Contacting Support

Question not answered? If you have questions about OmniFocus, or if you'd just like to share some feedback with us, we'd love to hear from you. The best way to contact us is by using the Send Feedback... item in the Help menu within OmniFocus.

Otherwise, you can send email to OmniFocus@omnigroup.com. We'll do our best to get back to you as soon as possible.

OmniFocus for iPhone Frequently Asked Questions

Here are answers to some of the frequently asked questions about OmniFocus culled by our Support Team from the volumes of mail we receive. If you don't see your question here please feel free to ask our Support Ninjas. You may also want to check the forums to see if your question has been answered there.

OmniFocus for iPhone Syncing
OmniFocus Troubleshooting

If you are having problems with OmniFocus, please check our troubleshooting page.


And now the answers!

OmniFocus for iPhone: When's it coming?

The app store has now launched. You can get OmniFocus for iPhone by visiting the iPhone App Store.

What does it cost?

OmniFocus for iPhone is $19.99.

Is there a discount if I buy OmniFocus for Mac and OmniFocus for iPhone?

OmniFocus for Mac and OmniFocus for iPhone are separate products, with lots of independent work going into each one. We're generally quite happy to offer bundle pricing for products purchased through our own online store, but there's no way to do that when selling through the App Store. We've tried to make sure that each product is priced reasonably as its own independent product, and we hope you'll agree that both products become even more valuable when you use them together.

Will OmniFocus work with iPod touch?

Certainly! OmniFocus works the same way on iPod touch as it does on iPhone, except for the things that are impossible there: taking a photo, recording audio, and using the cell network or GPS to find your geographic location. OmniFocus on iPod touch can still try to find your location using Wi-Fi, though.

Does it work on both the original iPhone and iPhone 3G?

Yep, both generations of iPhone work perfectly fine. Of course, synchronization over the 3G network will be much faster, and GPS can help OmniFocus find your location more accurately.

If I have more than one iPhone or iPod touch, how many copies of OmniFocus for iPhone do I need?

Just one; similar to music or iPod game purchases, one license covers any device you personally use and control, up to a limit of five devices. Note that this is determined by the App Store Terms and Conditions.

Do I need OmniFocus for Mac?

OmniFocus can work perfectly fine on your mobile device all by itself. You can create a fully usable database, and then enter, edit, and complete items. Of course, doing really involved editing of large amounts of data is easier on the desktop, but by no means do you need it. If you only have OmniFocus for iPhone or for Mac, at any time you can get the other one and start synchronizing between the two.

What features of OmniFocus for Mac aren't available in OmniFocus for iPhone? Are those features coming later?

As of OmniFocus for iPhone version 1.1.2

Do I have to pay for future updates?

The App Store policy and the longstanding Omni Group policy agree: minor updates should be free. Of course, if there is a major overhaul of the application with lots of shiny new features, we may release it as a new product, and that would cost money. But bug fixes, minor features, and miscellaneous polishing come at no cost.

Do I have to pay for OmniFocus 1.5 for Mac if I already own version 1.0?

Version 1.5, like all minor updates from the Omni Group, is free.

Why don't you have sync over the USB cable, or timed alerts, or color-coded badges on the app icon, or rich text, or [other obviously useful but absent feature]?

These are all limitations of the iPhone platform, not design choices. The platform is still very young, and we're already thrilled with what we can do, but if Apple wants to open up these features to us, we will be more than happy to take advantage of them.

Is OmniFocus going to support Push notifications?

We aren't sure yet if or how we will do anything with the Push features in MobileMe. If you have any good ideas of how you'd like it to work for OmniFocus, please let us know.

How do I update OmniFocus for iPhone?

You can update OmniFocus for iPhone from within the App Store on your iPhone or by logging into your account in the iTunes Store on your desktop and syncing to iTunes once it has downloaded the update.

I see there is an update available; Why can't I install it?

Some updates of OmniFocus for iPhone require the most recent version of the iPhone Operating System. You can check to make sure you're up-to-date by selecting your iPhone under "Devices" in iTunes, selecting the "Summary" pane, and choosing "Check for Updates".

Is there any way to take a screenshot on the iPhone?

I don't have a Mac. Will OmniFocus play well with my Windows PC?

iTunes on Windows does back up the data on your iPhone when you plug it in, which might save you in case something untoward happens. But if that's not enough reassurance for you, it might be worth synchronizing with MobileMe or a WebDAV server, if only to have a live copy of your database that lives somewhere other than on your crash-susceptible and stealable mobile device. We do not have plans for a Windows version of OmniFocus at this time.

Can I merge the documents on my phone and Desktop later?

If you have two separate databases that started out on different devices, they can't be automatically merged together. So if you already have an OmniFocus database on your Mac, and you start using OmniFocus for iPhone (or vice versa), you should set up synchronization right away.

If you already have two separate databases, you can copy and paste from one to the other to manually merge them.

  1. Back up your database in OmniFocus for Mac.
  2. Set up syncing for OmniFocus for iPhone if you haven't already.
  3. Sync OmniFocus for iPhone, choosing to keep the local database.
  4. Set up syncing for OmniFocus for Mac if you haven't already.
  5. Sync OmniFocus for Mac, choosing to keep the server database. Your two devices should now be in sync, now you just need to copy your tasks across.
  6. In the Finder, double-click on the backup you made earlier to open it. Now you should have both OmniFocus databases side-by-side.
  7. Drag or copy and paste anything you want to keep from your backup document.

Do I have to use Apple's MobileMe service to sync OmniFocus for iPhone version with the desktop version?

Nope! OmniFocus can use Bonjour to stay in sync over a common wireless network. However, you do lose the ability to sync when you're away from the network so be sure to sync when you return to it.

I have an existing document. How do I set up syncing?

WebDAV? What's that? It sounds charming and sophisticated.

WebDAV is a common type of server for sharing files on the web. Basically, it's a way to read and write files on a web server but it is sophisticated and often complicated to set up. Many web hosting services support WebDAV; check with your hosting provider to find out whether you can set up your own WebDAV space.

Due to the nature and differences between each WebDAV server, we are unable to troubleshoot individual WebDAV issues but we are working on making local syncing easier.

Can I use a different MobileMe account than the one set up in my System Preferences?

Sure! At the moment this is something of a workaround. In the WebDAV preference pane, enter this location, replacing the username and path with your own:

What's the value of synchronization if I only ever use OmniFocus on one device? Can I back up my data if I don't have OmniFocus for Mac?

Syncing with WebDAV provides you with one more place that your data is backed up. iTunes backs up your data once a week (or when you manually request it), and you'll need to restore the entire phone, not just OmniFocus, to get your data back. But OmniFocus can sync with WebDAV automatically every time you make changes, so your backup will be current.

How often does OmniFocus for iPhone sync? Do I have to sync it manually every time?

OmniFocus for iPhone automatically syncs one minute after you make a change, to make sure that the MobileMe (or WebDAV) server has an up-to-date copy of your database. OmniFocus for Mac does the same, plus both will sync every hour in case another device made some changes recently, if not running and the hour has elapsed, it will sync on launch. Whenever you like, you can manually make a sync happen, as well.

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