Where should new items created by extension/widget/API go?

Jay

Currently the “New Item” button requires selecting a document to add to which can make it difficult to quickly add new items because you also need to to think about where to put it, and it doesn’t remember the last place you selected. The Chrome extension has the same issue. We would also like to add features to quickly add new items from mobile widgets and share sheets as well as a future API.

So I think it would make sense to create a consistent “Inbox” that new items get added to. The ways I’ve thought of to do this:

An Inbox Pane which shows all saved items sorted by time
A special Document in the list of documents in the Overview that is not deletable
Allow the user to manually choose a specific document / item to be the “Inbox” item. This would give you more flexibility but requires more development work - that document/item would need to be locked to never get deleted, UI to be created to select it, etc…

Which of these seems like the best option to you? Or do you have another idea I didn’t think of?

PeterFG

This is a great idea. I would prefer option 3 which would allow the user to set up to suit work flow. Ideally the quick add should be doable from outside Legend using global hotkeys, when entered the pop up closes and you return to what ever app you were working on - wouldn’t that be nice!

Jay

PeterFG That’s the plan!

wecanseeformiles

I prefer option 1, an fixed Inbox Pane which shows all saved items sorted by Time. I would also prefer the ability to:

1) Have it as the default choice when ‘saving’ emails from the email pane. In other words, I could either use a hot-key to move an email from the email pane to the Inbox or manually move the email to wherever I want it.
2) Manually add items myself to the Inbox.
3) Have another hotkey driven quick-add utility as well as the Chrome Extension to quickly add notes on the fly to the Inbox without me having to launch or select Legend.

Eik

What about this, It’s a variant on #3 proposed by Jay. When a item is added by for example a Chrome plugin, the first thing that needs te be selected by the user is de ‘parent’ item, using the link ‘[[’ syntax we already known in Legend. The plugin proposes the matching items. User selectes one and then enters a ‘free text’ or a link of the current chrome tab or the selected text in the browser tab. Then the users clicks ‘save’ and the content is added to found item as a child. Is this making any sense to you?

I could have an item named Inbox in Legend and with the chrome pluging I first search for that item using ‘[[Inbox’ and then I add the current selected text in the browser as a child to the Inbox item.

Jay

Eik Because everything in Legend is encrypted, the plugins/extensions/widgets/API cannot actually read any of the data. The only thing that’s plaintext is the document names. That’s why the plugins can’t search or match any existing items.

So a user would have to select an “Inbox” item from within the app before the plugin would work. That’s part of why I’m hesitant to go with (only) #3, because it wouldn’t work at all until you’ve taken a specific action within the app, which may be hard to communicate or for users to understand. I think if we want #3 it would have to be in addition to #1 or #2 (or another option?)

Jerud

“Quick Adds” must above all be quick so I think this is the right question to be asking. Although being able to optionally change where the new item goes is still valuable, I should be able to hit the hotkey, press return, and keep moving.

My ideal would be both #1 and #3. There has to be a default Inbox Document for users who haven’t set anything up, but those who want to integrate that Inbox with their other documents more closely can designate one of their own as the Inbox. However I realize that’s “asking for the moon” and if we just started off with #1 alone that would still be a big improvement.

A different way of doing it perhaps: We already have a “default” Board for mobile. Having another “default” entity – but this time a Document – could start to feel a little scattered or overwhelming. What if the “default” inbox was actually a Board? Boards must always be pointed somewhere, and that can start off being a default “Inbox” document – but user can re-point the Board at any time using the existing UI.

Jay

Jerud You said #1 but I think described #2?

#1 would be a new Pane type, the “Inbox” Pane which is sourced from a separate part of the database (how saved emails work now).
#2 would be a special document that is not deletable but would be accessed from the Documents list like any other document.

Jerud

Jay you’re right i mixed the two up. I’m basically agreeing with the last part of what you said to Eik.

Rereading, I’m actually unclear on which document there items would actually live in for #1. Or would they not actually be in a document but some kind of purgatory, waiting to be sent to a document by dragging out of the inbox?

