The Omni Group

No Changes were made between beta 2 and this final release but changes since 1.0 include:

Stability

• On the Mac Pro, if the video card is a NVIDIA 7300 and there is more than 2GB of memory, Pixie Dust is disabled. This avoids a bug in Mac OS X where the entire machine will crash. We will enable this again when Apple fixes this problem.

• Fixed a crash in OmniDazzle when using Focal Point on Photoshop.

Localizations

• Made several interface strings localizable

• Added a French localization

General

• Added workaround for bug in the Accessibility support in Mac OS X that would cause crashes when Focal Point queried menus or popups in other applications in some cases.

• Help pages now have individual titles for improved searching.

• Pressing the escape key with the Zoom plug-in with the selection indicator still active now also marks the screen 'clear' so you no longer have to manually do this to use the plug-in again.

• Added correction to the software update query to avoid reporting incorrect data.

Happy Halloween, Omni blog readers! Troy is wearing a purple wig today, James is sporting some bright orange socks with bats on them (although for James that's a fairly typical fashion choice), Ken is wearing a lab coat, and Greg's son Miles has been transformed into…well, Darth Toddler:

Hee. I love the thumbs up gesture, there.

Okay! On to more questions, before all our pumpkins turn into…uh…chariots, or something.

Dan asks, Is there any sort of official list of ideas and feature requests for future releases?  Have you ever thought of doing something like an “OmniProduct Focus Group,” or is this something that would be completely unnecessary?

We definitely have an internal system for tracking ideas, feature requests, and bugs, and assigning things to specific target releases for all of our products. I'm guessing you're wondering more about a publicly available list, so you can see what's already been suggested? We don't have such a thing, exactly, but you can see what other people are talking about on our forums, and add your input there. Otherwise, we always welcome feedback via email, so please feel free to send us your requests.

As for a focus group, we've never hosted a formal type of group (the kind where you get free soda and people with clipboards peer at you from behind one-way mirrors), although we have asked people to join an “Alpha Brute Squad” where they get a really early look at our software (sometimes when it's in a mildly terrifying, devouring-its-own-tail state of bugdom!) and have a chance to provide feedback on features and UI before it goes into public beta.

I don't yet know what we'll be doing for OmniFocus, but I'd recommend signing up on this mailing list if you're interested in potentially being tapped for Brute Squad duty.

Kirk wonders, Any chance of transferring an Outliner license to Focus when it comes out?

Sort of. We will be offering discounted OmniFocus licenses for OmniOutliner customers, so while you won't be able to transfer one app license to another, you won't be charged full price either. We haven't made any final pricing decisions, but we definitely recognize that we need cross-product discounting.

David asks, How do I enter curved text in OmniGraffle?  That is, if I want a line of text to follow a curved path (like a squiggle or around a circle/arc), can it be done [...]?

Sorry, you can't created curved text in OmniGraffle (although you should be able to copy and paste it in from a graphic created elsewhere). If you don't have Illustrator, as you mentioned, maybe something like LineForm or EazyDraw would work?

Dan asked another question: is there a story for the change in the status of Omni's apps that come bundled with most Macs, with the switch to Intel?  (Specifically, the addition of OmniOutliner to all consumer Macs and the loss of OmniGraffle.)

If there's a story, only Apple knows it. We don't really have any influence over what Apple decides to include, or not include, in their hardware – we just review what they ultimately propose and decide if we want to say yea or nay. The expanded bundle deal for Outliner has been great, although in general I wish our software were easier to discover. You know, instead of being all tidily tucked away in the Applications folder, maybe it could be…sitting in the Dock? (Apple? I'm just sayin'.)

Nik asked several questions, most of which I've sent on to tech support,  but here's one for the blog: Is it possible to save an OmniOutliner document so that it's JUST the XML file and doesn't have the bundle “wrapper” around it? (Then I could check it into source control and stuff.)

You can check it into source control, I'm told. OmniOutliner supports CVS and SVN, so you can check it in as is, folders and all.

All righty then! This concludes today's Q&A With Omni. I may follow up with a third and final post on Thursday, so if you have any more questions, leave them in the fancy comment box.

And now, I'm off to help my son trample large metropolitan areas. RAARRRRR!

Oh crap, you mean you're actually going to ask, like, real questions? Well FINE. Make me work, why don't you.

(Note: if you need technical support on any of our apps, it's best to send it to our support team using Send Feedback.. under the Help menu in your software. I may not get to *everyone's* question this week.)

