone, and iPad in Edit shortcut menu
Available on iPhone and iPad in editing menu
Command-Z on Mac, iPhone, and iPad

Remove the selected text or item(s), while saving them on the clipboard, so you can move the selection somewhere else.

Delete

Available on Mac and iPad in Edit menu
Available on Mac, iPhone, and iPad in shortcut menus
Command-Delete on Mac, iPhone, and iPad

Remove the selected item(s) or text from your database.

Deselect All

Available on Mac and iPad in Edit menu
Shift-Command-A on Mac, iPhone, and iPad

Clear the selection completely, so that nothing is selected.

Duplicate

Available on Mac in Edit menu
Available on Mac, iPhone, and iPad in Edit shortcut menu
Command-D on Mac

Make another item just like the selected one, immediately after it.

Available on Mac in Edit shortcut menu

Edit a hyperlink to an item within OmniFocus, or beyond. See also Add Link.

Edit Note/Edit Title

Available on Mac and iPad in Edit menu
Command-' on Mac, iPhone, and iPad
N on iPad, iPhone to begin editing

Move from the item text to the note area of an item, or move back from the note area to the item title. Using N on an iPad or iPhone will begin editing, but will not toggle between fields.

Emoji and Symbols

Available on Mac and iPad in Edit menu
Control-Command-Space on Mac, iPhone, and iPad
Globe key on Mac, iPhone, and iPad external keyboard
Shortcut key set in Keyboard system settings on Mac, iPhone, and iPad

Open the Character Viewer to insert emoji or other special characters.

More information about the Character Viewer is available in Use emoji and symbols on Mac, part of the Apple User Guides.

Enter/Exit Full Screen

Available on Mac in View menu
Control-Command-F or fn/Globe-F on Mac

View OmniFocus using your full screen, or return it to single window.

Expand All

Available on Mac and iPad in View menu
Control-Command-9 on Mac, iPhone, and iPad

Show all children of all currently collapsed items in the sidebar or the outline.

Expand Item(s)

Available on Mac and iPad in View menu
Command-9 on Mac, iPhone, and iPad

Show the children of the selected items.

Expand Item(s) Completely

Available on Mac and iPad in View menu
Option-Command-9 on Mac, iPhone, and iPad

Show all descendants of all currently collapsed items in the sidebar or the outline.

Export

Available on Mac in File menu
Available on iPhone and iPad in Data settings.

Multiple formats are supported when exporting on your Mac; CSV is supported on Mac, iPhone, and iPad.

More information is availale in Exporting from OmniFocus.

Find (iPhone and iPad)

Available on iPhone and iPad in Edit menu
Command-F on iPhone and iPad

See Search Field

Find (Mac)

Available on Mac in Edit menu.

The Find menu contains the standard Find commands found in many applications: Find (which opens a window where you can use regular expressions and search-and-replace), Find Next, Find Previous, Use Selection for Find (which enters the selected text as the text to search for), and Jump to Selection.

Unlike searching using the toolbar (which narrows what you see in the outline), the Find dialog looks through all the fields currently visible in the outline and highlights results instead, providing a theme for them which you can browse through until you find what you need.

The Find dialog supports the use of regular expressions to match more complex text strings and combinations. See the NSRegularExpression developer documentation for technical details on the regex syntax, including a list of supported characters and operators.

Focus on Selected Projects/Unfocus (Pro)

Available on Mac and iPad in View menu
Shift-Command-F on Mac, iPhone, and iPad

If you’re using OmniFocus Pro and you want to concentrate for a while on a particular project, folder, or combination of items, the Focus feature can get everything else out of your way.

To focus:

  • Select an action, project, or folder (or any combination of those items) in the sidebar or outline; if you select an action, the containing project will also be considered selected.
  • Click the Focus toolbar button, or choose Focus on (Selected Items) from the View menu.

Everything outside your selected items is hidden, and a Focus bar appears at the top of the outline, to indicate that you’re in a special view. OmniFocus will continue to show you only the selected items while you move between perspectives.

