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Level up with Lynda.com courses for OmniFocus and OmniGraffle

by Linda Sharps on August 18, 2010

For the visual learners in the crowd, I thought I'd let you know there's now a comprehensive OmniFocus video training course available from Lynda.com. The training course offers more than 3 hours of info, but it's broken up into manageable 5-10 minute videos for your viewing pleasure. (I don't know about you, but the idea of sitting down to three and a half hours of anything is enough to send me packing. This is why I avoid all movies described as "epic" or "a sweeping cinematic masterpiece", because you totally know that's just shorthand for "better not drink anything before trying to watch this, unless your bladder is the size of an Airstream").

You'll need a Lynda.com subscription to watch the entire course, but there are a number of videos available for free so you can check out their approach and decide if it seems up your alley.

From the course description:

Join Chris Mattia in OmniFocus Essential Training as he shares how to capture and organize projects and action items into a system for managing tasks and getting work done. This course covers working with projects and contexts, dynamically building to-do lists, creating custom views with Perspectives, and synchronizing the OmniFocus database across multiple computers. Exercise files are included with the course.

Topics include:

The philosophy behind OmniFocus
Creating an actions list
Organizing projects with folders and action groups
Scheduling parallel and sequential actions
Adding photos and audio to actions
Integrating with iCal and Mail
Backing up and exporting data
Using the OmniFocus iPhone app

Also, don't forget—there's an online training course for OmniGraffle, too. There! I just planned out your whole weekend for you. It's gonna be awesome.

Comments

Well, I have to say that is a great list of topics!

In fact, I did not even know you could take pictures and voice notes with OmniFocus for the iPhone. Or is that with the OmniFocus for the iPad?

It is actually not possible to tell which OmniFocus versions have this feature, because it is not listed as a feature for any version on the OmniGroup site.

It might be a great idea to have a longer, bullet style list of features somewhere on the OmniGroup site, so that potential buyers are a little less confused.

Benjamin Heitmann

08.19.10 10:02 AM

You can take/attach pictures and record voice memos with both the iPhone/iPod and iPad applications.

The OmniFocus for iPhone product page has the following sentence in big bold print:

“With live, automatic syncing, location-aware custom actions lists, and on-the-fly task entry with voice notes and image capture, OmniFocus for iPhone is built to enhance your busy life.”

The OmniFocus for iPad photo gallery has as its very first image a shot showing attachment of photos and voice memos, with the caption “Keep everything in one place by attaching notes, images and audio recordings to your items.”

They failed to convey this information to you, but not because it is not on the site…

Bill

08.19.10 6:05 PM

Bill, thanks for the clarification!


I am actually very relieved that OmniFocus for the iPhone can record voice memos and take pictures. I was fearing to need additional apps to do that, which would give me more “in-baskets” to check.

Benjamin Heitmann

08.20.10 5:22 AM

First of all thank you for sending me to the lynda.com side. Never heard of it.
It is amazing. I already subscribed. I am only one hour into the OmniFocus presentation and the more I watch it the more I get angry at you guys actually: This tuition should be available with the product in the first place. I - like so many others - struggle a lot with getting things done with GTD out of my own lazyness, but right now I feel like, for the first time, that OmniFocus can really help me getting over that hurdle as well.
It is the little things that make OF special but you do not find them just like that if there isn’t someone showing them to you. At least you should come up with a video yourself that shows the little dirty tricks that are hidden under the hood.
The “how to use the Inbox” video was an eye opener and yes it is all written in the book but if you see it, it makes a huge difference.
Can’t believe it took a screen cast about OF to teach me that you can store notes in Keychain.

Christian

08.22.10 12:40 PM

#

  I am actually very relieved that OmniFocus for the iPhone can record voice memos and take pictures. I was fearing to need additional apps to do that, which would give me more “in-baskets” to check.

seks izle

09.09.10 1:46 PM

I will have a look at linda.com, as this looks really promising! I really appreciate video training courses, as they are often more detailed!

It is also a nice feature that OmniFocus for the iPhone can also take pictures and record voice memos! Thanks for the clarification Bill!

Steven Mueller

09.14.10 9:41 AM
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