Welcome to OmniFocus

OmniFocus 4 introduces an array of new features and a modernized, unified interface across Mac, iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch, and Apple Vision Pro. Centered around your task outline, OmniFocus 4 brings a consistent experience, optimized for each platform, to all of your Apple devices.

For a quick introduction, we hope you enjoy watching What’s New in OmniFocus 4!

A Message From Ken

If you’re reading this manual, chances are you already know a little bit about OmniFocus. Here’s how we summarize OmniFocus in our latest press release:

OmniFocus is a powerful and highly-customizable personal task manager for busy professionals. OmniFocus helps busy people to tame the chaos, and focus on the right tasks at the right time.

When you strip down OmniFocus to its essence, you’ll find a few simple concepts:

That big projects can be broken down into smaller tasks to make them easier to tackle.
That those tasks can be categorized to help you tackle them more efficiently.
That our computing devices can take some of the load off our overwhelmed minds by tracking when tasks will become available and when they’re due.
And that this sort of trusted system works best when it can quickly and easily capture whatever is on your mind, while also giving you tools to review your system to regain control and focus.

If you’re familiar with the work of David Allen with his methodology for Getting Things Done®, some of these concepts may sound familiar. That’s no accident! Though knowledge of David Allen’s work is certainly not required to use OmniFocus, GTD® has been an important inspiration for the work we’ve done to develop what David Allen calls a “trusted system.” (And it was personally inspiring to see that many of the speakers at the 2019 GTD Summit in Amsterdam were using OmniFocus!)

OmniFocus 4 strikes a remarkable balance between power and approachability. When we decided to rebuild the app interface with Apple’s new SwiftUI technologies, we took a fresh look at everything and iterated often—based on paying close attention to feedback from thousands of testers. The result is a design which is approachable and easy to use at a light level, while still providing the depth, power, and stunning customizability our customers expect when they need to go deep.

So, welcome! If you’re here because you do need to go deep, we hope this documentation provides you with the information you’re looking for. If not, please don’t hesitate to reach out! We have a team of support humans who are happy to help you out, and by hearing from you we’ll learn where our documentation might have gaps to fill in with future updates.

We’ve been working on OmniFocus for nearly 18 years, and throughout these years I’ve been using it to tame the chaos in my own life — enough years that OmniFocus has reminded me to renew my passport twice, helped me manage several office moves, tracked a multitude of product releases, replace even more lightbulbs and batteries — and help raise two daughters who have now grown into wonderful adults. I hope you’ll find that OmniFocus helps you through the coming years in some of the ways it has helped me.

— Ken Case, CEO

Next Steps

OmniFocus 4 for Mac, iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch, and Apple Vision Pro documentation is in the process of being rewritten into a single, unified reference manual. Significant portions of work are still in progress, with several chapters and sections being actively updated and re-written for this version. Please see the reference manual section for information about updates and changes as they are released. Thank you for your patience, and for using OmniFocus 4!

Eager to jump right into using OmniFocus, but aren’t quite sure where to start? Read Getting Started for a quick orientation, and then jump into learning about perspectives.

New to OmniFocus, perhaps using a trial license, and want to learn more about OmniFocus vs. OmniFocus Pro? Keep reading, as that’s right below.

Already familiar with OmniFocus, but want to learn more about all the new features and updates in OmniFocus 4? You can skip directly to the New and Updated in OmniFocus 4 sections.

Standard vs. Pro

Which set of features is right for you? Took a look, and please email us if you have any questions!

OmniFocus

What features are included in OmniFocus?

Universal App Licensing — Get full access to OmniFocus 4 on your Mac, iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch, and Apple Vision Pro with a single license purchase. Prefer to subscribe to OmniFocus on a monthly or yearly basis? An OmniFocus subscription unlocks OmniFocus Pro on all supported Apple devices, and includes access to OmniFocus for the Web from any web browser.
Free, Encrypted Syncing — Keep your data the same on all your devices by using Omni’s free sync service — or use your own sync server. Because your data is protected with end-to-end encryption, it’s safe in the cloud. (OmniFocus for the Web requires syncing via Omni’s Sync Server.)
Quick Entry — Add new actions the instant you think of them, from anywhere.
Quick Open — Use Quick Open to quickly navigate to a perspective, folder, project, tag, or Omni Automation plug-in.
Inbox — Quickly add items to your Inbox — save them when you think of them, then set a due date, assign a project, and add tags whenever you want to.
Projects — Organize actions into projects, the way you would normally think of them. Then organize related projects into folders, if you like.
Tags — Create tags for things like location, person, energy level, priority, and so on. Any action can have a project and multiple tags.
Flags — Flag items of importance, then view those items in the Flagged perspective, or alongside time-sensitive items in Forecast.
Dates — Assign due dates for items with hard deadlines, set items which are not available yet as deferred until a future date, and schedule additional reminder notifications for items as needed.
Repeat Schedules — Set up items to repeat on real-world schedules. Every Monday and Thursday. The last weekend day of the month. The first weekday of the month.
Notes — Add notes — even long notes — to your items, so you have the information you need when completing an action. Format complex notes with rich text styling, and attach relevant files.
Forecast — Know what’s coming up in your day with the Forecast, which shows your actions and calendar events in a reorder-able list. (Calendar event integration is not available in OmniFocus for Web.)
Nearby — View items assigned to location-based tags on a map or in a list so that you know what you can get done where you are right now.
Review — Let the Review feature periodically remind you to go through your projects and actions and make sure everything is on track. Mark projects as reviewed as you go along.
Customizable Views — Customize OmniFocus to display the information most relevant to you (some customization options require , not all customization options are available in OmniFocus for the Web).
Batch Editing — Select multiple actions and edit them all at once in the Inspector. Set tags, due dates, defer dates, and more.
Notifications — Let OmniFocus notify you when an action is coming due, when it becomes available after a defer date, at a scheduled time, or when it’s tagged with your current location.
Widgets — Configure your device with an array of OmniFocus 4 widgets. Complete items directly from updated interactive widgets on iOS 17, iPadOS 17 and macOS Sonoma. On watchOS 10, view OmniFocus widgets in the brand new Smart Stack.
Apple Watch — Sync your full OmniFocus debase to the independent OmniFocus for Apple Watch application. Changes made in OmniFocus 4 for Apple Watch sync directly to the server.

OmniFocus Pro

What features are included in OmniFocus Pro?

Focus Mode — Select what to concentrate on, and make OmniFocus temporarily hide all other items. Concentrate on work when you’re on the job — or forget about work when you’re at home.
Custom Perspectives — Create new ways to see your data by filtering and grouping projects and tags. Use the intuitive and powerful perspective editor to set up different rules for your personal perspectives. A perspective might show everything tagged with “Grocery Store” and “Birthday” — so you pick up everything needed for the party. Another perspective might show everything in a Work project tagged with “High Energy” in a reorder-able list — for things to do right after that cup of coffee.
Additional Forecast Features — Optionally display items assigned to a designated Forecast tag, items with scheduled notifications, and items in On Hold projects, alongside your calendar events and due and flagged items in Forecast.
Automation — Automate OmniFocus with cross-platform Omni Automation Plug-Ins or Mac-only AppleScripts. Enhance your workflows, integrate with other apps and data sources, and create projects from a template. For more information about updates to Omni Automation, be sure to read OmniFocus 4: What’s New in Omni Automation?
App Icon — Select from a collection of alternate app icons, including the new OmniFocus 4 app icon and the original OmniFocus 1 app icons.
View Options — Per perspective layout customizations, which sync between devices of the same type.

New in OmniFocus 4

Universal Purchase

Mac, iPhone, iPad, and Apple Watch:

OmniFocus 4 is a universal cross-platform purchase: get full access to OmniFocus 4 on your Mac, iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch, and Apple Vision Pro with a single license purchase or subscription.

Outline

Mac, iPhone, iPad, and Apple Vision Pro:

Fluid outline layout has been redesigned to provide quick access to the item details most relevant to you, and is now fully customizable. By default, items display assigned project, tags, due date, and flag status, and selecting a row provides immediate editing access to these fields as well as the item’s note. With OmniFocus Pro, you can customize the displayed fields on an app-wide or per-perspective basis (including re-ordering visible fields, and selecting fields to display only when selecting or editing an item).

Mac:

Updated Columns layout, including the ability to customize the order of displayed columns.

iPhone, iPad, and Apple Vision Pro:

Add new items or quickly edit an existing item using inline editing, without ever leaving the task outline.
Action groups can now be expanded or collapsed in the task outline, allowing you to create and view as much (or as little!) structure within a project as you need.

Mac, iPhone, iPad, and Apple Vision Pro:

When switching perspectives, you now have the option to go back to the perspective you came from using the new “Back” button in the toolbar. If you change your mind, you can go “Forward” again.

iPhone, iPad, and Apple Vision Pro:

Opening any perspective in OmniFocus 4 for iPhone brings you directly to your list of tasks, avoiding unnecessary navigation through your database structure.
The Perspectives Bar is now available on iPhone, iPad, and Apple Vision Pro, so your favorite perspectives are always one tap away.
The OmniFocus for Mac sidebar, which displays the full hierarchy for the current view in a single interactive list, has been brought to the iPhone, iPad, and Apple Vision Pro. Make a selection in the sidebar to filter the content displayed in the task outline, create a multi-selection via Select mode, or edit your projects or tags list in Edit mode. On iPad, the sidebar can be fully collapsed to maximize screen space. On iPhone, the sidebar stays out of view until it is summoned.
Use Quick Open, now supported on iPhone, iPad, and Apple Vision Pro, to quickly navigate to a perspective, folder, project, tag, or Omni Automation plug-in.

App Appearance

Mac, iPhone, and iPad:

Select from a collection of alternate app icons, including the new OmniFocus 4 app icon and the original OmniFocus 1 app icons.

Mac, iPhone, iPad, and Apple Vision Pro:

Updated OmniFocus 4 interface to feel fresh, familiar, and right at home on macOS Sonoma, iOS 17, iPadOS 17, watchOS 10, and visionOS 1.
Choose from over 100 new custom perspective icons.

App Customization

Mac, iPhone, iPad, and Apple Vision Pro:

Customize which fields are included in the re-designed Inspector, as well as the order of those fields.
View Options now sync across devices. (Layout customizations, available in , sync between devices of the same type)

Forecast Perspective

Mac, iPhone, iPad, and Apple Vision Pro:

Forecast items can now be structured as a single flexible list, with new support for manually re-ordering items and displaying group hierarchy.
It is now possible to display flagged items, as well as items on their notification date.

Custom Perspectives

Mac, iPhone, iPad, and Apple Vision Pro:

New flexible organization options introduce support for manually re-ordered lists and hierarchy preservation in ungrouped custom perspectives.

Apple Watch

OmniFocus 4 for Apple Watch is an autonomous application that can be installed and run independently of OmniFocus for iPhone. Changes made in OmniFocus 4 for Apple Watch sync directly to the server.
OmniFocus for Apple Watch now syncs your full OmniFocus database into the watch app, allowing for access to all items and perspectives from your Apple Watch.
The watch app Home Screen now displays a list of favorite perspectives.
View additional details associated with an item, like notes and attachments, from the watch app. Items can now also be dropped from the watch app, in addition to completed, flagged, or deleted.
Watch face complications have been fully re-written, offering improved functionality over previous versions of the watch application, and support has been added for watchOS 10 Smart Stack widgets.

Nearby Perspective

Mac:

Nearby perspective and tag location Inspector are now available on Mac.

iPhone, iPad, and Apple Vision Pro:

Location-based tags can once again be viewed on a map in Nearby.

Focus

iPhone, iPad, and Apple Vision Pro:

Focus is now supported on iPhone, iPad, and Apple Vision Pro. Use Focus to temporarily narrow the scope of your OmniFocus database across all perspectives to just the selected folders or projects.

Keyboard Support

Mac:

New bare key keyboard shortcuts are now supported when using OmniFocus on any device with a hardware keyboard.

iPhone, iPad, and Apple Vision Pro:

Hardware keyboard shortcut and navigation support has been fully rewritten and expanded, with support for native keyboard navigation, organized menus of key commands, and a full set of new bare key keyboard shortcuts.

Widgets

Mac:

Complete items directly from updated interactive widgets on macOS Sonoma.

iPhone, iPad, and Apple Vision Pro:

Configure your Lock Screen or iPhone Standby mode with an array of OmniFocus 4 widgets. Complete items directly from updated interactive widgets on iOS 17 and iPadOS 17. On watchOS 10, view OmniFocus widgets in the brand new Smart Stack.

Mac, iPhone, iPad, and Apple Vision Pro:

Quick Entry interface is now presented when sharing items to OmniFocus, allowing for immediate capture of additional details, like dates and flagged status.

Supported Languages

Mac:

OmniFocus is localized in English, Chinese (Simplified), Dutch, French, German, Korean, Japanese, Italian, Portuguese (Brazilian), Russian, and Spanish. Arabic and Hebrew localization, in addition to full support for right-to-left text, is coming in a future update.

iPhone and iPad:

OmniFocus is now localized in Arabic and Hebrew in addition to English, Chinese (Simplified), Dutch, French, German, Korean, Japanese, Italian, Portuguese (Brazilian), Russian, and Spanish. OmniFocus for iPhone and iPad interface has been updated to support right-to-left text.

Apple Vision Pro:

OmniFocus for Apple Vision Pro will be localized in the same languages as Mac, iPhone, and iPad, once supported by visionOS.

Updated in OmniFocus 4

Accessibility

Mac, iPhone, and iPad:

Improved VoiceOver support and compatibility with native OS Accessibility features.

Attachments

iPhone, iPad, and Apple Vision Pro:

New “Attach File” attachment option allows for selecting arbitrary files from within OmniFocus, or attaching any type of file via the updated Share extension.

Automation

Mac, iPhone, iPad, and Apple Vision Pro:

Significant updates to Omni Automation; for more information, please see OmniFocus 4: What’s New in Omni Automation?.

Backups

iPhone, iPad, and Apple Vision Pro:

OmniFocus database backups can now be optionally saved to iCloud Drive.

Menus

iPhone, iPad, and Apple Vision Pro:

A variety of context-appropriate actions have been added to re-organized shortcut menus (also called contextual menus), offering feature parity with functionality available in OmniFocus for Mac shortcut menus.

Dates

Mac:

Quickly increment dates via shortcut date buttons in the Inspector, or assign a date via the re-introduced outline calendar popover.

iPhone, iPad, and Apple Vision Pro:

Entering dates as natural language text (i.e. “tomorrow” or “next Thursday”) is now supported. Completion and dropped dates can now be set prior to completing or dropping an item.

Default Perspectives

Mac, iPhone, iPad, and Apple Vision Pro:

Tags perspective can now be sorted by flagged and due date.
Grouping in the Flagged perspective can now be customized.

Notes

iPhone, iPad, and Apple Vision Pro:

Full rich text note support is now available in OmniFocus on iPhone, iPad, and Apple Vision Pro.

Quick Open

Mac:

Omni Automation Plug-Ins are now included in Quick Open results.

Reference Manual

Mac, iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch, and Apple Vision Pro:

OmniFocus 4 for Mac, iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch, and Apple Vision Pro functionality is being documented in a single, unified reference manual. This is a work in progress, and your thoughts and feedback are very welcome.

Repeats

Mac, iPhone, iPad, and Apple Vision Pro:

Updated repeat logic for items which complete every period on a custom schedule after completion.

Settings

iPhone, iPad, and Apple Vision Pro:

Synced settings previously only configurable in OmniFocus for Mac, like default defer and due times, are now available in a new re-organized Settings interface.

Getting Started

OmniFocus allows you to capture the sometimes endless series of ideas, action items, and projects that come to mind as you wander through the world… and then provides you with the tools to Accomplish more every day — anywhere you go!

If you have used earlier versions of OmniFocus, you may want to watch What’s New in OmniFocus 4, or read the New in OmniFocus 4 section of Welcome to OmniFocus, and then start exploring… for everybody else, let’s get to know OmniFocus!

Before we dive in, please feel free to watch Getting Started in OmniFocus 4, and then come on back.

This documentation can certainly be read from start to finish, but it is intended to serve as a reference manual, allowing you to learn more about topics that catch your interest, when needed. If you find there’s something you’d like to know more about, that isn’t covered here, or that just isn’t clear, please email us.

OmniFocus 4 for Mac, iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch, and Apple Vision Pro documentation is in the process of being rewritten into a single, unified reference manual. Significant portions of work are still in progress, with several chapters and sections being actively updated and re-written for this version. You can expect to see ongoing updates; please see the reference manual section for information about updates and changes as they are released. Thank you for your patience, and for using OmniFocus 4!

A Trusted System

Life is complicated. We each have a mix of plans, commitments, goals, priorities, and ideas jumbled up in our heads, all competing for time and attention. Sometimes these ideas push to the forefront unbidden, or fall out of our mind just when we need them most.

Many of us are pretty good at managing our lives in our heads most of the time. But what if we didn’t have to?

What if we had a trusted system where we could capture flashes of inspiration, sketch out long term goals, build healthy habits, and house a literally photographic memory?

OmniFocus is that trusted system: a “second brain” that is as powerful as you choose to make it. It’s designed to rapidly capture ideas on the fly, then help you organize and connect them, building multistep projects or grouping common themes using tags.

OmniFocus can let you know when you’re near the grocery store, and remind you of your party plans and all the ingredients that go into that cake. Or prompt you to check the weather and get out the telescope for next month’s full moon viewing. Or if you’re feeling creative, suggest a list of tasks that require your artistic attention.

Whether you’re most comfortable with an unsorted checklist, a complex set of nested steps that are part of a multistep project, or somewhere in the middle, OmniFocus is there to support the way you think. It sticks with the pieces you need to help you get stuff done, unfolding new functions along with your changing workflows — all with powerful, end-to-end encrypted data syncing to help you keep trust in the system.

Before we look at the road ahead, it’s sometimes useful to glance behind us, to see where we’ve come from.

OmniFocus started life as a series of OmniOutliner scripts, before becoming a native Mac application, and then making its way to the iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch, Apple Vision Pro, and even the Web. Though the original inspiration was David Allen’s Getting Things Done®, OmniFocus has since evolved into a system with a tremendous amount of flexibility, able to adapt to a wide variety of productivity approaches… while still feeling familiar to long-term customers.

Capturing Ideas

OmniFocus 4 is intentionally built for you to be able to move easily between devices, so your data is ready for you wherever you are. When you sync your data with the Omni Sync Server (or another WebDAV-enabled server), the latest changes you make are available on all of your devices. Start capturing a thought on an iPhone, flesh it out on an iPad, and really get into the details of organizing on your Mac… then get reminders on your Apple Watch!

For OmniFocus to effectively serve as a trusted system for your plans, first you’ll need to get that knowledge out of your head and into the app. OmniFocus makes this as straightforward as possible by presenting an intuitive interface with just the things you need to get started. Would you like a quick orientation? When you first install OmniFocus, you will be given the option of adding a tutorial project, which will help acquaint you with the current version of OmniFocus. There are slightly different versions for Mac, iPhone, and iPad — we encourage you to install each version, and begin exploring!

Items in OmniFocus represent things that you’d like to do, pieces of larger plans, or really any sort of data that’s actionable in some way. It can be helpful to use a consistent syntax in naming your items, but don’t let that get in your way — for now, the goal is to get as many ideas, plans, and to-dos out of your head and captured in OmniFocus as you can.

You’ll notice as you add items to the Inbox that there are additional details you can set, such as due date, note, and flag, that can provide more information about the work that each item represents. These bits of additional information are purely optional; don’t feel like you have to fill them all out for every item you add. (In the future, you’ll be able to experiment with even more rich data associated with your tasks, but for now we’re keeping it simple.)

After you’ve spent some time capturing items in the Inbox, you’ll probably find yourself coming to a natural pause, as you run out of quick ideas to capture. That’s okay! You can return to the Inbox to add more items, or add more ideas later, using Quick Entry.

Organizing Your Thoughts

You will likely discover that some of the ideas you have captured are quick and straightforward (“make lunch for tomorrow”), and some are more complex (“budget for next year”). You can choose to leave some of these in the Inbox and treat them like a simple checklist, tapping the status circle to mark them complete when they’re finished… or you could venture out of the Inbox, and see what OmniFocus holds in store.

Organize your ideas further in the Projects perspective, and start adding all the related actions and projects.
Easily see all related actions or projects in the Tags perspective, so that you can see all actions that need to be completed in a specific place, agenda meeting topics that require a certain person to attend, or projects you should only tackle when you’re feeling high energy.
Plan the days and weeks ahead using Forecast, so that you’re never surprised, or forget something on your schedule.
And so much more… welcome to your new trusted system!

Before You Go

With all of OmniFocus’s features, we recommend giving yourself a chance to get used to this new system. Start simple, use the features that add value to your task management, and feel free to ignore the rest… until more is needed. We wish you the best on your productivity journey, and we’re here whenever you need us — alongside a vibrant community of your fellow OmniFocus users. Good luck, and happy OmniFocusing!

Perspectives

Perspectives are different ways of viewing the actions and projects in OmniFocus. Each perspective has a specific purpose, and when used together they allow you to plan and accomplish your goals. OmniFocus includes seven built-in perspectives to help you organize, prioritize, schedule, and review your actions and projects. There are also two perspectives for viewing completed or changed items. OmniFocus Pro also includes Custom Perspectives.

Built-In Perspectives

Default Perspectives

The perspectives for planning and completing items are:

Inbox — for quickly capturing and processing actions.
Projects — for gathering actions into projects, and figuring out what comes next.
Tags — for adding information about people, places, things, states of mind, energy level, or anything that affects when or where you work.
Forecast — for viewing all of your actions and projects that have related due or defer until dates, and viewing them alongside your schedule.
Flagged — for gathering all of your flagged actions in one place.
Nearby — for seeing all actions or projects that have a tag with an assigned location, either in a list or on a map. What can you do where you are, or nearby?
Review — for checking on your progress so far, determining the status of projects, and figuring out what to do next.

Completed and Changed

The perspectives for viewing completed or changed items are:

Completed — for finding completed actions and projects.
Changed — for finding changed actions and projects.

More information about each perspective is below. The easiest way to view a perspective is to click or tap its icon in the Perspectives Bar, or navigate to it using Quick Open.

Perspectives Bar

The Perspectives Bar is a row of tabs down the left side of the screen on a Mac, iPad, or Apple Vision Pro; or across the bottom of the screen on an iPhone. By default, it is visible when OmniFocus is first installed, with each tab containing an icon and title; tapping on an icon will visit the related perspective. If you’d like to, you can either hide the Perspectives Bar, or just hide the titles.

You can also tap the current tab to update the Outline view. If you are viewing the Outline, and have scrolled down or selected one or more items, the first tap will clear the selection and return to the top of the Outline. The second tap will show or hide the Sidebar on Mac, iPad, or Apple Vision Pro, and switch between the Sidebar and Outline on an iPhone.

Editing the Perspectives Bar

By default, the Perspectives Bar includes all the built-in perspectives, except for Completed and Changed.

You can change the order of perspectives, favorite perspectives to add them (including Badge indicating that this feature is part of OmniFocus Pro. Custom Perspectives), or unfavorite them to remove them, using the Perspectives List on Mac, or Quick Open on iPhone, iPad, or Apple Vision Pro.

If you choose to show more perspectives than can fit across the height or width of your screen, you can scroll the row to reveal additional tabs.

Each tab in the Perspectives Bar is also a button. When you touch and hold on an iPhone, iPad, or Apple Vision Pro, or control-click on a Mac, a shortcut menu (also called a contextual menu) appears. The shortcut menu may contain some or all of the following menu commands, which apply to the selected perspective:

Edit — opens View Options for the selected perspective, and begins editing.
Unfavorite — removes the selected perspective from the Perspectives Bar and favorites list. Quick Open can be used to favorite it again on an iPhone, iPad, or Apple Vision Pro, and the Perspectives List can be used on a Mac.
Copy Link — copies a link to the perspective in OmniFocus’s app URL format. Tap this link from anywhere on your device to view the perspective in OmniFocus.
Open in New Window — on a Mac, this opens the selected perspective in a new window, instead of 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.

Quick Open

Quick Open is designed to help you quickly navigate wherever you need to go in OmniFocus, whether you are using a Mac, an iPhone, or an iPad.

Quick Open (Mac)

While working anywhere in OmniFocus, use the Quick Open… menu item in the File menu (Command-O), or click on the Quick Open button in the Toolbar (if you have customized the Toolbar).

Navigating:

Enter text into the search field at the top of the sheet to quickly find a perspective, folder, project, tag, or Omni Automation Plug-In that matches the text you enter.
The field matches text from the middle of words as well as between them; entering "ho" will turn up both "Get started with OmniFocus" and "Phone", for example.
Click on a result in the list to open it, or use the arrow keys to navigate, and return to select a result.
If you check the Open in a new window option, the item will be opened in a new window.

Quick Open (iPhone, iPad, Apple Vision Pro)

On iPhone, iPad, or Apple Vision Pro, Quick Open can also be used for selecting favorite perspectives, or reordering the perspectives bar. On Mac, this functionality is located in the Perspectives List

Badge indicating that this feature is part of OmniFocus Pro. With OmniFocus Pro, Quick Open can also be used to create new custom perspectives.

While working in any perspective’s Sidebar or Outline, tap the Quick Open button in the lower left part of the screen (or type Command-O).

Navigating:

Enter text into the search field at the top of the sheet to quickly find a perspective, folder, project, tag, or Omni Automation Plug-In that matches the text you enter.
The field matches text from the middle of words as well as between them; entering "ho" will turn up both "Get started with OmniFocus" and "Phone", for example.
Tap on a result in the list to open it. If you are using an attached keyboard, you can also open the selection using the return key.

Favorites:

Tap on the star icon to favorite or unfavorite perspectives.
Perspectives that are favorites will show in the Perspectives Bar.

Sorting Perspectives:

Tap Edit
Use the drag handles to arrange perspectives in the order you prefer.
Perspectives that are favorites will appear in the order you set here.

Creating Custom Perspectives:

With OmniFocus Pro, tap the Add Perspective button in the bottom right of the Quick Open window.
A new custom perspective will be created and opened, ready for you to edit.
Read Creating Custom Perspectives to learn more.

Perspectives List

On Mac, the Perspectives List is used for selecting favorite perspectives, assigning custom keyboard shortcuts, or reordering the Perspectives Bar. Badge indicating that this feature is part of OmniFocus Pro. With OmniFocus Pro, the Perspectives List can also be used to create new Custom Perspectives. This functionality is also available on iPhone, iPad, and Apple Vision Pro, but is part of Quick Open.

The Perspectives List also serves as a way to navigate between perspectives in the main OmniFocus window: double-click a perspective in the list to open it.

Keyboard Shortcuts:

Click on the Shortcut button (which may be showing an already assigned shortcut).
Press the keys for the keyboard shortcut you want to use. Characters appear in the field as you type, and are saved once you enter a valid combination.

You can choose any shortcut which contains one or more of the Control, Option, Shift, or Command keys, with any other key. An unused Function key (such as F13) can also be used.

Press Esc to cancel recording, or click the x to clear an assigned shortcut.

Favorites:

Tap on the star icon to favorite or unfavorite perspectives.
Perspectives that are favorites will show in the Perspectives Bar.

Sorting Perspectives:

Click and hold on a row, then drag it into the order you prefer.
Perspectives that are favorites will appear in the order you set here.

Creating Custom Perspectives:

With OmniFocus Pro, click the plus icon in the bottom toolbar, to Add a new perspective.
A new custom perspective will be created and opened, ready for you to edit.
Read Creating Custom Perspectives to learn more.

Next to the star icon, there is a More menu (indicated by three dots) which contains additional actions or settings for each row:

Open — opens the selected perspective.
Open in New Window/Tab — opens the selected perspective in a new view.
Edit — opens View Options for the selected perspective, and begins editing.
Copy as Link — copies a link to the selected perspective.
Duplicate — duplicates the selected perspective. (Only available for Completed & Changed and Custom Perspectives.)
Always Open in a New Window — choose whether to always open the selected perspective in a new view. (Only available for Custom Perspectives.)
Revert to Default Settings — returns perspectives to their original settings. (Only available for Default perspectives.)
Delete — deletes the selected perspective. (Only available for Custom Perspectives.)

View Options

View Options can be shown by tapping or clicking the eyeball icon in the toolbar, selecting Show View Options from the View menu, or using the keyboard shortcut Shift-Command-V.

View Options allow you to customize which actions or projects appear in the Outline for the current perspective, based on their status and availability, in addition to perspective-specific options.

This section provides an overview of the options that are common to most perspectives, with each perspective section discussing options that are specific to that perspective.

View Options is generally divided into several sections:

Availability — The first section determines what is visible in the perspective, based on the Availability of actions, action groups, and projects; see View Options to learn more. This section is not included in Forecast. Visibility settings have global scope.
Structure — The second section determines how the view displays, and varies between perspectives. This can include settings that impact visibility (such as whether to display the Inbox in Projects), or the organization of items (such as whether to display Forecast as a unified list, or separated by types of information). This section is not included in the Inbox or Nearby perspectives. Structure settings have global scope.
Layout — The third section contains layout adjustments for the specific kind of device that you are using, including access to Edit Default Layout. Layout settings have platform scope.

Custom Layout

Badge indicating that this feature is part of OmniFocus Pro. OmniFocus Pro allows you to set a custom layout for each perspective. Click on Custom Fluid or Custom Columns (on Mac), or Custom row layout on iPhone, iPad, or Apple Vision Pro; this will present the same set of options as Layout settings for Mac or iPhone, iPad, and Apple Vision Pro, but will be applied only to the perspective you are editing.

To make capturing and processing new actions as easy as possible, both Inbox and Quick Entry always allow customization, whether licensed for Standard or Pro.

The Sidebar appears between the Perspectives Bar and Outline, on the leading edge of the OmniFocus window if you are using a Mac, iPad, or Apple Vision Pro; on iPhone, the Sidebar will slide in from the leading edge of the screen, and slide back out when dismissed. You can hide or show the Sidebar using the Show/Hide Sidebar command, tapping the Sidebar button in the Toolbar, or clicking on a perspective tile in the Perspectives Bar (if you are at the top of the Outline).

By selecting items in the Sidebar, you can quickly navigate to parts of the Outline, while filtering to only see the information that you want to see right now.

The Sidebar is available for all built-in and custom perspectives, except the Inbox. Both navigation and filtering require information which Inbox items don’t typically have, such as an assigned project or assigned tags. Adding that information to an item in the Inbox normally removes the item from the Inbox entirely, depending on your Clean up inbox items which have setting.

There are four different versions of the Sidebar: Projects, Tags, Forecast, and Review. The Forecast and Review perspectives use their versions of the Sidebar, while all other perspectives use the version found in either Projects or Tags. Each version is discussed in the Sidebar section of the related perspective.

When using an iPad, iPhone, or Apple Vision Pro, Edit mode allows rearranging, renaming, and editing items in the Sidebar. This mode is available in all perspectives except for Forecast and Review.

In order to enter Edit mode, tap the Edit button. When you are finished, tap the Done button.

If the Sidebar contains a list of folders and projects, or tag groups and tags, you can drag and drop to reorder them, or change their place in the structure of your database. You can also swipe left or right on a row in the sidebar to reveal additional controls, or tap the More button (icon with three dots) in the Sidebar bottom toolbar to open a shortcut menu for the selected item.

Swipe a project, folder, or tag from right to left to delete it or enter Select mode.
Swipe a project from left to right to flag or unflag it, or to tag or untag it with the Forecast tag if one is set.

When using an iPad, iPhone, or Apple Vision Pro, Select mode allows editing multiple items in the Sidebar. This mode is available in all perspectives except for Review.

In order to enter Select mode, tap the Select button (icon with three dots). When you are finished, tap the Done button.

Tapping on the Select button will also reveal commands for Expand All and Collapse All, to allow easily expanding or collapsing folders or tag groups in the Sidebar.

If the Sidebar contains a list of folders and projects, or tag groups and tags, you can tap to select or deselect items. You can tap the More button (icon with three dots) in the Sidebar bottom toolbar to open a shortcut menu for the selected items, or tap Done to view the selected items in the Outline.

If the Sidebar contains a calendar, you can tap to select or deselect days, as well as Past or Future, and then tap Done to view the selected days in the Outline.

Inbox

The Inbox is your starting place, where you can capture everything that you want to accomplish: all of your hopes, dreams, and goals. To add an item to the Inbox, navigate there using the Perspectives Bar or Quick Open, and choose New Action (Command-N) from the File menu, click the New Action button (plus icon) in the Mac toolbar, or tap the New Item button (plus icon) in the lower right of your iPhone, iPad, or Apple Vision Pro window.

You can also add items to the Inbox from anywhere in OmniFocus using Quick Entry.

Many people use the Inbox as a landing place for new ideas, allowing them to quickly capture all the thoughts in their mind. While it is possible to work out of the Inbox, it’s often a temporary place for those ideas to live. Adding a project or tags to an item turns it into an action, and converting it into a project allows you to add even more actions… all in the interest of moving towards your goals.

Though every workflow is different, many people try to keep their Inbox empty, processing all the contained items on a regular basis. This practice is often referred to as “Inbox Zero”, and is subtly rewarded in OmniFocus by the appearance of a graphic in the background of the Inbox when no items are present.

Inbox View Options

The Inbox perspective provides the following View Options:

In the Inbox, show — this is the availability section, though it does not include the First Available option, which is partly determined by project structure, so is not available in the Inbox. Visibility settings have global scope.
Layout — Unlike the other perspectives, the Inbox View Options always allow customization, whether licensed for Standard or Pro, to make processing your Inbox as easy as possible. More information in the custom layout note. Layout settings have platform scope.

Inbox Outline

Once you have an item in your Inbox, what do you do next? In the simplest workflow, you can accomplish the action that you have captured in your Inbox, and then mark it complete by clicking or tapping the Status Circle next to the item.