When you’re done focusing, choose the Unfocus menu item, or click the X in the Focus bar; this will restore the full view of your OmniFocus data.

If you find yourself frequently using the same combinations of tags, focus, or view options you might want to save them as a custom perspective.

Focusing inside a custom perspective that includes a focus as part of its parameters will display the intersection of the two focus areas.

Flag

See Set/Clear Flag

Flagged

Available on Mac and iPad in Perspectives menu
Available on iPhone and iPad in Quick Open
Command-5 on Mac, iPhone, and iPad

Open the built-in Flagged perspective in the current OmniFocus window.

Forecast

Available on Mac and iPad in Perspectives menu
Available on iPhone and iPad in Quick Open
Command-4 on Mac, iPhone, and iPad

Open the built-in Forecast perspective in the current OmniFocus window.

Free Trial Mode

Available on Mac in OmniFocus menu

This allows you to choose between the Standard or Pro feature set when running a trial license, in order to see which edition is best for your needs.

A similar function is available on iPhone and iPad in License settings, using the Enable Pro features switch.

Go Back

Available on Mac in View menu
Command-Option-[ on Mac, iPhone, and iPad

Go Forward

Available on Mac in View menu
Command-Option-] on Mac, iPhone, and iPad

Go to Inspector

Available on Mac in View menu
Option-Command-3 on Mac

Use the keyboard to navigate the inspector (tab, return, esc, and other keys affect fields in the inspector).

Go to Outline

Available on Mac in View menu
Option-Command-2 on Mac

Use the keyboard to navigate the outline (tab, return, esc, and other keys affect items and fields in the outline).

Go to Search Field

Available on Mac and iPad in Edit menu
Option-Command-F on Mac
Command-F on iPhone and iPad

This command is named Go to Search Field on the Mac, and Find on iPhone and iPad.

The toolbar at the top of the outline contains a Search field. On a Mac, this field is always visible (unless the toolbar has been customized to hide the field), but on iPad or iPhone, you will need to drag down from the top of the outline, in order to reveal the field.

Click or tap into the Search field and enter keywords to find matching items from among three different possible scopes on your database.

  • Search Here — The search is limited to the content currently visible in the outline. For many perspectives this includes the entire content of the perspective, but for those with hierarchy it may not—if you’re viewing the contents of a specific project or folder, items in projects outside that scope will not be shown in the results.
  • Search Remaining — The search includes everything in your database with an implicit status of Remaining: all items except those marked Completed or Dropped.
  • Search Everything — The search includes every item in your database, regardless of status or location.

Search looks for text matching the keywords in item titles, notes, and tags, and displays results as a list of items in the outline.

Search Here

Available on Mac and iPad in Edit menu
Control-Command-1 on iPhone and iPad

The search is limited to the content currently visible in the outline. For many perspectives this includes the entire content of the perspective, but for those with hierarchy it may not—if you’re viewing the contents of a specific project or folder, items in projects outside that scope will not be shown in the results.

See Go to Search Field

Search Remaining

Available on Mac and iPad in Edit menu
Control-Command-2 on iPhone and iPad

The search includes everything in your database with an implicit status of Remaining: all items except those marked Completed or Dropped.

See Go to Search Field

Search Everything

Available on Mac and iPad in Edit menu
Control-Command-3 on iPhone and iPad

The search includes every item in your database, regardless of status or location.

See Go to Search Field

Go to Sidebar

Available on Mac in View menu
Option-Command-1 on Mac

Use the keyboard to navigate the sidebar (tab, return, esc, and other keys affect items and fields in the sidebar).

Group

Available on Mac and iPad in Organize menu
Option-Command-G on Mac, iPhone, and iPad

In the sidebar, group projects and folders into folders or group tags into parent tags. In the outline, group actions into projects or action groups. Compare Ungroup

Hide OmniFocus

Available on Mac in OmniFocus menu
Command-H on Mac

Temporarily hide all of OmniFocus’s windows.

