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tag workflow

Posted: Tue Sep 08, 2015 5:25 pm
by Thomas Lohrum
Hi Alex,

to organize my tasks i use a "getting things done" workflow. Therefore i use tags such as

task/now
task/next
task/onHold
task/done

There is one inconvenience though. When state changes, one tag needs to be removed while another gets added. For example i delete task/now and add tag/done when the task is completed.

Besides adding a task state as an extension to CintaNotes or some auto-replace functionality do you or someone else have a smart idea how to make this more easy and natural to handle?

Thanks!

Thomas

Re: tag workflow

Posted: Thu Sep 10, 2015 11:21 am
by CintaNotes Developer
A couple of ideas
- use different sections for tasks in different states, and use Shift+F6 to quickly move tasks from "now" to "done" etc.
- or just delete done tasks to recycle bin
- don't use tag hierarchy here, use separate tag "task" and short tags for statuses: "[]" - now, "->" - next, "[x]" - done. So to mark the task as finished, simply add the "x"
- lifehack: make "done" tag a subtag of the "now" tag. Then to mark the task as done simply middle-click the "done" tag.

Re: tag workflow

Posted: Thu Sep 10, 2015 7:07 pm
by Thomas Lohrum
CintaNotes Developer wrote:use different sections for tasks in different states, and use Shift+F6 to quickly move tasks from "now" to "done" etc.

I had tested this and it is great when you use a single database just for your tasks. You can then use sections instead of tags. However i want to use my regular wiki database and mark notes across various sections with different task state.

CintaNotes Developer wrote:or just delete done tasks to recycle bin

nope. i want to keep them.

CintaNotes Developer wrote:don't use tag hierarchy here, use separate tag "task" and short tags for statuses: "[]" - now, "->" - next, "[x]" - done. So to mark the task as finished, simply add the "x"
- lifehack: make "done" tag a subtag of the "now" tag. Then to mark the task as done simply middle-click the "done" tag.

nope. That would give me completed (done) tasks, when i search for active (now/next) ones only.

Another solution i can think of, is to have a tag property:

[X] remove other tags with same hierarchy

Thus when i assign task/completed then task/now will be removed automatically.

Thomas

Re: tag workflow

Posted: Fri Sep 11, 2015 8:10 am
by ChrisCN
CintaNotes Developer wrote:A couple of ideas
- use different sections for tasks in different states, and use Shift+F6 to quickly move tasks from "now" to "done" etc.
- or just delete done tasks to recycle bin
- don't use tag hierarchy here, use separate tag "task" and short tags for statuses: "[]" - now, "->" - next, "[x]" - done. So to mark the task as finished, simply add the "x"
- lifehack: make "done" tag a subtag of the "now" tag. Then to mark the task as done simply middle-click the "done" tag.
Wow that's a bunch of useful ideas.
I think especially the idea to use separate sections seems very interesting (It reminds me of a taskboard in a Scrum project)

But I would vote for a more generic approach. (Because I have a mixture of task and information and I also keep done tasks as a 'protocol') I know of other applications that handle it like Thomas suggested - and this is also the approach I would prefer:
There should be a property for every parent tag whether its child tags are mutual exclusive or not ("not" should be the default).

Re: tag workflow

Posted: Sat Sep 12, 2015 8:59 pm
by date
Thomas Lohrum wrote:auto-replace functionality

Why not just doubleclick on the tag in the note window? (Not the main window.)

For example, to swap from task/now to task/next, double click task/now, and type ne + Enter. Now task/now is gone, replaced by task/next.

Or without a mouse: Enter to open the note, Tab tab, and if there is more than one tag use Ctrl-arrows to move and Ctrl-Shift-Arrow to select, and type the first one or two letters of the tag you wish to replace the selected tag with, Enter Enter. The tag is now swapped and you're back on the main window.

Depending on the number of tags you have it can even be faster than F4 and Ctrl-Space from the main window. And this way is more visual.

Simplest thing in the world! Forgive me if I didn't quite understand your case.

Re: tag workflow

Posted: Sun Sep 13, 2015 10:57 am
by CintaNotes Developer
Thomas Lohrum wrote:I had tested this and it is great when you use a single database just for your tasks. You can then use sections instead of tags. However i want to use my regular wiki database and mark notes across various sections with different task state.

Ok, I see.

Thomas Lohrum wrote:nope. i want to keep them.

Or if you have an "archive" section, you could move the done items there.

CintaNotes Developer wrote:don't use tag hierarchy here, use separate tag "task" and short tags for statuses: "[]" - now, "->" - next, "[x]" - done. So to mark the task as finished, simply add the "x"
- lifehack: make "done" tag a subtag of the "now" tag. Then to mark the task as done simply middle-click the "done" tag.

nope. That would give me completed (done) tasks, when i search for active (now/next) ones only.