Richard asks, How can I get OmniWeb to open up RSS links in Vienna, my preferred RSS reader?

We have a current OmniWeb bug described as:

“Request: Allow news icon to send RSS feed subscriptions to outside program/external viewer [newsfeed default]” 

This should be implemented in 5.5.2, an update that should be available soon (I'm not sure exactly when, but not too long from now).

Matthew has some Omni software on his laptop, and now that his employer has provided him with a PowerMac, he wants to know how to use those same apps via network licensing.

There is a lengthy explanation of our different licensing types here, but in a nutshell, you'll just need to install your Omni application of choice on your Power Mac (grab the download from our website), then use the same license you've been using on your laptop. You cannot, however, run two copies of the licensed software using one license at the same time – otherwise, both of your computers will explode.

(Okay, they won't technically “explode”, but it would violate our licensing policy and that would mean that somewhere, a kitten would cry. Won't you please, please think of the kittens?)

Edward would like to know, Are there any “secret” ways to get OmniWeb to run quicker?

Down at the lower righthand corner of the screen, there is a very, very small button that's labeled “TURBO”. Click it, and –

Okay, I'm making that up. I wish I had some kind of cool answer like that, but unfortunately there's no simple response to that question. There are too many variables to consider, like when you're experiencing the issue (I assume you mean that the browser is running too slow at times?), what else you have going on, etc. You are running 5.5, right? If so, I suggest using the Send Feedback…option to tell us more about this so we can look into it, or email us.

BZ asked a LOT of questions, JEEZ. I'll answer two of them for now: When is OmniFocus coming out and who do I have to kill to be on the beta?

To be 100% honest, we don't know when OmniFocus is coming out. There is a team working full time on developing this product, but it's just too early to make predictions. We all really want to get it in your hands as soon as possible, though. As for the beta, when the time comes we'll be asking for volunteers. If you want to get your name in the hat now, subscribe to this list and we'll get in touch with you as soon as it's Beta Time (like Hammer Time, except with slimmer pants).

Stack said, Tell us a little bit about OmniFocus.  [...] The GTD system gives you breathing room to be implemented in a few different ways, but aside from interface stuff I don't really see how your product can distinguish itself from its competitors in the market.  How will OmniFocus be different?

I can't make any commitments yet on specific features that will be included in OmniFocus (I know, I'm all “ask us anything!” and then I give you, “errr…except that”). We're still defining how features will work; figuring out implementation and UI, and creating crazy mockups using OmniGraffle (oh, OmniGraffle, is there anything you can't do?).

I will say that the “interface stuff” – how the software looks, the way that it works, the experience you have when using it – is exactly what can distinguish one app from another and make all the difference in its value. If OmniFocus ends up being a joy to use, if it seamlessly integrates into your workflow, if it stays out of your way but provides you with what you need, then we'll have accomplished some of our biggest goals.

Our friend Corentin (who has done countless French localizations for us, merci!) asks, in part, What's planned for OmniWeb 5.6? When will a beta be out the door?

We are planning for 5.6 to be a WebKit update. As for timing, we have to get through 5.5.1 (currently in beta), then 5.5.2, then revisit the WebKit situation so…in short, we're not sure when 5.6 will be available, but it shouldn't be too long of a wait. *knock wood*

Daniel says, I'm playing through Oni at the moment, and I've found a few bugs. If I report them, do they have a chance of ever being fixed?

Well…probably not. That's what I'm told, anyway. We did the game port many, many moons ago and no longer have anything to do with Oni, which is now owned by Take 2 Interactive. You could contact them with your bug info and request an update, but it doesn't sound very likely that it will happen. Sorry, I wish I had a more helpful answer.

WHEW. That's all for now, folks, I'll try and answer more tomorrow. Oh, and for the record, we have one cat. Her name is Lotus. She's kind of mangy and makes horrible yowling sounds, but she is loved nonetheless.

I was trying to think of some exciting Omni news to share with you, and I found myself writing up a post that told you all about how our snack room fridge magnets currently spell out “FAMOUS LIPIDS” and what could that mean, and then I had to look up “lipids” because I wasn't sure what they were, and then I got distracted by wikipedia when I learned the daily requirement of lipids is 382 grams per day, which made me wonder if I am getting enough lipids, whatever they are, and then I decided that if those Halloween-sized “100 Grand” bars contain any lipids at all, I'm probably doing JIM FLIPPING DANDY in the lipid department.