Hide Others

Available on Mac in OmniFocus menu
Option-Command-H on Mac

Temporarily hide windows of all other applications so you can concentrate on OmniFocus.

Import OmniOutliner Document

Available on Mac in File menu.

Import the content of an OmniOutliner document to your OmniFocus database, with its rows converted to OmniFocus items and columns to metadata fields associated with those items.

It is not currently possible to import an OmniOutliner document on iPad or iPhone, but parts of the document can be dragged and dropped into OmniFocus.

Inbox

Available on Mac and iPad in Perspectives menu
Available on iPhone and iPad in Quick Open
Command-1 on Mac, iPhone, and iPad

Open the built-in Inbox perspective in the current OmniFocus window.

Indent

Available on Mac and iPad in Organize menu
Command-] on Mac, iPhone, and iPad

Move the selected item to the right, turning it into a child of the item before it in the outline.

In-App Purchases

Available on Mac in OmniFocus menu. (App Store version only)
Available on iPhone and iPad in settings.

Open the In-App Purchases window to unlock OmniFocus features by subscribing, purchasing either the Standard or Pro edition of the app, or restoring a previous purchase. Learn more about OmniFocus subscriptions here.

Insert Time Stamp

Available on Mac in Edit menu.

Automatically insert the current date, time, or date and time, using the format from the system settings.

  • Short Date
  • Short Date and Time
  • Time
  • Long Date
  • Long Date and Time

Installed Plug-Ins (Pro)

Available on Mac in Automation menu
Available on iPhone and iPad in Automation settings
Available on Mac, iPhone, and iPad in Omni Automation shortcut menu.

Any Omni Automation Plug-Ins that you have installed are displayed in a list at the top of the menu. Choose one of them from the list to run the plug-in.

Italic

Available on Mac and iPad in Format menu
Command-I on Mac, iPhone, and iPad

Italicize the selected note text.

Learn About Pro

Available on Mac in OmniFocus menu, when using a Standard or Trial license

Opens a feature comparison page for Standard vs. Pro, on the Omni Group’s website.

Main Window

Available on Mac in Window menu.

Foreground the main OmniFocus window (instead of a secondary window like the Attachment List or Preferences). If multiple OmniFocus windows are open, the closest one to the front is considered main for purposes of this command.

Manage Omni Account and Purchases

Available on Mac in OmniFocus menu
Available on iPhone and iPad in settings.

Open the Omni Account window, where you can manage your Omni Account and your OmniFocus licenses. This command appears after you have signed in to your Omni Account using Unlock OmniFocus.

You can also close your Omni Account from this screen.

Manage Plug-Ins

See Configure

Mark Reviewed

Available on Mac and iPad in Edit menu
Available on Mac, iPhone, and iPad in shortcut menus
Shift-Command-R on Mac, iPhone, and iPad

Indicate that you’ve reviewed the selected project, thus resetting its next-review date.

Merge All Windows

Available on Mac in Window menu.

With OmniFocus open in multiple windows, merge all of them into a single window with multiple tabs.

Migrate Database

Available on Mac in File menu
Available on iPhone and iPad in Data settings

This command is only available when an updated OmniFocus data format is released. You will normally be prompted to migrate your database as soon as all of your synced Macs, iPads, iPhones, and Apple Watches are running versions which support the updated data format. If for some reason you aren’t prompted, you can begin a data format migration here. You will be warned if some syncing OmniFocus versions are not compatible with the new format.

More information about Migrating Your Data is in the Managing Your Data chapter.

Minimize Window

Available on Mac in Window menu
Command-M on Mac

Shrink the frontmost window down into the Dock.

More information can be found in Move and arrange app windows on Mac, part of the Apple User Guides.

Move

Available on Mac and iPad in Organize menu.

These commands rearrange the currently selected item in the outline hierarchy without affecting deselected items. Move Up and Move Down change an item’s location in relation to its siblings. Move Right and Move Left increase or decrease an item’s indentation level. When items move, their descendants move with them.