Do you need to do a little more organizing, before tackling that first action? The Inbox Outline contains a list of individual items, which you can choose to organize into action groups. This can be accomplished by dragging one item on top of another (Mac, iPhone, or iPad), selecting an item and using the Add Inside command (Mac, iPhone, or iPad), or dragging the New Action button from the lower right of your screen to hover over an action in the Outline (iPhone, iPad, or Apple Vision Pro).

You can also add tags to an item, by clicking or tapping into the Tags fields, and beginning to type; you can either select from existing tags, or create one or more new tags.

Since the Inbox is most often a temporary place for capturing ideas, it only supports very simple organization. If you need more complexity, or are working on a project with many related actions, then it’s time to either add the Inbox item to an existing project, or convert it into a project, and continue planning. Clicking or tapping into the Project field will allow you to either select an existing project, or create a new project.

Once you have added a project or tags to an Inbox item, it will likely disappear from view, depending on your settings for Clean up inbox items which have. Your items are still safe! They’re now filed, and ready for your next steps. Not entirely sure where your Inbox item just went? Please see read about the default Miscellaneous project.

If you convert an Inbox item to a project, it will immediately reopen in the Projects perspective, ready for further planning.

Item Status

As you discovered above, clicking or tapping on the Status Circle next to an item will mark it completed, one of several status options that can be applied to actions, groups, projects, folders, and even tags. Other status options include active (the default), on hold, and dropped. More information about status options can be found in the glossary.

Cleaning Up Resolved Items

When you mark an item complete by clicking its status circle, the item may not immediately disappear from the Outline. If you have set items to clean up when changing perspectives, they remain until you navigate elsewhere or clean up manually by using the Clean Up command. You can choose when OmniFocus cleans up by changing the setting for Clean up resolved items

If a completed item doesn’t disappear even after you’ve cleaned up your current view, check your View Options for the perspective, as you likely have the availability section of View Options set to All. Change to any of the other availability options, to hide completed items.

Worried about accidentally deleting hidden items? If you change an action or project status to one that would hide it from the current View Option setting (such as marking an item Complete in a perspective with View Options set to Available* for example) and then later delete the folder, project, or action group that contains it, OmniFocus warns you that you may be about to delete something unintentionally. To see those hidden items, change the current perspective’s View options to All.

Projects

A project is a collection of related actions and action groups, typically working towards a specific end goal. The Projects perspective displays all of your projects in a list, which can also be grouped into folders, such as Personal or Work.

To add a new project, navigate to Projects using the Perspectives Bar or Quick Open, and choose New Project (Shift-Command-N) from the File menu, or use the Add Project at the bottom of the Projects Sidebar.

A project is a task made up of multiple items. Projects are typically more complex than individual action items, and can include several related actions. The Projects perspective displays all of your projects in a list, which can be grouped into folders to create hierarchy.

Projects View Options

The Projects perspective provides the following View Options:

In Projects, show — Choose which items you would like visible in the Outline (Remaining is the default). Each option describes the items included; see View Options, Project Type, and Project Status to learn more. Visibility settings have global scope.
Structure — Choose whether to show the contents of the Inbox at the top of the Projects Outline and Sidebar (this makes it easier to drag and drop between the Inbox and Projects), and choose whether to include folders in the Outline view (folder rows are hidden if this option isn’t selected). Structure settings have global scope.
Layout — Settings in this section vary with the device that you are using: Keep Sidebar Hidden (Mac or iPad) or Show Project List first (iPhone). Layout settings have platform scope. OmniFocus Pro allows you to set a custom layout for this perspective.

Projects Outline

The Projects Outline displays a list of your projects, and the actions they contain, with visibility determined by your View Options. The Outline displays your projects in a list of rows, with each row representing a project, an action group or action that it contains, or (if enabled in your view options) a folder. The relationships between projects, the actions they contain, and any additional structure in the form of action groups, or folders, are represented in the Outline by levels of indentation. The further indented an item is, the deeper in the project view it is nested.

The Projects Sidebar shows the full OmniFocus project structure, including folders and projects, along with an icon indicating Project Type on the leading edge of the row, and project or folder status along the trailing edge. Click or tap the disclosure chevrons to collapse and expand folder rows and show and hide their contents.

Drag and drop can be used to rearrange projects in the Sidebar. If you drop one project on top of a second project, the first project is converted to an action group inside the second project.

You can click or tap a project or folder in the Sidebar to view the selected item and contents in the Outline, or you can select several projects and/or folders to view them together. Tap again or Command-click to remove the selection, and return to the full list in the Outline.

Control-clicking (on a Mac) or long-pressing (on an iPhone, iPad, or Apple Vision Pro) on an item in the Sidebar will show a selection of Commands in a Shortcut menu, which updates depending on which item(s) you have selected.

At the bottom of the Projects Sidebar on a Mac, there are two buttons: the Add button (plus icon), and the Action menu (gear icon). The Add button allows you to Add Parallel Project, Add Sequential Project, Add Single Action List, or Add Folder. The Action menu contains a selection of Commands in a Shortcut menu, which updates depending on which item(s) you have selected.

At the bottom of the Projects Sidebar on an iPhone, iPad, or Apple Vision Pro, there are two buttons: the Add button (plus icon), and the More menu (three dots icon, available in Select or Edit mode). The Add button allows you to Add Project or Add Folder. The More menu contains a selection of Commands in a Shortcut menu, which updates depending on which item(s) you have selected.

Miscellaneous Project

Before we move on from the Projects Sidebar, let’s consider a very special project: the default Miscellaneous project, which can appear after cleaning up items from the Inbox.

The Miscellaneous project is a Single Actions List that OmniFocus automatically creates whenever items are cleaned up that don’t have a project assigned. Since removing items from the Inbox requires that they be assigned a project, if your Clean up Inbox items which have are configured to move Inbox items that have an assigned tag, but no assigned project, the Miscellaneous project becomes their home until you assign them another.

Since the Miscellaneous project is automatically created by the app based on how you’ve chosen for clean up to work, it can’t be permanently removed; when needed, it will be re-created. If you’d prefer not to use it, try requiring an assigned project in your Clean up Inbox items which have setting.

The default Miscellaneous project can be renamed, and will continue to function in the same way. Changing the project type from single action list to sequential or parallel project will break the default nature of this special project. If that happens, OmniFocus will create another, when needed.

Project Type

Projects are distinguished by their type, which reflects how actions inside the project must be completed. Project type also affects how actions within the project show up according to the perspective’s View Options.

Projects may be set to Parallel or Sequential, or they may be a Single Action List. By default, all new projects are created as Parallel, but the Default Project Type can be changed in Settings.

Parallel — Parallel projects contains actions which may be accomplished in any order. By default, all active actions are considered available. View Options set to First Available or Available will show different results, as the topmost action in the project is considered first available.
Sequential — Sequential projects contains actions which must be completed in a specific order, from top to bottom. By default, only the topmost active action is considered available, and all actions below that one are considered blocked. View Options set to either First Available or Available should show the same result.
Single Actions — A single action list contains actions that may (or may not) be related in some way, but that are not part of an overall goal. Unlike with parallel or sequential projects, the position of an action in a single action list does not matter; each action can be thought of as a very small standalone project. For a single action list, View Options set to First Available or Available will show identical results, as all actions are considered first available.

Note that Action Groups also have an Action Group Type, which can be set to either Parallel or Sequential.

Project Status

When planning or reviewing a project, it can be useful to assign it a status to indicate whether work is still progressing, or plans have changed. The statuses for projects are:

Active — The default status for a new or ongoing project. It can be useful to review active projects regularly to determine what progress you’ve made, and whether they are still things you want to do.
On Hold — If you’re not sure whether you want to continue a project, you can change the project’s status from Active to On Hold. If you’ve chosen to show only Available items in View Options, the project and its actions are removed from the project list in the Sidebar and Outline. Projects placed on hold are still available for review if you decide to prioritize them again in the future. If you’d like to view an on hold project, change your View Options to Remaining or use Search Remaining.
Completed — Eventually you’ll reach the successful end of a project. Select the project and then choose Completed in the Status section of the inspector (this automatically marks any unfinished actions in the project complete). If you’d like to view a completed project, change your View Options to All or use Search Everything.
Dropped — If you have decided not to work on a project any longer, you can set it to Dropped. It will be hidden from the Projects list, along with its actions. You can delete the project instead, but then you won’t have any record of it; keeping it around in a dropped state means you can go back and check on actions you’ve completed (or not), even if they are part of projects that are no longer relevant. If you’d like to view a dropped project, change your View Options to All or use Search Everything.

Dropped and completed items can accumulate in your database over time. If you would like to trim your database, please read more about Archiving in OmniFocus.

Folder Status

Folders also have a status to indicate whether contained work is still progressing, or plans have changed. The statuses for folders are:

Active — The default status for a folder. This status does not affect any contained projects or folders.
Dropped — If you have decided not to work on projects inside a specific folder any longer, you can set the folder to Dropped. This will result in all contained folders, projects, and actions also being Dropped. All the contents of the folder will be hidden from the Projects list. If you’d like to review a dropped folder or contained items, change your View Options to All or use Search Everything.

Forecast

Forecast helps you keep an eye on your progress, check upcoming Due and Defer Until dates, and schedule OmniFocus actions and projects alongside important events in your calendar.

The Forecast tiles across the top of the Outline (we refer to this set of tiles as the “piano keys”) display a range of dates, with a tile for Past (everything prior to Today), a tile for Future (everything after the last day displayed in the piano keys), and a tile for each day in between, with as many days as fit on the device that you are using. This is a quick way to get a sense of what the next several days hold, what should be rescheduled, or where you have capacity to add work.

Each tile also shows the number of items associated with that date. For Due items, the tile is color-coded according to the most urgent item: yellow indicates that an item is due soon, and red indicates an item is due or overdue.

To create a new action that is due on a particular day, tap the appropriate date tile, followed by Smart Add (on iPhone, iPad, or Apple Vision Pro), or use New Action (on any device). New actions created in Past will have be Due yesterday, while new actions created in Future will have be Due the day after the last date tile.

Forecast View Options

View Options for Forecast are different from the other default perspectives, as they do not contain an Availability section, and the Structure section is unique. The Forecast perspective provides the following View Options:

In Forecast, include — Enables types of items that will show in Forecast on all days. Visibility settings have global scope, except for calendar-related settings.
- Items on defer date — With this setting enabled, actions and projects with a Defer Until date will appear in the Outline for all days, either as part of the Flexible list, or in a separate Organized section for Deferred items.
- Items on notification date — With this setting enabled, actions and projects with notifications scheduled for a date before the Due date or Defer Until date will appear in the Outline for all days that have a notification, either as part of the Flexible list, or in a separate Organized section for Scheduled Notifications.
- Calendar events — With this setting enabled, calendar events will appear in the Outline for all days, either as part of the Flexible list, or in a separate Organized section for Calendar Events. See Calendars to learn more. Calendar settings have local scope.
- Choose Calendars — When Calendar events is enabled, this option will appear, allowing you to select which calendar events show in the Outline. See Calendars to learn more. Calendar settings have local scope.
Today includes — Enables types of items that will show in Forecast, only for Today.
- Flagged items — With this setting enabled, actions and projects that are Flagged will appear in the Outline for Today, either as part of the Flexible list, or in a separate Organized section for Flagged items.
- Items tagged — After selecting a Forecast tag in this field, actions and projects to which you Apply Forecast tag will appear in the Outline for Today, either as part of the Flexible list, or in a separate Organized section for Tagged items.
Structure — Choose how Forecast presents events, projects, actions, and notifications. See Forecast Outline to learn more. Structure settings have global scope.
- Flexible — New in OmniFocus 4, Forecast will present a single unified list which combines all the types of items you have selected from In Forecast, include and Today includes, alongside your Due items. There are also settings for See Flexible Outline to learn more. whether you would like to Preserve hierarchy and Keep sorted.
- Organized — Forecast will present sections for each type of item you selected from In Forecast, include and Today includes, as well as one for your Due items. This was the default in earlier versions of OmniFocus. See Organized Outline to learn more.
Layout — Settings in this section vary with the device that you are using: Keep Sidebar Hidden (Mac or iPad) or Show Calendar first (iPhone). Layout settings have platform scope. OmniFocus Pro allows you to set a custom layout for this perspective.

Forecast Outline

The Outline can use a Flexible structure (new in OmniFocus 4) or an Organized structure. The same information is presented, regardless of which option you choose, though the difference in appearance may significantly change how you view and interact with your actions and projects.

In each case, the Outline will be filled with actions and projects that have assigned Due Dates, as well as the types of items you’ve enabled in Forecast View Options.

On Hold Projects

Actions that are part of projects that are On Hold, as well as the projects themselves, are hidden in Forecast. This is to ensure that you don’t spend time thinking about projects that you have previously decided to pause. Badge indicating that this feature is part of OmniFocus Pro. If you would like these actions and projects to show in Forecast, OmniFocus Pro allows you to change this behavior by enabling Include items from On Hold projects in Organization settings.

Forecast Outline: Flexible

The new default structure in OmniFocus 4 is Flexible, which will present a single unified list combining all the types of items you have selected in View Options, alongside your Due items. There are also settings for Preserve hierarchy and Keep sorted.

Preserve Hierarchy

In previous versions of OmniFocus, Forecast displayed a flat list of actions, action groups, and projects, in the order that they needed to be completed (top to bottom, children before parents). This presented two challenges: it could be difficult to figure out which project an action belonged to, especially if you re-use project structures (such as for different clients); the order of tasks was logical, but having parent items (action groups and projects) listed after child items (actions) didn’t work for everybody.

OmniFocus 4 addresses both of those challenges by making the presentation of your OmniFocus data more consistent across all perspectives.

Preserve Hierarchy is enabled by default. This setting doesn’t add or remove items from Forecast, but it does change how those items are presented. Actions will display as part of the containing action groups or projects, and those action groups or projects can be collapsed for an overview, or expanded for a detailed view.

As an example, if you have a project due today (“Icon for new version of application”) which has two actions:

Check with client for design feedback
Finalize icon design for client

OmniFocus 3 (and earlier versions) would display three separate due items, with the project listed after the actions, as OmniFocus expects you to complete each action before completing the project:

Check with client for design feedback
Finalize icon design for client
Icon for new version of application

OmniFocus 4 displays those same due items with the hierarchy preserved:

Icon for new version of application
- Check with client for design feedback
- Finalize icon design for client

Which allows you to collapse or expand the project, depending on the level of detail that you would like to see.

Keep Sorted

When first installed, OmniFocus 4 will sort actions and projects in the Forecast Outline by Due date. If you have Calendar events enabled, OmniFocus will do its best to sort the actions, projects, and events into chronological order. By default, Keep sorted is disabled, which allows you to re-order items in the Outline using drag and drop or the Move Down, Right, Up, Left keyboard shortcuts. Once you have begun reordering items manually, new (or previously unseen) items will appear at the bottom of the Outline, and you may move them into your desired location.

With Keep sorted disabled, and Preserve hierarchy enabled, it is possible to use drag and drop to move actions between action groups or projects, if they are in the same Outline view. This can be very powerful, but can also have surprising results, if you aren’t careful where you drop an item.

If you enable Keep sorted, OmniFocus will return to sorting items for you, but will also save the manual reordering that you’ve already done; try toggling the setting in View Options, to see what happens.

Keeping Forecast Sorted

When Keep sorted is enabled, OmniFocus will first sort items in order of the earliest:

Due date, Defer Until date, or Notification date.

Your Forecast view will then be sorted by:

Items with a Forecast tag, which are also Flagged, sorted in Forecast tag sort order.
Items with a Forecast tag, sorted in Forecast tag sort order.
Items that are Flagged, sorted by Due date, and then in either Inbox order or Projects order.

And finally:

Due date, if Defer Until date and Notification date are the same.
Inbox order, and then Projects order.
Added date.

Remember that sorting is based on which Forecast View Options you have enabled, and whether you are using OmniFocus or OmniFocus Pro

Forecast Outline: Organized

Previous versions of OmniFocus used a structure that we now refer to as Organized.

The Outline will contain one or more sections, with each section presenting a specific type of item you selected in View Options, as well as one for your Due items. The possible sections include Calendar Events, Due, Deferred, Badge indicating that this feature is part of OmniFocus Pro. Tagged, Flagged, and Scheduled Notifications.

Items may display in one or more sections, if they match the type for each section. As an example, you may see the same action in Due, Badge indicating that this feature is part of OmniFocus Pro. Tagged, and Flagged… if it’s due today, has a Forecast tag applied, and has also been flagged.

When using the Organized structure, the Outline displays a flat list of actions, action groups, and projects, in the order that they need to be completed (top to bottom, children before parents). Hierarchy is not presented, nor is manual ordering possible. If you would to see what project an action is part of while using an Organized structure, try enabling Show full project path in the settings for Fluid Layout or Columns Layout (Mac only).

Forecast Outline: Calendars

Forecast can display Calendar events in the same list as your actions and projects when using a Flexible structure, or in a separate section when using an Organized structure.

Calendar events in the Outline are for display purposes, and can’t be edited from OmniFocus. Tap or click the calendar icon next to an event to open it in the Calendar application (or the application chosen in the Open Calendar Events In setting).

To view calendar events in OmniFocus, you need to enable Calendar events in the Forecast View Options, and then tap or click on Choose Calendars to select which calendars to display. OmniFocus will present any calendars that are configured in Apple’s Calendar application on your local device, whether Mac, iPhone, or iPad.

These calendars may be from Apple’s iCloud, Google Calendar, other CalDAV servers to which you have subscribed, or even local calendars. To add to, remove, or modify the calendars available on your device, see Apple’s User Guide articles:

The first time you launch OmniFocus, you will be asked to grant OmniFocus permission to access your Calendar and Contacts, in order to view calendar events in Forecast, and to assign contact locations to tags. Choose Allow to grant access, or Don’t Allow to deny access. If you choose Don’t Allow, and later change your mind, you can update the setting in the Privacy & Security pane in System Settings on Mac, iPhone, or iPad.

Once you have selected calendars to display in OmniFocus, calendar events will display above and below the actions and projects that have assigned due dates, based on the scheduled time for each, as long as you are using a Flexible structure. If you have Keep sorted enabled, this should work as you expect.

With Keep sorted disabled, OmniFocus will do its best to save the order of everything in the Outline, including calendar events, and sync that information between devices. If you are seeing events sort out of order, please read the following note.

There are two situations in which manual ordering of events may not work as expected.

The first is when the calendar event identifier is changed by the calendar server (this can happen when changing an event from one calendar to another), so OmniFocus doesn’t know that it has previously seen an event, and sorts it to the bottom of the Outline.

The second is when you have sorted your Forecast on one device (such as your iPhone), but a second device (your Mac) has a calendar event the first device can’t access; in this case, the event on the second device will be sorted to the bottom of the Outline.

The Sidebar displays a calendar, with a tile for Past (everything prior to Today), a tile for Future (everything after the last date displayed on the calendar), and a tile for each date in the next month. This gives you a higher level overview than the piano keys in the Outline, so you can easily see how many items you have scheduled during the next month, and your anticipated workload.

Each tile also shows the number of items associated with that date. For Due items, the tile is color-coded according to the most urgent item: yellow indicates that an item is due soon, and red indicates an item is due or overdue.

To create a new action that is due on a particular day, tap the appropriate date tile, followed by Smart Add (on iPhone, iPad, or Apple Vision Pro), or use New Action (on any device). New actions created in Past will have a due date of yesterday, while new actions created in Future will have a due date of the day after the last date tile.

On Mac, you can:

Click on a single date to view only that date in the Outline.
Click and drag on a range of dates to view them all in the Outline; you can also do this using Shift-click (click on one date, and then click on a second date while holding down the Shift key).
Command-click to select discontiguous dates, such as each weekend day in the coming month, to help plan your weekends.
Drag and drop an item from the Outline onto a date in the Sidebar to assign it a due date that matches that date.
If you hold down the Command key while dragging an item, OmniFocus sets the defer until date when you drop it, instead of setting the due date.
If you hold down Option-Command while dragging, OmniFocus sets both the defer until date and the due date for the item.

On an iPhone, iPad, or Apple Vision Pro, you can:

Tap on a single date to view only that date in the Outline.
Tap the Select button (the icon with three lines) in the top toolbar, and tap on a selection of dates to view them all in the Outline.
Drag and drop an item from the Outline onto a date in the Sidebar to assign it a due date that matches that date.

Flagged

The Flagged perspective gathers together all projects, action groups, and actions which have been Flagged, as well as any children of the flagged items.

To flag an item, tap or click the flag icon on its Outline row, click the flag icon in the Inspector, swipe from left to right (on iPhone, iPad, or Apple Vision Pro), or choose Set Flag from the Edit menu on Mac or iPad (Shift-Command-L, or F when using bare key editing). You can remove the flag using the same method.

When you flag an item, its status circle changes to orange, and has a small orange flag added to the upper leading edge of the circle, to help you see that it is important.

If you flag a project, or an action group, all the actions within it inherit that flag, and the sense of importance. Inherited flags display as hollow, rather than solid.

Flags that are inherited can’t be directly removed; the parent item must be unflagged, or the action moved to a different parent. Note that it is possible to flag an item which already has an inherited flag; if this happens, the hollow flags will be filled in to communicate the change.

The orange status circle will not show if an item is due soon or overdue. In both of those cases, the orange flag remains in place to communicate the importance, while the status circle color communicates the due soon or overdue state.

Flagged View Options

The Flagged perspective provides the following View Options:

In Flagged, show — Choose which items you would like visible in the Outline (Available is the default). Each option describes the items included; see View Options and Flag to learn more. Visibility settings have global scope.
Structure — Choose whether to leave Flagged items as a flat list or group them by another field. Structure settings have global scope.
Layout — Settings in this section vary with the device that you are using: Keep Sidebar Hidden (Mac or iPad) or Show Tag List first (iPhone). Layout settings have platform scope. OmniFocus Pro allows you to set a custom layout for this perspective.

Flagged Outline

The Flagged perspective will show actions, action groups, and projects, as long as they match the selected View Option filter. To always hide projects and action groups from Flagged, focusing exclusively on actions, enable Hide projects and action groups in Organization settings.

By default, items in the Flagged Outline are presented as a flat list, sorted first by due date (from oldest to newest), then by project (for items with the same due date). Sorting isn’t affected by whether a flag is inherited or directly applied.

You can choose to group your items by:

Ungrouped — Items are not grouped, and are presented as a flat list.
Tag — Items are grouped by individual tag. If an action has more than one tag, it appears within each of its tags.
Tags (Combined) — Items are grouped by the combination of all assigned tags. Regardless of the number of tags on an action, it appears only once, in a group named with its tag combination. Only items which have identical tags will be grouped together.
Project — Items are grouped by project.
Due — Items are grouped by due date, from oldest to newest. The granularity of the grouping increases as it nears the present day. Items with no due date assigned are grouped at the bottom.
Defer Date — Items are grouped by defer date, from oldest to newest. The granularity of the grouping increases as it nears the present day. Items with no defer date assigned are grouped at the top.
Completed — Items are grouped by completion date, from most recently completed to oldest. The granularity of the grouping increases as it nears the present day. Items with no completion date are grouped at the bottom.
Dropped — Items are grouped by dropped date, from most recently dropped to oldest. The granularity of the grouping increases as it nears the present day. Items with no dropped date are grouped at the bottom.
Added — Items are grouped by the date they were added to OmniFocus, from newest to oldest. The granularity of the grouping increases as it nears the present day.
Changed — Items are grouped by the date they were most recently edited, from newest to oldest. The granularity of the grouping increases as it nears the present day.

The Flagged Sidebar shows a list of your tags, presented in the same order as in the Tags Sidebar.

The list is filtered to show only tags which are assigned to items that have been flagged.

You can use the same methods of organizing in the Flagged Sidebar as in the Tags Sidebar.

Nearby

The Nearby perspective shows you items with assigned tags which have a tag location. Depending on how you’ve configured each tag, you can see nearby actions that are available for work, whether they are in nearby neighborhoods, at nearby businesses (a specific location, or one of multiple locations), or at a nearby address for someone in your Contacts app.

If you didn’t grant OmniFocus access to your location when you first launched the app, you’ll be asked again the first time you use Nearby, as location access is required for Nearby to function.

An active internet connection is also required for Nearby to work. If you are on a mobile device, turning on Wi-Fi in the Settings app (in addition to cellular service) improves the quality and accuracy of location services, even if your device isn’t connected to any Wi-Fi access points.

Nearby View Options

The Nearby perspective provides the following View Options:

In Nearby, show — Choose which items you would like visible in the Outline (Available is the default). Each option describes the items included; see View Options to learn more. Visibility settings have global scope.
Structure — The default view is set to Map, and can be changed to List. Structure settings have global scope.
Layout — Settings in this section vary with the device that you are using: Keep Sidebar Hidden (Mac or iPad) or Show Tag List first (iPhone). Layout settings have platform scope. OmniFocus Pro allows you to set a custom layout for this perspective.

Nearby Outline: Map

When set to Map, the Nearby Outline displays a map view of all items that:

Are Available (this can be changed in Nearby View Options)
Have a location-aware tag assigned
Are within 50 kilometers (about 31 miles) of your current location

The initial map view should show all of these items; if they can display in a smaller area than the default, then the map view will show the smaller area. As you change Nearby View Options, the map view will update to reflect your selection.

Once OmniFocus has presented the map, you can zoom out (to show actions on the other side of the city, or even the other side of the country) or zoom in (to see actions in a specific neighborhood, or near another planned errand). There is no limit to how far out you can zoom, or how far away your items can be; they will all be displayed on the map, as long as they have a tag location.

The map shows pins for each tag location, which include a count of the items with that tag assigned. Tapping or clicking on a pin will show a popup which includes the name of the tag, as well as the location assigned to the tag. There are also two icons in the popup:

A list icon, which will open the Tags perspective, and show a list of all items with that tag assigned
An arrow icon, which will open the Maps application, to provide directions to the tag location

If multiple tags are too close together on the map to show as individual pins, then they are presented as a pin group; this group is labeled with one tag name, as well as a note that indicates how many additional tags are included.

Zooming in will allow pin groups to separate into individual pins, while zooming out will group individual pins together. Tapping or clicking on a pin group will open the Tags perspective, and show a list of all items with any tags assigned, that are part of the pin group.

Nearby Outline: List

When set to List, the Outline displays a list view of all items that:

Are Available (this can be changed in Nearby View Options)
Have a location-aware tag assigned
Are within 50 kilometers (about 31 miles) of your current location

Items are grouped by tag, with tags listed from closest to furthest away; within a group, items are sorted in Projects order. On an iPhone, iPad, or Apple Vision Pro, tapping on the distance indicator on the right side of a tag row will open the Maps application, to provide directions to the tag location.

If an item is blocked or unavailable it won’t appear, unless you change view options. Tags will not appear in the Nearby Outline unless they have a tag location and are assigned to an action or project.

The Nearby Sidebar shows a list of your tags, presented in the same order as in the Tags Sidebar.

The list is filtered to show tags that either have a tag location directly assigned, or that are part of a tag group with a tag location assigned.

You can use the same methods of organizing in the Nearby Sidebar as in the Tags Sidebar.

When you select a tag with an assigned tag location, the Map view will adjust to show the selected tag. If no tag is selected, the Map will return to showing you the default Map view.

Review

The Review perspective displays a list of projects that are due for review in the Review Sidebar, while allowing you to concentrate on a single project in the Review Outline.

Reviewing your projects helps ensure they are fully captured and planned in OmniFocus, so your actions are ready for work. If you have projects that need actions added, projects that aren’t relevant anymore, or projects you don’t plan to do any time soon, following a regular review process can help keep them from falling through the cracks.

Each project has a Next review date, as well as a setting for Review every, based on how often you intend to review it; both can be viewed and updated using the Review inspector. The default Review every interval for new projects can be changed by adjusting the setting for By default, review projects every in the Dates & Times settings for Mac or iPhone, iPad, and Apple Vision Pro.

Review View Options

The Review perspective provides the following View Options:

In Review, show — Choose which items you would like visible in the Outline (Remaining is the default). Each option describes the items included; see View Options to learn more. Visibility settings have global scope.
Structure — Choose to show or Hide blocked projects (projects that are on hold or deferred); list projects in Projects order or Sort by next review; and to hide or Show folders in outline, which can provide context for how a project you are reviewing fits into your overall Projects structure. Structure settings have global scope.
Layout — Settings in this section vary with the device that you are using: Keep Sidebar Hidden (Mac or iPad) or Show Project List first (iPhone). Layout settings have platform scope. OmniFocus Pro allows you to set a custom layout for this perspective.

Review Outline

When you open the Review perspective, the Sidebar displays a list of projects that are ready for review. (Folders are never shown in the Sidebar, but can be shown in the Outline using View Options).

The Review Outline shows one project at a time, allowing you to easily focus on the project you are reviewing. The top project should already be open in the Outline for your review; if not, or if you’d like to start with a different project, select one in the Sidebar to get started.

There are buttons at the top or bottom of the Outline, depending on whether you are using a Mac, iPhone, or iPad:

Previous — The up arrow will show you the previous project in the list.
Next — The down arrow will show you the next project in the list.
Mark Reviewed — Sets Last reviewed date to today, sets the Next review date for the project based on the Review every interval, and then presents the next project in the list.

Reviewing a Project

Open the Review perspective, and select the project you would like to review.
The top of the window will display the number of projects ready for review, the last time this project was reviewed, and how often it is scheduled for review. Tap or click on the Review every portion to quickly change the Next review date (perhaps today isn’t the best day to review this project) or Review every interval (if the project should be reviewed more or less frequently).
Consider whether this project has the proper project status. Has it been Completed, or is it still Active? If you’re not currently working on it, should it be put On Hold, or does it need to be Dropped?
Do you need to update any actions, add new actions, or remove no-longer-relevant actions? Do they need to be organized differently?
Once your review is complete, click or tap on the Mark Reviewed button!

If you would like to review a project before its Next review date, you can either select it and use the Review inspector to set the Next review date to today, or drag and drop the project onto the Review perspective tab in the Sidebar, which also sets Next review date to today. Either way, the project will appear in the Review perspective, ready for you to consider.

When you open the Review perspective, the Sidebar displays a list of projects that are ready for review. (Folders are never shown in the Sidebar, but can be shown in the Outline using View Options).

The Review Sidebar presents those projects in a flat list, intentionally ignoring any structure that you have created in the Projects perspective.

By default, those projects are presented in order of their Next review date, from oldest at the top, to newest at the bottom. If you would like them sorted in Projects order, to match the Projects perspective, uncheck Sort by next review in the Nearby View Options.

Completed

The Completed perspective helps you quickly find items that have been completed, whether you are looking for an item that you accidentally tapped, want to look back on your week with satisfaction, or are preparing a report for stakeholders.

Completed can be opened from Quick Open on all devices, or from the Perspectives menu or Perspectives List on Mac.

This perspective is intended to be a temporary view of your OmniFocus data, so switching away from it removes the tab from your Perspectives Bar. If you would like to keep it in your Perspectives Bar for quick reference, you can favorite it using the Perspectives List on Mac, or Quick Open on iPhone, iPad, or Apple Vision Pro.

Completed View Options

The Completed perspective is designed to show only completed items, so provides limited View Options:

Layout — Settings in this section vary with the device that you are using: Keep Sidebar Hidden (Mac or iPad) or Show Tags List first (iPhone). Layout settings have platform scope. OmniFocus Pro allows you to set a custom layout for this perspective.

Completed Outline

The Completed Outline displays all completed actions, action groups, and projects, grouped and sorted by completion date, from most recently completed to oldest. The granularity of the grouping increases as it nears the present day.

The Completed Sidebar shows a list of your tags, presented in the same order as in the Tags Sidebar.

The list is filtered to show only tags which are assigned to items that have been completed.

You can use the same methods of organizing in the Completed Sidebar as in the Tags Sidebar.

Changed

The Changed perspective helps you quickly find items that have been changed, and is an excellent way to find items that you have misplaced, or get a sense of where the most movement is happening in your OmniFocus data.

Changed can be opened from Quick Open on all devices, or from the Perspectives menu or Perspectives List on Mac.

This perspective is intended to be a temporary view of your OmniFocus data, so switching away from it removes the tab from your Perspectives Bar. If you would like to keep it in your Perspectives Bar for quick reference, you can favorite it using the Perspectives List on Mac, or Quick Open on iPhone, iPad, or Apple Vision Pro.

Changed View Options

The Changed perspective is designed to show only changed items, so provides limited View Options:

Layout — Settings in this section vary with the device that you are using: Keep Sidebar Hidden (Mac or iPad) or Show Tags List first (iPhone). Layout settings have platform scope. OmniFocus Pro allows you to set a custom layout for this perspective.

Changed Outline

The Changed Outline displays all changed actions, action groups, and projects, grouped and sorted by changed date, from most recently changed to oldest. The granularity of the grouping increases as it nears the present day.

The Changed Sidebar shows a list of your tags, presented in the same order as in the Tags Sidebar.

The list is filtered to show only tags which are assigned to items that have been changed.

You can use the same methods of organizing in the Changed Sidebar as in the Tags Sidebar.

Custom Perspectives (Pro)

Badge indicating that this feature is part of OmniFocus Pro. Custom Perspectives are saved views of your OmniFocus data, which allow you to quickly view, edit, and complete actions and projects, for specific situations.

This chapter describes how to create and edit custom perspectives, and details the various perspective rules you can adjust, to get the perfect view of your actions and projects.

Custom perspectives can be created, edited, deleted, and favorited using the Perspectives List on Mac, or Quick Open on iPhone, iPad, and Apple Vision Pro.

Custom perspectives can be viewed by adding them to your Perspectives Bar or using Quick Open on Mac, iPhone, iPad, and Apple Vision Pro; or selected from the Perspective List or Perspectives menu on Mac.