Yes, you'd have to use Alt+Shift+Click to see just unfinished tasks. Probably not very convenient.
Maybe try the inverse: use task/now for unfinished tasks and simply task for finished tasks.
UPD: stratch it, won't work, middle click will remove the "task" tag as well..

Another solution i can think of, is to have a tag property:
[X] remove other tags with same hierarchy
Thus when i assign task/completed then task/now will be removed automatically.


Yes, mutually exclusive tags. I like it. Should also be not very difficult to implement.
The question is: should mutual exclusivity be deep and apply to sub-sub-tags as well?

Re: tag workflow

Posted: Sun Sep 13, 2015 11:00 am
by CintaNotes Developer
ChrisCN wrote:I think especially the idea to use separate sections seems very interesting (It reminds me of a taskboard in a Scrum project)

I like it as well, although Thomas is correct that it is diffucult to share it with non-task notes.
Probably when we implement drag-and-dropping notes from section to section this approach will become even more convinient.

But I would vote for a more generic approach. (Because I have a mixture of task and information and I also keep done tasks as a 'protocol') I know of other applications that handle it like Thomas suggested - and this is also the approach I would prefer:
There should be a property for every parent tag whether its child tags are mutual exclusive or not ("not" should be the default).


And it comes up again ;) If I believed in signs, I'd say this is it :)

Re: tag workflow

Posted: Sun Sep 13, 2015 11:02 am
by CintaNotes Developer
date wrote:
Thomas Lohrum wrote:auto-replace functionality

Why not just doubleclick on the tag in the note window? (Not the main window.)

For example, to swap from task/now to task/next, double click task/now, and type ne + Enter. Now task/now is gone, replaced by task/next.

Or without a mouse: Enter to open the note, Tab tab, and if there is more than one tag use Ctrl-arrows to move and Ctrl-Shift-Arrow to select, and type the first one or two letters of the tag you wish to replace the selected tag with, Enter Enter. The tag is now swapped and you're back on the main window.

Depending on the number of tags you have it can even be faster than F4 and Ctrl-Space from the main window. And this way is more visual.

Simplest thing in the world! Forgive me if I didn't quite understand your case.


date, thanks for the comment!
I think Thomas is aware of this possiblity, but it's still not fast enough for such a frequent action as checking off a task.
And I tend to agree - having to fire up note editor is already a showstopper for this. It must be faster than this.

BTW we also have this on the roadmap:
http://roadmap.cintanotes.com/topic/338 ... flag-icon/

Re: tag workflow

Posted: Sun Sep 13, 2015 11:04 am
by Thomas Lohrum
CintaNotes Developer wrote:
Thomas Lohrum wrote:
Another solution i can think of, is to have a tag property:
[X] remove other tags with same hierarchy. Thus when i assign task/completed then task/now will be removed automatically.
Yes, mutually exclusive tags. I like it. Should also be not very difficult to implement.
The question is: should mutual exclusivity be deep and apply to sub-sub-tags as well?

Not sure. I might go for, what is simplest to implement.

Re: tag workflow

Posted: Sun Sep 13, 2015 11:06 am
by Thomas Lohrum
CintaNotes Developer wrote:date, thanks for the comment!I think Thomas is aware of this possiblity, but it's still not fast enough for such a frequent action as checking off a task. And I tend to agree - having to fire up note editor is already a showstopper for this. It must be faster than this.

Thanks Alex, this sums it up quite well. Besides working more efficient, it avoids the problem of assigning task/completed, but forgetting to remove task/now.

Re: tag workflow

Posted: Mon Sep 14, 2015 6:33 am
by ChrisCN
CintaNotes Developer wrote:
Thomas Lohrum wrote:Another solution i can think of, is to have a tag property:
[X] remove other tags with same hierarchy
Thus when i assign task/completed then task/now will be removed automatically.
Yes, mutually exclusive tags. I like it. Should also be not very difficult to implement.
The question is: should mutual exclusivity be deep and apply to sub-sub-tags as well?
I see no reason why sub-sub-tags should be imperatively also mutually exclusive. So in the long run you could add an option for this. But in the short run I would add this feature only for one level at a time.

An example:
A #task can be #open OR #closed (not both)
BUT an open tasks can be #new, #important, #next, and many more at the same time.
Of course this is strongly depending on how you organize it -> but I wouldn't exclude this possibility.

Re: tag workflow

Posted: Fri Sep 18, 2015 9:00 am
by CintaNotes Developer
ChrisCN wrote:An example:
A #task can be #open OR #closed (not both)
BUT an open tasks can be #new, #important, #next, and many more at the same time.
Of course this is strongly depending on how you organize it -> but I wouldn't exclude this possibility.


Thanks for a good example, Chris! I agree that it should only be one level deep. Those who require deep mutual
exclusivity could simply set the same flag on the #open tag. All in all, this is more flexible.