Request/Suggestion - "Smart" Collection Folders

Bisogni 2018-01-10 19:50:00 UTC #1

I miss being able to view experiment entries by project. I think a feature that allowed for “smart” collection folders would be useful, i.e. any entry that had keywords or phrases would automatically be compiled in that folder (just like in Papers, or iTunes). Smart collection folders could replace/improve the view by project feature from Findings 1.

cparnot 2018-01-10 21:25:24 UTC #2

Indeed, that’s on our todo list.

Note that you can filter by project using the search bar: click the search icon, then click the project icon and select the project you want to see. Let me know how it works out for you, and how this filter bar can be improved. I think that maybe it was a mistake to hide it when the search field is not selected.

mat_rhein 2018-01-10 22:37:29 UTC #3

While the automatic sorting would really be a nice thing to have, in my experience the biggest improvement in general is the sidebar organization with a folder structure.

Oh, and if you’re planning on an organization feature, autocompletion for tags and nested tags would make the bliss complete … well, maybe for version 3

cparnot 2018-01-10 23:07:17 UTC #4

Right. The idea is that the filter bar would be a nice way to build a smart folder: select something in the sidebar (e.g. ongoing), apply different filters (e.g. by project), then save as smart folder.

Bisogni 2018-01-11 18:19:13 UTC #5

yes, the sidebar is nice! would be great to see some customization in the future. For example, if you don’t want to use stickies, you could remove it from being seen in the side bar to keep it cleaner.

I cannot seem to find a project option when I click on the search - I see the “experiment, meeting note…” options but nothing for projects. I am looking in the wrong place? I guess I also can’t seem to find how to assign a new experiment to a project like you would in Findings 1.

Personally, I found the project filter view in Findings 1 very useful. I often want to look at entries for a project chronologically - when I’m not exactly sure where I need to look but want to scan things over. Having a folder in the sidebar for a whole project would meet this need.

Re: the search bar being hidden, I think I agree with you. It’s also easy to slightly mis-cue a click, or click the wrong option by accident, and then it goes back to being hidden and you have to go back to the first click…

cparnot 2018-01-11 20:13:47 UTC #6

I meant ‘collections’, not sure if that was clear. It only shows up if you do not select a collection in the sidebar.

Having a folder in the sidebar for a whole project would meet this need.

Normally, all the projects from Findings 1 should have become collections in FINdings 2. If that’s not the case, it’s probably because you ran an early beta version that had some issues with the migration.

You can create those collections again using the menu Findings > Migrate Legacy Projects.

Once the collections are there, you can simply select a collection to see its content.

It’s true that if you don’t have collections, this must have been confusing

Bisogni 2018-01-12 15:24:44 UTC #7

Ah, I see. I missed that… thanks, I will give that a try!

Bisogni 2018-01-16 15:58:38 UTC #8

It worked perfectly!

piccolo 2018-01-27 16:43:08 UTC #9

With this option, I am having trouble updating the collection titles propagating throughout my computers. Collection names are not syncing. Also when I import legacy projects again, then updated names of collections in findings 2 are reverted to old ones.

cparnot 2018-01-27 21:27:11 UTC #10

With this option, I am having trouble updating the collection titles propagating throughout my computers. Collection names are not syncing. Also when I import legacy projects again, then updated names of collections in findings 2 are reverted to old ones.

Sorry about this issue. It might be related to the bug you reported on another thread. If you send me the library, I hope to be able to understand what may be going on. Thanks for your patience!

cparnot 2018-03-20 10:51:35 UTC #11

I forgot to post here, but the collection sync issue is fixed in Findings 2.0, currently in beta, see: Beta release – Findings 2.0.2 build 5322