This chapter describes creating and editing custom perspectives with the latest version of OmniFocus 4. You can still sync and view custom perspectives created in earlier versions of OmniFocus, but you will need to upgrade them in order to edit them in the current version.

Creating Custom Perspectives

To create a new custom perspective on Mac, select Add Perspective… from the Perspectives menu, or click the Plus button in the Perspectives List.

To create a new custom perspective on iPhone, iPad, or Apple Vision Pro, tap the Add Perspective button in Quick Open.

A new custom perspective will be created, with View Options open, ready for you to begin editing.

Editing Custom Perspectives

To edit an existing custom perspective, navigate to it using Quick Open or the Perspectives Bar; or select it from the Perspectives menu or Perspectives List on Mac; then open View Options.

You can also select Edit from the Perspective Bar shortcuts menu.

Deleting Custom Perspectives

To delete an existing custom perspective, select Delete from the More menu in the Perspectives List on Mac, or touch and hold the perspective in Quick Open on iPhone, iPad, and Apple Vision Pro, and then select Delete.

General

The top section of View Options contains settings to customize the appearance of your custom perspective. General settings have global scope.

Click or tap the name field to enter the title for a new perspective or change an existing title.

Click or tap the icon next to the title to open the icon picker, where you can choose from the Omni-designed icons included with OmniFocus. You can also click or tap Custom (at the bottom of the picker) to open the system browser and choose your own icon from any image you have stored locally, or in most cloud locations.

Click or tap the color swatch next to the title to open the color picker, where you can choose from the Omni-selected colors. You can also tap Custom… to choose a custom color for your perspective and icon.

Perspective rules are set up in a hierarchy, with All of the following, Any of the following, or None of the following at the top of the list. This determines whether all, any, or none of the rules below will apply to items. (The top rule can’t be deleted, but can be set to one of the other options, such as changing from All to Any.)

By default, new custom perspectives include one Availability: Remaining rule as an example. Since it is nested beneath All of the following:, new custom perspectives will only show items with an availability status of Remaining (Completed and Dropped items will not appear).

If you don’t want to include the default rule in your perspective, tap on the three dots in the row, and then select Disable or Delete. You can also modify the existing rule; in this case, Availability: Remaining can be changed to First Available, Available, Completed, or Dropped.

Click or tap Add a new rule to choose from the list of available perspective rules to use in the perspective.

When adding a perspective rule, note that it will apply based on its position in the hierarchy. All rules added beneath the top rule use its logic: All, Any, or None of them must apply for items to be included or excluded from the perspective.

By nesting rules beneath an additional All, Any, or None rule, you can create additional complexity.

All of the following: — If an item matches all the rules nested below this rule, the item will be included in the perspective, unless excluded by another rule. This corresponds to a Boolean AND operation.
Any of the following: — If an item matches any of the rules nested below this rule, the item will be included in the perspective, unless excluded by another rule. This corresponds to a Boolean OR operation.
None of the following: — If an item matches any of the rules nested below this rule, the item will be excluded from the perspective, regardless of any other rules. This corresponds to a Boolean NOT operation.

To reorder a rule in the list, click and drag or touch and hold to lift it, then drag and drop it elsewhere. This is particularly useful in perspectives with multiple levels of hierarchy, since moving a rule to a different position can change which items are included or excluded.

Reordering rules that are peers has no effect on how they are interpreted.

OmniFocus presents a simplified list of rules when adding a new perspective rule. Many of the rules contain additional options, which are described below.

Perspective rules include:

Status: Due Soon/Flagged
Availability: First Available/Available/Remaining/Completed/Dropped
Has an estimated duration
Has an estimated duration less than: …
Has a due date
Has a defer date
Has date in range: …
Is repeating
Is untagged
Has a tag that…
Is tagged with any of: …
Is tagged with all of: …
Is a project, group, or neither
Is in the Inbox
Is in a single actions list
Has a project that…
Is contained within project or folder: …
Matches search terms:
All of the following:
Any of the following:
None of the following:
Comment

Status

The Status rule has two options:

Status: Due Soon — Includes any item which is Due Soon.
Status: Flagged — Includes any item which is Flagged.

Availability

The Availability rule has five options:

Availability: First Available — Includes any item which is First Available.
Availability: Available — Includes any item which is Available.
Availability: Remaining — Includes any item which is Remaining.
Availability: Completed — Includes any item which is Completed.
Availability: Dropped — Includes any item which is Dropped.

Has an Estimated Duration

The Has an estimated duration rule includes any item with an assigned Estimated Duration.

Has an Estimated Duration Less Than

The Has an estimated duration less than rule has four options:

Has an estimated duration less than: 5 minutes — Includes any item which has an Estimated Duration of less than 5 minutes.
Has an estimated duration less than: 15 minutes — Includes any item which has an Estimated Duration of less than 15 minutes.
Has an estimated duration less than: 30 minutes — Includes any item which has an Estimated Duration of less than 30 minutes.
Has an estimated duration less than: 60 minutes — Includes any item which has an Estimated Duration of less than 60 minutes.

Has a Due Date

The Has a due date rule includes any item with an assigned Due Date.

Has a Defer Date

The Has a defer date rule includes any item with an assigned Defer Until Date.

Has Date in Range

The Has date in range rule includes any item with a specific type of date in a given range.

When first added, the rule is set to Has a due date of: Today.

Click or tap on the left pop-up menu to choose between:

Date Due — Includes any item with a Due Date that matches…
Defer Date — Includes any item with a Defer Until Date that matches…
Date Completed — Includes any item with a Completed Date that matches…
Date Dropped — Includes any item with a Dropped Date that matches…
Date Added — Includes any item with an Added Date that matches…
Date Changed — Includes any item with a Changed Date that matches…

Then click or tap on the right pop-up menu to choose between:

On — …the day or date that you enter.
Yesterday — …yesterday.
Today — …today.
Tomorrow — …tomorrow.
In the Past — …the selected number of hours, days, weeks, months, or years before now.
In the Next — …the selected number of hours, days, weeks, months, or years after now.
Between — …between two days or dates that you enter.

When entering days or dates for the On or Between options, you can choose to enter a specific date (with or without a time), such as “2028-01-01”; or a descriptive term (such as “january").

If a specific date is entered, the rule will include any item that matches the selected date or range of dates, and the list will be consistent.

If a descriptive term is entered, the rule will include any item that matches the selected day or range of days, and the list will update each time the perspective is viewed.

This allows flexibility in choosing between viewing any items in a fixed period of time (“before December 31”), or viewing any items in an updating period of time (“in the next month”).

While you are entering a descriptive term, OmniFocus will parse the term as it is entered, and display that result below the field.

Read the Entering Dates and Times section of The Inspector to learn more.

Is Repeating

The Is repeating rule includes any item which is configured to Repeat.

Is Untagged

The Is untagged rule includes any item without assigned Tags.

Has a Tag That

The Has a tag that rule has five options:

Has a tag that is active or on hold — Includes any item with an assigned Tag that is Active or On Hold.
Has a tag that is on hold — Includes any item with an assigned Tag that is On Hold.
Has a tag that is dropped — Includes any item with an assigned Tag that is Dropped.
Has an active tag that has available actions — Includes any item with an assigned Tag that is Active, and which is also assigned to Available actions.
Has an active tag that has no available actions — Includes any item with an assigned Tag that is Active, and which is also not assigned to any Available actions.

Is Tagged with Any Of

The Is tagged with any of rule includes any item that has any assigned Tag from your selected list.

Is Tagged with All Of

The Is tagged with all of rule includes any item that has all assigned Tags from your selected list.

Is a Project, Group, or Neither

The Is a project, group, or neither rule has four options:

Is a project — Includes any item that is a Project.
Is a group — Includes any item that is an Action Group.
Is a project or group — Includes any item that is either a Project or an Action Group.
Is not a project or group — Excludes any item that is either a Project or an Action Group.

Is in the Inbox

The Is in the Inbox rule includes any item that is in the Inbox.

Is in a Single Actions List

The Is in a single actions list rule includes any item that is part of a Single Actions List.

Has a Project That

The Has a project that rule has seven options:

Has a project that is active — Includes any item that is part of a Project which is Active.
Has a project that is active or on hold — Includes any item that is part of a Project which is either Active or On Hold.
Has a project that is on hold — Includes any item that is part of a Project which is On Hold.
Has a project that has been completed — Includes any item that is part of a Project which has been Completed.
Has a project that has been dropped — Includes any item that is part of a Project which has been Dropped.
Has an active project that has no remaining actions — Includes any item that is part of a Project which is both Active and contains no Remaining actions.
Has an active project that has a future defer date — Includes any item that is part of a Project which is both Active and has a future Defer Until Date.

Is Contained within Project or Folder

The Is contained within project or folder rule includes any item that is part of a Project, or part of a Project contained by a Folder, from your selected list.

Matches Search Terms

The Matches search terms rule includes any item that matches all the text phrases from your entered list.

All of the Following

The All of the following: rule includes any item which is included by all the rules nested below this rule.

Any of the Following

The Any of the following: rule includes any item which is included by any of the rules nested below this rule.

None of the Following

The None of the following: rule excludes any item which is included by any of the rules nested below this rule.

Comment

The Comment rule allows you to add a note to your rules. It does not affect what is included or excluded.

Structure

This section of View Options defines how the perspective’s items are displayed in the Outline. You can choose from Flexible or Organized, with additional options available once you’ve selected your preferred structure. Structure settings have global scope.

Flexible

The default structure is Flexible, which presents a single list of all the items included by your perspective rules. The list can be re-ordered using drag and drop, or the Move Down, Right, Up, Left keyboard shortcuts.

As you move items around, you may eventually find that you would like to start over; click or tap Sort Now to reset the list order.

The default Initial order is Projects Order, but you can choose between:

Due & Flagged — Items are sorted based on their due date and flagged states. Items that are both due and flagged appear first (in the order that they are due), followed by all remaining flagged items, all other due items, and finally items that are neither flagged nor due.
Projects Order — Items are sorted in Projects order.
Tag — Items are sorted by tag. Items with multiple tags appear only once, alongside other actions with the same tag combination.
Flagged — Items are sorted based on their flagged state. Items that are flagged appear first, followed by all other items.
Name — Items are sorted alphabetically by name.
Due — Items are sorted by due date. Items with the earliest due (or overdue) dates appear first, followed by actions with later due dates, and finally by actions without due dates.
Defer Date — Items are sorted by defer until date. Items with the earliest defer dates appear first, followed by actions with later defer dates, and finally actions without defer dates.
Added — Items are sorted by added date, from newest to oldest.
Changed — Items are sorted by changed date, from newest to oldest.
Completed — Items are sorted by completed date, with active items first, followed by completed actions from newest to oldest.
Dropped — Items are sorted by dropped date, with active items first, followed by dropped actions from newest to oldest.
Duration — Items are sorted by estimated duration, from shortest to longest. Items without an estimated duration appear at the bottom of the outline.

Once items have been sorted in your chosen order, they may be sorted a second time in Projects order.

As an example, when you sort by Flagged, flagged items are presented in Projects order, then all items without flags are presented in Projects order.

To learn more about the Preserve hierarchy option, please read the Forecast Outline: Flexible section of the Perspectives chapter.

Organized

Once you have selected Organized, several other options become available.

You can choose whether you would like to organize by Individual Actions, which displays a list of actions that can be grouped and sorted, or organize by Entire Projects, which displays a list of projects that can be grouped and sorted.

If your perspective rules exclude items that would be grouped or sorted by one of the criteria listed below, it is possible to choose options that offer no meaningful structure (such as choosing to group by Completed when the perspective is set to display items that are Remaining).

Organized: Individual Actions

When organized by Individual Actions, the Outline contains a list of all actions included by the perspective rules.

The Sidebar shows a filtered list of your tags, including only tags assigned to items in this custom perspective; you can use the same methods of organizing as in the Tags Sidebar.

Actions within the perspective can be grouped by:

Ungrouped — Actions are not grouped, and are presented as a flat list.
Tag — Actions are grouped by tag. If an action has more than one tag, it appears within each of its tags.
Tags (Combined) — Actions are grouped by tag combination. Regardless of the number of tags on an action, it appears only once, in a group named with its tag combination.
Project — Actions are grouped by project.
Due — Actions are grouped by due date, from oldest to newest. The granularity of the grouping increases as it nears the present day. Actions with no due date are grouped at the bottom of the outline.
Defer Date — Actions are grouped by defer until date, from oldest to newest. The granularity of the grouping increases as it nears the present day. Actions with no defer date are grouped at the bottom of the outline.
Completed — Actions are grouped by completed date, from most recently completed to oldest. The granularity of the grouping increases as it nears the present day. Actions with no completed date are grouped at the bottom of the outline.
Dropped — Actions are grouped by dropped date, from most recently dropped to oldest. The granularity of the grouping increases as it nears the present day. Actions with no dropped date are grouped at the top of the outline.
Added — Actions are grouped by added date, from newest to oldest. The granularity of the grouping increases as it nears the present day.
Changed — Actions are grouped by changed date, from newest to oldest. The granularity of the grouping increases as it nears the present day.
Flagged — Actions are grouped according to their flagged status, with flagged actions first, followed by unflagged actions.

Actions (ungrouped, or within a group) can be sorted by:

Due & Flagged — Actions are sorted based on their due date and flagged states. Actions that are both due and flagged appear first (in the order that they are due), followed by all remaining flagged items, all other due items, and finally items that are neither flagged nor due.
Projects Order — Actions are sorted in Projects order.
Tag — Actions are sorted by tag. Actions with multiple tags appear only once, alongside other actions in the grouping with the same tag combination.
Flagged — Actions are sorted by flagged status, following by all other items.
Name — Actions are sorted alphabetically by name.
Due — Actions are sorted by due date. Actions with the earliest due (or overdue) dates appear first, followed by actions with later due dates, and finally by actions without due dates.
Defer Date — Actions are sorted by defer until date. Actions with the earliest defer dates appear first, followed by actions with later defer dates, and finally actions without defer dates.
Added — Actions are sorted by added date, from newest to oldest.
Changed — Actions are sorted by changed date, from newest to oldest.
Completed — Actions are sorted by completed date, with active actions first, followed by completed actions from newest to oldest.
Dropped — Actions are sorted by dropped date, with active actions first, followed by dropped actions from newest to oldest.
Duration — Actions are sorted by estimated duration, from shortest to longest. Actions without an estimated duration appear at the bottom of the outline.

To learn more about Preserve hierarchy, please read Forecast Outline: Flexible.

Organized: Entire Projects

When organized by Entire Projects, the Outline contains a list of items included by the perspective rules, inside of the projects that contain them.

Items without a project, that are otherwise included by the perspective rules, are grouped into an Inbox section at the top of the outline.

The Sidebar shows a filtered list of your projects, including only projects which contain items in this custom perspective; you can use the same methods of organizing as in the Projects Sidebar.

Projects within the perspective can be grouped by:

Ungrouped — Projects are not grouped, and are presented as a flat list.
Folder — Projects are grouped into the folders that contain them. Projects outside of folders are grouped at the bottom of the outline.
Due — Projects are grouped by due date of the earliest of either a project, or actions inside a project, from earliest to latest. The granularity of the grouping increases as it nears the present day. Projects that have no due date, nor contain any action due dates, are grouped at the bottom of the outline.
Defer Date — Projects are grouped by defer until date, from oldest to newest. The granularity of the grouping increases as it nears the present day. Projects with no defer date are grouped at the bottom of the outline.
Completed — Projects are grouped by completed date, from most to least recently completed. The granularity of the grouping increases as it nears the present day. Projects with no completed date are grouped at the bottom of the outline.
Dropped — Projects are grouped by dropped date, from most to least recently dropped. The granularity of the grouping increases as it nears the present day. Projects with no dropped date are grouped at the top of the outline.
Next Review — Projects are grouped by next review date, from earliest to latest. The granularity of the grouping increases as it nears the present day.
Added — Projects are grouped by added date, from newest to oldest. The granularity of the grouping increases as it nears the present day.
Changed — Projects are grouped by changed date, from newest to oldest. (This includes changes to actions within the project.) The granularity of the grouping increases as it nears the present day.

Projects (ungrouped, or within a group) can be sorted by:

Projects Order — Projects are sorted in Projects order.
Name — Projects are sorted alphabetically by name.
Flagged — Projects are sorted by flagged status, with flagged projects appearing first. The flagged status of individual actions within projects has no effect on this sorting.
Due — Projects are sorted by due date of the earliest of either a project, or actions inside a project, from earliest to latest. Projects that have no due date, nor contain any action due dates, appear at the bottom of the outline.
Defer Date — Projects are sorted by defer until date, from oldest to newest. Projects with no defer date appear at the bottom of the outline.
Completed — Projects are sorted by completed date, with active projects first, followed by completed projects from newest to oldest.
Dropped — Projects are sorted by dropped date, with active projects first, followed by dropped projects from newest to oldest.
Next Review — Projects are sorted by next review date, from earliest to latest.
Added — Projects are sorted by added date, from newest to oldest.
Changed — Projects are sorted by changed date, from newest to oldest. (This includes changes to actions within the project.)
Duration — Projects are sorted by estimated duration, from shortest to longest. Projects without an estimated duration appear at the bottom of the outline.

Layout

Custom perspectives can either use the default Layout settings, or configure a custom layout for each perspective. Layout settings have platform scope.

Click on Custom Fluid or Custom Columns (on Mac), or Custom row layout on iPhone, iPad, or Apple Vision Pro; this will present the same set of options as Layout settings for Mac or iPhone, iPad, and Apple Vision Pro, but will be applied only to the custom perspective you are editing.

Some settings in this section vary with the device that you are using: Keep Sidebar Hidden (Mac or iPad) or Show Project/Tags List first (iPhone).

Upgrading

Custom perspectives you create are synced between all the devices that sync with your OmniFocus database.

Older versions of OmniFocus may not support all the features of perspectives created with the latest versions of OmniFocus. (These perspectives will still sync provided the database version is compatible, but they will be hidden in older versions.)

If you are syncing a perspective created with an older version of OmniFocus, you can choose to upgrade the perspective to take advantage of the features described in this chapter, by clicking or tapping the Upgrade Perspective button in View Options for the custom perspective.

Existing perspective rules and settings will be converted to the newer perspective format. Please be aware that once custom perspectives have been upgraded to the latest version, they cannot be downgraded.

The Outline

The Outline is the primary view in OmniFocus, where you can view, add, remove, or edit actions and projects.

The contents of the Outline depend on which perspective you are viewing: you can capture actions in the Inbox, make plans in Projects, narrow in on items only available in a specific location or with a specific person using Tags, focus on the immediate future using Forecast, or use other perspectives for their unique strengths.

When using Mac, iPad in regular, or Apple Vision Pro, the Outline is in the center of the window. The Sidebar can be shown or hidden on the leading edge, and the Inspector can be shown or hidden on the trailing edge. When using iPhone or iPad in compact, the Outline fills the window. The Sidebar will slide in and out from the leading edge, and the Inspector will slide in and out from the trailing edge.

Perspective Header

The top of the Outline includes the name of the current perspective, in addition to a count of inbox items, actions, and projects currently visible in the Outline.

This count depends on what you have selected in the Sidebar, as well as the View Options you have chosen. This count is not available in Forecast or in Review, both of which provide information specific to those views.

Outline Rows

The Outline is composed of rows that represent inbox items, actions, action groups, projects, folders, or tags.

Rows display the information about an item that you want to see.

When you first install OmniFocus, rows will display the project an action or action group belongs to, any assigned tags, the due date, a note/attachment indicator, the flag icon (only on Mac), and completion or flagged status, as shown by a status circle (for actions and action groups).

When a row is selected for editing on iPhone, iPad, or Apple Vision Pro, additional controls are displayed for flagging, ending editing (two arrows pointing towards each other), adding or editing a note, and adding or viewing attachments.

The default layout has been chosen to help you get a feel for the most often used information, but is only a small selection of all the available options.

Status Circle

Actions and action groups have a status circle, which is the quickest way to update their status to completed, dropped, or active. Projects do not have a status circle, to prevent unintentional updates.

Clicking or tapping the circle will mark an action or action group as completed, displaying a checkmark inside the circle; clicking or tapping it again will set it to active.

On Mac, holding down the option key while clicking the status circle will mark the action or action group as dropped, displaying a dash inside the circle; option-clicking it again will set it to active.

Status circles also communicate other important information: actions can be Due Soon (yellow) or Overdue (red); they can be Flagged (orange, with a small flag “hat”); and repeating actions have an ellipsis (three dots) in the middle. It is possible to combine these states: a flagged, overdue, repeating action would have a circle that is red, with an orange flag, and an ellipsis in the middle.

Actions, action groups, and projects may be completed by pressing Space bar while they are selected.

Actions, action groups, projects, folders, and tags may be dropped by pressing Option-Space bar while they are selected.

Row Layout

When first installed, Outline rows use Fluid Layout, which is available on Mac, iPhone, iPad, and Apple Vision Pro. When using Mac, you may also choose to use Columns Layout.

You can change how OmniFocus displays information throughout the app, by customizing your Layout settings for Mac or iPhone, iPad, and Apple Vision Pro.

If you are using Badge indicating that this feature is part of OmniFocus Pro. OmniFocus Pro, you can change the Layout for each perspective separately, using View Options.

Fluid Layout

Fluid layout is designed to always show the most important information, with the added flexibility of quickly editing other fields. This is accomplished by having two sets of fields: one for display, and another for editing.

By default, all items display the assigned project, tags, due date, and flag status. Selecting a row allows you to edit those fields, as well as the item’s note. Other available fields include estimated duration, defer until date, completion date, repeats, and notifications.

In addition to adding fields, it is also possible to preview notes in the outline (for iPhone, iPad, and Apple Vision Pro), choose the number of tags that will be shown, select between showing the project name or the full project path, and decide whether to hide projects when redundant (such as when viewing Projects).

For more information about customization, please see the Fluid Layout section of the Settings chapter.

Columns Layout

Columns layout is designed to display all information in a single row, which allows for easy scanning of the Outline. It is currently only available on Mac; if you would find it helpful on iPad or Apple Vision Pro, please email us.

By default, all items display the assigned project, tags, due date, and flag status. Selecting a row allows you to edit those fields. Other available fields include flag, estimated duration, defer until date, completion date, repeats, the note icon, and notifications.

In addition to adding fields, it is also possible to choose the number of tags that will be shown, select between showing the project name or the full project path, and decide whether to hide projects when redundant (such as when viewing Projects).

For more information about customization, please see the Columns Layout section of the Settings chapter.

Organizing the Outline

The Outline (and Sidebar) can be used to organize your actions, action groups, projects, and folders.

You can use drag and drop to rearrange items, or group actions and projects, as well as use the shortcut menus which are available for every row in the Outline or Sidebar.

Drag and Drop

Items in the Outline can be dragged to:

other locations in the Outline
the Sidebar, to assign projects, tags, or dates
the Perspectives Bar, to assign properties
other applications

Dragging to Other Applications

When dropping into other applications, the result depends on what that application supports: it may be plain text, rich text, or a link to the item you dragged, that will re-open in OmniFocus. Please try it with your favorite applications, see what happens, and email us if you have questions.

To select an item for drag and drop on iPhone, iPad, or Apple Vision Pro, touch and hold its row in the Outline, until the item “lifts off the page” and transforms into a moveable selection under your finger. You can drag and drop a single item (with its children) at a time.

To select an item for drag and drop on Mac, click and hold on one or more rows. If you select multiple items before clicking, all the items will be dragged, and can be dropped at the same time.

Grouping Actions

Inbox items and actions can be organized into action groups, which create a relationship between one top-level parent action, and one or more contained child actions. Each action inside the group should be part of, or necessary for, the top-level action; action groups are sometimes referred to as subprojects.

Action Groups use bold text, making it easy to quickly tell them apart from actions.

Projects may contain as many action groups as you like, and action groups may be placed inside other action groups. This is an excellent way to add more structure to a project, while still keeping all related actions together.

If both parent and child actions exist:

Drag one item on top of another. On Mac, a line displays to indicate if the drop will be in line with the parent action, or placed as a child action. On iPhone, iPad, or Apple Vision Pro, rows will highlight or move out of the way as you drag the child action, to indicate where it will be dropped.
If the intended child action is directly below the intended parent action, select the child action, and use the Indent command.

If the parent action exists, but the child action does not:

Select the parent action, and use the Add Inside command.
Drag the Smart Add button from the lower right of your screen to hover over an action in the Outline (iPhone, iPad, or Apple Vision Pro).

If the child action exists, but the parent action does not:

Select one or more actions, and use the Group command. A new untitled parent action is created to represent the group, and the selected actions are indented to become its child actions.

Once you’ve created a group, you can use the inspector to change the action group type, as well as determine whether the group auto-completes when the last action within it is marked complete.

Combining different project types and action group types can be incredibly powerful.

Placing a parallel action group inside a sequential project allows a group of actions to become available when a preceding action is completed, and blocks further work until the entire group has been completed.

Placing a sequential action group inside a parallel project allows most actions to be simultaneously available, while ensuring a specific set of actions is still completed in order.

Grouping Projects

Just as actions can be grouped together, using action groups or projects, projects can also be grouped together, using folders. Folders can also be placed inside other folders, allowing flexibility in creating your structure.

To create a project folder, while grouping existing projects:

Navigate to the Projects Sidebar.
Select two or more projects in the Sidebar; if using iPhone, iPad, or Apple Vision Pro, first enter Sidebar Select Mode.
Use the Group command (Option-Command-G), which places the selected projects in a newly created folder.
Enter a name for the folder to replace the Untitled Folder text.
Press Return to accept the new folder name.

To create a project folder, and then group:

Navigate to the Projects Sidebar.
Use the Add button in the bottom toolbar, or the New Folder command.
Enter a name for the folder to replace the Untitled Folder text.
Press Return to accept the new folder name.
Drag related projects into the newly created folder.

Containers and Properties

Folders, projects, and action groups are also referred to as containers. They are items that can contain other items: folders can contain folders or projects, while projects and action groups can contain actions or action groups.

Just as a physical container can affect its contents, OmniFocus containers can also affect their contents. We refer to this as inheritance. Each item inside a container can have a directly assigned value for a given property, such as status, due date, or flag, but if a property does not have a directly assigned value, it may have an indirectly assigned value that it inherits from the container.

Properties that can have inherited values include defer until and due dates, statuses, availability, flag, and tags.

Tags can be assigned to actions and projects, but are not considered containers. If the tag is removed or deleted from OmniFocus, the action or project is left intact.

Tags do have a special type of inheritance, based on their assignment to a project or action group, which is discussed below.

Even though tags do not contain actions or projects, tags can contain other tags; for more information, see tag group in the Glossary.

Inherited Dates

When you add a Defer Until date to an action, action group, or project, you are telling OmniFocus that the item is not available for work until the Defer Until date has passed. When you add a Due date, you are telling OmniFocus that the item must be resolved before the Due date occurs.

If you have assigned a Defer Until and/or Due date to a container, then all the contained items inherit those dates: none of the contained items are available for work before the Defer Until date, and all the contained items must be resolved before the Due Date.

You can still assign a Defer Until and/or Due date to any action group or action in the container, but the container limits the date range: Defer Until can't be earlier than Defer Until for the container, and Due can't be later than Due for the container. If you have an action that needs an earlier Defer Until date, or a later Due date, you will need to also change the container dates, to schedule those actions as intended.

The Inspector fields for inherited values of Defer Until and Due will display Defer Until with container or Due with container.

Inherited Status

Newly created actions, projects, folders, and tags have a status of Active (rather than On Hold, Completed, or Dropped).

That status may be directly updated, or may be inherited from the container:

Actions and action groups can inherit Completed or Dropped status from their containing project or action group.
Actions, action groups, projects, and folders can inherit Dropped status from their containing folder.
Tags can inherit Dropped status from their containing tag.

When viewing one of the affected items in the Inspector, the Status will display as Completed with container or Dropped with container. The Inspector field for either Completed or Dropped will display the same status.

For more information about statuses, both directly and indirectly assigned, please see the Status entry in the Glossary.

Inherited Availability

While Availability applies to actions, action groups, and projects which are Active (rather than Completed or Dropped), Inherited Availability only applies to actions and action groups. Projects do not inherit availability, though they can inherit status, as noted above.

Newly created actions and action groups are considered Available (rather than Blocked or Unavailable), until they are updated to add dates, tags, projects, or other properties that may impact their availability. Actions and action groups may then become Blocked or Unavailable, depending on those properties.

An Active action or action group will also inherit the availability of their containing action group or project.

When viewing an action or action group with inherited availability in the Inspector, the Status will display as Blocked with container or Unavailable with container, instead of Active.

For more information about availability, please see the Availability entry in the Glossary.

Inherited Flag

If you flag a project or action group, all actions (and action groups) within it inherit that flag, as well as the sense of importance. Inherited flags display as hollow, rather than solid, which indicates a directly assigned flag.

Inherited flags can’t be directly removed; the container must be unflagged, or the action or action group moved to a different container. Note that it is possible to flag an item which already has an inherited flag; if this happens, the hollow flag will be filled in to communicate the change.

Inherited Tags Assignment

Tags can also be assigned to actions and action groups using inheritance.

Unlike other inherited properties, which will update as the container is modified, tag assignment happens only when first adding an action to a container.

If an action does not have any assigned tags, then adding it to a project or action group will assign the same tags to the action which are assigned to the project or action group. This works whether you are using Quick Entry, Smart Add and Quick Entry, New Action, or Add Inside.

If an action does have assigned tags, then adding it to a project or action group will not change the tags assigned to the action. This allows you to add new actions using Quick Entry, and either add tags (knowing they will be preserved), or not add tags (knowing that the action may inherit tags).

Outline Select Mode

Select mode on iPhone, iPad, and Apple Vision Pro allows you to select, inspect, and edit as many items as you would like, all at the same time. This mode is also available in the Sidebar.

To enable Select mode in the Outline tap the More menu button in the iPhone, iPad, or Apple Vision Pro Toolbar, then tap Select.

You can also swipe two fingers up or down on the Outline, which will enable Select mode, while selecting the swiped rows.

Once Select mode has been enabled, tap rows in the Outline to select them. You can then use the Inspector to simultaneously edit all selected rows.

Any properties where values match for all selected items display those values in the Inspector. When values for properties do not match, the Inspector displays the phrase Multiple Values, where possible. Tags display differently from other properties: all tags assigned to any item are displayed, but tags that are assigned to all items have a stronger appearance.

Changing the value of any property will apply that change to all selected items, overwriting any existing value. This provides an easy way to either update a matching value, or unite non-matching values.

While in Select mode, the bottom bar provides additional buttons for Share, Copy, Delete, and More. Selecting most commands in the bottom bar will automatically disable Select mode.

You can manually disable Select mode by tapping on the Done button.

Smart Add and Quick Entry

The Smart Add (plus) button floats in the lower right corner of the Outline on iPhone and iPad. The Smart Add button has three different functions, allowing you to Add Items Here, Add Items with Drag and Drop, or Add Items with Quick Entry.

These functions are split between two buttons in the lower toolbar on Apple Vision Pro, one to Add Items Here or Add Items with Drag and Drop, with a second button to Add Items with Quick Entry.

Similar functions are available on Mac, using New Action in the Toolbar, or from the File menu; and Quick Entry.

Add Items Here

Tap the Smart Add button to add new items to your current location in the Outline.

This function is only available when viewing the contents of a flat list in the Outline. If the view includes anything else — a folder, or a nested tag — then “here” doesn't have a clear meaning, so tapping the button opens the Quick Entry sheet instead.

Add Items with Drag and Drop

Touch and hold the Smart Add button to transform it into an item that you can drag anywhere in the Outline.

As you drag the item over the Outline, rows will move to provide a blank space for dropping. Drop the item to create a new item at that spot in the Outline, pre-filled with any relevant properties based on the perspective you’re viewing.

Add Items with Quick Entry

You can add new actions to any location in OmniFocus using Quick Entry.

On iPhone or iPad, either double-tap the Smart Add button, or touch and hold the Smart Add button, then drag it over the Quick Entry button that appears. On Apple Vision Pro, simply tap the Quick Entry button.

Quick Entry acts like a mini Inbox that you can access from anywhere in OmniFocus. Quick Entry can be used to add one or more new items, filling in as much information as you desire.

When Quick Entry first opens, there will be a new action row available for editing. Enter a title for your new action, then tap into each desired field (or use Bare Key Editing, if you are using an external keyboard).

Once you have finished adding your new action, you can either tap Save, or tap the Smart Add button in the bottom right, to add another action. If you tap Cancel, your newly entered actions will be discarded.

The Toolbar at the top of the window contains buttons for commonly used commands and functions, making them accessible with a single click or tap.

This chapter describes the controls available in the Toolbar, as well as the Notice bars that appear when your OmniFocus window is in an unusual state.

Toolbar customization is only available on Mac. If you would like Toolbar customization on other devices, please email us.

When you first install OmniFocus, the Toolbar includes:

Sidebar button
Back/Forward buttons
View Options button
New Action button
Quick Entry button
Focus/Unfocus button (Pro)
Search field
Inspector button

By control-clicking on the Toolbar, and selecting Customize Toolbar…, (or selecting it from the View menu) you can remove any of the default tools, or add additional tools:

Complete button
Drop button
Clean Up button
Attach button
Flag button
Mark Reviewed button
Quick Open button
Sync button
Share button
Perspectives buttons (Pro)
Omni Automation Plug-in buttons (Pro)
Show Console button (Pro)
Flexible Space
Space

iPhone Toolbar includes:

Sidebar button
Back/Forward buttons
View Options button
More menu
Inspector button

iPhone More menu may include:

Undo/Redo buttons
Select Mode button
Clean Up button
Focus/Unfocus button (Pro)
Expand All button
Collapse All button
Share button
Omni Automation button (Pro)
Sync button
Help menu
Settings button

iPhone Sidebar Toolbar includes:

Sidebar Edit button

(Which replaces the Inspector button.)

iPad Toolbar includes:

Sidebar button
Back/Forward buttons
View Options button
More menu
Inspector button

iPad More menu may include:

Undo/Redo buttons
Select Mode button
Clean Up button
Focus/Unfocus button (Pro)
Expand All button
Collapse All button
Share button
Omni Automation button (Pro)
Sync button
Help menu
Settings button

iPad Sidebar Toolbar includes:

Sidebar Select button
Sidebar Edit button

In Compact view, the iPad matches the iPhone Toolbar.