  • Move Down - Control-Command-Down Arrow on Mac, iPhone, and iPad
  • Move Right - Control-Command-Right Arrow on Mac, iPhone, and iPad
  • Move Up - Control-Command-Up Arrow on Mac, iPhone, and iPad
  • Move Left - Control-Command-Left Arrow on Mac, iPhone, and iPad

Move Tab to New Window

Available on Mac in Window menu.

With OmniFocus open in multiple tabs, move the current tab to a new OmniFocus window.

Move to Display

Available on Mac in Window menu.

This sends the frontmost window to the selected display; it only appears if you have an external monitor or iPad connected.

Nearby

Available on Mac and iPad in Perspectives menu
Available on iPhone and iPad in Quick Open
Command-6 on Mac, iPhone, and iPad

Open the built-in Nearby perspective in the current OmniFocus window.

New Action

Available on Mac and iPad in File menu
Available on iPhone and iPad in toolbar
Command-N on Mac, iPhone, and iPad

Create a new action in the currently selected project or tag, or create a new action in the inbox.

New Folder

Available on Mac and iPad in File menu
Shift-Option-Command-N on iPad, iPhone

Create a new folder, for organizing projects, in Projects or in a custom perspective An icon indicating that this feature is part of OmniFocus Pro. that groups by entire project.

See Add Folder for the related Projects Sidebar button.

New Project

Available on Mac and iPad in File menu
Shift-Command-N on Mac, iPhone, and iPad

Create a new project in Projects, or in a custom perspective An icon indicating that this feature is part of OmniFocus Pro. that groups by entire project, with the Default Project Type (Parallel or Sequential) that you have chosen.

Once the project has been created, you can change the Project Type.

See Add Project for the related Projects Sidebar button.

New Single-Action List

Available on Mac in File menu

Create a new list, for keeping track of related actions that don’t fit into projects, in Projects or in a custom perspective An icon indicating that this feature is part of OmniFocus Pro. that groups by entire project.

Also available by using New Project, and setting project type to Single Action List, on Mac, iPad, iPhone.

See Add Single-Action List for the related Projects Sidebar button.

New Tab

Available on Mac in File menu
Option-Command-T on Mac

Open a new tab in the current window, displaying the same content as the current tab.

New Tag

Available on Mac and iPad in File menu
Control-Command-N on Mac, iPhone, and iPad

Create a new tag in Tags, Flagged, Nearby, or in a custom perspective An icon indicating that this feature is part of OmniFocus Pro. that groups by individual actions.

See Add Tag for the related Tags Sidebar button.

New Window

Available on Mac in File menu
Option-Command-N on Mac

Open a new window, displaying the same content as the current window.

News

Available on Mac in Help menu
Available on iPhone and iPad in Help settings.

View the latest information from the Omni Group about changes to OmniFocus or Apple’s operating systems that may affect your use of the app. This item only appears when there is news to share.

OmniFocus Forums

Available on Mac in Help menu.

Stop by the official OmniFocus forums to view and share insights with other users.

OmniFocus Help

Available on Mac and iPad in Help menu
Available on iPhone and iPad in Help toolbar item
Available on iPhone and iPad in Help settings

View this help documentation.

OmniFocus Product Page

Available on Mac in Help menu.

Visit the OmniFocus page on the Omni Group web site.

OmniFocus Windows

Available on Mac in Window menu.

At the bottom of the Window menu is a list of all of your OmniFocus windows; choose one to bring it to the front.

Open Archive

Available on Mac in File menu.

See your OmniFocus archive.

Open in New View

Available on Mac in Perspectives List
Available on Mac and iPad in Perspectives Bar Shortcut Menu

On a Mac, this command will display as either Open in New Window or Open in New Tab; please see the note below about how this interacts with your System Settings.

On a Mac (by default), this opens the selected perspective in a new window, instead of the replacing the current window. On an iPad, this will open the selected perspective in a new split screen window. This command is not available on iPhone.