Also, maybe I should cut back on the sugar for a while.

Anyway! Obviously it would be totally unprofessional and lame to post some kind of crazy blog entry about lipids, so instead I thought I'd offer up the chance for you to ask us questions – from “how do I get OmniWeb to do X” to “jeez, just how many cats do you people have” – and I'll do my best to get them answered and posted here throughout the week.

Ready? Go ahead, ask away. I'll just be, um, making absolutely sure that I've got all my lipids for the day week month year.

Changes in 5.5.1 beta 1 include:

• Updated the Finnish localization.
• Fixed a bug that caused cookies to not be retrieved properly for sites with only a single domain (for example “localhost”).
• Made the button labels on the “would you like to replace this password” dialog localizable.
• Cleaned up the error page HTML.
• Log HTTP responses when redirecting and HTTP logging is enabled.
• Cleaned up the directory listing HTML.
• Fixed a bug where urls with port specifications were being incorrectly interpreted, and required http:// before them to load.
• Cherry-picked apple revision 13652, REGRESSION: XMLHttpRequest lowercase post requests broken, which was causing errors on pages such as backpackit.com, and other Ajax-type sites.
• Restored some applescript functionality.

You can download here

Changes in beta 2:

Stability

• On the Mac Pro, if the video card is a NVIDIA 7300 and there is more than 2GB of memory, Pixie Dust is disabled. This avoids a bug in Mac OS X where the entire machine will crash. We will enable this again when Apple fixes this problem.
• Fixed a crash in OmniDazzle when using Focal Point on Photoshop

Localizations

• Made several interface strings localizable
• Added a French localization

You can download here

Changes in 2.5 include:

• Known Issues
  • Using a symbol ordering file during linking will confuse OmniObjectMeter.  Setting your Debug build style to not have a symbol ordering file will avoid this issue.

• General

  • Minor updates to online Help.
  • Turned off some debug logging for release builds.

• Performance

  • Caches demangled C++ symbol names.
  • Fixed some memory leaks in OOM itself.  OOM still can't run on itself, sadly, or this would have been trivial.

• Interface

  • Zombies are again selected correctly in the UI when hit (with zombie support enabled in preferences).
  • The restart button no longer warns if the target isn't currently running.  Use 'Restart' in the warning instead of 'Terminate' if we we are restarting.  Also, use sheets for both the restart and terminate warnings.
  • Multiple clicks on the app icon no longer create multiple open panels.
  • Added a 'Send Feedback' menu item.
  • Updated to latest About panel.

Download OmniObjectMeter

Please read the release notes because there have been a lot of changes.

Download OmniPlan beta 8

It's getting to be that time of the year…the trees are flaming with color, the nights are shivery, the air smells of wood and apples and mini-sized Snickers bars. Ah, fall. How I love you.

Except for the fact that October always means Macworld planning must begin in earnest. There are things I really like about Macworld, but planning the booth is NOT one of them. Probably because I am spatially, uh, “challenged” and trying to visualize how our booth should be laid out, even if I use a spectacularly helpful tool like, plugplugplug, OmniGraffle, is sort of like playing Tetris in the dark. With a bag over my head. And that new Justin Timberlake song, you know, the one with something that sounds like chipmunks squealing in the background? – playing on a loop. It's hard, is what I'm saying.

Anyway, as a distraction from all the logistical nightmare stuff, I was thinking about what sorts of things we might give away at our booth. Booth swag is always fun, right? Here are some ideas I had:

• MacBook Pros pre-loaded with all of our applications, even that OmniObjectMeter whatsit

• Collectible Swarovski crystal tableaus depicting Steve Jobs and Bill Gates engaged in a fierce lightsaber battle

• Live pygmy marmosets with tiny little OMNI logos branded into their fur

Of course I've encountered nothing but opposition, since these giveaways apparently are “too expensive” and “really nerdy” and “morally despicable”.

Instead I imagine we'll do buttons, or stickers, or maybe demo CDs, yawn – but I was also thinking of some Omni Index Cards. Index cards seem appropriate (although, let's admit, not nearly as cool as marmosets) since we've been working on OmniFocus and all. So if you could have a pack of index cards that was custom-printed just for you, what would you want on there? Checkboxes? Leave them blank? Make them lemon-scented? Print origami folds on them?

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