Apple Vision Pro Toolbar includes:

Sidebar button
Back/Forward buttons
View Options button
Sidebar Select button
Sidebar Edit button
More menu
Inspector button

Apple Vision Pro More menu may include:

Undo/Redo buttons
Select Mode button
Clean Up button
Focus/Unfocus button (Pro)
Expand All button
Collapse All button
Share button
Omni Automation button (Pro)
Sync button
Help menu
Settings button

Apple Vision Pro Sidebar Toolbar includes:

Sidebar Select button
Sidebar Edit button

Notice Bars

Notice Bars indicate that there is something special about the OmniFocus window you are viewing.

Focus Notice Bar (Pro)

Badge indicating that this feature is part of OmniFocus Pro. When using Focus to show only part of your OmniFocus data, the notice bar includes the label Focus:, with a reminder of what you are focusing on, and a button to Unfocus.

Archive Notice Bar

When viewing your Archive on Mac, the notice bar includes the label Archive, and the date it was last updated.

Backup Notice Bar

When viewing a Backup on Mac, the notice bar includes the label OmniFocus Backup, the date of the backup, and a Revert to This Backup button.

Document Notice Bar

When viewing external OmniFocus data on Mac, the notice bar includes the label OmniFocus Document and the name of the document, to remind you that this is not your main OmniFocus data.

Free Viewer Notice Bar

When you’re running without a license, or with an expired trial license, the notice bar includes the Free Viewer notice, and provides a button to Unlock OmniFocus.

News Notice Bar

When significant news is available, the notice bar includes Important news about OmniFocus, with a Learn More button. This type of news might be something like a database file format change that requires migration; a change in macOS, iOS, iPadOS, watchOS, or visionOS that causes OmniFocus to behave differently; or a major version upgrade (such OmniFocus 3 to OmniFocus 4).

Test Build Notice Bar

When you’re running a test build on Mac, the notice bar includes a notice of when the test build will expire, and buttons to either Hide the bar, or Check for Updates….

Trial Notice Bar

When you’re running a trial license of OmniFocus, the notice bar includes a notice of when the trial will expire, and a button to either Hide the bar, or Unlock OmniFocus.

Attach (Paperclip Button)

Available on Mac

Use the Attach File command.

Back, Forward (Arrow Buttons)

Available on Mac, iPhone, iPad, Apple Vision Pro

Go Back or Forward in your navigation history. Back will take you through the locations you have recently visited in OmniFocus, from newest to oldest, and Forward will bring you back to the present.

Clean Up (Broom Button)

Available on Mac, iPad, Apple Vision Pro

Manually Clean Up any items in the Outline that may belong elsewhere, after changing assigned project, tags, or status. On an iPhone, or in Compact view, pull down on the Outline to prompt a cleanup.

Use Clean up Inbox items which have and Clean up resolved items to determine when items are removed from the Outline automatically.

Collapse All (List Button)

Available on iPhone, iPad, Apple Vision Pro

Use Collapse All to collapse everything in the Sidebar or Outline to the top level only.

Compare Expand All.

Complete (Checkmark Button)

Available on Mac

Mark the selected items as Completed.

Drop (Minus Button)

Available on Mac

Mark the selected items as Dropped.

Expand All (Indented List Button)

Available on iPhone, iPad, Apple Vision Pro

Use Expand All to expand all currently collapsed items in the Sidebar or Outline.

Compare Collapse All.

Flag (Flag Button)

Available on Mac

Set or clear a flag on the selected items.

Flexible Space (Button)

Available on Mac

Drag this from the toolbar customization sheet to add an area of space to the toolbar which will expand to fill the available space.

Compare to Space.

Focus (Viewfinder Button) (Pro)

Available on Mac, iPhone, iPad, Apple Vision Pro

Badge indicating that this feature is part of OmniFocus Pro. Focus on selected folders, projects, or the project which contains the selected actions. If you are already focused, the button changes to Unfocus.

Available on iPhone, iPad, Apple Vision Pro

Tap to open the Help submenu, which has entries for About OmniFocus, OmniFocus Help, Release Notes, and Contact Omni.

Inspector (i Button)

Available on Mac, iPhone, iPad, Apple Vision Pro

Show and hide the Inspector for selected items.

Mark Reviewed (Checkmark Cup Button)

Available on Mac

Mark the current project as reviewed. This button is only available when a project is selected.

Available on iPhone, iPad, Apple Vision Pro

The More menu contains a list of useful menu items and commands, that updates depending on your view.

New Action (Plus Button)

Available on Mac

Add an action immediately after the selected row, or at the bottom of the current project.

Omni Automation (Terminal Button) (Pro)

Available on iPhone, iPad, Apple Vision Pro

Badge indicating that this feature is part of OmniFocus Pro. Omni Automation menu will only display if Developer Mode has been enabled in Automation settings.

Once enabled, the Omni Automation menu provides access to installed OmniFocus Plug-Ins, as well as links to Manage Plug-Ins, and open the Automation Console or Automation API Reference.

Omni Automation Plug-Ins (Pro)

Available on Mac

Badge indicating that this feature is part of OmniFocus Pro. With OmniFocus Pro, you can add toolbar buttons for any installed OmniFocus Plug-Ins.

To learn more about scripting OmniFocus, visit the Omni Automation website, and be sure to read OmniFocus 4: What’s New in Omni Automation?.

Perspectives (Pro)

Available on Mac

Badge indicating that this feature is part of OmniFocus Pro. With OmniFocus Pro, you can add toolbar buttons for Built-In or Custom perspectives.

Quick Open (Button)

Available on Mac

Open the Quick Open window.

Quick Open can only be added to the Mac Toolbar, but is available in the lower left of the screen when using Quick Open on iPhone, iPad, or Apple Vision Pro.

Search Field

Available on Mac, Apple Vision Pro

Search your OmniFocus data.

Search is part of the Toolbar on Mac and Apple Vision Pro. When using iPhone or iPad, navigate to the top of the Outline, and pull down to reveal the Search bar.

Select (Highlighted List Button)

Available on iPhone, iPad, Apple Vision Pro

Tap Select in the More menu to enable Outline Select Mode.

Settings (Gear Button)

Available on iPhone, iPad, Apple Vision Pro

Tap Settings in the More menu to open OmniFocus Settings.

Available on Mac, iPhone, iPad, Apple Vision Pro

Use Share to send selected items from OmniFocus to other applications, or use installed OmniFocus Plug-Ins.

Show Console (Terminal Button) (Pro)

Available on Mac

Badge indicating that this feature is part of OmniFocus Pro. Opens the Automation Console.

Available on Mac, iPhone, iPad, Apple Vision Pro

In Regular views, show or hide the Sidebar. In Compact view, tap it to navigate back and forth between the Sidebar and the Outline.

Available on iPhone, iPad, Apple Vision Pro

Enable Edit Mode in the Sidebar.

Available on iPad, Apple Vision Pro

In Regular views, tap the Sidebar Menu button to open a menu that allows you to Expand All, Collapse All, or Select items in the Sidebar.

In Compact views, these controls are included in the More menu.

Space (Button)

Available on Mac

Drag this from the Toolbar customization sheet to add a fixed area of space to the Toolbar (roughly the size of a Toolbar button).

Compare to Flexible Space.

Sync (Circle Arrows Button)

Available on Mac, iPhone, iPad, Apple Vision Pro

Prompt an immediate Sync.

Syncing occurs automatically, as described in How OmniFocus Sync Works, so a manual sync is rarely needed.

Quick Entry (Inbox Button)

Available on Mac, iPhone, iPad, Apple Vision Pro

Quick Entry is only in the Toolbar when using a Mac, but is available in the lower right of the screen when using Smart Add & Quick Entry on iPhone, iPad, or Apple Vision Pro.

Undo/Redo Buttons

Available on iPhone, iPad, Apple Vision Pro

Tap Undo in the More menu to revert the most recent change you have made. After at least one change has been undone, the Redo button also appears in this area of the menu.

View Options (Eye Button)

Available on Mac, iPhone, iPad, Apple Vision Pro

Open View Options to customize which items appear in the Outline, as well as the layout and appearance of Outline Rows.

The Inspector

The Inspector holds tools for editing your actions, action groups, projects, folders, and tags. This chapter describes the fields and related item properties.

To show the Inspector, click or tap on an action, action group, project, folder, or tag in the Outline or Sidebar, and then:

Select Show/Hide Inspector from the View menu.
Tap or click the Inspector button in the Toolbar.
Swipe from the trailing edge of the screen, if you are using an iPhone or any device with a compact view.

You will see inspector fields for your selected action, action group, project, folder, or tag.

Our goal is to have the editing experience for each field match between the Outline and Inspector, allowing you to choose where you’d like to make edits.

Quick edits are usually faster in the Outline, especially when using Bare Key Editing, while editing multiple items or multiple fields is faster in the Inspector.

Fields

By default, the Inspector shows fields for Title, Status, Project Type, Project, Tags, Defer Until, Due, Repeat, Review, Note, Attachments, and Tag Location.

You can update the Layout Settings for Inspector to add fields for Estimated Duration, Notifications, Time Zone, Completed, Dropped, and Added/Changed.

As with many other settings, Layout Settings for Inspector sync between devices of the same type.

This allows you to have one set of fields sync between your Mac computers, while a different set of fields is available on your iPhone, and even a third set on another device.

Toolbars

The bottom toolbar in the Inspector contains a set of commands which affect the current selection.

Compact devices have a top toolbar, which contains navigation buttons.

The buttons in the top toolbar are used to navigate in the Outline or Sidebar, depending on your view before opening the Inspector:

Back (Left Arrow) — Returns you to the Outline or Sidebar.
Previous (Up Arrow) — Navigates to the item immediately above the current item.
Next (Down Arrow) — Navigates to the item immediately below the current item.

Properties

Each type of OmniFocus item has a different set of properties, and therefore a different set of fields available for editing.

Properties in this section are listed in the default order for Layout Settings for Inspector.

Properties of Actions

These properties and fields apply to actions.

Title
Status
Project
Tags
Estimated Duration
Defer Until
Due
Notifications
Time Zone
Completed
Dropped
Repeat
Note
Attachments
Added/Changed

Properties of Action Groups

These properties and fields apply to action groups.

Title
Status
Group Type
Project
Tags
Estimated Duration
Defer Until
Due
Notifications
Time Zone
Completed
Dropped
Repeat
Note
Attachments
Added/Changed

Properties of Projects

These properties and fields apply to projects.

Title
Status
Project Type
Tags
Estimated Duration
Defer Until
Due
Notifications
Time Zone
Completed
Dropped
Repeat
Review
Note
Attachments
Added/Changed

Properties of Folders

These properties and fields apply to folders.

Title
Status
Added/Changed

Properties of Tags

These properties and fields apply to tags.

Title
Status
Tag Location
Added/Changed

Common Properties

Properties in this section are available for all OmniFocus items: actions, action groups, projects, folders, and tags.

Title Inspector

Actions, action groups, projects, folders, tags

Tap or click the title field to add or edit an item title.

OmniFocus gives you flexibility in how and why you name items, but here are a few suggestions that may be useful, while developing your workflow.

Action and action group titles can be used to clarify a specific action to be completed, often as part of a larger project or single action list.
Project titles can be used to clarify the end goal that the collected actions are intended to accomplish.
Folder titles can be used to indicate an area of your personal or work life, and group projects related to that area.
Tag titles can be used to represent people, places, things, or situations related to completing your actions and projects.

Status Inspector

Actions, action groups, projects, folders, tags

Every item in OmniFocus has a status, which can also be inherited from another item:

Actions and Action Groups can be Active, Completed, or Dropped.
Projects can be Active, On Hold, Completed, or Dropped. See Project Status to learn more.
Tags can be Active, On Hold, or Dropped. See Tag Status to learn more.
Folders can be Active or Dropped. See Folder Status to learn more.

The status field for actions, action groups, and projects also contains a flag. When a flag is set on an item, it appears in the Flagged perspective, along with any actions or action groups that inherit the flag.

The flag icon will be empty (unflagged), solid orange (flagged), or outlined in orange (inherited flag). You can change the flag state by tapping or clicking on the flag icon.

Added/Changed Inspector

Actions, action groups, projects, folders, tags

Added displays the date and time that the action, action group, project, folder, or tag was originally added.

Changed displays the date and time that the action, action group, project, folder, or tag was most recently changed.

This information is read from your OmniFocus data, and can not be edited.

Date and Time Properties

Properties in this section are available for actions, action groups, and projects, in addition to the common properties.

This section includes information on all date and time related properties, which are: Estimated duration, Defer Until and Due dates, Notifications (which can be automatically added, based on other date properties), Time zone, Completed, and Dropped.

Entering Dates and Times

You can be creative with the way you enter dates, and OmniFocus will do its best to understand what you mean.

Relative dates — Relative dates and times calculate a new date and time, based on the current date and time, with negative numbers representing dates and times in the past. Examples: 2 days, –3 weeks, 1 hour, 1 year 1 month
Abbreviations — You can use full names, as in the previous set of examples, or abbreviations. Examples: 2d, –3w, 1h, 1y1m
Common words — You can refer to relative dates using common words for periods of time. This, next, and last have specific meanings: this Friday always means the Friday in this week, next Friday always means the Friday in the next week, and last Friday always means the Friday in last week, regardless of what day today is. Other periods of time work in the same way. Examples: yesterday, tomorrow, tonight, next Thursday, last month, this Friday, next year
Specific time period — You can enter a specific time period, which will add a date for the beginning of that time period. Examples: fri, september, 2028
Short date format — You can use the date format selected in your Language & Region System Settings. Examples: 5/23/08 10a, 9.30.09 2:00 PM
Mixed formats — Mix the available formats however you like. Examples: 2w sat, 4d @ 5p, mon 6a, aug 6, tue 5p
Final thoughts — As noted above, OmniFocus makes its best guess at whatever you enter, whether that is bare numbers, times, or word fragments. If you think something might work, give it a try. If it doesn’t work, and you think it should, please get in touch. Examples: now, 9, 14:00, tom

Dates Without Times

If you enter a date without including a time, a time will be added, based on your settings for Default Time For Defer Dates or Default Time For Due Dates, depending on which field that you are editing.

Shortcut Date Buttons

Several fields have buttons that allow you to quickly set values for the fields, instead of entering values by typing.

The buttons for Estimated Duration are:

+1m — add one minute
+5m — add five minutes
+15m — add fifteen minutes
+1h — add one hour
x — clear the current value

The buttons for Defer Until and Due are:

sun with arrow — set date to today
+1d — add one day
+1w — add one week
+1m — add one month
x — clear the current value

Changing an existing date and time using the shortcut date buttons changes the date, but does not change the assigned time.

The fields for Defer Until, Due, Completed, and Dropped all have a popover calendar button, which allow you to quickly select a date and time.

On Mac, the popover has arrows that switch between months (the dot between the arrows returns to the current month), and a time field with arrows that increase or decrease the current time field for either hours or minutes. You can also enter time using your keyboard, and use Tab to jump between hours and minutes. If you would like to enter a full date using your keyboard, that can be done from the date field, without opening the calendar popover.

On iPhone, iPad, and Apple Vision Pro, the popover has arrows that switch between months, and tapping on the month label will switch between a monthly view and a month/year picker. Tapping on the time field shows two wheels that allow you to choose hours and minutes. Tap the wheels to enter the time using a keyboard, and tap a second time on either hours or minutes to change only that value. Tap the AM/PM switch (if it is showing) to choose morning or evening time.

This popover is also available in the Outline.

Estimated Duration Inspector

Actions, action groups, projects

Enter the amount of time you estimate an action, action group, or project will take to complete. Shortcut Date Buttons allow you to quickly add time, but the text field also supports entering other values in days, months, or years; the value you enter will be converted into hours.

Estimated duration is particularly useful when creating Badge indicating that this feature is part of OmniFocus Pro. Custom Perspectives with OmniFocus Pro, where you can use this value to create perspectives for actions or projects that require a certain amount of time to complete.

Defer Until Inspector

Actions, action groups, projects

Enter or edit a Defer Until date for the selected action, action group, or project.

The Defer Until date determines when an action, action group, or project is available for work. When set for an action group or project, the date may also be inherited by items inside that action group or project.

Read about Inherited Dates to learn more.

Due Inspector

Actions, action groups, projects

Enter or edit a Due date for the selected action, action group, or project.

The Due date determines when an action, action group, or project must be completed. When set for an action group or project, the date may also be inherited by items inside that action group or project.

Read about Inherited Dates to learn more.

Due Soon

Adding a Due date also helps OmniFocus determine when to display an action, action group, or project as “Due Soon,” depending on your setting for “Due Soon” Means.

Notifications Inspector

Actions, action groups, projects

View existing notifications, add or edit notifications, or remove notifications.

Notifications can be created automatically, based on your Notifications settings, along with the values you’ve entered for Estimated Duration, Defer Until, and Due, or they can be added manually.

You can add as many notifications as you like, and they will be listed from earliest to latest.

The types of automatic notifications are:

Deferred — With a Defer Until date set, and Deferred checked in Notifications settings, a notification is automatically added for the Defer Until date and time.
Latest Start — With a Due date and Estimated Duration set, and Latest Start checked in Notifications settings, a notification is automatically added for the latest possible time an action could start, in order for it to be completed by the Due date. This is calculated by subtracting the value of Estimated Duration from the Due date.
Due — With a Due date set, and Due checked in Notifications settings, a notification is automatically added for the Due date and time.

Any notification, including automatic notifications, can be removed by tapping or clicking on the x button next to the notification. If an automatic notification has been removed, it can be re-added by tapping or clicking on Add Notification, and then selecting Deferred Notification, Latest Start Notification, or Due Notification.

You can also add Before Due notifications, which are based on the Due date. If the Due date changes, the time of the notification automatically updates.

Tap or click on Add Notification, select Before Due, and choose one of the options, which range from 1 minute before to 4 weeks before, based on how far in the future the Due date is set.

Scheduled Notifications (Pro)

Badge indicating that this feature is part of OmniFocus Pro. If you are using OmniFocus Pro, you can also add notifications for a specific date and time.

Tap or click on Add Notification, select Scheduled Notification, and then select a date and time from the calendar.

Unlike automatic or Before Due notifications, this type of notification will not change when the dates for an item are updated. Items which repeat will keep the same Scheduled Notification as the previous occurrence, so this may not be the best type of notification for a repeating item.

Time Zone Inspector

Actions, action groups, projects

Choose between using Floating (the default) or Fixed times for the currently selected action, action group, or project:

Floating — Entering date and time values does not save your local time zone. If you have a beginning-of-the-day routine that you always want to complete at 8 AM (08:00), no matter where you are, it will always present at that time: 08:00 in Seattle or 08:00 in New York.
Fixed — Entering date and time values saves your local time zone. When you change time zones, OmniFocus updates the date and time values to correspond with your current time zone. If you have a meeting scheduled for 11 AM (11:00) in Seattle, it will always present at the correct time for your current time zone: 11:00 in Seattle and 14:00 in New York.

Badge indicating that this feature is part of OmniFocus Pro. Scheduled Notifications also respect this setting.

Completed Inspector

Actions, action groups, projects

Enter or edit a Completed date for the selected action, action group, or project.

If the Item Status or Project Status is currently Active, On Hold, or Dropped, entering a date here will update the status to Completed.

If the Item Status or Project Status changes from Completed to any other status, this date will be removed.

When set for an action group or project, the date may also be inherited by items inside that action group or project. Read about Inherited Dates to learn more.

Completing Repeating Items

If an action, action group, or project is configured to repeat, entering a date and time in an empty Completed field will generate the next occurrence based on the date and time you entered.

Completing a repeating item and then adjusting the Completed date will not change the next occurrence, as it has already been created.

Dropped Inspector

Actions, action groups, projects

Enter or edit a Dropped date for the selected action, action group, or project.

If the Item Status or Project Status is currently Active, On Hold, or Completed, entering a date here will update the status to Dropped.

If the Item Status or Project Status changes from Dropped to any other status, this date will be removed.

When set for an action group or project, the date may also be inherited by items inside that action group or project. Read about Inherited Dates to learn more.

Dropping Repeating Items

If an action, action group, or project is configured to repeat, entering a date and time in an empty Dropped field will generate the next occurrence based on the date and time you entered, after prompting you to choose between skipping this occurrence or dropping the item completely.

Dropping a repeating item and then adjusting the Dropped date will not change the next occurrence, as it has already been created.

Action and Project Properties

Properties in this section, with a few exceptions, are available for actions, action groups, and projects, in addition to the common properties.

Project or Group Type Inspector

Action groups, projects

Set the project or action group type, which changes how OmniFocus presents the action inside that project or action group.

For more about each type, and how it affects the Availability of items within the project or action group, see Project Type.

Projects and action groups can be set to Parallel, Sequential; projects can also be set to Single Actions List.

By default, the type will be set to Parallel but can be changed using the Default Project Type setting.

This section also includes the option to complete the project or action group when the last contained action is resolved. This option is not available for Single Actions List projects, as they are not designed to be completed.

The two states for Complete with last action are:

Unchecked — The project or action group status must be changed to Completed manually, regardless of the status of the contained actions.
Checked — The project or action group status automatically changes to Completed, when the last action has been resolved.

Dropped or Completed

Complete with last action completes the project or action group when the last action has been either Dropped or Completed.

Project Inspector

Actions, action groups

Actions and action groups are either in the Inbox, in which case the Project field is empty, or are part of a project.

Click or tap the Project field to add, change, or remove a project. On Mac, there is an arrow to display a list of all projects. On iPhone, iPad, and Apple Vision Pro, tapping into the field will present the same list.

Entering text into the field will present a filtered list of projects. You can also create a new project from the project picker. Enter the name of your new project, and then either select the Create “new project” item, or type Command-Return. The project will be created, with the selected action or action group assigned to the new project.

Once a project has been assigned, the Go To Project arrow button next to the project name is enabled. Tapping on the arrow will show the assigned project in the Projects Outline.

If you’d like to learn more about projects, please read the Projects section of the Perspectives chapter.

Tags Inspector

Actions, action groups, projects

Assign tags to items in the current selection, or review any tags already assigned. When multiple items are selected, the list includes all tags assigned to any item, with tags that are assigned to all items having a stronger appearance.

Click or tap into the Tags field to add tags. On Mac, you can click into the + button and start typing, or click the arrow to display a list of all tags. On iPhone, iPad, and Apple Vision Pro, tapping the Add tag button will present the same list.

Entering text into the field will present a filtered list of tags. You can also create a new tag from the tag picker. Enter the name of your new tag, and then either select the Create “new tag” item, or type Command-Return. The tag will be created, and assigned to the currently selected action, action group, or project.

Once a tag has been added, tapping or Control-clicking on the tag gives you the option to Go To (or Show) the tag in the Tags perspective, or Remove the tag.

An item can have as many assigned tags as you like. On Mac, you can use drag-and-drop to reorder the tags assigned to an item.

If you’d like to learn more about tags, please read the Tags section of the Perspectives chapter.

Note Inspector

Actions, action groups, projects

Add, view, or edit notes related to the selected action, action group, or project.

Click or tap into the Note field, and type or paste text or images.

In addition to plain text, notes support rich text, including custom fonts (Mac only), colors, and styles, available from the Format menu on Mac, or iPad and Apple Vision Pro. Notes also support hyperlinks: enter a URL in the note field, and it automatically becomes an interactive link.

Searching Notes

Adding longer notes is a great way to make searching easier, while keeping titles short and focused.

Attachments Inspector

Actions, action groups, projects

In addition to adding images by pasting into the Note field, you can add attachments of various types by clicking or tapping the Add Attachment button.

On Mac, this button opens the file selection dialog, where you can browse to find the file you’d like to attach. By default, the attachment will be embedded in your OmniFocus data, so it can be used on any of your syncing devices. You can choose to create a link to the file instead, which allows you to quickly access it on your local Mac, without syncing it between devices.

On iPhone, iPad, and Apple Vision Pro this button gives you a choice of Attach File, Take Photo, Photo Library, Scan Document, and Record Audio.

The Attach File command works similarly to Mac, but always embeds attachments, without an option for linking.

Syncing Attachments

OmniFocus is not a dedicated file syncing service.

Embedding large attachments, or numerous small attachments, can impact sync performance over time. Large attachments may also impact storage on your mobile devices.

If you use attachments, and begin to notice sync performance issues, consider using the Attachment List to remove large or unneeded attachments.

Repeat Inspector

Actions, action groups, parallel or sequential projects

Configure actions, action groups, and projects that repeat on a schedule.

Check or toggle Repeat to indicate that an item repeats.

Items can be set to repeat based on a variety of criteria. As you make changes in the Inspector, additional options will become available.

Select how frequently you would like an item to repeat, by entering a number and unit of time (Minute, Hour, Day, Week, Month, Year). If you select Week or Month, you can enable Customize to show additional options.

Weekly — Customize allows you to select specific days of the week for an item to repeat, such as every Monday, Wednesday, Friday.
Monthly: Days in Month — Customize allows you to select specific days of the month for an item to repeat, such as the 5th, 20th, and Last Day.
Monthly: Days of Week — Customize allows you to select the 1st through 5th (or Last) Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday, Weekday, or Weekend for an item to repeat, such as the 1st Monday and Last Weekday.

With Defer Until or Due dates assigned, there are additional options for scheduling the next occurrence. If the Defer Until and Due dates are set to the same day, you will only see one of the these options. If the Defer Until and Due dates are set to different days, you will see both of the these options.

Choose whether completing the item will Schedule the next occurrence based on:

Due Date — The item must be completed again by that date.
Defer Until Date — The item becomes available again on that date.

Choose whether completing the item will Repeat from this item’s:

Completion — The next occurrence is based on the date and time that this occurrence is completed.
Assigned Dates — The next occurrence is based on the date and time that this occurrence was scheduled; the next occurrence is displayed in small text at the bottom of the section.

Repeating from Assigned Dates is a very simple experience: when you complete a repeating item, the next occurrence will be created for the next scheduled date.

This is the case whether you complete an item before or after the assigned dates; the next occurrence will always be created based on the schedule.

Repeating from Completion is slightly more complex, but can be quickly learned.

Completing an item early or late works the same as completing it on time, since the next occurrence is always created based on the time of completion. You can see this by completing a repeating item, then immediately completing the second occurrence; it should create a third occurrence identical to the second.

Even when repeating from Completion, OmniFocus attempts to keep your times predictable by rounding based on the selected unit. This is intended to avoid times shifting slightly, each time a completion occurs.

If you configure a repeat in hours, completing an item in the first half of an hour will round down, while completing an item in the second half of an hour will round up.

If you need more precision, you can change to smaller units (hours to minutes, or minutes to seconds) and the rounding will be based on the next smaller unit (minutes will use seconds, seconds will use fractions of a second).

If you use a custom weekly or monthly repeat, where you have chosen specific days or dates for an item to repeat, completing an item will calculate the next occurrence by skipping ahead, and then finding the next chosen day or date.

Some examples:

An item which repeats every weekday after completion will schedule the next occurrence for the next available weekday.
An item which repeats four weeks from completion on weekdays will schedule the next occurrence for the first available weekday, at least four weeks from completion.
An item which repeats the last Friday of every third month will schedule the next occurrence for the first available last Friday, at least three months from completion.

Experimentation is the best way to understand how this style of repeat works. Set up a repeating item, complete it, view at the result, and then use Undo to make further adjustments.

Repeating Actions in Repeating Projects

Completing a repeating project or action group will update all the action groups or actions that it contains from Completed or Dropped to Active. This provides an easy way to repeat a series of actions: place them inside a repeating project or action group.

If you have a repeating action inside a repeating action group or project, especially one set to Complete with last action, you may see unexpected results.

When you complete a repeating action inside a repeating project, another occurrence of that action is created. When you then complete the repeating project, another occurrence of the project will be created, including all occurrences of the repeating action, which can result in duplicate actions, each of them still set to repeat.

If you see unexpected occurrences when completing items, make sure that every item is only part of one repeat, whether that’s a repeating action, or as part of a repeating action group or project.

Review Inspector

Projects

Select how often you would like to review a project, see the date of last review, or set the date of the next review.

By default, projects are set to be reviewed every week, beginning one week after the project is created. That setting can be adjusted in the Dates and Times settings.

Next review — The top field contains the next scheduled review for this project. You can update this date, if you would like.
Review every — Choose how often you would like to review this project.
Last reviewed — The date the project was last reviewed. This date is read from your OmniFocus data, and can’t be edited.

Please read the Reviewing a Project section of the Perspectives chapter for more information.

Tag Properties

Properties in this section are available for tags, in addition to the common properties.

Tag Location Inspector

Tags

Set a location for the selected tag, which allows you to see assigned actions and projects in Nearby, or receive notifications when near the assigned location.

Tap or click on Add Location, and select an option:

Here — Use Wi-Fi or cellular triangulation to pinpoint where you are right now, and save that as the tag location. This tag is assigned to items you can complete here, and is a fixed location.
Anywhere — This isn’t a specific location. This tag is assigned to items you can complete anywhere.
Search — Enter a search term, such as “hardware store”. You can select one of the results to assign that specific location to the tag, or use the search term itself. If you use the search term, the location becomes the nearest search result, updated for your current location. This tag is assigned to items you can complete at a specific location, or at a type or chain of businesses.
Address — Enter a specific address to add as the location. This tag is assigned to items you can complete at the selected address.
Contact — Choose an address from an entry in the Contacts app on your device. If this is the first time you’ve set a location this way, you may be asked to grant OmniFocus access to your contacts. This tag is assigned to items you can complete at the address for the selected contact.
Pin — Touch and hold a spot on the map to drop a pin at a location of your choice. This tag is assigned to items you can complete at the selected pin.

To remove an assigned location, tap the x next to it.

When a location is assigned to a tag, it shows up in Nearby, on the Map view or in the List view.

Setting a tag’s location doesn’t automatically enable location-based alerts for that tag. To receive notifications, make sure location alerts are enabled for your device in Notifications settings, and the Notification selection (below) is set to When Arriving or When Leaving.

Location-based alerts can be edited on Mac, but will only provide notifications on mobile devices.

Once a tag has been assigned a location, two additional selections appear in the Location section.

The Notification selection determines when a notification occurs:

None — You will not be notified when arriving at or leaving from the tag location.
When Arriving — You will be notified when you arrive at the area of the tag location.
When Leaving — You will be notified when you leave from the area of the tag location.

The Distance selection determines the location’s area size.

Small — Roughly 200 meters or 650 feet. This covers about one city block, which is useful for locations such as arriving home or leaving the office.
Medium — Roughly 500 meters or about 1/4 mile. This covers a small neighborhood or park, which is useful for knowing when you are a few streets over from a certain store.
Large — About 10 kilometers or 6 1/4 miles. This is useful for turning on tags that are relevant when you visit another city.

Combining Location and Notifications

You can use tag groups to unify a selection of locations and notifications, such as those related to beginning or ending your work day.

If you create a tag group with one parent and two children, you can assign your work location to all three tags, with one child set to When Arriving, and the other child set to When Leaving.

This allows you to have a set of actions to complete when arriving at work, another set to complete when leaving work, and another set that can be completed while you are at work.

Capture Methods

This chapter discusses capturing your ideas, action items, and projects in OmniFocus, so you can accomplish more!

Quick Entry

Quick Entry is the fastest way of capturing ideas in OmniFocus, and is available anywhere OmniFocus is available.

On iPhone and iPad, Quick Entry is available while in OmniFocus as part of the Smart Add and Quick Entry button, or when using Share to OmniFocus from other apps.

On Apple Vision Pro, Quick Entry is available while in OmniFocus by using the Quick Entry button, or when using Share to OmniFocus from other apps.

On Mac, Quick Entry is available while in OmniFocus by using Show/Hide Quick Entry, when using Share to OmniFocus from other apps, or using the Quick Entry Shortcut from anywhere on Mac, as long as OmniFocus is running.

Quick Entry acts like a mini Inbox and can be used to add one or more new items, filling in as much information as you desire.

When Quick Entry first opens, there will be a new action row available for editing. Enter a title for your new action, then click or tap into each desired field (or use Bare Key Editing, if you are using an external keyboard).

Once you have finished adding your new action, you can click or tap Save, or tap the Smart Add button in the bottom right (on iPhone, iPad, and Apple Vision Pro) to add another action. If you click or tap Cancel, your newly entered actions will be discarded.

Open View Options to choose between default Layout settings, or a custom layout for Quick Entry.

Quick Entry on Mac

You can use Quick Entry from anywhere on your Mac, using a Quick Entry Shortcut that you choose, as long as OmniFocus is running in the background.

While the Quick Entry window is open, you can use Tab and Shift-Tab to navigate between fields. This is often faster than using Bare Key Editing, which requires ending editing between every change, and may result in closing the window too quickly.

Quick Entry keyboard shortcuts also work a little differently, depending on which Outlining Mode you have selected.

When in Modern Mode:

Escape cancels editing.
Return confirms editing, and closes Quick Entry.
Press Shift Return twice to create an additional item before closing Quick Entry.

When in Classic Mode:

Command-. cancels editing.
Escape confirms editing.
Return confirms editing, and closes Quick Entry.
Press Shift Return to create an additional item before closing Quick Entry.

When you are using another app, and there is something that you would like to add to OmniFocus, you can Share to OmniFocus. You may want to capture a webpage in Safari, a picture in Photos (iPhone, iPad, or Apple Vision Pro only) or a file; if the other app supports sharing something, OmniFocus will do its best to either capture it, or link to it.