This command will either open in a new window or a new tab, depending on how you have configured System Settings. More information about the appropriate setting is available in the Apple User Guide article Use tabs in windows on Mac.

Available on Mac in Edit shortcut menu
Available on iPhone and iPad in editing menu

Opens the selected link in a web browser.

Open Scripts Folder (Pro)

Available on Mac in Help menu.

Open the designated Finder folder for storing AppleScript scripts that you want to access from the toolbar.

Outdent

Available on Mac and iPad in Organize menu
Command-[ on Mac, iPhone, and iPad

Move the selected item to the left, making it a sibling of what was its parent. This doesn’t change the location of the item’s former siblings; only the selected item’s position in the hierarchy is affected.

Page Setup

Available on Mac in File menu
Shift-Command-P on Mac

Open the standard macOS Page Setup window, where you can change some settings for printing, or exporting to a PDF file. These settings are saved even if you quit OmniFocus.

Paste

Available on Mac and iPad in Edit menu
Available on Mac, iPhone, and iPad in shortcut menus
Available on iPhone and iPad in editing menu
Command-V on Mac, iPhone, and iPad

Inserts a copy of whatever is currently on the clipboard, using a simplified style. If the clipboard contains only text (not whole items, such as actions or projects), and you are editing the text of an item, the text is pasted at the insertion point. Otherwise, the contents of the clipboard are pasted as new item(s).

Paste and Match Style

Available on Mac and iPad in Edit menu
Option-Shift-Command-V on Mac, iPhone, and iPad

Ignore any styles that have already been applied to text on the clipboard, and match the styles of the location you’re pasting. Styles are only available in notes, so this command is primarily useful there.

Paste with Original Style

Available on Mac in Edit menu
Available on iPhone and iPad in editing menu
Control-Option-Shift-Command-V on Mac

Preserve styles from the original source, ignoring the styles of the location you’re pasting. Styles are only available in notes, so this command is primarily useful there.

Paste Style

Available on Mac in Format menu
Option-Command-V on Mac

Apply the style in the style clipboard (obtained using the Copy Style command) to the selected text.

Print

Available on Mac in File menu
Command-P on Mac

Open the standard macOS Print window, with a variety of options for printing, or creating a PDF file.

Printing is not currently supported on iPad or iPhone. Please contact our Support Humans if you would find this useful.

Projects

Available on Mac and iPad in Perspectives menu
Available on iPhone and iPad in Quick Open
Command-2 on Mac, iPhone, and iPad

Open the built-in Projects perspective in the current OmniFocus window.

Quick Open

Available on Mac in File menu and toolbar
Available on iPhone and iPad in toolbar
Command-O on Mac, iPhone, and iPad

Open the Quick Open window; please read the linked section, for more information.

Quit OmniFocus

Available on Mac in OmniFocus menu
Command-Q on Mac

Stop using OmniFocus and put it away for now. Your database is automatically saved.

Rebuild Database

Available on Mac in File menu.

Check and consolidate all of your OmniFocus data, to make sure it is consistent and valid. This is almost the same as backing up and then restoring your database, and will also rebuild the local cache. If you are having problems with your database, this may help.

Redo

Available on Mac and iPad in Edit menu
Shift-Command-Z on Mac, iPhone, and iPad

Re-create the last change, that you just used Undo to reverse. You can keep redoing edits, allowing you to return to a later point in time.

Release Notes

Available on Mac in Help menu
Available on iPhone and iPad in Help toolbar item
Available on iPhone and iPad in Help settings.

Read the release notes for the current version of OmniFocus.

Replace Tiled Window

See Tiled Windows

Reset Database

Available on iPhone and iPad in settings
Mac version of this command is Reset Database and Preferences, available via File menu

This command completely removes your existing OmniFocus data, and returns you to First Run for OmniFocus.

Reset Database and Settings

Available on Mac in File menu
Available on iPhone and iPad in Reset settings

Hold down option to reveal this menu command, which replaces Rebuild Database. This command completely removes your existing OmniFocus data and preferences, and returns you to First Run for OmniFocus.

iPad and iPhone version of this command is Reset Database, available via settings.

