Visible Tags | Help Center

Visible Tags

PRO

Folke 09/05/2013 14:38

Platform:AllCompleted

I would find it immensely useful to be able to see the task's tags directly in the task list (e.g. in the Next list, project list, Today list etc).

Why?

1) When I select which tasks to do it helps me quickly locate specific types of tasks directly in the list, without having to filter the list.

2) In some cases, filtering can be impossible (even with advanced search), but even when quick filtering by tag is possible it is so much quicker to just look, especially if the list is short.

3) When reviewing the lists, it is also easier and quicker to verify that each task has the right tags applied, so that I do not have to open each task and look.

Folke post on 09/05/2013 20:52#1

PRO

Oh, and a nice extra touch would be if I could choose a color for each tag that is visible in the list.

In that way, I could, for example, have a "Quick & Easy" tag that stands out in blue, and a "Quiet & Concentration" tag that stands out in black, and so on - very easy to see what kinds of things I have on my list, and to pick the kind I want.
Paulussie post on 09/05/2013 21:33#2

PRO

This is a private comment.
michelle1987 post on 09/06/2013 03:03#3

PRO

@Folke

Hello,

Temporarily, there are no plans to make tags shown on the list or colorize different tags. :(

Here, you said, " In some cases, filtering can be impossible (even with advanced search)", could you please describe in which cases filtering can be impossible?

Thanks for your feedback or support.
michelle1987 post on 09/06/2013 03:04#4

PRO

This is a private comment.
Folke post on 09/06/2013 04:01#6

PRO

@michelle1987

Yes, for example, the current quick filtering capabilities (tag buttons on top) lack the capability to exclude (hide) selected kinds of task tasks, and the advanced search (create a custom filter/list) lacks the capability to combine alternatives (everything is Boolean AND between the groups and Boolean OR within each group).

But aside from these filtering technicalities, it is nice and useful to SEE the tags directly and not have to filter.
michelle1987 post on 09/06/2013 06:52#7

PRO

@Folke

Hello,

We will consider improving the "Advanced" feature later. And will also take your suggestion into account.

Shall you need any other help or have additional questions, please do not hesitate to contact us.

Thanks for your feedback and support.
Folke post on 09/06/2013 10:23#8

PRO

@michelle1987

Thanks, Michelle.

I have used some task management apps (Toodledo and RTM) which have very advanced "Advanced" searches. It is a powerful method, but it gets very troublesome to set up such a filter for every little filtering need you have, and you quickly get a very long and unwieldy list of saved filters. They are primarily good for setting up custom lists, but even for this purpose their use i limited by the fact they are usually hidden away in some remote corner of your screen, out of sight.

With GTD apps (that have lists for Next and Someday etc and for individual projects), I have seldom had a need for creating custom lists. But there is always a need for very quick ad hoc filtering for tasks that match my situation right this moment. And such situational flexibility is also the core message of GTD.

In all sincerity I must say that I think it would be even wiser for Doit (for the benefit of us users) to focus on improving the quick filters than improving the Advanced search.

What Doit has today in terms of quick filtering is Boolean AND only (as far as I have noticed). If you ctrl-click a few tags in the overhead list, you see only those tasks that have ALL the tags.

Now imagine what would happen if you introduced, say, shift-click for Boolean OR, and, most importantly, alt-click for Boolean NOT, then you would have a much more powerful quick filtering system. Boolean NOT is extremely important for narrowing down your list gently, by step by step eliminating the most obvious mismatches without picking something too narrowly specific almost at random. I also allows the user to develop a truly meaningful set of tags, and apply various tags only to those tasks that are exceptional in some way, and be able to eliminate them.

But, reverting to the original topic of this thread, visible tags. The common practice, in every app I have ever used, the tags are visible in the list for each task. I have never ever before come across an app that hides them. I assume there is some benefit to keeping them hidden, something that I have never thought about before as I have never seen it. Would you please be so kind and explain this to me, so that I can appreciate it more?
michelle1987 post on 09/07/2013 04:39#9

PRO

@Folke

Thank you for sharing your ideas with us.

We will seriously consider it in the future.

BTW, we now introduce Doit.im Groups, which help you easily interact with other Doit.im users and GTDers. Hope you like it. :)
http://help.doit.im/group/