Depending on the app, you may need to select something first, or a selection may be optional; Safari will send slightly different information depending on whether you have selected anything on a webpage.

Click or tap the Share button in the app’s toolbar, or choose Share from the shortcut menu of the selected item, then choose OmniFocus from the list of apps that appear. If you are on Mac, select File > Share > OmniFocus (if the app has included support).

You will see the standard Quick Entry form for Mac, iPhone, iPad, or Apple Vision Pro.

The form may be pre-filled with information relevant to the information you’re sending to OmniFocus (website URLs in the note field and a title already entered, for example). Edit these if you like, add any other properties, and then click or tap Save when you’re ready to send it to your Inbox.

If OmniFocus doesn't appear in the list of apps, read the Apple User Guide articles Customize sharing options in an iPhone app, Customize sharing options in an iPad app, or Change Extensions settings on Mac, to learn how to add OmniFocus to your sharing options.

OmniFocus supports sending information to other apps, as well.

With content selected in the Outline, click or tap Share in the Toolbar, or select it from the Shortcut menu, to send the selected items to another app.

Clippings on Mac

OmniFocus on Mac combines Quick Entry and Share to OmniFocus into a Clippings service that can be used from other Mac apps.

To clip content from another application:

Select some text or images, in any application that supports macOS Services (most native Mac apps).
Press your chosen Clippings shortcut, or choose OmniFocus > Services > OmniFocus 4: Send to Inbox.
A new action row is created in Quick Entry, ready for editing and saving, with a text-only version of your selection as the title, and the highlighted content (rich text and embedded images) included in the note.

If you attempt to clip from Mail, and the email message is not added to or linked from Quick Entry, you may need to grant OmniFocus authorization in System Settings.

If you attempt to clip from Safari, and you see an error such as “Not authorized to send Apple events to Safari.” you may need to grant OmniFocus authorization in System Settings.

Open System Settings, then navigate to Privacy & Security > Automation, and click on the triangle next to OmniFocus to view additional options. Make sure that Mail and Safari are enabled (along with any other apps that you would like), and then try clipping again.

System authorization can also affect sending email using Contact Omni.

Setting a Clippings Shortcut

In General settings there is a button to set a Clippings Shortcut.

Click on the Set Shortcut… button to open the Keyboard Shortcuts window, in the Keyboard section of System Settings.

Given Apple security limitations, apps are not allowed to customize keyboard shortcuts for services, such as the OmniFocus 4: Send to Inbox service, nor are they allowed to directly open the Services pane, but we’ll get you as close as we can.

To learn more about Apple security, you can read the App security overview article, on the Apple Platform Security website.

In the Keyboard Shortcuts window, there are two panes: on the left is a list of shortcut categories, and on the right is an outline of items within each category. In the left pane, click on Services, and in the right pane scroll down until you see the Text services group.

If the Text group is collapsed, click the disclosure triangle to show the contents, then scroll down to find the OmniFocus 4: Send to Inbox item.

Make sure that the service is enabled (using the checkbox on the leading edge), then click into the keyboard shortcut box on the trailing edge to set a keyboard shortcut.

Mail Drop

Mail Drop is a feature of the Omni Sync Server that lets you send emails directly to your Inbox.

In addition to using Mail Drop for your own email, you can create multiple private addresses to give access to third parties, and delete those addresses at any time.

In order to use Mail Drop, you’ll need to have a free Omni Account, and OmniFocus must be actively syncing with that Omni Account.

If you are already using Omni Sync Server, you can log in to the Omni Sync Server site and create your first Mail Drop address by clicking or tapping on Add an Address.

An email address will be automatically generated, combining your Omni Account name with a random string of characters. You can start using that address to send or forward emails.

When you send an email message to a Mail Drop address, the subject line of that message becomes the name of the new Inbox item. The body of the message, which can contain text and simple HTML, becomes the note. Email attachments (such as images) are also added as OmniFocus attachments.

Read the OmniFocus Mail Drop support article for more details about this feature.

Plain Text

If you have a list of actions in another file, OmniFocus can turn those into a set of actions, using line breaks to determine where one item ends and the next begins.

Select the text you would like to add to OmniFocus, and Copy it. In OmniFocus, select an item row (without editing any fields), then Paste to add the copied text as a list of items below the one you have selected.

The items will be pasted at the same level as the row you selected. If you would like to paste text as a list of actions in a project, select an existing action inside the project before pasting (selecting the project results in a pasted list of projects, instead of actions).

OmniOutliner

OmniFocus integrates with OmniOutliner, so you can outline a project or agenda in OmniOutliner, then easily bring it to OmniFocus, to take action.

There are three ways to bring your OmniOutliner data into OmniFocus. One is only available on Mac, and the others are also available on iPhone, iPad, and Apple Vision Pro:

On Mac, use the Import OmniOutliner Document command. You will be prompted to choose an OmniOutliner document, which will be imported into OmniFocus. The OmniOutliner rows become OmniFocus items, and its columns become fields for those items (you can choose which column imports to each field, as part of the import process).
Drag a selection of rows from an OmniOutliner document, and drop them into the Inbox, or inside a project or group. The rows will become actions or groups, with hierarchy preserved. (On Mac, you can choose which column imports to each field).
Select any number of rows in an OmniOutliner document and Copy. Paste them into the Inbox, or inside a project or group. The rows will become actions or groups, with hierarchy preserved. (On Mac, you can choose which column imports to each field).

OmniFocus for the Web

OmniFocus for the Web is a browser-based companion app that works with OmniFocus for Mac, iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch, and Apple Vision Pro to provide access to the core features of OmniFocus from any modern web browser.

The app is provided as an optional subscription-based add-on to your existing OmniFocus purchase, or as part of an OmniFocus subscription package.

Settings

Settings can be used to customize the app’s behavior and appearance, so that OmniFocus is fully configured for your needs.

There are some differences in how OmniFocus on Mac, iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch, and Apple Vision Pro use settings and commands.

Some Mac menu bar commands are found in iPhone, iPad, or Apple Vision Pro settings or Apple Watch settings.

Where appropriate, this section of the reference manual may link to a related section of the Commands & Shortcuts chapter.

On Mac, iPad, and Apple Vision Pro, choose Settings from the OmniFocus menu; on iPhone, iPad, and Apple Vision Pro, select the More button in the Toolbar, then select Settings.

Synced Settings

If you are Syncing OmniFocus, many of your settings will also sync.

We refer to synced settings as having a Global Scope, Platform Scope, or Local Scope.

Global Scope settings affect the content or structure of a perspective, and are synced between all devices.

Platform Scope settings affect the layout, detail, and order of items in a perspective, and are synced between the same type of device (OmniFocus for Mac, OmniFocus for iPhone, OmniFocus for iPad, or OmniFocus for Apple Watch). This allows you to display information differently, depending on the platform you are using.

Local Scope settings affect the appearance of items in a perspective, or rely upon local information (such as calendars available on a specific device), and do not sync.

Types of Settings

This section groups types of settings available across devices, with a quick link to more information for each platform.

Settings may only be available on certain devices. If a given device isn't linked, then those settings are not available on that type of device.

Appearance Settings

Appearance settings vary with device, and may include font size, colors and styles used by the app, or how information is presented.

Mac
iPhone, iPad, Apple Vision Pro
Apple Watch

Automation Settings

Automation settings vary with device, and may include managing your Omni Automation Plug-Ins, or turning on Developer Mode.

Mac (Commands chapter)
iPhone, iPad, Apple Vision Pro

Dates and Times Settings

Dates & Times settings include how far in advance items are considered “Due Soon”, which default times are used for new items, and how often new projects should be reviewed.

Mac
iPhone, iPad, Apple Vision Pro

General Settings

General settings include common interactions you will have with OmniFocus.

Mac
iPhone, iPad, Apple Vision Pro
Apple Watch

Help Settings

Help topics are found in settings on iPhone, iPad, and Apple Vision Pro, and in the Help menu on Mac.

Help topics may include documentation, release notes, a tutorial project, quick access to resources on our website, and an easy way to email our friendly Support Humans.

Mac (Commands chapter)
iPhone, iPad, Apple Vision Pro

In-App Purchases

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

Mac (Commands chapter)
iPhone, iPad, Apple Vision Pro

Layout Settings

Layout settings vary with device, and may include choosing between Fluid Layout or Columns Layout, customizing the Outline Rows fields, or selecting which fields are shown in the Inspector.

When using Badge indicating that this feature is part of OmniFocus Pro. OmniFocus Pro, Outline settings can be changed for each perspective, using View Options.

Mac
iPhone, iPad, Apple Vision Pro

License Settings

License settings vary with device, and may include unlocking or licensing OmniFocus, or switching between Standard and Pro feature sets.

Mac (Commands chapter)
iPhone, iPad, Apple Vision Pro

Notifications Settings

Notification settings vary with device, and may include alerts based on time or location, that can either apply to all items in OmniFocus, or specific items.

Mac
iPhone, iPad, Apple Vision Pro

OmniFocus Data Settings

Data settings allow to you to manage attachments, configure backups, export data, or make changes to your database.

iPhone, iPad, Apple Vision Pro

Organization Settings

Organization settings include choosing when to tidy up your OmniFocus data, what type of projects you typically work with, or whether to show certain kinds of data when in specific perspectives.

Mac
iPhone, iPad, Apple Vision Pro

Reset Settings

Reset commands allow you to reset all or part of your OmniFocus data. They are found in OmniFocus settings on iPhone, iPad, and Apple Vision Pro, and in the File menu on Mac.

Mac (Commands chapter)
iPhone, iPad, Apple Vision Pro

Sync Settings

Sync settings allow you to keep OmniFocus updated across all of your devices.

Mac
iPhone, iPad, Apple Vision Pro
Apple Watch

System Information Settings

System Information settings vary with device, and offer the option to send us anonymous data, to help improve future versions of OmniFocus.

Mac
iPhone, iPad, Apple Vision Pro

Update Settings

Update settings are only available on Mac, when running a version of OmniFocus downloaded from us, and control how frequently OmniFocus checks for updates, as well as offer the option to send us anonymous data, to help improve future versions of OmniFocus.

Mac

Mac Settings

Settings panes are listed in the order they are displayed in the app.

General (Mac)

General settings control common interactions you will have with OmniFocus.

Outlining
Quick Entry shortcut
Delete items without requiring the Command Key
Clippings shortcut

Organization (Mac)

Organization settings allow you to choose when to tidy up your OmniFocus data, what type of projects you typically work with, and whether to view certain kinds of data when in specific perspectives.

Clean up Inbox items which have
Clean up resolved items
Default project type
In Tags and Flagged: Hide projects and action groups
In Forecast: Include items from On Hold projects (Pro)

Appearance (Mac)

Appearance settings control font size, colors and styles used by the app, as well as how some information is presented.

Font size
Color palette
Color text for due items
Color text for first available actions
Strike resolved items
Show full item title
Perspectives bar shows titles
App icon (Pro)

Layout (Mac)

Layout settings control the appearance of the Outline and Inspector. When using OmniFocus Pro, Outline settings can be changed for each perspective using View Options.

Outline

Default row layout
Fluid defaults
Column defaults

Inspector

Inspector Settings

Dates and Times (Mac)

Dates & Times settings control how far in advance items are considered “due soon”, which default times are used for new items, and how often new projects should be reviewed.

“Due Soon” means

Default Times

Default time for defer dates
Default time for due dates
Default time for scheduled notifications

Default Projects Review Schedule

By default, review projects every

Notifications (Mac)

Notification settings control alerts that apply to all items in OmniFocus; notifications can also be set on a per-item basis using the Notifications inspector.

OmniFocus can provide Mac notifications, in addition to iPhone, iPad, and Apple Vision Pro notifications.

OmniFocus notification settings include:

Default notifications
Sounds
App icon badge counts
Perspectives Bar shows badges for
Show sidebar badges

Location-based notifications can be edited on Mac, but will only provide notifications on mobile devices.

Read the Apple User Guide articles View app notifications on Mac and Change Notifications settings on Mac to learn more about System Settings for notifications.

Sync (Mac)

Sync Settings information can be found in the Managing Your Data chapter.

Update (Mac Omni Store)

Update settings control how frequently OmniFocus checks for updates to itself (for non-App Store builds), and offers the option to help Omni improve future versions of OmniFocus by sending us anonymous data about your device.

Check for updates
Send anonymous system information to the Omni Group

System Information (Mac App Store)

System Information settings offers the option to help Omni improve future versions of OmniFocus by sending us anonymous data about your device.

Send anonymous system information to the Omni Group

iPhone, iPad, Apple Vision Pro Settings

Settings rows and groups are listed in the order they are displayed in the app.

About (iPhone, iPad, Apple Vision Pro)

About OmniFocus

License (iPhone, iPad, Apple Vision Pro)

License settings control how OmniFocus is unlocked, and allow switching between Standard and Pro feature sets.

If you have not unlocked OmniFocus, tap the Omni Account row to sign in to an existing Omni Account or site license, or create a new Omni Account. On the next screen, enter the information for your current Omni Account (or tap on Sign Up to create one), or a work email address associated with a site license, and follow the instructions that present.

If you need to license OmniFocus, tap the In-App Purchases row to subscribe, purchase either the Standard or Pro edition of the app, or restore a previous purchase.

If you have already unlocked OmniFocus, the first row indicates whether you are licensed using an Omni Account or Site License. If you are using an Omni Account, tap on the Omni Account row for additional options. If you are using a Site License, two additional buttons appear, allowing you to either Renew Session or Remove License.

Help (iPhone, iPad, Apple Vision Pro)

General (iPhone, iPad, Apple Vision Pro)

General settings control common interactions you will have with OmniFocus.

Open Calendar Events In
App Lock
Send Anonymous Data

Organization (iPhone, iPad, Apple Vision Pro)

Organization settings allow you to choose when to tidy up your OmniFocus data, what type of projects you typically work with, and whether to view certain kinds of data when in specific perspectives.

Clean Up Inbox Items Which Have
Clean Up Resolved Items
Default Project Type
In Tags and Flagged: Hide projects and action groups
In Forecast: Include items from On Hold projects

Appearance (iPhone, iPad, Apple Vision Pro)

Appearance settings control colors and styles used by the app, as well as how some information is presented.

Color Palette
Accent Color
Color Text for Due Items
Color Text for First Available Actions
Strike Resolved Items
Show Perspectives Bar
Perspectives Bar Shows Titles
App Icon (Pro) (iPhone & iPad only)

Layout (iPhone, iPad, Apple Vision Pro)

Layout settings control the appearance of the Outline and Inspector. When using OmniFocus Pro, Outline settings can be changed for each perspective using View Options.

Outline

Set Display Fields
Set Editing Fields

Inspector

Inspector Layout

Dates and Times (iPhone, iPad, Apple Vision Pro)

Dates & Times settings control how far in advance items are considered “due soon”, which default times are used for new items, and how often new projects should be reviewed.

“Due Soon” Means

Default Times

Defer Until
Due
Scheduled Notifications

Default Projects Review Schedule

Review every

Notifications (iPhone, iPad, Apple Vision Pro)

Notification settings control alerts that apply to all items in OmniFocus; notifications can also be set on a per-item basis using the Notifications inspector.

OmniFocus can provide iPhone, iPad, and Apple Vision Pro notifications, in addition to Mac notifications.

OmniFocus notification settings include:

Default Notifications
Location Notifications
Sounds
App Icon
Perspectives Bar
Sidebar Due Counts

Read these Apple User Guide articles, to learn more about System Settings for notifications on iPhone:

iPad:

Apple Vision Pro:

Sync (iPhone, iPad, Apple Vision Pro)

Sync Settings information can be found in the Managing Your Data chapter.

Automation (iPhone, iPad, Apple Vision Pro)

Automation settings allow you to manage your Omni Automation Plug-Ins and turn on Developer Mode.

Manage Plug-Ins
Developer Mode
Reminders Capture
Siri Shortcuts

Reset Settings (iPhone, iPad, Apple Vision Pro)

Reset Layout Settings
Reset All Settings
Reset Database

OmniFocus Data Settings (iPhone, iPad, Apple Vision Pro)

Data settings allow to you to manage attachments, configure backups, export data, or make changes to your database.

Attachments

Attachment List

Backups

Backups are handled differently on an iPhone, iPad, or Apple Vision Pro than they are on a Mac; the settings in this section are only available those devices.

More information is in the Backups of Your OmniFocus Data section of Managing Your Data.

Automatic Backups
How many backups should be kept?
Backup Folder
Backups
Back Up Now

Exporting

Export to CSV

Database

These items only appear if your OmniFocus data is in a condition where it could use the help they provide. If you don’t see them here, you’re probably in good shape.

At the very bottom of the Settings screen, there is information about your OmniFocus data: the number of projects and actions in your database, as well as the number of zip files used to contain your data. If you are syncing, the number of zip files will increase as you make edits in OmniFocus, and decrease as all devices receive those changes. Syncing all of your devices frequently will improve performance, as each device has to track on fewer local changes.

Apple Watch Settings

OmniFocus for Apple Watch settings provides a subset of settings found on other devices.

General (Apple Watch)

The top row includes single tap access to:

About OmniFocus

Perspectives List (Apple Watch)

The second row allows configuration of the main app screen, by selecting which of your synced perspectives will display on the main screen of OmniFocus for Apple Watch.

Tapping an entry in the Perspective List will either favorite the perspective (adding a star to the row, and showing it in the main view), or unfavorite it (removing the star, and hiding it from the main application view).

Appearance (Apple Watch)

The third row contains settings for color and font appearance:

Color Text for Due Items
Color Text for First Available Actions
Strike Resolved Items

Sync (Apple Watch)

The bottom rows include Sync-related settings:

Settings Reference

This section lists all settings found in OmniFocus, with links back to where they can be found in the application. If something is missing from this list, or more information would be helpful, please email us.

Accent Color

Available in Appearance settings
Available on iPhone, iPad, Apple Vision Pro
Setting has local scope

Select the accent color OmniFocus will use for buttons and links throughout the app.

Tap the color swatch to open the color picker, where you can choose from Omni-selected colors.

You can also tap Custom… to choose a custom color for OmniFocus, or reset to the Default Color.

App Icon (Pro)

Available in Appearance settings
Setting has local scope

Select from a collection of alternate app icons, from the original OmniFocus 1 app icons, to the updated OmniFocus 4 app icon.

When using the Mac App Store version, this only updates the app icon while OmniFocus is running, and does not update the icon found in the Applications folder.

When using the Mac version downloaded from Omni, this updates the app icon even when OmniFocus isn't running.

This feature is not yet available on Apple Vision Pro, as of visionOS 1.

App Icon Badge Counts

Available in Notifications settings
Setting has local scope

Choose whether you would like to include Overdue, Due Soon, or Flagged items in the number badge that appears in the corner of the OmniFocus app icon.

If nothing is checked, the badge won't appear.

App Lock

Available in General settings
Available on iPhone, iPad, Apple Vision Pro
Setting has local scope

App Lock is a way to keep your work shielded from casual viewing or editing by someone with temporary access to your device. If you use OmniFocus on a device that you occasionally share (with your children, coworkers, or clients, for example), there may be times when you would prefer that your OmniFocus data be hidden. The App Lock feature prevents accidental taps and casual glances by adding a password-locked privacy screen that must be dismissed before accessing any of your OmniFocus data or settings.

A Note on Security

App Lock does not encrypt your OmniFocus data, nor does it prevent someone with physical access to your device from connecting it to another device and copying your data file or deleting OmniFocus from your device outright. The Files app can also be used to retrieve your OmniFocus data file regardless of whether App Lock is enabled.

App Lock is intended as a privacy feature to prevent accidental exposure or corruption of data when others are using your device. It is not meant to thwart serious attempts to access or compromise your data. Device-level security measures are recommended for those with additional security needs.

App Lock is turned off by default. To turn it on, tap App Lock.

When you turn on App Lock, you will be prompted to choose and confirm a new App Lock password (this is distinct from and unrelated to either your OmniFocus sync password, or encryption passphrase). If you use OmniFocus on multiple iPhones or iPads, you need to configure and set an App Lock password on each device. App Lock passwords are local, and do not sync across devices.

Warning

If you forget the App Lock password, OmniFocus can no longer be used on your device. If you are syncing your OmniFocus data, the easiest way to get running again is to delete OmniFocus and then reinstall the app from the App Store, log in using your existing sync credentials, and restore your database from the sync server.

If you have chosen not to sync, you can retrieve your OmniFocus data by connecting your device to the Finder or iTunes and copying your OmniFocus data (the OmniFocus.ofocus file) to a safe location. You can also use the Files app to retrieve your database file and share it (using email, or other options in the Share menu) to another location.

After saving a backup of your data, delete OmniFocus from your device and reinstall it from the App Store. Once you have reinstalled OmniFocus, you can set a new App Lock password and use iTunes to load your OmniFocus.ofocus file back onto your device.

After choosing a password, App Lock is turned on. The App Lock Settings screen offers the option to turn App Lock back off, change your password, or enable Touch ID, Face ID, or Optic ID as an alternative means of unlocking OmniFocus on devices that support it. To change your password, Tap Change Password... You are prompted to enter your old password, and then to choose and confirm a new one.

With App Lock turned on, the next time you open OmniFocus you will see a privacy screen with a field to enter the password you chose. Enter the password, and work resumes unimpeded. If you choose to use Touch ID, Face ID, or Optic ID, a prompt for your fingerprint, face, or eye will appear instead. You will still have the option to enter your password, or you can tap the icon next to the password field to unlock with Touch ID, Face ID, or Optic ID if you dismissed the prompt initially.

To minimize interruption when switching between apps, App Lock will not engage for a 90 second “grace period” after switching away from OmniFocus (in case you decide to switch back).

Automatic Backups

Available in OmniFocus Data settings
Available on iPhone, iPad, Apple Vision Pro
Setting has local scope

Choose between having OmniFocus create a new backup every 24 hours, or only making manual backups. Every time OmniFocus creates a new backup, it replaces the oldest backup.

Back Up Now

Available in OmniFocus Data settings
Available on iPhone, iPad, Apple Vision Pro
Available on Mac using Export…

Tap this button to create a manual backup. Keep in mind that this will replace the oldest backup; on iPhone, iPad, and Apple Vision Pro, the total number is set using How many backups should be kept?, and on Mac, there is a fixed limit of 100 backups.

Backup Folder

Available in OmniFocus Data settings
Available on iPhone, iPad, Apple Vision Pro
Setting has local scope

By default, OmniFocus will save backups locally, on your device.

Though this ensures that only the syncing database, which uses end-to-end encryption, is exposed to a network, it also means that deleting OmniFocus will delete your backups.

If you would like to store backups in iCloud Drive instead, please select that option. Keep in mind that local copies of the database are not encrypted, nor are backups.

Backups List

Available in OmniFocus Data settings
Available on iPhone, iPad, Apple Vision Pro
Available on Mac using Show Backups in Finder

OmniFocus on iPhone, iPad, and Apple Vision Pro will display a list of backups, up to the number set in How many backups should be kept?. Tapping on one of the backups in the list will show information about the date of the backup, the size of the backup, and whether it was automatically or manually created.

To use this backup, replacing your current OmniFocus data, tap on the Revert to This Backup button.

By Default, Review Projects Every

Available in Dates & Times settings
Setting has global scope

When a new project is created, this will be the value for how often you would like to review your progress. The review period for a specific project can be adjusted using the Inspector.

Change Email

Available Omni Account screen
Available on iPhone, iPad, Apple Vision Pro
Available on Mac using Manage Omni Account and Purchases…

Enter your current Omni Account password, and your new email address. You will receive a code at your new email address that you can enter to verify the change; once you have verified the change, the new email address will be updated across our servers.

Change Password

Available Omni Account screen
Available on iPhone, iPad, Apple Vision Pro
Available on Mac using Manage Omni Account and Purchases…

Enter your current Omni Account password, a new password, and then verify the new password. Once you have submitted your change, the new password will be updated across our servers.

Check For Updates (Omni Store Only)

Available on Mac in Update settings
Setting has local scope

OmniFocus is naturally curious about when updates are available for itself. If you’d prefer for the app not to check for updates automatically, uncheck the box for this preference; otherwise, you can choose an interval that suits you best (it’s not a very intrusive or bandwidth-heavy process). You can check for updates manually using the Check Now button, or with Check for Updates in the OmniFocus menu.

Clean Up Inbox Items Which Have

Available in Organization settings
Setting has global scope

This setting controls when Inbox items are moved from the Inbox to another project. The options are:

A project — assigning a project will move this item to the assigned project; with an assigned project, this item will remain in the Inbox.
A tag — assigning one or more tags will move this item to the default Miscellaneous project, with the assigned tags; without at least one assigned tag, this item will remain in the Inbox.
Both a project and a tag — assigning both a project and one or more tags will move this to the assigned project, with the assigned tags; with both a project and at least one tag, this item will remain in the Inbox.
Either a project or a tag — assigning either a project or one or more tags will move this to the assigned project or the default Miscellaneous project, with the assigned tags; without either a project or at least one tag assigned, this item will remain in the Inbox.

Note that items will not move out of the Inbox until you either switch to another perspective, or clean up.

Clean Up Resolved Items

Available in Organization settings
Setting has global scope

If you prefer that items be cleaned up, updating their visibility to match the current View Options selection, as soon as they are completed or dropped, choose Immediately. Otherwise, resolved items will be cleaned up when you switch between perspectives or when you manually clean up.

Clippings Shortcut

Available on Mac in General settings
Setting has local scope

Use the Clippings shortcut button to open System Settings and set up your system-wide keyboard shortcut for Clippings.

Color Palette

Available in Appearance settings
Setting has local scope

Choose between three color palette options for OmniFocus:

Automatic — Follows the Appearance selected in System Settings, which may also be set to update based on time of day.
Light — Uses the Light color palette, regardless of your device’s Appearance settings.
Dark — Uses the Dark color palette, regardless of your device’s Appearance settings.

Read these Apple User Guide articles to learn more:

Color Text For Due Items

Available in Appearance settings
Setting has local scope

Choose whether to use color for the title of projects, action groups, or actions that are Due Soon or Overdue. Due Soon items will use yellow text, and Overdue items will use red text.

It is possible to adjust Due Soon using “Due Soon” Means.

Color Text For First Available Actions

Available in Appearance settings
Setting has local scope

Choose whether to use color for the title of actions that are First Available. First Available items will use purple text.

Columns Layout

Available on Mac in Layout settings
Settings have platform scope

Columns layout is designed to display all items in a single row, which allows for easy scanning of the Outline. It is only available on Mac; if you would find it helpful on iPad, please email us.

By default, all items display the assigned project, tags, due date, and flag status. Selecting a row allows you to edit those fields, as well as the item’s note.

Clicking on Set Columns allows you to choose columns to be displayed, as well as rearrange the columns by dragging and dropping.

Possible fields include:

Project — Display the assigned project.
Flag — Display the flagged (or unflagged) status.
Tags — Display some or all assigned tags. See note below regarding the Tags shown setting.
Estimated Duration — Display the estimated duration.
Defer Until Date — Display the defer until date.
Due Date — Display the due date.
Completion Date — Display the completion date.
Repeat — Display the configured repetition.
Note Icon — Display the note icon, which also indicates whether the item note contains any text.
Notifications — Display any notifications.

Additional options include:

Tags shown — Display the number of tags chosen, or choose the infinite symbol to show all assigned tags.
Show full project path — By default, project display includes only the name of the project. Enabling this will also show any folders above the project in the hierarchy.
Hide project when redundant — By default, the assigned project is not displayed when in Projects, or in a custom perspective which is organized by projects. Enabling this setting will force all perspectives to respect the setting from Display Fields.

Default Notifications

Available in Notifications settings
Settings have local scope

Set automatic date-based notifications for all actions, action groups, and projects. These settings affect all items with assigned dates or estimated durations.

Notifications can also be added to, or removed from, individual items using the Notifications inspector.

Automatic notifications can also be removed using the Notifications inspector, or re-added once they have been removed.

Deferred — Enable this to automatically schedule a notification for the Defer Until Date, when an item becomes Available. Changing the Defer Until Date will also change the date and time of the notification; removing the Defer Until Date deletes the notification.
Latest Start — Enable this to automatically schedule a notification for the Latest Start Date, which is calculated by subtracting Estimated Duration from the Due Date, so you know the latest possible time to begin working on an item, before it becomes due. Changing the Due Date or Estimated Duration will also change the date and time of the notification; removing the Due Date or Estimated Duration deletes the notification.
Due — Enable this to automatically schedule a notification for the Due Date, when an item becomes Overdue. Changing the Due Date will also change the date and time of the notification; removing the Due Date deletes the notification.

Default Notification Sounds

Available in Notifications settings
Settings have local scope

Select the sounds that are played for Default Notifications.

Note that the layout of settings is different, depending on the device you are using.

On Mac, your options are:

Off — No sounds are played. Alerts may still display for enabled Default Notifications, depending on your System Settings for Notifications > OmniFocus.
Default — OmniFocus default sound (Bridge) is played for enabled Default Notifications, depending on your System Settings for Notifications > OmniFocus.
Custom — Select custom sounds to play for enabled Default Notifications, depending on your System Settings for Notifications > OmniFocus.

On iPhone, iPad, or Apple Vision Pro, tap on the Sounds row to show the Notify with Sound toggle, along with additional settings.

Off — No sounds are played. Alerts may still display for enabled Default Notifications, depending on your System Settings for Notifications > OmniFocus.
On — OmniFocus default sounds (Bridge, Arriving Synth, Leaving Synth) are played for Location Notifications and enabled Default Notifications, depending on your System Settings for Notifications > OmniFocus.

The Sounds options on iPhone, iPad, or Apple Vision Pro update based on which of the Default Notifications are enabled.

If you do not see an option that you expect, make sure that it is enabled on the main Notifications screen.

Custom sounds include None, Bridge, Arriving Synth, Leaving Synth, Ditto, Interval, Laser, Mercury, Projector, Robot, and Sonar.

They can be assigned to notifications for Deferred, Latest Start, Due, Location (When Arriving), Location (When Leaving), and Badge indicating that this feature is part of OmniFocus Pro. Scheduled.

Default Row Layout

Available on Mac in Layout settings
Setting has platform scope

Choose between using Fluid or Columns as the default layout for all your perspectives.

This will be the default layout for all Macs, as it has platform scope. When using OmniFocus Pro, Outline settings can be changed for each perspective using View Options.

Default Project Type

Available in Organization settings
Setting has global scope

Select the default type when creating a new project or action group. Sequential projects and action groups require actions to be completed in a specific order, while parallel projects and action groups can have actions completed in any order.

This setting does not apply when creating a new Single Actions List project, or when choosing to create a specific type of project; it only applies when the type is not specifically chosen.

Default Time For Defer Dates

Available in Dates & Times settings
Setting has global scope

When you create an action or project with a defer date but without choosing a specific time, this default time will be used.

Default Time For Due Dates

Available in Dates & Times settings
Setting has global scope

When you create an action or project with a due date but without choosing a specific time, this default time will be used.

Default Time For Scheduled Notifications

Available in Dates & Times settings
Setting has global scope

When you create a scheduled notification for an action or project with a date but without choosing a specific time, this default time will be used.

Delete Items Without Requiring the Command Key

Available on Mac in General settings
Setting has local scope

By default, the keyboard shortcut for Delete is Command-Delete.

Enabling this setting allows you to use Delete.

Delete Old Items

Available on iPhone, iPad, Apple Vision Pro in Settings

This tool appears when you have over 1000 items that have been completed for six months or longer. Use this to lighten the load on your database by removing those old items.

If you have OmniFocus for Mac, we recommend using Archive Old Items… instead. More information about archiving can be found in Archiving in OmniFocus, and we also have a Find and reduce the size of your database in OmniFocus 4 support article, for help keeping your database size manageable.

Developer Mode (Pro)

Available in Automation settings
Available on iPhone, iPad, Apple Vision Pro
Setting has local scope

Turn the Developer Mode switch on to add the Omni Automation menu to the top Toolbar. This also enables access to the Automation Console and Automation Reference, both of which are tools that you can use to create your own Omni Automation automations.

“Due Soon” Means

Available in Dates & Times settings
Setting has global scope

OmniFocus displays actions and projects that are due soon with a yellow status circle.

Choose when you would like OmniFocus to consider items due soon: Today, 24 hours, 2 days (default), 3 days, 4 days, 5 days, or 1 week.

Except for 24 hours, all options are based on full calendar days. With 24 hours selected, only the part of tomorrow that falls within the next 24 hours will be included.

Enable Pro Features

Available in License settings
Available on iPhone, iPad, Apple Vision Pro
Setting has local scope

This allows you to choose between the Standard or Pro feature set when running a trial license, Pro license, or site license.

A similar function is available on Mac in the OmniFocus menu, using the Free Trial Mode sub-menu.

Export to CSV

Available in OmniFocus Data settings
Available on iPhone, iPad, Apple Vision Pro
Available on Mac using Export…

As part of our commitment to your complete ownership of your data, we offer the ability to export your OmniFocus data in the open CSV format. Your data is available this way whenever you need it, presented in a tabular format viewable in just about any text editor.

Fluid Layout

Available in Layout settings
Settings have platform scope

Fluid layout is designed to always show the information that is most important to you in a row under the title, with the additional flexibility of quickly editing other fields. This is accomplished by having two sets of fields: one for display, and another for editing. By default, all items display the assigned project, tags, due date, and flag status. Selecting a row allows you to edit those fields, as well as the item’s note.

Clicking or tapping on Set Display Fields allows you to choose fields that are always displayed for each item, whether or not they are selected. Fields can also be rearranged by dragging and dropping into your desired order.

Possible fields include:

Project — Display the assigned project.
Tags — Display some or all assigned tags. See note below regarding the Tags shown setting.
Estimated Duration — Display the estimated duration.
Defer Until Date — Display the defer until date.
Due Date — Display the due date.
Completion Date — Display the completion date.
Repeat — Display the configured repetition.
Notifications — Display any notifications.