Revert to This Backup

Available on iPhone and iPad when viewing Backup list
Available on Mac when using Show Backups in Finder

After confirming that you want to replace your current OmniFocus data with the backup being viewed, your local OmniFocus data will be replaced. If you are syncing, the server data will also be replaced, which will prompt all of your currently syncing devices to replace their data from the server.

Review

Available on Mac and iPad in Perspectives menu
Available on iPhone and iPad in Quick Open
Command-7 on Mac, iPhone, and iPad

Open the built-in Review perspective in the current OmniFocus window.

Select All

Available on Mac and iPad in Edit menu
Available on iPhone and iPad in editing menu
Command-A on Mac, iPhone, and iPad

Select everything in the outline, or if you are editing an item’s text, all text in the cell.

Services

Available on Mac in OmniFocus menu.

Access system-wide macOS services offered by other applications.

Set Flag

See Set/Clear Flag

Set/Clear Flag

Available on Mac and iPad in Edit menu
Available on Mac, iPhone, and iPad in shortcut menus
Shift-Command-L on Mac, iPhone, and iPad
F on iPad, iPhone

Put flag(s) on the selected item(s), or remove the flag(s) if the selected item(s) already have them.

Settings

Available on Mac in OmniFocus menu
Available on iPhone and iPad in settings
Available on Apple Watch via settings
Command-, on Mac, iPhone, and iPad

Open OmniFocus settings, where you can customize how the application works for you.

Show "OmniFocus.ofocus" in Finder

Available on Mac in File menu.

Hold down option to reveal this menu command, which replaces Show Backups in Finder. Instead of showing the Backups folder, the folder containing your main OmniFocus document (OmniFocus.ofocus by default) opens instead.

This can be useful when troubleshooting with the help of Omni Support. Under normal circumstances you should not interact with your primary OmniFocus document directly.

Show All

Available on Mac in OmniFocus menu.

Show all windows of all applications.

Show All Tabs/Exit Tab Overview

Available on Mac in View menu
Shift-Command-\ on Mac

Switch to a view that displays thumbnail views of each tab as a tile in the OmniFocus window, or return to the standard full view.

Show Backups in Finder

Available on Mac in File menu

If you have trouble with your OmniFocus database, you can always go back to an older, backed up version. With this command you can browse to the backup file you want, then open and inspect it. If it looks good, click Revert to This Backup, and your entire database is reverted to how it looked at the time you made the backup.

More information about this, as well as iPhone and iPad backups, is in the Backups of OmniFocus Data section of Managing Your Data.

Show/Hide All Notes

Available on Mac and iPad in View menu
Control-Command-' on Mac

Show or hide all notes with content.

Show/Hide Colors

Available on Mac in Format menu
Shift-Command-C on Mac

Show or hide the Colors window.

Show Console (Pro)

Available on Mac in Automation menu
Available on iPhone and iPad in Omni Automation toolbar item.

Item is labeled Automation Console on iPhone and iPad

Opens the Automation Console.

Show/Hide Fonts

Available on Mac in Format menu. ™ Command-T on Mac

Show or hide the Fonts window.

Show/Hide Inspector

Available on Mac and iPad in View menu
Available on iPhone and iPad in Toolbar
Option-Command-I on Mac, iPhone, and iPad

Show Inspector for the selected items, or hide it again.

Show/Hide Note(s)

Option-Command-' on Mac

Show or hide the note of the selected item(s).

Show/Hide Perspectives Bar

Available on Mac and iPad in View menu
Available on iPhone and iPad in Appearance settings
Option-Command-P on Mac, iPhone, and iPad

Show or hide the Perspectives Bar. This is available as a setting on iPhone and iPad, as well as a keyboard command.