Jay

Jerud They would live in the user portion of the database, which is how the saved emails work now. Then when you move it to a document it removes it from the user table and into the document table. It’s easier technically to do that because it doesn’t have to depend on a specific document existing, which requires it to have been created by some client and ensured to never be deleted, and lots of extra logic for managing it. Even if we made it act like a special document, we might still store it in the user table since it’s a lot easier (and we’re going to remove the backend concept of documents somewhat soon).

andrew

Consider creating a fixed sidebar pane (presumably docked to the left) that can be activated from any board that would by default show the default Inbox.

It could then be used for other useful things that we have discussed before, like a global search that does not have to be invoked from an outline pane but can be invoked anywhere.

There are probably other useful things that can be done with a fixed side pan like this.

Jerud

andrew although I like the idea of a sidebar I think that would be a totally new UI element and maybe a pretty big ask.

I do want to point out however that this would be (yet another) incredible use case for Popup Panes which already exist in Legend but are just under-developed.

Being able to invoke a new popup pane from anywhere, potentially with a setting to default to the “inbox” would work a LOT like the sidebar idea in that it would let users “grab” inbox items from any Pane, any Board, on-demand.

LauraH

Option #3 fits best with the way my brain and system already work.
That said - all three options would be totally fine - and as a user I could easily adapt my workflow to fit which ever of those models was implemented.

So I agree with Jerud - Ideal would be option #2 for those who haven’t set it up AND option #3 for those of us that would like more control. 🙂 I suggest the pane, rather than a separate document because of your “new users” issue. If folks don’t understand the “backend” of multiple documents, they may have added an item, then be confused if that item doesn’t come up in a search (for example.) So keep added items in their “main” document - so anything added by the API immediately shows up on searches, etc.

If I understand your response to Eik - the plugins cannot give us an option to choose the location? If so, that is unfortunate. It would be nice to have the “default” quick entry; but also the option to put it in the right place if I have that level of thought on it…

Jay

LauraH The plugins don’t have the ability to list/search items in your documents because their text is encrypted. But we could potentially have settings to set (maybe even a set of multiple) targets for the plugins if that’s useful?

wecanseeformiles

Jay #That sounds very sensible and would work for me.

Jerud

Jay without needing to decrypt items within documents, can the plugins offer the option of sending to the top of any document rather than the default inbox?

andrew

The current popup pane (e.g., the one shown when invoking global search in a popup) is fixed and modal, meaning it’s not designed to be able to interact with the board/panes in the background while open so you can’t drag out of it. For it to function as an Inbox, it would need to be non-modal and movable so you can drag from it to a background pane. It would probably also need to be resizable so that you could see the target pane more easily. So not sure doing that is any easier than creating a fixed side panel, which would be easier to drag from as you wouldn’t need to mess with moving or resizing.

Jerud

andrew All great points, in line with what I mean about how popup panes seem like a promising start but definitely aren’t adequate for the job. I’d say they aren’t really adequate for much of anything as-is — my point is that they already exist and could be fixed up to be very useful indeed, both for this and numerous other uses. So it’s about getting the most bang for your development buck. I assume that modifying an existing feature is easier than creating a whole new one — but really have no idea what it takes to make any of this stuff happen!

Jerud

andrew The current popup pane (e.g., the one shown when invoking global search in a popup) is fixed and modal, meaning it’s not designed to be able to interact with the board/panes in the background while open so you can’t drag out of it.

I just reread this and realized your statement here is actually false, and I didn’t catch it.
I, at least, can absolutely drag items out of a popup pane, which then conveniently hides itself while I drop the item into a background Pane.

So in that regard as well, Popups could be leveraged to make a rather nifty “inbox” or “new item creation spot” or whatever we should call it. I agree that feature names which push users toward a specific use should be discouraged in Legend since it is oh so versatile and that is one of its strongest aspects.

Maybe something cute like “item nursery” or “item spawn point”.

mondayrobot

Hey, sorry to revive an old thread, but I’m wondering if this has been further developed? Thanks!

wecanseeformiles

I’d also be interested too. I like the idea of a calendar type inbox where every day is essentially a card that stores Legend items. Into this inbox could flow:

Emails dragged over from the email pane.
Web sites from the chrome/browser extension.
Links to local and cloud files (even better if we can save direct from the Windows file manager or Finder in Macos without having to drag the file over, or by clicking something in the originating app itself - so button in say Word that says save to Legend).
Dictated notes (using whisperai would be another bonus as some other apps like Reflect do.

Once in this inbox they could either be left after being prioritised or they could be dragged/linked/copied into other projects in Legend.