Additional options include:

Preview notes in Outline — Display all notes. (iPhone, iPad, and Apple Vision Pro only)
Tags shown — Display the number of tags chosen, or choose the infinite symbol to show all assigned tags.
Show full project path — By default, project display includes only the name of the project. Enabling this will also show any folders above the project in the hierarchy.
Hide project when redundant — By default, the assigned project is not displayed when in Projects, or in a custom perspective which is organized by projects. Enabling this setting will force all perspectives to respect the setting from Display Fields.

Clicking or tapping on Set Editing Fields allows you to choose additional fields that are displayed only when an item is selected, to allow editing of fields that are not always visible. This set will automatically include all Display Fields, and disabling Mirror Display Fields allows you to add fields to the set. Field order is based on that set for Display Fields.

Show note automatically — When selecting an item, the note will automatically be shown. (Mac only)
Notes — When selecting an item, the note will automatically be shown. Note that this overrides the Preview notes in Outline setting above, but only for the selected note. (iPhone, iPad, and Apple Vision Pro only)

When using an iPhone, iPad, or Apple Vision Pro, OmniFocus will respect the settings found in Settings > Display & Brightness, as well as related Accessibility settings. For more information, see the Apple User Guide articles about Make iPhone text easier to read with accessibility features, Make iPad text easier to read with accessibility features, and Adjust the display and text size on Apple Vision Pro.

Hide Projects and Action Groups

Available in Organization settings
Setting has global scope

By default, the Tags and Flagged perspectives will show flagged projects and action groups, when they match the selected View Option filter. To always hide projects and action groups from these perspectives, focusing exclusively on actions, enable Hide projects and action groups.

How Many Backups Should Be Kept?

Available in OmniFocus Data settings
Available on iPhone, iPad, Apple Vision Pro
Setting has local scope

Select the number of backups that OmniFocus will store. As each additional automatic or manual backup is made, the oldest existing backup will be replaced; a higher number of backups may provide additional confidence, but will also take more storage space.

Include Items from on Hold Projects (Pro)

Available in Organization settings
Setting has global scope

By default, the Forecast perspective will hide projects that are On Hold, as well as any actions or action groups that are part of that project. If you would like these items to show in Forecast instead, to help with your planning, enable Include items from On Hold projects.

Available in View Options
Available on Mac, iPad, Apple Vision Pro for most perspectives
Setting has platform scope

On a Mac or iPad, navigating to a different perspective by using the Perspectives Bar or Quick Open will show the Sidebar in the most recent state. If during your last visit to a given perspective you left the Sidebar showing (such as showing the Calendar in Forecast), then the next time you visit that perspectives, the Sidebar will still be showing; the same is true if the Sidebar was hidden. By default, OmniFocus will respect the Show/Hide Sidebar command.

Enabling this setting will change the behavior, but only for that perspective: instead of respecting the most recent state, you will always start with the Sidebar hidden.

When using an iPad, this setting only impacts Regular view; when using Compact view (iPhone width, displayed on an iPhone) you will always visit the Outline first.

This setting does not affect the use of Go Forward or Go Back navigation, which should always show you the most recent view of whichever perspectives you visit.

Show Sidebar First is the related setting on an iPhone.

Layout Settings for Inspector

Available in Layout settings
Settings have platform scope

By default, the Inspector displays the item title, item status, project or action group type, assigned project, assigned tags, defer until date, due date, repeat schedule, last and next review dates, note, and tag location fields, when appropriate for the selected item.

These settings allow you to enable or disable fields to show by default, as well as rearrange them by dragging and dropping.

Select which of these fields show in the Inspector:

Location Notifications

Available in Notifications settings
Setting has local scope

This setting is only available on mobile devices.

Enable this setting to use location-based notifications on your mobile devices.

Omni Account

Available on Mac in OmniFocus menu
Available in License settings
Available on iPhone, iPad, Apple Vision Pro

Log in to or sign out of your Omni Account, unlock OmniFocus (if you have a current license or subscription), or update your account information.

Options include:

Change Email
Change Password
Close Account

Creating an Omni Account is free, and is required for syncing with the Omni Sync Server, or using OmniFocus for the Web.

Similar functions are available on Mac, using Unlock OmniFocus… and Manage Omni Account and Purchases….

Open Calendar Events In

Available in General settings
Available on iPhone, iPad, Apple Vision Pro
Available on Mac in the Calendar application
Setting has local scope

Choose whether tapping the calendar icon next to events in Forecast opens Apple Calendar or Fantastical.

Please feel free to request support for your favorite calendar application.

When using a Mac, OmniFocus will read this setting from Apple’s Calendar application. More information is available in the Calendar User Guide article Change General settings in Calendar on Mac.

Outlining Mode

Available on Mac in General settings
Setting has local scope

Choose between two different styles of outlining, which change the behavior of common keyboard actions when items in the outline are selected.

When in Modern Mode:

Tab begins editing
Return confirms editing
Escape cancels editing
Press return twice to create a new item

When in Classic Mode:

Escape begins editing
Escape confirms editing
Return always creates a new item

This setting only applies when using a Mac, as iPads and iPhones use a different style of keyboard navigation. More information about that style of navigation can be found in Use shortcuts on an Apple external keyboard with iPad.

Perspectives Bar Shows Badges

Available in Notifications settings
Settings have local scope

Enable or disable badges in the Perspectives Bar for Inbox, Forecast, Flagged, or Review.

The badge count for each perspective is focused on the intended purpose of the perspective:

Inbox — items which are Available.
Forecast — items which are Overdue or Due Soon.
Flagged — items which are Available and Flagged.
Review — projects which are due for their Next Review.

Neither Projects nor Tags have Perspectives Bar badges, but each can Show Sidebar Badges.

Perspectives Bar Shows Titles

Available in Appearance settings
Setting has local scope

Choose to show or hide titles in the Perspectives Bar. Showing titles (the default setting) provides more information, while hiding titles fits more items in the Perspectives Bar.

Quick Entry Shortcut

Available on Mac in General settings
Setting has local scope

Set a custom keyboard shortcut for Quick Entry here (the default is Control-Option-Space).

Reminders Capture

Available in Automation settings
Available on iPhone, iPad, Apple Vision Pro
Setting has local scope

Enabling this setting allows you to choose a specific Reminders list to continuously import into the Inbox.

Earlier versions of OmniFocus relied on this for communication with Siri, and the feature is still available for customers that find it useful. Please note that Reminders Capture is no longer the preferred method for OmniFocus to interact with Siri. Instead, use Siri to add items to OmniFocus directly.

Reset OmniFocus

For more information about global, platform, or local settings, please read Synced Settings, at the beginning of this chapter.

You can reset parts of OmniFocus using these options:

Reset iPad/iPhone/Apple Vision Pro Layout Settings -- This resets platform layout and inspector field settings back to default, for all perspectives.
Reset All Settings -- This resets global, platform, and local settings back to the default. This will affect all syncing Macs, iPads, iPhones, and Apple Watches, but does not affect layout settings on different kinds of devices.
Reset Database -- This removes your local OmniFocus data, and starts OmniFocus back at First Launch. If you are not syncing your database, be aware that this will erase your data. Depending on your Backups settings, you may not be able to recover your data.

A similar function is available on Mac, using Reset Database and Settings….

Send Anonymous System Information to the Omni Group

Available in General settings
Available on iPhone, iPad, Apple Vision Pro
Available on Mac in Update settings and System Information settings
Setting has local scope

If you’d like to help improve future versions of OmniFocus, for you and others, you can choose to send us anonymous information about your OmniFocus data and device. All the information that will be shared is visible in this Settings screen on iPhone, iPad, or Apple Vision Pro; click on Learn more about what kind of information is sent if you are using a Mac.

Show Full Item Title

Available on Mac in Appearance settings
Setting has local scope

Always — Titles are always displayed at full length in the Outline, whether or not it is selected. This is the default setting, and allows you to see all relevant information.
When Selected — Titles are truncated to the first link in the Outline, unless they are selected. This setting allows you to see more items at the same time.

Show Perspectives Bar

Available in Appearance settings
Available on iPhone, iPad, Apple Vision Pro
Setting has local scope

Show or hide the Perspectives Bar.

This is available as a setting on iPhone, iPad, and Apple Vision Pro, and as the Show/Hide Perspectives Bar command on all devices.

Available in Notifications settings
Setting has local scope

Show badges with the number of items which are Due Soon (yellow badge), or Overdue (red badge).

Badges will display in the Projects Sidebar, Tags Sidebar, and Review Sidebar.

Available in View Options
Available on iPhone for most perspectives
Setting has platform scope

This setting will be displayed as Show Project list first, Show Tag list first, or Show Calendar first, depending on which perspective you are viewing.

On an iPhone, navigating to a different perspective by using the Perspectives Bar or Quick Open will always show the Outline first. Enabling this setting will change the behavior, but only for that perspective: instead of always starting with the Outline, you will always start with the Sidebar.

This setting does not affect using an iPad in Compact view (iPhone width, displayed on an iPhone); when using Compact view on an iPad, you will always visit the Outline first.

This setting does not affect the use of Go Forward or Go Back navigation, which should always show you the most recent view of whichever perspectives you visit.

Keep Sidebar Hidden is the related setting on a Mac or iPad.

Siri Shortcuts

Available in Automation settings
Available on iPhone, iPad, Apple Vision Pro

Tap to open a list of your OmniFocus perspectives, then tap a perspective to open the Siri Shortcuts recording dialog. Record a custom phrase here that can be used with Siri to open the perspective directly from anywhere on your device.

Strike Resolved Items

Available in Appearance settings
Setting has local scope

Choose whether to strike through the title text for resolved projects and actions.

Support Center

Available in Help settings

Tap to open a web view containing the official OmniFocus support page, with a search field for troubleshooting articles and links to the online reference manuals and other resources.

Commands and Shortcuts

This chapter gathers the commands and shortcuts found throughout OmniFocus into a single reference.

Each item is discussed below, with links to where it can be found in the app.

Commands can be found in the menu bars on Mac, iPad, and Apple Vision Pro. Commands are also available in shortcut menus throughout the app, which update to match the selected item and view.

Commands are often available using bare key editing, or keyboard shortcuts, as well.

Bare Key Editing

When using Mac, iPad, or iPhone with a hardware keyboard, it is now possible to jump directly to a specific field, and begin editing.

Please note that there are some differences between devices.

When using Mac with a keyboard, it is possible to tab through the fields on a row. 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

In addition, the bare key editing shortcuts will only work on visible fields, as set in Layout Settings.

When using iPad or iPhone with a keyboard, it is not possible to tab through fields, as OmniFocus 4 uses Apple’s native iPad keyboard navigation, to support accessibility features.

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.

If field editing presents a pop-up menu, tabbing will navigate to the next part of the menu (such as from the search field to the list of projects or tags), and typing Command-. (or using the Esc key) will end editing, saving the current information.

Unlike when using Mac, it is possible to edit fields that are not currently visible.

Set/Clear Completed Status (Space bar)
Set/Clear Dropped Status (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)

Keyboard Shortcuts

If you’re using OmniFocus with a keyboard, whether on Mac, iPhone, or iPad, you can take advantage of the app’s built-in keyboard shortcuts for many common tasks.

Each section of the Commands Reference has keyboard shortcut(s) listed, to make them easy to find.

When using iPad, press and hold the Command key on your external keyboard to view a list of available shortcuts. The same keyboard shortcuts will work on an iPhone with external keyboard, but pressing and holding the Command key does not present the same list of available shortcuts.

When using Mac, you can create keyboard shortcuts for menu items that don’t already have one. For more information, please read the Apple User Guide article Create keyboard shortcuts for apps on Mac.

The keyboard shortcut table from earlier versions of OmniFocus is not currently available, but will return.

Menus Across Devices

This section lists menus that are available across devices, with a quick link to more information specific to each device.

Mac
iPad, Apple Vision Pro

Mac
iPad, Apple Vision Pro

Mac
iPad, Apple Vision Pro

Mac
iPad, Apple Vision Pro

Mac
iPad, Apple Vision Pro

Mac
iPad, Apple Vision Pro

Mac
iPad, Apple Vision Pro

Mac

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

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

About OmniFocus
Check for Updates… (Omni downloads)
Settings…
In-App Purchases… (App Store downloads)
Unlock OmniFocus…
Manage Omni Account and Purchases… (replaces Unlock OmniFocus…)
Site License… (replaces Unlock OmniFocus…)
Free Trial Mode
Learn About Pro
Services
Hide OmniFocus
Hide Others
Show All
Quit OmniFocus

The File menu contains commands related to your database. Add new items, or Quick Open others. Importing, exporting, archiving, and restoring your database also happen here.

New Action
New Project
New Folder
New Single-Action List
New Tag
New Window
New Tab
Quick Open…
Close
Import OmniOutliner Document…
Export…
Sync Now
Show Backups in Finder
Show OmniFocus Database in Finder
Rebuild Database…
Reset Database and Settings…
Compact Database
Migrate Database…
Archive Old Items…
Open Archive…
Page Setup…
Print…

The Edit menu contains commands related to editing actions, projects, folders, tags, and groups.

Undo
Redo
Cut
Copy
Copy As Link
Copy As TaskPaper
Paste
Paste and Match Style
Paste with Original Style
Delete
Select All
Deselect All
Duplicate
Edit Title/Note
Convert to Project
Status
Mark Reviewed
Apply/Remove Forecast Tag (Pro)
Set/Clear Flag
Attach File…
Add Link…
Insert Time Stamp
Find
Spelling and Grammar
Substitutions
Transformations
Speech
AutoFill
Start Dictation…
Emoji and Symbols

The Organize menu contains commands that change the hierarchy and structure of your OmniFocus data. This is primarily useful when working with nested projects and action groups.

Clean Up
Add Inside
Add Outside
Move
Indent
Outdent
Group
Ungroup
Sort Once

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

Go Back
Go Forward
Expand All
Collapse All
Expand Item(s)
Expand Item(s) Completely (replaces Expand Item(s) when holding Option key)
Collapse Item(s)
Collapse Item(s) Completely (replaces Collapse Item(s) when holding Option key)
Show/Hide All Notes
Show/Hide Note(s)
Focus on Selected Projects/Unfocus (Pro)
Show in Projects/Tags/Inbox
Show/Hide Perspectives Bar
Show/Hide Sidebar
Show/Hide Inspector
Go to Sidebar
Go to Outline
Go to Inspector
Show/Hide View Options
Show/Hide Tab Bar
Show All Tabs/Exit Tab Overview
Show/Hide Toolbar
Customize Toolbar…
Enter/Exit Full Screen

The Perspectives menu holds commands for quick navigation 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.

Show/Hide Perspectives List
Add Perspective… (Pro)
Inbox
Projects
Tags
Forecast
Flagged
Nearby
Review
Changed
Completed
Custom Perspectives (Pro)

Please note that formatting commands only work in note fields.

Font:

Show/Hide Fonts
Bold
Italic
Underline
Strikethrough
Bigger
Smaller
Kern
Ligatures
Baseline
Show/Hide Colors
Copy Style
Paste Style
Clear Style
Simplify Style

Text:

Align Left
Center
Justify
Align Right
Writing Direction

With OmniFocus Pro, Omni Automation can be used to automate OmniFocus.

Installed Plug-Ins (Pro)
Show Console (Pro)
Clear Console (Pro)
API Reference (Pro)
Configure… (Pro)

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.

Minimize Window
Zoom
Tile Window to Left of Screen
Tile Window to Right of Screen
Replace Tiled Window
Remove Window from Set
Move to Display
Show Previous Tab
Show Next Tab
Move Tab to New Window
Merge All Windows
Show/Hide Quick Entry
Main Window
Attachment List
Bring All to Front
OmniFocus Windows

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

Search field
OmniFocus Help
News
Release Notes
OmniFocus Product Page
OmniFocus Forums
Sign Up for the Omni Newsletter
Open Scripts Folder (Pro)
Add Tutorial Items
Anonymize Database…
Contact Omni

This section includes a list of all the menu bar items or commands on iPad and Apple Vision Pro.

Menu bar items and commands on iPad and Apple Vision Pro only appear when relevant, and the order of appearance may change.

The OmniFocus menu contains commands related to the application itself, allowing you to view and modify your settings.

Settings

The File menu contains commands related to your database. Add new items, or Quick Open others.

New Action
New Folder
New Project
New Tag
Quick Entry
Quick Open…
Sync

The Edit menu contains commands related to editing actions, projects, folders, tags, and groups.

Apply/Remove Forecast Tag (Pro)
Begin/End Select Mode
Convert to Project
Copy
Cut
Delete
Dictation
Edit Note
Edit Title/Note
Emoji
Find
Mark Reviewed
Paste
Paste and Match Style
Search Here
Search Remaining
Search Everything
Select All
Deselect All
Set/Clear Completed Status
Set/Clear Dropped Status
Set/Clear Flag
Show Completion Date Editor
Show Defer Until Editor
Show Due Editor
Show Estimated Editor Duration
Show Notifications Editor
Show Project Editor
Show Repeat Editor
Show Tags Editor

The Organize menu contains commands that change the hierarchy and structure of your OmniFocus data. This is primarily useful when working with nested projects and action groups.

Add Inside
Add Outside
Clean Up
Group
Ungroup
Indent
Outdent
Move Up
Move Down
Move Left
Move Right

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

Back
Forward
Expand Item(s)
Expand Item(s) Completely
Expand All
Collapse Item(s)
Collapse Item(s) Completely
Collapse All
Focus/Unfocus (Pro)
Show in Projects/Tags/Inbox
Show/Hide Inspector
Show/Hide Perspectives Bar
Show/Hide Sidebar
Show/Hide View Options
Select Previous Day
Select Today
Select Next Day

Please note that formatting commands only work in note fields.

Bold
Italic
Underline
Bigger
Smaller

With OmniFocus Pro, Omni Automation can be used to automate OmniFocus.

Show Automation Console (Pro)
Show Automation Reference (Pro)

Shortcut Menus

Shortcut menus (previously referred to as context menus or contextual menus) are found through OmniFocus, and are available when using Control-click on Mac, or touch and hold on iPhone, iPad, and Apple Vision Pro. They are also available from the More buttons in Outline Select Mode, Sidebar Select Mode, and Sidebar Edit Mode.

Touch and hold is the same gesture required to lift an item for drag and drop. Release the item after it lifts, instead of moving it, and the shortcut menu will appear.

Shortcut menus are available for folders, projects, and tags in the Sidebar; folders, projects, tags, action groups, and actions in the Outline; and while editing text in the Sidebar, Outline, or Notes.

One major difference between menu bar items and shortcut menu items has to do with how available and unavailable commands are displayed: on Mac, menu bar items are always displayed, whether they are available or unavailable; shortcut menus (as well as iPad and Apple Vision Pro menu bars) update depending on your selection.

This section will include all possible shortcut menu items, though not all will appear in every situation.

Menu items found at the top level of the shortcut menu:

Apply/Remove Forecast Tag (Pro) — actions, projects
Flag/Unflag — actions, projects
Attach File… — actions, projects (Mac only)
Complete — actions
Skip — actions
Drop — actions
Drop Completely — actions
Mark Reviewed — projects
Rename — projects, folders, tags
Inspect — actions, projects, folders, tags
Focus/Unfocus (Pro) — actions, projects, folders
Show in Inbox — actions
Show in Projects — actions, projects
Show in Tags — actions, projects
Open in New Window — actions (Mac only), projects, folders, tags, perspectives
Omni Automation (Pro) — actions, projects, folders, tags
Share — actions, projects, folders, tags
Delete — actions, projects, folders, tags
Services — actions, projects, folders, tags (Mac only)

Please note that these are located at the top level of the shortcut menu on Mac.

Cut — actions, projects, folders, tags
Copy — actions, projects, folders, tags
Copy as Link — actions, projects, folders, tags
Copy as TaskPaper — actions, projects, folders, tags
Paste — actions, projects, folders
Duplicate — actions, projects, folders

Active — projects, folders, tags
On Hold — projects, tags
Completed — projects
Dropped — projects, folders, tags

Parallel — actions, projects
Sequential — actions, projects
Single Actions — projects
Complete with Last Action — actions, projects

Add Inside — actions, projects, folders, tags
Add Action — actions, projects, tags
Add Item — actions in Inbox
Add Folder — projects, folders
Add Project — projects, folders
Add Tag — tags
Group — actions
Indent — actions, projects, folders, tags
Outdent — actions, projects, folders, tags
Convert To Project — actions
Convert To Action — projects
Move — actions, projects, folders, tags

Due Today — actions, projects
Due Tomorrow — actions, projects
Defer until Tomorrow — actions, projects
Reschedule to Today — actions, projects
Reschedule to Tomorrow — actions, projects

This menu is only available when using Mac.

See Sort Once.

Commands Reference

These are listed in alphabetical order, and link to where they may be found in OmniFocus. That location may be different on Mac, iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch, or Apple Vision Pro.

Keyboard shortcuts are listed under each command.

If a keyboard shortcut is available on specific devices, those devices are listed. If a keyboard shortcut is available on all devices that can use an external keyboard, no devices are.

About OmniFocus

Available on Mac in OmniFocus menu
Available on iPhone, iPad, Apple Vision Pro in Settings
Available on iPhone, iPad, Apple Vision Pro in Help toolbar item
Available on Apple Watch in About OmniFocus.

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

Available in the Organize shortcut menu

Creates a new action.

Add Folder

Available on Mac in Project sidebar action menu.
Available on iPhone, iPad, Apple Vision Pro in Project sidebar more menu.
Available in the Organize shortcut menu

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

Add Inside

Available on Mac, iPad, Apple Vision Pro in Organize menu
Available in the Organize shortcut menu
Shift-Command-]

Create a new item belonging to the selected item.

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 action inside.

Compare Add Outside

Add Item

Available on iPhone, iPad, Apple Vision Pro in Organize shortcut menu

Creates a new Inbox item.

Add Link

Available on Mac in Edit menu.

Create a hyperlink to an item within OmniFocus, or beyond.

Add Outside

Available on Mac, iPad, Apple Vision Pro in Organize menu
Shift-Command-[

Create a new item at the same level as the selected item’s parent, if possible.

If you have an action selected inside an action group, this creates a new action at the same level as the action group.

If you have an action selected at the top level of a project, this creates a new project.

If you have a project selected, this will either create a project at the same level, or one level higher, depending on the location of the project in your structure.

Compare Add Inside

Add Perspective (Pro)

Available on Mac in Perspectives menu.
Available on iPhone, iPad, Apple Vision Pro in Quick Open

Creates and begins editing a new Custom Perspective.

Add Project

Available on iPhone, iPad, Apple Vision Pro in Project sidebar more menu.
Available in the Organize shortcut 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 effect 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 effect 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 Actions List at the selected location in the Sidebar.

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

Add Tag

Available on Mac in Tags sidebar action menu.
Available on iPhone, iPad, Apple Vision Pro in Tags sidebar more menu.
Available in the Organize shortcut 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 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.

Align Text

Available on Mac in Format menu

Adjust the alignment of the paragraph containing selected text:

Align Left — Aligns the paragraph to the left side of the view.
Center — Aligns the paragraph to the right side of the view.
Justify — Aligns the paragraph to both the left and ride side of the view, attempting to fill the view.
Align Right — Aligns the paragraph in the center of the view.

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)

May also be named Automation API Reference or Show Automation Reference
Available on Mac in Automation menu
Available on iPhone, iPad, Apple Vision Pro in Omni Automation toolbar item.
Shift-Command-0 on iPhone, iPad, Apple Vision Pro

Command is labeled Automation API Reference on iPhone, iPad, and Apple Vision Pro

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 (Pro)

Available on Mac, iPad, Apple Vision Pro in Edit menu
Available in the Shortcut menu
Control-Command-L

Apply (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 iPhone, iPad, or Apple Vision Pro, but it is possible to Delete Old Items from Settings.

Attach File

Available on Mac in Edit menu
Available on Mac in Shortcut menu
Available on iPhone, iPad, Apple Vision Pro in the Outline
Available in the Inspector

Choose an attachment to add to the selected action or project. When using Mac, you have the choice of either embedding a copy of the attachment, which allows you to access the attachment on Mac, iPhone, iPad, or Apple Vision Pro, or linking the attachment, which leaves it on the Mac.

Attachment List

Available on Mac in Window menu
Available on iPhone, iPad, Apple Vision Pro in Attachments settings

Open a list of all attachments in your database. This can be useful for finding reference material you have added to your actions and projects.

This list displays all 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 (on Mac), and delete any unwanted ones here.

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 OmniFocus.

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.

Exporting Attachments

You may want to export attachments, perhaps before deleting them.

On Mac, select one or more attachments in the list, and click Export. An export panel appears, where you can choose a location on your Mac to store the attachments. Navigate to the directory you would like to use, and click Export again to save copies of the files.

On iPhone, iPad, or Apple Vision Pro, tap the linked attachment to open the location where it is linked. Press and hold on the attachment, then select Share.

AutoFill

Available on Mac in Edit menu
Available on iPhone, iPad, Apple Vision Pro in Editing menu

This is a system-level command, which allows autofilling 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

Baseline

Available on Mac in Format menu

Adjust the baseline of body text:

Use Default — Places selected text at the same level as body text.
Superscript — Move selected text above the body text.
Subscript — Move selected text below the body text.
Raise — Move selected text up.
Lower — Move selected text down.

Begin/End Select Mode

Available on iPad, Apple Vision Pro in Edit menu
Shift-Command-E on iPhone, iPad, Apple Vision Pro

Begins or ends Outline Select Mode or Sidebar Select Mode.

Bigger

Available on Mac, iPad, Apple Vision Pro in Format menu
Command-+

Increase the size of the selected note text.

Bold

Available on Mac, iPad, Apple Vision Pro in Format menu
Command-B

Apply (or remove) the bold style to 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, iPad, Apple Vision Pro 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, iPad, Apple Vision Pro in Organize menu
Available in the Toolbar
Available on iPhone, iPad, Apple Vision Pro when pulling to sync
Command-K

Force OmniFocus to clean up after itself, so that all items obey your View Options settings. Also moves any Inbox items with assigned projects or tags to the appropriate location in the hierarchy.

This command may not be needed, depending on your settings for Cleaning Up Resolved Items and Clean Up Inbox Items Which Have.

Regardless of those settings, switching perspectives will always clean up the view, as will pulling down to sync on an iPhone, iPad, or Apple Vision Pro.

Changed

Available on Mac in Perspectives menu
Available on iPhone, iPad, Apple Vision Pro 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 front most 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, iPad, Apple Vision Pro 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 Item(s)

Available on Mac, iPad, Apple Vision Pro in View menu
Command-0

Hide the children of the selected items.

Compare Expand Item(s)

Collapse Item(s) Completely

Available on Mac, iPad, Apple Vision Pro in View menu
Option-Command-0

Hide all descendants of all selected items in the Sidebar or the Outline.

Compare Expand Item(s) Completely

Collapse All

Available on Mac, iPad, Apple Vision Pro in View menu
Control-Command-0

Hide all descendants of all items in the Sidebar or the Outline.

Compare Expand All

Compact Database

Available on Mac in File menu
Available on iPhone, iPad, Apple Vision Pro 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.

Complete

Available in the Shortcut menu

Marks the selected action(s) completed.

Complete with Last Action

Available in the Type shortcut menu

With this option enabled, completing the last action inside a project or action group will automatically complete the containing project or action group. With this option disabled, the project or action group will need to be manually marked completed.

Only available for projects or action groups set to Parallel or Sequential.

Completed

Available on Mac in Perspectives menu
Available on iPhone, iPad, Apple Vision Pro 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)

May also be named Manage Plug-Ins
Available on Mac in Automation menu
Available on iPhone, iPad, Apple Vision Pro 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.

For sample Omni Automation Plug-Ins and to learn more about scripting OmniFocus, visit the Omni Automation website.

For information on installing Omni Automation Plug-Ins, see the Omni Automation article Installing Plug-Ins.

Contact Omni

Available on Mac in Help menu
Available on iPhone, iPad, Apple Vision Pro in Help toolbar item
Available on iPhone, iPad, Apple Vision Pro 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.

If you see a “The operation couldn’t be completed. Not authorized to send Apple events to Mail.” error when you select Contact Omni, you can grant OmniFocus authorization to send email.

Open System Settings, then navigate to Privacy & Security > Automation, and click on the triangle next to OmniFocus to view additional options. Make sure that Mail is enabled (along with any other apps that you would like), then select Contact Omni again.

System authorization can also affect using Clippings on Mac

Convert to Action

Available in the Inspector toolbar.
Available in the Organize shortcut menu

Convert the selected project into an action group (if the project contains actions), or an action (if the project doesn't contain actions).

The newly created action or action group will be placed in either the Inbox, or the default Miscellaneous project, depending on your setting for Clean up Inbox items which have.

Compare Convert to Project

Convert to Project

Available on Mac, iPad, Apple Vision Pro in Edit menu
Available in the Inspector toolbar.
Available in the Organize shortcut menu
Command-!

Convert the selected action or action group into a project.

The newly created project will be placed at the bottom of the Projects Sidebar.

Compare Convert to Action

Copy

Available on Mac, iPad, Apple Vision Pro in Edit menu
Available in the Edit shortcut menu
Available on iPhone, iPad, Apple Vision Pro in Editing menu
Command-C

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

Copy As Link

Available on Mac in Edit menu
Available on Mac in Perspectives List
Available in the 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 in the 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 on the normal clipboard.

Available on Mac in View menu.

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

Cut

Available on Mac, iPad, Apple Vision Pro in Edit menu
Available in the Edit shortcut menu
Available on iPhone, iPad, Apple Vision Pro in Editing menu
Command-Z

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

Defer until Tomorrow

Available on iPhone, iPad, Apple Vision Pro in Schedule shortcut menu

Only available for actions and projects that are not set to repeat.

Sets the Defer Until date for an item to Tomorrow, without changing any assigned time. This option presents if the action or project has a Defer Until date in the past, or no assigned Defer Until date.

Delete

Available on Mac, iPad, Apple Vision Pro in Edit menu
Available in the Inspector toolbar.
Available in the Shortcut menu
Command-Delete

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

On Mac, you can enable Delete items without requiring the Command Key, which allows you to use Delete.

Deselect All

Available on Mac, iPad, Apple Vision Pro in Edit menu
Shift-Command-A

Clear the selection completely, so that nothing is selected.

Drop

Available in the Shortcut menu

Marks the selected action(s) dropped.

Drop Completely

Available in the Shortcut menu

Only available for actions that are set to repeat.

Drops the selected action(s), but does not create the next repetition; this results in the entire repeating action being dropped.

Compare Skip

Due Today/Tomorrow

Available on iPhone, iPad, Apple Vision Pro in Schedule shortcut menu

Only available for actions and projects that are not set to repeat.

Sets the Due date for an item to either Today or Tomorrow, without changing any assigned time. If the item is already Due either Today or Tomorrow, then only a single choice will be offered.

Duplicate

Available on Mac in Edit menu
Available in the Edit shortcut menu
Command-D on Mac

Make a copy of a selected item, placing it immediately below the selected item.

Edit Completion Date

May also be named Show Completion Date Editor
Available on iPad, Apple Vision Pro in Edit menu
C

Assign a completion date to an action, action group, or project, or edit the currently assigned completion date.

Edit Defer Until

May also be named Show Defer Until Editor
Available on iPad, Apple Vision Pro in Edit menu
Shift-D

Assign a Defer Until date to an action, action group, or project, or edit the currently assigned defer until date.

Edit Due

May also be named Show Due Editor
Available on iPad, Apple Vision Pro in Edit menu
D

Assign a due date to an action, action group, or project, or edit the currently assigned due date.

Edit Estimated Duration

May also be named Show Estimated Editor Duration
Available on iPad, Apple Vision Pro in Edit menu
Shift-T

Assign an estimated duration to an action, action group, or project, or edit the currently assigned estimated duration.

Edit Inspector Layout

Available in the Inspector toolbar.

Choose this command to open Layout Settings for Inspector.

Edit Link

Available on Mac in Edit shortcut menu

Edit a hyperlink to an item within OmniFocus, or beyond.

Edit Title/Edit Note

Available on Mac, iPad, Apple Vision Pro in Edit menu
Command-' to switch between fields
E to begin editing title
N to begin editing note

Using E or N will begin editing, but will not toggle between fields.

Using Command-' will switch between editing the item title and the item note.

Edit Notifications

May also be named Show Notifications Editor
Available on iPad, Apple Vision Pro in Edit menu
Shift-N

Assign a notification to an action, action group, or project, or edit the currently assigned notifications.

Edit Project

May also be named Show Project Editor
Available on iPad, Apple Vision Pro in Edit menu
P

Assign a project to an action or action group, or edit the currently assigned project.

Edit Repeat

May also be named Show Repeat Editor
Available on iPad, Apple Vision Pro in Edit menu
R

Assign a repeat to an action, action group, or project, or edit the currently assigned repeat.

Edit Tags

May also be named Show Tags Editor
Available on iPad, Apple Vision Pro in Edit menu
T

Assign tags to an action, action group, or project, or edit the currently assigned tags.

Emoji and Symbols

May also be named Emoji
Available on Mac, iPad, Apple Vision Pro in Edit menu
Control-Command-Space
Globe key on Mac
Globe-E key on iPhone, iPad, Apple Vision Pro

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 Item(s)

Available on Mac, iPad, Apple Vision Pro in View menu
Command-9

Show the children of the selected items.

Compare Collapse Item(s)

Expand Item(s) Completely

Available on Mac, iPad, Apple Vision Pro in View menu
Option-Command-9

Show all descendants of all selected items in the Sidebar or the Outline.

Compare Collapse Item(s) Completely

Expand All

Available on Mac, iPad, Apple Vision Pro in View menu
Control-Command-9

Show all descendants of all items in the Sidebar or the Outline.