Show/Hide Perspectives List

Available on Mac in Perspectives menu
Available on iPhone and iPad in Quick Open
Available on Apple Watch via Settings
Control-Command-P on Mac

Show or hide the Perspectives List, where you can add or modify keyboard shortcuts, rearrange or favorite perspectives, and create or edit new custom perspectives.

Show in Projects/Tags/Inbox

Available on Mac and iPad in View menu
Available on iPhone and iPad in shortcut menu
Option-Command-R on Mac, iPhone, and iPad

Switch to Projects, Tags, or Inbox and select the same items you have selected in the current perspective.

Show Next Tab

Available on Mac in Window menu.

With OmniFocus open in multiple tabs, navigate to the next tab in the bar.

Show Previous Tab

Available on Mac in Window menu.

With OmniFocus open in multiple tabs, navigate to the previous tab in the bar.

Show Quick Entry/Hide Quick Entry

Available on Mac, iPhone, and iPad
Shift-Control-Option-S on Mac
Control-Option-Space on Mac, iPhone, and iPad

Show or hide the Quick Entry window.

Mac:

  • The Shift-Control-Option-S keyboard shortcut only works on Mac, as long as OmniFocus is the frontmost application.
  • The Control-Option-Space also works on Mac, whether or not OmniFocus is frontmost (as long as it is running), and can be customized in General settings.
  • The Control-Option-Space keyboard shortcut works on iPhone and iPad, while OmniFocus is the frontmost application but it cannot be customized.

Show/Hide Sidebar

Available on Mac and iPad in View menu
Available on iPhone and iPad in Appearance settings
Option-Command-S on Mac, iPhone, and iPad

Show or hide the Sidebar.

Show Tab Bar/Hide Tab Bar

Available on Mac in View menu
Shift-Command-V on Mac

Show or hide the macOS tab bar on the current OmniFocus window.

Show/Hide Toolbar

Available on Mac in View menu.

Show or hide the toolbar.

Show/Hide View Options

Available on Mac and iPad in View menu
Shift-Command-V on Mac, iPad, and iPhone

Open the View Options for the current perspective.

Smaller

Available on Mac in Format menu
Command-– on Mac on Mac, iPhone, and iPad

Decrease the size of the selected note text.

Sign Up for the Omni Newsletter

Available on Mac in Help menu
Available on iPhone and iPad in Help settings

Visit the Omni Newsletter web page, where you can subscribe to our email newsletter. You’ll get nothing but the latest news and tips for OmniFocus and the other apps in the Omni Group family.

Simplify Style

Available on Mac in Format menu.

Re-formats selected text in notes or text within selected actions or projects. Removes custom fonts, text and background colors, text size, and text alignment, while keeping styles such as bold, italic, underline, and bulleted lists. Result should be clean readable text, that maintains the intent of the original formatting. Attachments and links are preserved.

Contrast with Clear Style

Site License

Available on Mac in Site License… menu command
Available on iPhone and iPad in License settings

Open the Site License window, which allows you to renew or sign out of a site license.

On Mac, this menu command only appears if you are signed into a site license, and replaces Unlock OmniFocus… and Manage Omni Account and Purchases….

On iPhone, and iPad, this appears as a row within the License settings screen.

Sort Once

Available on Mac in Organize menu.

Using one of the parameters in this submenu, perform a one-time sort of the selected items in the sidebar or the outline (as long as you’ve selected something that can be reordered).

  • By Name
  • By Status
  • By Date Added
  • By Date Completed
  • By Date Due
  • By Defer Date
  • By Date Dropped

Speech

Available on Mac in Edit menu

The Speech submenu contains the Start Speaking and Stop Speaking commands, which you can use to make the macOS text-to-speech system say the selected text out loud.

  • Start Speaking
  • Stop Speaking

A similar feature can be enabled on iPhone and iPad, using Accessibility settings, in the Settings app.

