No, OmniFocus for iPad is a completely new app, designed specifically for iPad.  Because it was designed for the larger screen of the iPad, it’s able to offer a much richer experience than we can provide on the iPhone or iPod.

Nope! While each version of OmniFocus offers a unique experience, optimized for the device on which it runs, each version is a fully-featured standalone application.

While it certainly works well with other editions of the application, OmniFocus for iPad isn’t meant to be just a companion. Rather, OmniFocus for iPad is a full-featured application. It gives you the power of our desktop edition, plus a few extras crafted specifically for the iPad.

Additionally, OmniFocus for iPad has several complex and robust features that most others don’t. For example, over the air sync (via the Omni Sync Server or other WebDAV server) and prompt support from a real, live person.

Besides being optimized to complement the unique experience the iPad has to offer, OmniFocus features a couple special modes: Review and Forecast.

The easiest way to get OmniFocus syncing is to use the Omni Sync Server. OmniFocus can also sync with other standards-compliant WebDAV servers.

To set up sync with one of these options, tap the Settings button (it’s the gear) above the toolbar in OmniFocus for iPad and then tap the Sync Setup button. From there, choose one of the sync options and fill in your credentials. Set up sync the same way on another device running OmniFocus and they’ll stay in sync.

We offer a simple bounce-back service to make it easier to add actions from your emails. To try it out, send a message to send-to-omnifocus@omnigroup.com. Within a few seconds, you’ll receive an auto-response from us which includes a “Send to OmniFocus” link. 

On your iPad, open that mail message and tap or click either “Send to OmniFocus” link. At that point, OmniFocus will launch and add the the subject and text of the original email to your database. (Attachments don’t go along for the ride, but that also means that your sync times stay fast.)

(Note that this works best if you use a dedicated mail application—Mail for iPad—as opposed to viewing your mail inside a browser. Web browsers don’t seem to handle the custom link type as well as the native apps do, and Gmail blocks non-http URLs.)

OmniFocus isn’t meant to be a calendar replacement, but rather a calendar complement. The calendar does well when it comes to keeping tabs on events that happen at a specific place and time, however, many of our tasks don’t schedule so neatly—that’s where OmniFocus comes into play. 

Sorry for the inconvenience! Currently, only perspectives that are based on Context mode will display in OmniFocus for iPad and iPhone. There’s some additional engineering work we need to complete in order to add support for Project mode perspectives.

Sure is! Open Safari on your iPad,  then browse to this page on our website. The links on that page will let you enable or disable that sidebar item.

Check out our white paper here. (Link goes to a PDF.)