Compare Collapse All

Export

Available on Mac in File menu
Available on iPhone, iPad, Apple Vision Pro in Data settings.

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

More information is available in Exporting from OmniFocus.

Find (iPhone, iPad, Apple Vision Pro)

Available on iPad, Apple Vision Pro in Edit menu
Command-F on iPhone, iPad, Apple Vision Pro

This command is named Go to Search Field on Mac, and Find on iPad and Apple Vision Pro.

See Go to 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.

Go to Search Field (Option-Command-F on Mac)
Search Here
Search Remaining
Search Everything
Find… (Command-F on Mac)
Find Next (Command-G on Mac)
Find Previous (Shift-Command-G on Mac)
Use Selection for Find (Command-E on Mac)
Jump to Selection (Command-J on Mac)

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.

Find/Go to Search Field

Available on Mac, iPad, Apple Vision Pro in Edit menu
Option-Command-F on Mac
Command-F on iPhone, iPad, Apple Vision Pro

This command is named Go to Search Field on Mac, and Find on iPad and Apple Vision Pro.

The Toolbar at the top of the Outline contains a Search field.

On Mac, this field is always visible, unless the toolbar has been customized to hide the field.

On iPhone or iPad, you need to drag down from the top of the Outline, in order to show the field.

On Apple Vision Pro, you need to tap the Search Toolbar button.

Search Scope

Available on iPad, Apple Vision Pro in Edit menu
Control-Command-1 for Search Here
Control-Command-2 for Search Remaining
Control-Command-3 for Search Everything

When using an external keyboard with iPhone, iPad, or Apple Vision Pro, you can start a search using a specific scope, instead of starting a search, and then changing scope.

Search finds text matching the keywords in item titles, notes, and tags, and displays results in the Outline. Click or tap into the Search field and enter keywords to find in one of the following scopes.

Search Here — Search includes all items currently visible in the Outline. For many perspectives this includes the entire content of the perspective, but for perspectives grouped by project it may not. If you have selected a specific folder or project in the Sidebar, items in projects outside that selection will not be shown in the results.
Search Remaining — Search includes items in your OmniFocus data that are Remaining (neither Completed nor Dropped).
Search Everything — Search includes all items in your OmniFocus data, regardless of status or location.

Flag

See Set/Clear Flag

Flagged

Available on Mac in Perspectives menu
Available on iPhone, iPad, Apple Vision Pro in Quick Open
Command-5

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

Focus on Selected Projects/Unfocus (Pro)

May also be named Focus/Unfocus
Available on Mac, iPad, Apple Vision Pro in View menu
Available in the Shortcut menu
Shift-Command-F

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 notice 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 notice 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.

Using Focus inside a Custom Perspective that includes a Focus as part of its parameters will display the intersection of the two Focus areas.

Forecast

Available on Mac in Perspectives menu
Available on iPhone, iPad, Apple Vision Pro in Quick Open
Command-4

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, iPad, and Apple Vision Pro in License settings, using the Enable Pro features switch.

Go Back/Forward

May also be named Back/Forward
Available on Mac, iPad, Apple Vision Pro in View menu
Command-Option-[ for Back
Command-Option-] for Forward

Allows you to navigate back and forward through the locations you have recently visited in OmniFocus.

Go Back reviews from newest to oldest, while Go Forward reviews from oldest to newest.

Using Go Back to return to an earlier point in your navigation history, and then making a different choice before using Go Forward, will reset your Go Forward history.

Go to Inspector

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

Use the keyboard to navigate to 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 to the Outline (Tab, Return, Esc, and other keys affect items and fields in the outline).

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

Use the keyboard to navigate to the Sidebar (Tab, Return, Esc, and other keys affect items and fields in the sidebar).

Group

Available on Mac, iPad, Apple Vision Pro in Organize menu
Available on iPhone, iPad, Apple Vision Pro in Organize shortcut menu
Option-Command-G

In the Sidebar, group projects and folders into newly created folders, or group tags into newly created tag groups.

In the Outline, group actions into action groups. Grouping a project will convert it from a project to an action group, and place it inside a new project.

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 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 iPhone, iPad, or Apple Vision Pro. If you are using iPhone or iPad, parts of an OmniOutliner document can be dragged and dropped into OmniFocus.

Inbox

Available on Mac in Perspectives menu
Available on iPhone, iPad, Apple Vision Pro in Quick Open
Command-1

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

Indent/Outdent

Available on Mac, iPad, Apple Vision Pro in Organize menu
Available in the Organize shortcut menu
Command-] for Indent
Command-[ for Outdent

See Move Down, Right, Up, Left.

In-App Purchases

Available on Mac in OmniFocus menu. (App Store version only)
Available on iPhone, iPad, Apple Vision Pro in License 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.

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, iPad, Apple Vision Pro in Automation settings
Available in the 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, iPad, Apple Vision Pro in Format menu
Command-I

Apply (or remove) the italic style to the selected note text.

Kern

Available on Mac in Format menu

Adjust spacing between characters:

Use Default — Automatically adjust spacing between selected characters.
Use None — Disable spacing adjustments between selected characters.
Tighten — Reduce the spacing between selected characters.
Loosen — Increase the spacing between selected characters.

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.

Ligatures

Available on Mac in Format menu

Adjust the use of ligatures to join two characters, in the selected text:

Use Default — Use the default ligatures from the font you are using.
Use None — Use none of the available ligatures from the font you are using.
Use All — Use all available ligatures from the font you are using.

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, iPad, Apple Vision Pro in License 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, iPad, Apple Vision Pro in Edit menu
Available in the Shortcut menu
Shift-Command-R

Indicate that you’ve reviewed the selected project, and set 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, iPad, Apple Vision Pro 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 front most 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 Down, Right, Up, Left

Available on Mac, iPad, Apple Vision Pro in Organize menu
Control-Command-Down Arrow for Move Down
Control-Command-Right Arrow for Move Right
Control-Command-Up Arrow for Move Up
Control-Command-Left Arrow for Move Left

These commands rearrange the currently selected item in the Outline structure without affecting deselected items.

Move Up and Move Down change an item’s location relative to its siblings.

Move Right (Indent) and Move Left (Outdent) increase or decrease an item’s level, moving their descendants with them.

Move

Available in the Inspector toolbar.
Available on iPhone, iPad, Apple Vision Pro in Organize shortcut menu

Move the currently selected action, action group, project, folder, or tag to a new location in the OmniFocus structure.

Possible destinations depend on the selected item:

Action or Action Group — Move the action or action group within the currently assigned project (or Inbox). To move the action or action group to a different project, use the Project field in the Inspector.
Project — Move the project to a different location within the project hierarchy. To move a project inside another project, first use Convert to Action, then drag the action group inside the destination project, or use the Project field in the Inspector.
Folder — Move the folder anywhere within the project hierarchy.
Tag — Move the tag anywhere within the tag hierarchy.

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 front most window to the selected display; it only appears if you have an external monitor or iPad connected.

Nearby

Available on Mac in Perspectives menu
Available on iPhone, iPad, Apple Vision Pro in Quick Open
Command-6

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

New Action

Available on Mac, iPad, Apple Vision Pro in File menu
Available on Mac, iPhone, iPad, Apple Vision Pro in Toolbar
Command-N

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

Add Action/Item has the same function, and is available in the Organize shortcut menu.

New Folder

Available on Mac, iPad, Apple Vision Pro in File menu
Shift-Option-Command-N on iPad, iPhone

Create a new folder for organizing projects, in Projects or in a Badge indicating that this feature is part of OmniFocus Pro. Custom Perspective which groups by entire project.

See Add Folder for the related Projects Sidebar button.

New Project

Available on Mac, iPad, Apple Vision Pro in File menu
Shift-Command-N

Create a new project, in Projects or in a Badge indicating that this feature is part of OmniFocus Pro. Custom Perspective which groups by entire project, using 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 Badge indicating that this feature is part of OmniFocus Pro. Custom Perspective which groups by entire project.

This command is also available by using New Project, and setting project type to Single Action List, on Mac, iPad, iPhone, and Apple Vision Pro.

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, iPad, Apple Vision Pro in File menu
Control-Command-N

Create a new tag in Tags, Flagged, Nearby, or in a Badge indicating that this feature is part of OmniFocus Pro. Custom Perspective which groups by individual actions.

See Add Tag for the related button in the Tags Sidebar.

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.

Omni Automation

Available in the Shortcut menu

The Omni Automation menu provides access to installed OmniFocus Plug-Ins.

On iPhone, iPad, or Apple Vision Pro, Omni Automation menu will only display if Developer Mode has been enabled in Automation settings.

News

Available on Mac in Help menu
Available on iPhone, iPad, Apple Vision Pro 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 in Help menu
Available on iPhone, iPad, Apple Vision Pro in Help toolbar item
Available on iPhone, iPad, Apple Vision Pro in Help settings

View this help documentation.

OmniFocus Product Page

Available on Mac in Help menu.

Visit the OmniFocus page on the Omni Group website.

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.

Open your OmniFocus archive for viewing and editing.

Open in New Window/Tab

Available on Mac in Perspectives List
Available in the Perspectives Bar shortcut menu, except for iPhone
Available in the Shortcut menu

On 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 Mac, this command can also be applied to an action, in which case it affects the containing project.

On Mac or Apple Vision Pro, this opens the selected perspective, folder, or project in a new window, instead of replacing the current window.

On iPad, this will open the selected perspective, folder, or project in a new split screen window.

On iPhone, this command is not available.

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.

Open Link

Available on Mac in Edit shortcut menu
Available on iPhone, iPad, Apple Vision Pro 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.

Parallel

Available in the Type shortcut menu

Sets the Project Type or Action Group Type to Parallel.

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, iPad, Apple Vision Pro in Edit menu
Available in the Edit shortcut menu
Available on iPhone, iPad, Apple Vision Pro in Editing menu
Command-V

Inserts a copy of whatever is currently on the clipboard. The contents of the clipboard will be pasted as (a) new item(s). If the clipboard contains only text (rather than whole items, such as actions or projects), and you are already editing the text of another item, the clipboard contents are pasted at the insertion point, using a simplified style.

Paste and Match Style

Available on Mac, iPad, Apple Vision Pro in Edit menu
Option-Shift-Command-V

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, iPad, Apple Vision Pro 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 on the style clipboard (obtained using Copy Style) 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 iPhone, iPad, or Apple Vision Pro. Please contact our Support Humans if you would find this useful.

Projects

Available on Mac in Perspectives menu
Available on iPhone, iPad, Apple Vision Pro in Quick Open
Command-2

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

Quick Open

Available on Mac, iPad, Apple Vision Pro in File menu
Available in the Toolbar or Window
Command-O

Please read about Quick Open on Mac and Quick Open on iPhone, iPad, Apple Vision Pro 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 in Edit menu
Shift-Command-Z

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, iPad, Apple Vision Pro in Help toolbar item
Available on iPhone, iPad, Apple Vision Pro in Help settings.

Read the release notes for the current version of OmniFocus.

Rename

Available on iPhone, iPad, Apple Vision Pro in Shortcut menu

Rename the selected folder, project, or tag in the Sidebar. This allows in-place renaming, without opening the Inspector.

Replace Tiled Window

See Tiled Windows

Reschedule to Today/Tomorrow

Available on iPhone, iPad, Apple Vision Pro in Schedule shortcut menu

Only available for actions and projects that are set to repeat.

Sets the Due date for an item to either Today or Tomorrow, maintaining the current difference between the Due date, and any assigned Defer Until date, without changing any assigned times. If the item is already Due either Today or Tomorrow, then only a single choice will be offered.

Compare Due Today/Tomorrow

Reset Database

Available on iPhone, iPad, Apple Vision Pro in Reset settings
Mac version of this command is Reset Database and Settings…, 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, iPad, Apple Vision Pro 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.

The iPhone, iPad, and Apple Vision Pro version of this command is Reset Database.

Revert to This Backup

Available on iPhone, iPad, Apple Vision Pro 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 in Perspectives menu
Available on iPhone, iPad, Apple Vision Pro in Quick Open
Command-7

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

Select All

Available on Mac, iPad, Apple Vision Pro in Edit menu
Available on iPhone, iPad, Apple Vision Pro in Editing menu
Command-A

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

Select Forecast Day

Available on iPhone, iPad, Apple Vision Pro in View menu
Command-Left arrow for Select Previous Day
Command-T for Select Today
Command-Right arrow for Select Next Day

Navigate between days while viewing Forecast.

Sequential

Available in the Type shortcut menu

Sets the Project Type or Action Group Type to Sequential.

Services

Available on Mac in OmniFocus menu.
Available on Mac in Shortcut menu

Access system-wide macOS services offered by other applications.

This menu is only available in the Outline on Mac.

Set/Clear Completed Status

Available on iPad, Apple Vision Pro in Edit menu
Space bar

With one or more items selected, press Space bar to toggle between Completed and Active.

Set/Clear Dropped Status

Available on iPad, Apple Vision Pro in Edit menu
Option-Space bar

With one or more items selected, Press Option-Space bar to toggle between Dropped and Active.

Set/Clear Flag

Available on Mac, iPad, Apple Vision Pro in Edit menu
Available in the Shortcut menu
Shift-Command-L
F

Flag the selected item(s), adding it to the Flagged perspective, or remove an assigned flag.

Settings

Available on Mac, iPad, Apple Vision Pro in OmniFocus menu
Available on iPhone, iPad, Apple Vision Pro in Settings
Available on Apple Watch in Settings
Command-,

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

Available in the Toolbar
Available in the Inspector toolbar.
Available in the Shortcut menu

Send selected items from OmniFocus to another application, using the built-in macOS, iOS, iPadOS, or visionOS dialog. The item is sent in a format based on its destination, with a link back to the original item in OmniFocus.

Badge indicating that this feature is part of OmniFocus Pro. With OmniFocus Pro for iPhone, iPad, or Apple Vision Pro, any installed OmniFocus Plug-Ins also appear as options in the Share dialog. Tap a scripted action in the list to run it.

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 Inspector Fields

Available in the Inspector toolbar.

Enable this command to show all Inspector fields that apply to the current selection, regardless of which fields are enabled in the Layout Settings for Inspector.

Disable this command to show only those fields enabled in Layout Settings for Inspector.

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/Hide All Notes

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

Show or hide all notes with content.

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, iPad, and Apple Vision Pro backups, is in the Backups of OmniFocus Data section of Managing Your Data.

Show/Hide Colors

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

Show or hide the Colors window.

Show Console (Pro)

May also be named Automation Console or Show Automation Console
Available on Mac, iPad, Apple Vision Pro in Automation menu
Available on iPhone, iPad, Apple Vision Pro in Omni Automation toolbar item.
Shift-Command-C on iPhone, iPad, Apple Vision Pro

Opens the Automation Console, for Omni Automation development and testing.

Item is labeled Automation Console on iPhone, iPad, and Apple Vision Pro

Show/Hide Fonts

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

Show or hide the Fonts window.

Show in Inbox/Projects/Tags

Available on Mac, iPad, Apple Vision Pro in View menu
Available in the Shortcut menu
Option-Command-R

Switch to Projects, Tags, or Inbox.

Your current selection of items will be preserved in the new perspective.

Show/Hide Inspector

Available on Mac, iPad, Apple Vision Pro in View menu
Available on iPhone, iPad, Apple Vision Pro in Toolbar
Available on iPhone, iPad, Apple Vision Pro in Shortcut menu
Option-Command-I

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

Show Next/Previous Tab

Available on Mac in Window menu.

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

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, iPad, Apple Vision Pro in View menu
Available on iPhone, iPad, Apple Vision Pro in Appearance settings
Option-Command-P

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

Show/Hide Perspectives List

Available on Mac in Perspectives menu
Control-Command-P on Mac
Command-O

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.

The same function is available on iPhone, iPad, Apple Vision Pro in Quick Open.

Apple Watch supports selecting favorite perspectives, either to display on the main screen of OmniFocus 4 for Apple Watch or to use on a watch face, in Perspectives List settings.

Show/Hide Quick Entry

Available on Mac in Window menu
Available on iPad, Apple Vision Pro in File menu
Shift-Control-Option-S on Mac
Control-Option-Space

Show or hide the Quick Entry window.

Keyboard shortcuts work differently, depending on which device you are using:

Shift-Control-Option-S works only on Mac, when OmniFocus is the front most application.
Control-Option-Space works on iPhone, iPad, and Apple Vision Pro, when OmniFocus is the front most application. The shortcut can not be customized.
Control-Option-Space works on Mac, even if OmniFocus is not the front most application, as long as it is running. The shortcut can be customized in General settings.

Available on Mac, iPad, Apple Vision Pro in View menu
Available on iPhone, iPad, Apple Vision Pro in Appearance settings
Option-Command-S

Show or hide the Sidebar.

Show/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.

Available on Mac in View menu.

Show or hide the Toolbar.

Show/Hide View Options

Available on Mac, iPad, Apple Vision Pro in View menu
Shift-Command-V

Open the View Options for the current perspective.

Single Actions

Available in the Type shortcut menu

Sets the Project Type to Single Actions List.

Skip

Available in the Shortcut menu

Only available for actions that are set to repeat.

Drops the selected action(s), while creating the next repetition; this results in the repeating action continuing.

Compare Drop Completely

Smaller

Available on Mac, iPad, Apple Vision Pro in Format menu
Command-–

Decrease the size of the selected note text.

Available on Mac in Help menu
Available on iPhone, iPad, Apple Vision Pro 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, iPad, Apple Vision Pro 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 in to 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.
Available on Mac in Sort shortcut menu.

Using one of these properties, sort the selected items in the Sidebar or 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, iPad, and Apple Vision Pro, 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

May also be named Dictation
Available on Mac, iPad, Apple Vision Pro in Edit menu.
Globe-D key on iPhone, iPad, Apple Vision Pro

With dictation enabled for Mac, iPhone, iPad, or Apple Vision Pro, select an editable text field and use this command to enter text by speaking.

A separate shortcut key can also be set in Keyboard system settings.

Status

Available on Mac in Edit menu
Available in the Status shortcut menu

Choose from this submenu to change the status for the selected item(s):

It is also possible to update between Active, Completed, and Dropped using a keyboard. See Set/Clear Completed Status and Set/Clear Dropped Status for more information.

Strikethrough

Available on Mac in Format menu

Apply (or remove) the strikethrough style to the selected note text.

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, iPad, Apple Vision Pro in File menu
Available in the Toolbar
Command-S

Compare your local OmniFocus data with the server data, and make sure that both sides have all the recent changes you’ve made.

Only available if you have set up synchronization in Sync settings

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

System Search

Available on Mac in Help menu
Shift-Command-?

On Mac, iPhone, iPad, and Apple Vision Pro, 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.

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, iPad, Apple Vision Pro in Format menu
Command-U

Apply (or remove) the underline style to the selected note text.

Undo

Available on Mac in Edit menu
Available in the Toolbar
Command-Z

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

Ungroup

Available on Mac, iPad, Apple Vision Pro in Organize menu
Option-Command-U

Move all the child items out of the selected group, and remove the group from OmniFocus.

Compare Group

Unlock OmniFocus

Available on Mac in OmniFocus menu
Available on iPhone, iPad, Apple Vision Pro in License 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….

Writing Direction

Available on Mac in Format menu

Adjust the writing direction of the selected text, or of the paragraph containing the selected text.

Paragraph:

Default — Writing direction of paragraph matches the default for the selected language.
Left to Right — Writing direction of paragraph is left-to-right. May override the selected language.
Right to Left — Writing direction of paragraph is right-to-left. May override the selected language.

Selection:

Default — Writing direction of selected text matches the default for the selected language. May override the above setting for Paragraph.
Left to Right — Writing direction of selected text is left-to-right. May override the above setting for Paragraph.
Right to Left — Writing direction of selected text is right-to-left. May override the above setting for Paragraph.

Zoom

Available on Mac in Window menu.

Switch the front most 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.

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Getting Help

When you’re in need of help — whether you’re trying to figure out how custom perspectives work, how to sync your database with OmniFocus on another device, or if you’re having some other issue with OmniFocus — it’s good to know that the Support Humans at the Omni Group are always available to lend you a hand.

In addition to contacting Omni support directly, there are several online and in-app resources that can help answer your questions about OmniFocus.

Reference Manual

OmniFocus 4 for Mac, iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch, and Apple Vision Pro documentation is being combined into this single, unified reference manual. This is still work in progress, which encountered significant delays during our recent development.

If you are using OmniFocus 3, or would like background information regarding sections that are not yet available in this manual, you may be interested in the OmniFocus 3 Reference Manual for macOS or OmniFocus 3 Reference Manual for iOS.

Planned changes, work in progress, and published updates are noted below, but if there is anything additional you would like to see, or topics that you would like us to prioritize, please email the Support Humans.

Release Notes

For a detailed, comprehensive summary of the latest changes to OmniFocus, read the Release Notes, available from the Help menu on Mac, the Help row in Settings on iPhone, iPad, and Apple Vision Pro, or the Help sub-menu under the toolbar More menu on iPhone, iPad, and Apple Vision Pro.

Online Support

The OmniFocus Support Site provides a wealth of information (including this reference manual), as well as support articles which cover other topics related to working with OmniFocus.

Similarly, the OmniFocus product page is always a good place to find the latest information about features and updates to OmniFocus.

Email Support

If you’re stuck, if you have a good idea for the next version of OmniFocus, or if you just want to let us know how we’re doing, please send us an email. Contact Omni will create an email message addressed to us, which also includes information about the version you’re running, which operating system you’re running it on, and what type of license you have, which helps us quickly assist you.

Alternatively, you can email Support Humans directly! Either way, we take support seriously, so you can expect a prompt response actually typed by our Support Humans.

If you are contacting support with an issue, it’s very helpful if you can include a screenshot or screen recording of the behavior that you’re experiencing, along with the steps that are causing the issue. This helps us understand the problem and find a solution more quickly and effectively.

Apple provides several useful sets of instructions for capturing screenshots or screen recordings:

Phone Support

We understand that sometimes you just can’t wait for an email response when you’re knee-deep in a project and you’re stuck, or something isn’t working quite right. When this happens, you can call our Support Humans! Please check our Support site for current hours and telephone numbers.

Community Support

Omni maintains online forums for all of our products, which are available to everyone. Come share your questions and ideas with other users, share tips to show off how you’re using OmniFocus for getting stuff done, and seek help from the OmniFocus community.

Omni also maintains a public Slack Workspace, where you’re welcome to join the community of fellow productivity enthusiasts to hang out and share OmniFocus-related insights.

Note that while Omni Forums and Slack are a great resource for interacting with others in the OmniFocus community, they are not monitored for troubleshooting purposes, and are not considered an official support channel. Please use our email and phone options to get in touch with our support team directly.

Documentation Updates

While documentation is still being actively revised, notes will be added to this section to make it easy to find new and updated content.

Planned Revisions

Remaining work is planned in this order; feedback is welcome!

System Integration
Settings (minor updates remain)
Commands and Shortcuts (minor updates remain)
OmniFocus for Apple Watch
Omni Automation
Accessibility

Documentation Release Notes

4.0.0 — Initial release, followed by updates: added Projects Sidebar and Project Type sections, and updated Miscellaneous Project section of Perspectives chapter; added Grouping Items section to Outline chapter; updated Custom Perspectives chapter to be more accurate (full rewrite is still in progress); added Types of Settings section to Settings chapter.
4.0.1 — Added Clippings, Setting up OmniFocus 4, Upgrading from OmniFocus 3, How OmniFocus Sync Works (as well as updates regarding syncing with an Omni Account or WebDAV), and Troubleshooting sections to Managing Your Data chapter.
4.0.2 — Linked to relevant portions of OmniFocus 3 Reference Manual for macOS and OmniFocus 3 Reference Manual for iOS from in-progress sections; added Project Sidebar, Project Status, and Folder Status sections to Perspectives chapter; added Archiving in OmniFocus and Exporting from OmniFocus sections to Managing Your Data chapter; updated Settings, Commands and Shortcuts, and Glossary chapters.
4.0.3 — Added Tags and Forecast sections to Perspectives chapter; updated Archiving in OmniFocus, Upgrading from OmniFocus 3, Backups of OmniFocus Data, and Migrating Your Data sections to Managing Your Data chapter, for changes made in OmniFocus 4.0.3; updated Settings, Commands and Shortcuts, and Glossary chapters.
4.0.4 — Added Flagged, Nearby, Review, Completed, and Changed sections to Perspectives chapter; revised Upgrading from OmniFocus 3 and Importing an Existing Archive sections of Managing Your Data chapter; updated Welcome, Getting Started, Outline, Inspector, Settings, Commands and Shortcuts, and Glossary chapters.
4.1.0 — Revised Sidebar section, and moved it from the Outline chapter to the Perspectives chapter. Added Apple Vision Pro references and links to existing structure, as OmniFocus 4.1 brings OmniFocus to Apple Vision Pro!
4.2.1 — Revised the Outline, Toolbar, and Commands & Shortcuts chapters. Updated the Perspectives, Inspector, Settings, Glossary, and Managing Your Data chapters.
4.2.2 — Revised the Inspector chapter. Updated the Outline, Settings, Commands & Shortcuts, and Glossary chapters.
4.3.0 — Revised the Custom Perspectives chapter. Updated the Perspectives, Inspector, Commands & Shortcuts, Getting Help, and Glossary chapters.
4.3.1 — Revised the Capture Methods chapter. Updated the Perspectives, Custom Perspectives, Settings, Commands & Shortcuts, and Glossary chapters.

Glossary

Some words and phrases used in OmniFocus have very specific meanings, and though we strive to make those meanings clear, this is a good place to come for further assistance.

Is there is a term missing from this list, or something here that doesn’t quite make sense? Please email us about what would be helpful, and we’ll do our best to clarify or update.

Action

A specific item which can be accomplished, and which you can capture in OmniFocus. Actions can be found in the Inbox, as part of a Project, or part of an Action Group within a project.

In other areas of your life, these are often referred to as tasks or to-dos. In OmniFocus, using the word action reminds you to always be thinking about the next step you can take to move a project towards completion, and attain your goal.

Action Group

A collection of child Actions nested underneath a parent action, which must all be Resolved before the parent action can be considered completed.

Action Groups are normally part of a Project, and can be thought of as subprojects, but may also be part of the Inbox.

Similar to a project, an action group may be Parallel or Sequential.

Action Groups use bold text, making it easy to quickly tell them apart from actions.

Action Group Type

Action Groups may be Parallel or Sequential.

Compare this to Project Types, which also includes Single Actions List.

Active

See Status.

Added Date

The date and time that a given Action, Action Group, Project, Folder, or Tag was Added.

Apple User Guides

Apple provides User Guides for a variety of devices, operating systems, and applications:

Availability

Availability is a state that is derived for actions or action groups, based both upon the assigned Status of the item, and the states of containing Folders, Projects, Action Groups, or assigned Tags; this can include project status, project dates, project type, status of assigned tags, and Additional. Possible availability states include:

Available — An Active Action, Action Group, or Project that is available for work, as it is not Blocked, Deferred, or On Hold.
Blocked — An Active Action or Action Group that is not available for work, as another action must be completed first. This is typically found in a Sequential project or action group, if another action is above it in the project outline. Actions can be unblocked by moving them to the top of the project or action group, or by changing the containing project or action group from Sequential to Parallel.
Blocked with container — An Action or Action Group may also be Blocked based on the availability of the Project or Action Group which Contains it.
Unavailable — An Active Action or Action Group that is not yet Available for work. This is most often due to the Defer Until Date being in the future.
Unavailable with container — An Action or Action Group may also be unavailable for work, based on either the Status or availability of the Project or Action Group which Contains it. This is most often the case when the project is On Hold, or the project or action group has a future Defer Until Date.

Available

To learn more about the concept of Availability in OmniFocus, and how it impacts Actions, Action Groups, and Projects, see Availability.

To learn more about the filter option named Available, see View Options.

Blocked

See Availability.

Blocked with container

See Availability.

Changed Date

The date and time that a given Action, Action Group, Project, Folder, or Tag was Changed.

Compact View

Default view on iPhone, or iPad (when running in some split screen sizes). This view shows each pane of OmniFocus individually, and can be thought of as navigating a series of stacked cards. You can see the Sidebar, Outline, or Inspector.

Compare this with Regular View.

Completed

See Status.

Completed Date

The date and time that a given Action, Action Group, or Project was Completed.

Container

A Folder which contains folders or Projects, or a project or Action Group which contains action groups or Actions. This term is used in the Inspector when viewing items which inherit Availability, Status, or properties such as Flagged or Due Date from their container.

See Shortcut Menu.

Database

The collection of files, that are bundled together as an OmniFocus.ofocus package, which OmniFocus uses to store all the information that you add to the app. Under normal circumstances, you should rarely need to interact directly with the database folder, and the various perspectives show you all the contained information. There are Settings that can optimize the performance of OmniFocus, and you can email us if it looks like something isn't working correctly. When using a Mac or iPad, you can have multiple windows open, in order to see different views of your data at the same time. When using a Mac, you can open multiple database files at once to restore from a backup or archive, or view the contents of an OmniFocus database other than your primary data.

You may also see this referred to as your OmniFocus data, or OmniFocus library.

Defer Until Date

The date and time that an item becomes Available for work. Using Defer Until is an excellent way to get something off of your plate for now, knowing that it will return when it’s ready for work.

This is sometimes referred to as a Defer Date or Start Date.

Projects or actions that have a future Defer Until date are referred to as Deferred projects or actions.

Defer Until dates may also be inherited from their Container. Read about Inherited Dates to learn more.

Compare to Due Date

Drag and Drop

A system-level function that allows dragging items into OmniFocus, out of OmniFocus, and between OmniFocus and other apps on Macs, iPads, and iPhones. Try dragging text into OmniFocus from other apps, reordering items in the outline, and dragging rows or selected text from OmniFocus to other apps on your device.

Dropped

See Status.

Dropped Date

The date and time that a given Action, Action Group, or Project was Dropped.

Due Date

The date and time by which a given Action, Action Group, or Project must be completed.

Due dates may also be inherited from their Container. Read about Inherited Dates to learn more.

Compare to Defer Until Date

Due Soon

A designation for Actions, Action Groups, and Projects with assigned due dates that are approaching, and may need additional attention. Items that are due soon have a special style to make them more visible in your outline. The exact meaning of Due Soon can be changed in “Due Soon” Means.

A menu available on iPhone, iPad, and Apple Vision Pro, that allows editing of text in text fields; normally accessed by tapping in a text field, while editing text. Most often contains system commands such as cut, copy, paste, and more; may also contain OmniFocus commands, such as Paste with Original Style.

Estimated Duration

The amount of time you think an Action, Action Group, or Project will take to complete.

Estimated Duration can be assigned using the Inspector, or the Outline (depending on your Layout Settings).

Estimated Duration is used when calculating the Latest Start Date, and can be used when building Badge indicating that this feature is part of OmniFocus Pro. Custom Perspectives.

Everything

See View Options

Favorite

Perspectives can be starred to indicate that they are a favorite view. This can be done in the Perspectives List on Mac, in Quick Open on iPhone, iPad, and Apple Vision Pro, and in Settings on Apple Watch.

First Available

Unlike the other availability states, which can also apply to Projects and Action Groups, First Available is a state that can only apply to Actions.

See View Options

Flagged

An indication that an Action, Action Group, or Project is important. Children of flagged items are also considered flagged, making it very easy to prioritize an entire project with a single click.

Items that are flagged also have a special orange Status Circle, with a jaunty flag hat.

Use Set/Clear Flag to add or remove Flagged status to an item.

Folder

A way to group together related projects or folders. By default, folders are shown in the Sidebar, and can optionally be shown in the Outline using Projects View Options.

Forecast Tag (Pro)

A way of indicating that an Action, Action Group, or Project should be displayed in Forecast.

Select the Forecast Tag in Forecast View Options, and use Apply/Remove Forecast Tag to apply or remove the Forecast Tag to items.

Group

See Action Group.

Hidden

An item that exists in your OmniFocus data, but that isn’t currently visible, based on your setting for View Options. This can be relevant when OmniFocus alerts you that something might be deleted by mistake.

Hierarchy

See Structure & Hierarchy.

Inbox

The built-in Perspective designed to hold Actions and Action Groups that you have captured in OmniFocus, prior to processing them… creating new projects, adding them to existing projects, or assigning tags.

Inbox Item

An Action which has been captured in the Inbox, and which has not yet been processed.

Inbox items can be assigned to a new or existing Project, or may be converted to a project.

Inbox Order

The order in which Action Groups and Actions are listed in the Inbox. This is a very common order in which to display your OmniFocus data, even when you are in other Perspectives.

Related: Projects Order, Tags Order

Inspector

A view on the trailing side of the OmniFocus window (in Regular View), or that can be opened by swiping from the trailing side (in Compact View), which allows you to adjust all the details for Actions, Action Groups, Projects, Folders, and Tags. With something selected in the Outline or Sidebar, the Inspector automatically shows relevant fields. Click the Inspector button in the Toolbar, or choose Show Inspector from the View menu.

Additional information is available in the Inspector chapter.

Item

Term that may refer to Actions, Action Groups, Projects, Folders, or Tags. This reference manual will typically refer to the specific type of item being discussed, but there are a few topics where referring to an item is either necessary, or sufficiently clear.

Keyboard Shortcut

A single key, or set of keys pressed in combination, that calls a menu command. These are available when using a Mac, or with an external keyboard attached to an iPhone, iPad, or Apple Vision Pro. When using an iPad, pressing and holding the Command key (⌘) will see a list of shortcuts available from your current location in the app.

Latest Start Date

Date and time by which work must begin on a given Action, Action Group, or Project, in order to have work completed by the Due Date.

Latest Start Date is calculated by subtracting the Estimated Duration from the Due Date.

Leading/Trailing Edge

When using OmniFocus with a left to right language, the leading edge is the left side, and the trailing edge is the right side.

When using OmniFocus with a right to left language, the leading edge is the right side, and the trailing edge is the left side.