Spelling and Grammar

Available on Mac in Edit menu

The Spelling and Grammar menu contains the standard Spelling commands for the macOS spell checking system: Show Spelling and Grammar (which opens the Spelling and Grammar window), Check Document Now (which checks spelling in the document once), and the ability to turn on or off Check Spelling While Typing, Check Grammar With Spelling, and Correct Spelling Automatically

  • Show/Hide Spelling and Grammar (Command-: on Mac)
  • Check Document Now (Command-; on Mac)
  • Check Spelling While Typing
  • Check Grammar With Spelling
  • Correct Spelling Automatically

Split View (Mac)

Available on Mac in Window menu.

These menu commands are provided by the operating system, and may include:

  • Tile Window to Left of Screen
  • Tile Window to Right of Screen
  • Replace Tiled Window

More information can be found in Use apps in Split View on Mac, part of the Apple User Guides.

Stage Manager (Mac)

Available on Mac in Window menu.

This menu command is provided by the operating system:

  • Remove Window from Set

More information can be found in Organize your Mac desktop with Stage Manager, part of the Apple User Guides.

Start Dictation

Available on Mac in Edit menu
Available on Mac, iPhone, and iPad in keyboard shortcut selected in Keyboard system settings

With dictation enabled in Keyboard system settings, select an editable text field and use this command to enter text by speaking.

Status

Available on Mac and iPad in Edit menu
Available on Mac, iPhone, and iPad in shortcut menus

Choose from this submenu to change the status for the selected item; two of the options are also available via keyboard.

With one or more items selected in the outline, press Space to mark them complete or switch them back to active. Press Option-Space to mark them dropped or switch them back to active.

Substitutions

Available on Mac in Edit menu

The Substitutions submenu allows you to choose which macOS text substitutions will be used in OmniFocus.

More information about substitutions and text editing is available in Replace text and punctuation in documents on Mac, part of the Apple User Guides.

Sync Now

Available on Mac in File menu
Available on iPhone and iPad in toolbar
Command-S on Mac, iPhone, and iPad

If you have set up synchronization in Sync settings, coordinate with the server database and make sure that both sides have all of the recent changes you’ve made.

Available in the Toolbar More menu on iPhone and iPad; can be added to the Mac Toolbar by using customization.

Available on Mac in Help menu
Shift-Command-? on Mac, iPhone, and iPad

On Mac, iPhone, and iPad, search OmniFocus menu items in order to find a specific command. On Mac, the same command will also search OmniFocus Help (this document). Results appear as a list of menu items and help topics respectively.

Tags

Available on Mac and iPad in Perspectives menu
Available on iPhone and iPad in Quick Open
Command-3 on Mac, iPhone, and iPad

Open the built-in Tags perspective in the current OmniFocus window.

Tile Window to Left of Screen

See Tiled Windows

Tile Window to Right of Screen

See Tiled Windows

Transformations

Available on Mac in Edit menu

The Transformations submenu contains commands that apply to selected text in the outline, sidebar, and inspector, to convert it to upper case, lowercase, or capitalize each selected word.

  • Make Upper Case
  • Make Lower Case
  • Capitalize

Underline

Available on Mac and iPad in Format menu
Command-U on Mac, iPhone, and iPad

Underline the selected note text.

Undo

Available on Mac and iPad in Edit menu
Command-Z on Mac, iPhone, and iPad

Reverse the most recent change that you made. You can keep undoing edits, allowing you to return to an earlier point in time.

Unflag

See Set/Clear Flag

Ungroup

Available on Mac and iPad in Organize menu
Option-Command-U on Mac, iPhone, and iPad

Move all of the child items out of the selected item, and remove it from OmniFocus. Contrast Group.

Unlock OmniFocus

Available on Mac in OmniFocus menu
Available on iPhone and iPad in settings.

Sign in to your Omni Account to unlock this copy of OmniFocus, or add a license.

On Mac, this menu item will update based on the current licensing state, to either Manage Omni Account and Purchases… or Site License….

Zoom

Available on Mac in Window menu.

Switch the frontmost window between the biggest size possible and the last size you set.

More information can be found in Move and arrange app windows on Mac, part of the Apple User Guides.