The Omni Group Newsletter

OmniGraffle 7.10 for Mac includes numerous improvements — see the release notes for the complete run-down — but the most exciting one is the new Fill Shape with Text feature.

OmniGraffle 3.10 for iOS also includes the new Fill Shape with Text feature.

On both Mac and iOS, it’s a new option in the Text Position Inspector: it fills the inner bounds of a shape with the label text. This makes it much easier, for instance, to fit text in a diamond shape (as in a flowchart) or create a text background for a Bézier shape.

New Place to Request OmniGraffle Stencils

Have an idea for a stencil that would help your workflow? Or for something you think would be cool? Just post a note in the Omni forums, in our new category for OmniGraffle stencil requests.

You might find that what you want already exists, and someone will reply with a link. You might also find other people willing to make that stencil — and it could even be us, as we’ll look at the requests to help us decide which stencils we should make.

We’ve got two new articles for you…

Vince Gassi, composer and conductor, writes about how he uses OmniFocus to rehearse and direct musical productions. In his words, there’s a “mountain range” of details to keep track of — and his story makes that overwhelmingly clear. The show must go on — and, with OmniFocus, it does.

Rose Orchard writes about how she’s been running OmniFocus for the Web on a whole bunch of computers, at work and at home, and even on Windows (where it runs great). She’s been testing the app, and already finds it indispensable.

(We’ll have more to say about OmniFocus for the Web in the not-so-distant future!)

Project Planning 101 with OmniPlan

What’s your goal? Could it be… world domination?

Even if it’s not quite as involved as that, OmniPlan can help you plan your project, manage resources, and achieve your goal.

“But how?” you might ask. We’re glad you did. Start by watching Project Planning 101: the Network Chart.

After that, watch videos on…

• Tasks & Gantt Charts
• Wrangling Resources
• Calendars & Schedules
• Refining Your Plan

…and you will find that you have conquered the world learned how painless — and powerful! — project management can be!

The Omni Show: Greg Titus, The Story of OmniPlan

Since our last newsletter we’ve published a couple new episodes of The Omni Show.

The first is with Greg Titus, very long-time Omni employee and OmniPlan engineer.

The second brings you more of Greg — plus Ken Case, CEO, and Ainsley Bourque Olson, OmniPlan PM — on The Story of OmniPlan: how it went from idea to shipping app, and where it’s going next.

OmniPlan originally started as a side project by Greg: he thought writing some resource planning algorithms would be fun. And it was! That’s Greg for ya. Give it a listen.

(Or read the episodes instead: we provide transcripts.)

And, now that you’re curious — if you’re not already using it, check out OmniPlan!

New pictures of Omni’s fur friends appear every Friday on our microblog.

This picture of Calvin and Hobbes was taken, writes Michelle Knee, “at the vet AFTER being checked. They stick together and comfort each other in trying times.”

Such Very Good Kitties!