Omni Account

Your Omni Account can be used to start a free trial of our applications, purchase a license or subscription, upgrade an existing license, and sync our applications using the Omni Sync Server.

Additional information about Omni Accounts can be found in our Using and managing your Omni Account support article.

Omni Automation

A method of scripting OmniFocus with JavaScript. See the Omni Automation website for more information on this feature.

On Hold

See Status.

Outline

The main view of OmniFocus, where you see and interact with your Actions, Action Groups, and Projects, usually through a Structured view of your data. On a Mac or iPad, this is the center area of the OmniFocus window, with the Sidebar available on the Leading Edge, and the Inspector available on the Trailing Edge. On an iPhone, this is also the primary area of OmniFocus, with both the Sidebar and Inspector hidden most of the time, but available for changing your view or data. Some perspectives, such as Forecast, Nearby, and Review have specific ways of viewing your data, that may differ from the typical project structure.

Additional information is available in the Outline chapter.

Overdue

A state for items with a Due Date which has passed. Items that are overdue have red Status Circles for greater visibility.

Parallel

A Project or Action Group that contains actions which may be accomplished in any order. By default, all Active actions are considered Available. For a parallel project or action group, View Options set to First Available or Available will show different results, as the topmost action is considered first available.

Compare Sequential projects or action groups, and Single Actions List projects.

Additional information is available in the Perspectives chapter.

Pending

This Custom Perspective filter rule is now called Has an active project which has a future defer date.

Perspective

A view of your OmniFocus data that appears in the Perspectives Bar, Perspectives List, and Quick Open. OmniFocus comes with nine built-in perspectives, and custom perspectives can be created using OmniFocus Pro.

Plug-In

Omni Automation Plug-Ins are written in JavaScript, and can be used for automating various tasks, when using OmniFocus Pro. Visit the Omni Automation in OmniFocus website for more information.

Project

A collection of Actions and Action Groups that are all working towards a common goal (see Parallel or Sequential) or that are united by another common element (see Single Actions List).

Project Type

Projects may be Parallel or Sequential, or they may be a Single Actions List.

Compare this to Action Group Types, which does not include Single Actions List.

Additional information is available in Project Type

Projects Order

The order in which Projects, Action Groups, and Actions are listed in the Projects perspective. This is a very common order in which to display your OmniFocus data, even when you are in other Perspectives.

Related: Inbox Order, Tags Order

Regular View

Default view on Mac, iPad (when running in full screen), and Apple Vision Pro. This view can show the Sidebar, Outline, and Inspector at the same time.

Compare this with Compact View.

Remaining

See View Options

Resolved

Projects, action groups, or actions that have either been Completed or Dropped.

Sequential

A Project or Action Group that contains actions which must be completed in a specific order, from top to bottom. By default, only the topmost Active action is considered Available, and all actions below that one are considered Blocked. For a sequential project or action group, View Options set to either First Available or Available should show the same result.

Compare Parallel projects or action groups, and Single Actions List projects.

Additional information is available in the Perspectives chapter.

If you touch and hold on an Item, Outline Row, or selection of text, a menu may appear with relevant commands.

Apple previously referred to this type of menu as a context or contextual menu.

A pane to the left of the Outline, which can display folders, projects, tags, or a calendar, depending on which Perspective you are viewing. When using Regular View, choosing Show/Hide Sidebar will show or hide the Sidebar, next to the Outline. When using Compact View, the Sidebar will slide in from the left, and will slide out to the left when you are finished using it, leaving the Outline visible.

Additional information is available in the Perspectives chapter.

Single Actions List

A Project which contains actions that may (or may not) be related in some way, but that are not part of an overall goal. Unlike with parallel or sequential projects, the position of an action in a single action list does not matter; each action can be thought of as a very small standalone project. For a single action list, View Options set to First Available or Available will show identical results, as all actions are considered first available.

Compare Parallel and Sequential projects and action groups.

Additional information is available in the Perspectives chapter.

Stalled

This Custom Perspective filter rule is now called Has an active project which has no remaining actions.

Status

Status can be directly assigned to an action, action group, project, folder, or tag.

Status can be updated by clicking or tapping on the Status Circle (for actions and action groups), using the Status sub-menu in the Edit menu, using the Status shortcut menu, or using the Inspector:

Active — Status for an Action, Action Group, Project, or Folder that is planned for work, or a Tag that is currently in use. This is the default status for a newly added Item.
On Hold — Status for a Project or Tag which is not currently planned for work, but which may be in the future. Actions or action groups which are part of an On Hold project will be considered Unavailable for work; actions or action groups (but not projects) which are assigned to an On Hold tag will be considered Blocked.
Completed — Status for an Action, Action Group, or Project when you have finished work on the item. You can also complete the item using the Space bar.
Dropped — Status for an Action, Action Group, Project, Folder, or Tag that is no longer planned for work. You can also drop the item using Option-Space bar.

Inherited Status

Status can also be inherited from the item which contains it: actions can inherit status from action groups and projects, projects can inherit status from folders, and so on.

Completed with container — Active Actions or Action Groups which are part of a Container which has been Completed will be considered Completed with container.
Dropped with container — Active Actions, Action Groups, Projects, and Folders which are part of a Container which has been Dropped will be considered Dropped with container. When dropping a Tag Group, any child tags will also be dropped; note that dropping a tag does not drop actions with that tag assigned.

When a status is inherited, the item keeps the original value of any assigned fields, and shows the inherited values through slight modifications of icons and text, in both the Outline and Inspector.

Structure and Hierarchy

OmniFocus data is structured in a specific way, often referred to as the hierarchy of OmniFocus.

The smallest item in OmniFocus is the Action, which can either exist in the Inbox, or as part of a specific Project. While part of the Inbox, an action is just that: a single item which has the potential to be completed, but which may or may not be part of a larger goal (a project).

When switching to the Projects perspective, you begin to see where else an action can exist. Actions, whether or not they are part of an Action Group, are also part of a project. Projects may contain many actions or action groups, but may not contain other projects.

How can you group projects into areas, such as “Work” or “Renovate House”? Look at the Projects Sidebar, where you can create Folders, which can hold projects, or even other folders.

Project Hierarchy

The project hierarchy of OmniFocus is: folders can contain folders or projects, projects can contain action groups or actions, action groups can contain action groups or actions, while at the bottom of the structure lives the most important part: the action.

This hierarchy can most easily be seen in the Projects Sidebar, or in the Projects Outline, after enabling Show folders in outline.

Tag Hierarchy

There is also a tag hierarchy, which is that tags can contain other tags, and any level of tag can be assigned to an action, action group, or project.

This hierarchy can most easily be seen in the Tags Sidebar, as the Tags Outline only displays rows for tags that have been assigned to visible actions, action groups, or projects.

Sub-Project

See Action Group.

Status Circle

The circle next to an Action or Action Group that can be clicked or tapped to set the item to Completed, or Option-clicked to set the item to Dropped.

The color of the circle also indicates whether it is Due Soon, Overdue, or Flagged; actions and group configured to Repeat also have a special status circle, containing 3 dots.

For additional information, see the Status Circle section of the Outline chapter.

Sync

Updating your local OmniFocus data with another copy, which is stored on a server, such as the Omni Sync Server. This allows you to keep all of your copies of OmniFocus up-to-date, as changes go from one device, to the server, to another device, and back again.

Settings

See OmniFocus Settings or System Settings, depending on whether you want to change something about OmniFocus, or something about the system on which OmniFocus is running.

Starred

See Favorite

System Settings

Apple application that allows you to change options that affect either your entire device, or only OmniFocus. This application is named Settings on iPad, iPhone, or Apple Watch; it is named System Settings on Mac, where it was previously known as System Preferences.

Tag

Tags can be assigned to an Action, Action Group, or Project, and provide another way of looking at your OmniFocus data. They can represent a person, place, thing, state of mind, energy level, or any other factor that you find useful. These allow you to pull together all related actions, action groups, and projects into one place.

Your usage of tags can be simple, such as showing you all the items related to work; or it can be complex, such as showing you all the items related to work that you need to coordinate with your co-worker, and that must be completed while you have high-energy and are sitting near your computer.

A collection of child Tags nested underneath a parent tag. Selecting a parent tag in the Sidebar will also select child tags. Assigning a child tag to an action or project will also assign the parent tag.

Tags Order

The order in which Projects, Action Groups, and Actions are listed in the Tags perspective.

Related: Inbox Order, Project Order

Task

See Action.

An area at either the top or bottom of the OmniFocus window that contains Tools & Commands for modifying the contents of that window, or provides access to additional functionality, such as Settings, Help, or Automation.

For additional information, see the Toolbar chapter.

Unavailable

See Availability.

Unavailable with container

See Availability.

View Options

View Options allows for setting many elements that impact how your OmniFocus data displays, and which actions and groups and displayed. Though the details can vary between perspectives, these choices are found in most of the perspectives:

First Available — The first of the actions which are Active and Available, in a given project; this is a focused view of the Available option (described next), which additionally takes into account the position of actions within a project, as well as the type of project. In Sequential projects, the first available action must be higher in the project list than any other Blocked or Unavailable actions; it is very common for a sequential project to not have a first available action, if there is another action higher in the project, which is itself blocked or unavailable. In Parallel projects, the action may be anywhere in the project, as actions in parallel projects may be completed in any order. For Single Action Lists, all available actions are considered first available, as a single action list is a collection of individual actions, rather than actions working towards a specific goal. This list may also be thought of as a list of next actions.
Available — Actions, action groups, projects, folders, and tags which are both Active and Available; items may not be Blocked, Deferred, or On Hold.
Remaining — Actions, action groups, projects, folders, and tags which are not Completed or Dropped.
Everything — All actions, action groups, projects, folders, and tags, including those which have been completed or dropped.

Additional information is available in the Perspectives chapter.

Managing Your Data

OmniFocus stores all the information that you enter into a file on your system, titled OmniFocus.ofocus (technically, a bundle — which is a folder of files that looks like a single file).

On Mac, you can see the data file by selecting Show “OmniFocus.ofocus” in Finder from the File menu.

On iPhone, iPad, or Apple Vision Pro, you can see the data file by using Files.app, and navigating to On My iPhone/iPad > OmniFocus > OmniFocus.ofocus (though the name will likely display without the .ofocus portion). It is possible to have both OmniFocus 3 and OmniFocus 4 installed and syncing on the same device, so to make it easier to tell the folders apart, the OmniFocus 4 folder will also contain a file with the title OmniFocus 4 Documents.

Setting up OmniFocus 4

When you first launch OmniFocus you’ll be asked to set up Sync. Syncing is important as an additional layer of backup for your data, and enables several of the advanced features of the app such as Mail Drop.

If you’re planning to sync, we recommend setting up sync as part of the first launch process, to ensure as smooth a transition as possible between versions. If you choose to set up sync later, the same options you see during first launch are available in Sync settings.

Upgrading from OmniFocus 3

OmniFocus 4.0 does not contain any changes to the OmniFocus data structure and is fully sync compatible with the latest releases of OmniFocus 3. Future OmniFocus 4 updates may require you to migrate your data to an updated format.

We have updated how the Archive Old Items… and Open Archive… commands work, to better support importing existing Archive files from older versions of OmniFocus. More information is available in the Importing an Existing Archive section of Archiving in OmniFocus.

Upgrading While Syncing

If you are currently syncing OmniFocus 3, then upgrading to OmniFocus 4 is easy:

Launch OmniFocus 4 on your Mac, iPhone, iPad, or Apple Watch. If this is the first time you have launched OmniFocus 4, complete the setup.
When you reach the Sync Setup screen, sign into the same sync account you use for OmniFocus 3, whether that is an Omni Account or an Advanced (WebDAV) server account.
You will be prompted to Add tutorial project, which will help get you quickly acquainted with OmniFocus 4… so you can enjoy the new and updated features!
If you are using a Mac, and have an existing Archive, please read Importing an Existing Archive.

Upgrading on a Mac Without Syncing

Upgrading from OmniFocus 3 to OmniFocus 4 on a Mac without syncing requires exporting your existing OmniFocus data from OmniFocus 3, adding it to OmniFocus 4, and then importing any existing Archive file. This will allow you to use OmniFocus 4, while leaving OmniFocus 3 unchanged.

Launch OmniFocus 3 on your Mac.
Select Export… from the File menu, choose a location that is easy to find (such as the Desktop), select the file format option for Backup Document (OmniFocus), then click the Save button. This will save an OmniFocus.ofocus-backup file in your chosen location.
Quit OmniFocus 3, so you’re working with a single version of the app.
Launch OmniFocus 4 on your Mac. If this is the first time you have launched OmniFocus 4, complete the setup.
When you reach the Sync Setup screen, tap the Skip button, and confirm that you would like to continue without syncing.
You will be prompted to Add tutorial project; choose either option (as this data will be replaced), and then tap on Launch OmniFocus. You should be viewing a new data file in OmniFocus 4.
Drag the OmniFocus.ofocus-backup file on top of the OmniFocus 4 app icon in the Dock or Applications folder, click on the Revert to This Backup button that will present in a bar at the top of the window, and then confirm that you’d like to revert to the backup.
Your OmniFocus 3 data should now be in OmniFocus 4, and you can close the OmniFocus Backup document.
The first time you use Archive Old Items… or Open Archive… in OmniFocus 4, it will offer to import a copy of your existing archive from OmniFocus 3 (or OmniFocus 2). Please read the Archiving in OmniFocus section, with special attention to Importing an Existing Archive.

Upgrading on an iPhone or iPad Without Syncing

Manually upgrading from OmniFocus 3 an iPhone or iPad requires copying your primary OmniFocus data; this will allow you to begin using OmniFocus 4, while leaving OmniFocus 3 fully operational.

Install and launch OmniFocus 4.
Complete the setup for OmniFocus 4.
When you reach the Sync Setup screen, tap the Skip button, and confirm that you would like to continue without syncing.
You will be prompted to Add tutorial project; choose either option (as this data will be replaced), and then tap on Launch OmniFocus. You should be viewing a new data file in OmniFocus 4.
Force quit OmniFocus 4 (See Quit and reopen an app on iPhone or Quit and reopen an app on iPad).
We’re now going to find your current OmniFocus 3 data. Let’s start by opening Files.app.
Navigate to On My iPhone/iPad > OmniFocus. Note that there should be two OmniFocus folders: one will contain your OmniFocus 3 data, and one will contain your OmniFocus 4 data. You are looking for the folder that contains the OmniFocus 3 Documents file.
There should also be an OmniFocus.ofocus file in this folder (which may display as OmniFocus, depending on your View Options in Files.app). Press and hold on OmniFocus.ofocus, and select Copy.
Navigate to the other OmniFocus. This one should contain a OmniFocus 4 Documents file.
Press and hold below the file list, and select Paste. Your iPhone or iPad will prompt you to Replace or Keep Both; select Replace.
Launch OmniFocus 4, and your OmniFocus 3 data should be ready to go!

How OmniFocus Sync Works

With sync enabled in OmniFocus, a sync server you choose keeps a copy of your database, so that it’s always available wherever you are. With each sync, OmniFocus compares your local data with what’s on the server and updates each as needed.

OmniFocus automatically syncs whenever it’s connected to the internet. When connected, OmniFocus sends new changes to the sync server after one minute, or when opening or closing the app. At a minimum, OmniFocus checks with the server every hour, even if nothing has changed on the device. This helps ensure that your data from OmniFocus is always safe, secure, and most importantly — up to date.

If you’ve made changes you want to view immediately on another device, you can perform a manual sync by choosing Sync Now from the File menu (Command-S), click the Sync button in the Toolbar, or pull down to sync on your iPhone, before switching devices. This syncs your latest changes up to the server, so that when you launch OmniFocus on the other devices, all you have to do is sync to ensure that all of your changes are there… and remember that sync also normally happens when you open the app, so using Sync Now on the second device probably won’t be necessary.

OmniFocus uses push notifications for even more robust synchronization support. This feature notifies OmniFocus on your other devices that a sync is needed, whenever you make a change. With push notifications, manual syncing should rarely be required. See our OmniFocus Push-triggered sync support article for more information on how it works.

For options related to push notification sync, select the Push option in Sync settings.

Encrypted Sync

OmniFocus uses HTTPS to encrypt your data while communicating with sync servers that support it (including the Omni Sync Server). Additionally, all current OmniFocus databases set up to sync with remote servers are also encrypted prior to transit, and remain encrypted on the server.

Encryption was introduced in OmniFocus 2.6 for Mac and OmniFocus 2.15 for iOS. If you are upgrading from a previous version of OmniFocus, your database will require migration.

Encryption is done by OmniFocus on your Mac, iPhone, iPad, or Apple Watch at the time the data is transmitted to the sync server. This means that regardless of the sync destination (Omni Sync Server or another WebDAV server), encryption-based security is preserved. Though your database is encrypted while on the server, OmniFocus doesn’t actively encrypt data while it is stored on your local device, instead deferring to any system-level encryption you have in place.

Technical details of the encryption scheme for OmniFocus can be found in this forum post.

Setting a Separate Encryption Passphrase

By default, OmniFocus encrypts your database on the server using the password you chose when setting up your sync account. When selecting the Encryption row of Sync settings, the resulting view will confirm Encryption active and Passwords are linked. For an extra layer of security, you can use a distinct encryption passphrase by clicking or tapping on Change Passphrase.

When you click Change Passphrase, you are prompted to enter a new passphrase, which will be used to encrypt your database on the server. After setting a new encryption passphrase the Encryption settings will update to read Passwords are distinct. You can link them again by clicking Link Passwords, and entering your current encryption passphrase, or change the encryption passphrase to something new using Change Passphrase.

If you change the encryption passphrase on one device, all the other devices that you are syncing will prompt you to enter the new passphrase, before that device can receive further updates from the server. This is to guarantee that your end-to-end encryption remains secure across all devices.

Sync Settings

Establishing a cloud-connected copy of your database is a great way to keep OmniFocus in harmony across all your devices. The Sync tab has the options you need to set up your sync account. Even if you’re only using OmniFocus on a single device, we recommend setting up sync for the automated data backup it provides. There are three primary states in this collection of settings:

Sync Disabled, which keeps your data on device.
Syncing with an Omni Account
Syncing with an Advanced (WebDAV) server

If you choose to sync, keep your sync password (and separate encryption passphrase, if you use one) in a safe place. If you lose these, you’ll lose access to your data. While our Support Humans can help you reset the password for your Omni Account, it is not possible to reset your encryption phrase, if you have lost it.

If you select to sync using either an Omni Account or Advanced (WebDAV) host, there are several additional settings that become available:

Selecting the Sync row (which shows which kind of account you are using) will show the following information in the right pane (Mac), or on a second screen (iPhone, iPad, or Apple Vision Pro):

Omni Account

Advanced (WebDAV)

Archiving in OmniFocus

After using OmniFocus for some time, your OmniFocus database may become quite large. This can affect sync times and performance, especially if you are syncing with an iPhone, iPad, or Apple Watch. Most of your data is likely to be completed or dropped items, which you rarely need to reference, so OmniFocus includes an option to move some of that data to an Archive file. This gives you the option to review your older data when needed, while keeping your active data as streamlined as possible.

We have updated how the Archive Old Items… and Open Archive… commands work, as of OmniFocus 4.0.3, and the information in this section reflects that update.

To archive your old data, choose Archive Old Items… from the File menu. A sheet appears with a date field; any items completed before that date, or dropped items that haven’t been changed since that date, will be moved to the archive.

Creating an Archive

The first time that you use Archive Old Items… or Open Archive… in OmniFocus 4, you will be asked to choose a folder where you would like your OmniFocus archive to be stored. This may be a folder with an existing archive, or it may be a folder in which you would like to create a new archive.

OmniFocus 4 supports storing your OmniFocus archive anywhere on your local system, instead of requiring the archive to be stored in the same location as your primary OmniFocus data. Two places to consider are the OmniFocus folder which is automatically created in iCloud Drive, or in an OmniFocus folder that you create in your Documents folder.

Once you have selected a location for your OmniFocus archive, that location will be used each time you Archive Old Items… or Open Archive…. If you would like to change this location, move your current OmniFocus archive file (Archive.ofocus-archive) out of the selected folder. The next time you use an archive-related command, OmniFocus will prompt you to select a new location.

Importing an Existing Archive

If you would like to import your existing Archive file from OmniFocus 4, OmniFocus 3, or OmniFocus 2, but don’t yet want to archive additional items, select Open Archive… from the File menu. If you would like to import your existing Archive, and also want to archive additional items, select Archive Old Items… from the File menu.

You must then select the location where you want the imported Archive file to be stored (not the location of the Archive file to import). If you have recently installed and configured OmniFocus, you will likely be shown a location in iCloud Drive. You are welcome to choose any location in iCloud Drive, or on your local hard drive, but please read the note about Cloud Storage and File Sharing before selecting another cloud storage location.

As long as the location you have chosen to store your imported Archive file doesn’t already contain an OmniFocus 4 Archive file, OmniFocus 4 will search for an OmniFocus 3 archive; if it can’t find one, it will search for an OmniFocus 2 archive. You won't be asked where to select an import location, as OmniFocus 4 already knows where to look. If an existing Archive file is found, OmniFocus 4 will offer to import it, specifying which version of OmniFocus last updated the archive; if multiple Archive files are found, OmniFocus 4 will offer to import the most recent.

Depending on which command you selected from the File menu, you will be presented with options to Import Archive, Create New Archive, or Cancel; please read the available options, and select the best choice.

If you have an Archive file that you would like to import, but which is no longer stored in the default location for an earlier version of OmniFocus, you can still import it. Place it in the same folder you are going to select after using either Open Archive… or Archive Old Items…; OmniFocus 4 will detect that it is from an earlier version, and offer to import it.

Restoring from an Archive

If you ever want to look at your archived data, choose Open Archive… from the File menu; your archive opens in its own window. To retrieve items from an archive you are browsing, drag and drop them into the desired location in your main OmniFocus window (copy and paste works, as well). In either case, a copy remains behind in the archives; the archived copy can be retained as a record or manually deleted to keep things tidy.

Backups of OmniFocus Data

Backups are handled differently on a Mac than they are an iPhone, iPad, or Apple Vision Pro, but on every device our goal to ensure that your data is safe, and can easily be restored, if needed.

Backups on Mac

On a Mac, OmniFocus automatically backs up your data once every two hours, and keeps up to 100 backups of your data at a time. This is about two weeks worth if you run OmniFocus continuously, but is more for most people, since backups do not happen unless OmniFocus is running. Backups are also made prior to changing sync accounts, migrating your data, and even before restoring from a backup.

To restore a backed-up version of your database, choose Show Backups in Finder from the File menu, then double-click on the backup that you would like to view. It opens in its own separate OmniFocus window, so you can determine if it is the backup that you want to use. If you’d like to use this backup, click the Revert to This Backup button to replace your primary OmniFocus data with the data contained in the backup. If you are syncing, this will also force all of your other devices to re-sync, bringing them all up to date.

Backups Folder

OmniFocus 4 changes where your backups are stored, to make it easier to find them, or to include them in your Mac backups.

If you are not syncing your Desktop & Documents then you will have a special OmniFocus folder inside your Documents folder, that contains a Backups folder. This folder isn't actually part of your Documents folder, but is in a special location inside the OmniFocus storage on your system, which allows macOS to show it here.

If you are syncing your Desktop & Documents (see the Store your Desktop and Documents folders in iCloud Drive section of the Apple User Guide’s Store files in iCloud Drive on Mac), then this folder can be found in On My Mac, which you can add to your Finder sidebar in Finder Settings (see the Apple User Guide article Customize the Finder sidebar on Mac).

Backups on iPhone, iPad, and Apple Vision Pro

On an iPhone, iPad, or Apple Vision Pro, OmniFocus automatically backs up your data once per day, and can store backups on your local device, or in iCloud Drive.

More information about Backups on an iPhone, iPad, or Apple Vision Pro can be found in OmniFocus Data Settings section.

Migrating Your Data

When you update from earlier to later versions of OmniFocus, you may be prompted to migrate your database to a format capable of supporting the features of the latest version of the app. As noted above, the initial release of OmniFocus 4 is fully sync compatible with the latest release of OmniFocus 3, but if you have been syncing with older versions of OmniFocus, then a migration may be required.

When you first launch a version of OmniFocus that’s compatible with the new database format, or use Migrate Database…, you’ll see a Migration window which lists any clients that need to be updated to a later version, as well as which features will be enabled.

If you’re running a very old version of OmniFocus on a device that syncs with your current database, it may not be eligible for migration to the new database format. If this is the case, it will be indicated in the Migration window, and you’ll be asked to disconnect older versions. Choose Show Devices, then tap or click on Registered Devices, and Unregister those older versions before proceeding with the upgrade by re-selecting Migrate Database….

If you prefer to maintain sync compatibility with a very old version of OmniFocus, you can choose not to update to the new database format. However, newer features of OmniFocus that require the updated format will not be available on any devices that sync with that database.

When all of your devices with OmniFocus have versions that support the latest database format, the Migration window gives the green light to make the transition to the new, improved format. Choose Migrate Database, and OmniFocus will sync your database in the new format to all of your devices. If you choose Later, you’ll be prompted to migrate again in one day (and you can always use Migrate Database… to migrate sooner).

In the unlikely chance that something goes wrong during the migration process, OmniFocus automatically makes a backup that you can revert to, if needed.

Exporting From OmniFocus

Your OmniFocus data belongs to you. If you want to send it to other applications, run scripts on it, publish it on the web, or do other exciting stuff with it that we haven’t even thought of, you’re more than welcome to export it to the format of your liking.

Exporting on a Mac offers a variety of formats; exporting on iPhone, iPad, or Apple Vision Pro offers the CSV format. If there is another export format you would find valuable on iPhone, iPad, or Apple Vision Pro, please email us and let us know.

To export your data on iPhone, iPad, or Apple Vision Pro, use Export to CSV in Data settings.

To export your data on a Mac, choose Export… from the File menu, and then choose a format and a location. The available formats are:

OmniFocus Document — This is an ordinary OmniFocus document, like the one that you use for your primary OmniFocus database. If you open this file in OmniFocus, it will appear in its own window, and you can work with it normally, including moving items into your primary OmniFocus database. Keep in mind that most settings are stored in and read from your primary database, rather than being pulled from the document that you are viewing, which can result in unexpected behavior.
Plain Text — This is a lightweight plain text version of your data, able to be opened in the text editor of your choice. OmniFocus’s plain text export is inspired by TaskPaper, the to-do list editor from Hog Bay Software. This export should be generally compatible with TaskPaper, and able to be imported with a minimum of fuss. See our OmniFocus TaskPaper Reference Guide support article for more information.
Simple HTML — This is a single-file HTML version of your data; the stylesheet and even the icons are embedded in the HTML. If you are proficient with CSS, you should be able to restyle the result however you like.
Comma Separated Values (CSV and CSV UTF-16) — CSV is an open syntax for applications old and new, on all platforms: all of your data in a plain text file with its columns separated by commas. Once you have your data in CSV format, it’s easy to run scripts on it, convert it to some other format, or open it in applications that understand it (like OmniPlan). If you’re having trouble persuading other applications to read the non-ASCII characters in your CSV file, such as accented letters or non-Roman characters, try exporting with the UTF–16 CSV option.
Backup Document (OmniFocus) — This export option creates a file in a format (.ofocus-backup) that is almost the same as the standard OmniFocus database format, with one key difference: unlike a standard OmniFocus database file, when you open a backup in OmniFocus, the option to Revert to This Backup appears right below the toolbar. Click this button to replace your primary OmniFocus data with the data contained in the backup. If you are syncing, this will also force all of your other devices to re-sync, bringing them all up to date.

Troubleshooting

Here are a few troubleshooting tips you can try, using OmniFocus’s built in self-help features.

Finding Misplaced Items

Have you lost track of something? Try these tips:

Use the Search Field (with the three options for Here, Remaining, and Everything).
Try using the Completed & Changed perspectives to track down missing actions or projects.
Check the Attachment List for images or other files that you may have attached to items tucked deep in your database.
Open an Archive of past OmniFocus work to look for items that may have been lost to time.

Improving Performance

Is OmniFocus a little slower than you’d like? Try these tips:

Sync all of your devices regularly! This reduces sync wait times and generally improves speed and performance across the board.
Compact your database to remove unneeded edit histories; if you are syncing, this will happen automatically, once all devices have synced the same information.
Archive projects that have been completed or dropped. Moving them to the Archive gives you a more streamlined database, while still being able to restore items in the future.
Delete unneeded attachments using the Attachment List, in order to lessen the sync load and storage space required for your OmniFocus data.
More information can also be found in our Troubleshooting OmniFocus Performance support article.

Sync Settings Reference

Account Name and Password

These fields allow you to enter the sync account name and password.

The account name cannot be changed while sync is turned on. To switch sync accounts, tap Turn Sync Off, then enter information for the new account.

Encryption

Check whether your OmniFocus database is encrypted on the server, and optionally choose a separate passphrase (distinct from your sync password) for decrypting it. Learn more about OmniFocus encryption here.

Manage Your Omni Account

Opens a link to Omni Sync Server, where you can change your password, update your email address, enable Mail Drop, and access your sync server data.

Push

Check the status of push-triggered sync on your sync account (it’s set to On by default). This feature offers faster, more frequent syncs; for more information, see this support article.

Registered Devices

View a list of devices registered to sync with your cloud database, along with some other useful information: the entry for your current device is highlighted in purple, and the day a device last synced is shown adjacent to it (if a device hasn’t synced in over a week, its last sync date is highlighted in yellow).

From the Registered Devices screen, you can also Edit the list to remove any devices you no longer want to sync with.

Replace Sync Data

Replace the OmniFocus data on the sync server with the data stored on your Mac, iPad, or iPhone. This can be used when you encounter a sync conflict, and you are sure that the local copy of your data is the one you want. This may also be a good time to check our online help or talk to our Support Humans.

Reveal Stored Password

View the password for your sync account as it is locally stored and encrypted on your device. This requires giving OmniFocus permission to reveal your secure data using Face ID or Touch ID, so another person accessing your device will not be able to see your password.

Sync Disabled

This setting isn’t recommended, but if you plan to use OmniFocus exclusively on your Mac, iPad, or iPhone, and syncing to a remote server is either not allowed or simply not desired, you can choose to leave OmniFocus’s sync features disabled. In all other cases, having a cloud-based copy of your data is a great way to rest at ease that your work won’t be lost if anything happens to the device you are using.

Sync Log

A sync log with a list of all your recent OmniFocus database sync activity, and the reasons for each sync event along with their durations. If anything seems strange here, you can copy the log for use when contacting Omni support.

View the timestamp for your last database sync at a glance here, or tap to view the log of all recent syncs and the reasons for them.

Syncing with an Omni Account

Omni maintains the Omni Sync Server, which is designed to work well with OmniFocus, while providing unique features like Mail Drop. We recommend this as the best sync solution for most users, since it’s the one for which we can provide the most support; it also happens to be free! If you have an Omni Account, you can use our sync service.

If you choose to entrust your data with the Omni Sync Server, we’ll treat it with utmost care and responsibility (see our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy). To set up sync with the Omni Sync Server, get started by creating a new Omni Account here.

Syncing with a WebDAV Server

Omni Sync Server is a great solution for most OmniFocus users, but if your sync needs require that your data be kept completely within a system you control, you can configure OmniFocus to sync using another WebDAV server.

Omni is not able to provide support for third party servers, so this option is not recommended unless you have a specific need for control over your own server, and you have the technical capability to administrate it. If you choose to go this route, OmniFocus sync is compatible with any WebDAV standards-compliant server, whether remote (there are many fine providers available) or hosted on your own Mac.

If data privacy is your primary concern when syncing, you may also wish to disable the Push feature in OmniFocus preferences (found in the Push row of Sync settings). Push registrations contain nothing specific to your database, but do represent information exchanged outside your server. See this support article to help determine whether push sync is right for your needs.

While services such as Dropbox, OneDrive, and Google Drive are great for file sharing, they don’t handle OmniFocus data properly. Using a file sharing service as a place to store your OmniFocus data can corrupt it. Please do not use file sharing services as a means of synchronizing your OmniFocus data, or non-iCloud Drive services for storing your OmniFocus data.

Turn Sync Off

Available on Mac
Available on iPhone, iPad, and Apple Vision Pro

Turn off sync and use OmniFocus with a local database only. Leaving sync turned off is not recommended. If you need to switch sync accounts, tap this to turn off the currently connected account and use the setup dialog to connect to the new one.

Contents

Welcome to OmniFocus

A Message From Ken

Next Steps

Standard vs. Pro

OmniFocus

OmniFocus Pro

New in OmniFocus 4

Universal Purchase

Outline

App Navigation

App Appearance

App Customization

Forecast Perspective

Custom Perspectives

Apple Watch

Nearby Perspective

Focus

Keyboard Support

Widgets

Sharing

Supported Languages

Updated in OmniFocus 4

Accessibility

Attachments

Automation

Archive

Backups

Menus

Dates

Default Perspectives

Notes

Quick Open

Reference Manual

Repeats

Settings

Getting Started

A Trusted System

Capturing Ideas

Organizing Your Thoughts

Before You Go

Perspectives

Built-In Perspectives

Default Perspectives

Completed and Changed

Perspectives Bar

Editing the Perspectives Bar

Perspectives Bar Shortcuts Menu

Quick Open

Quick Open (Mac)

Quick Open (iPhone, iPad, Apple Vision Pro)

Perspectives List

Perspectives List More Menu

View Options

Custom Layout

Sidebar

Sidebar Edit Mode

Sidebar Select Mode

Inbox

Inbox View Options

Inbox Outline

Item Status

Cleaning Up Resolved Items

Projects

Projects View Options

Projects Outline

Projects Sidebar

Miscellaneous Project

Project Type

Project Status

Folder Status

Tags

Tags View Options

Tags Outline

Tags Sidebar

Tag Status

Tag Sorting

Forecast

Forecast View Options

Forecast Outline