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All your designs are so beautiful!
The main problem I see is that there doesn't seem to be a way to change the order of tiddlers without manually entering new index numbers. Is that right? Or am I missing something?
The long version;
Reading and writing might be two distinct modes and a user might use different devices for each mode. e.g I might read on my phone but prefer to write on a laptop. The interface and navigation should be mobile friendly wherever possible.
I'd like to be able to clearly switch between modes. When I'm reading I'd like a minimal set of options and very simple user interface, like most e-readers. A library, a title selector, a table of contents (only as far as chapter level), bookmarks, a clipping collector. That's about it. I'd like these to disappear completely when I'm actually reading.
Maybe I'd like to swipe or keypress to advance the page, rather than scrolling. Navigation everywhere by buttons.
Import of html as an e-book would be nice. e.g Project Gutenberg, but maybe webpage import too for study/notetaking. Gutenberg books already have an html toc.
For me good e-readers are minimalistic to look at and the content already has a structure that I'm not going to mess with. It's for reading only, not editing or writing.
Writing on the other hand is all about editing, playing with the structure, granular control (to paragraph or even sentence level), the ability to move things around, generating a toc, indexes, bibliographies, notes on notes etc. A good writing tool also enables creativity by hiding the bells and whistles away until called for.
E-reader manufacturers have taken a long time to refine their functions. Not many of them include E-writers. How many writing tools include an e-reader in the kindle sense?
Maybe this plugin/edition should be split into two? An e-reader for TW and a Writing tool for TW.
Just some feedback, ignore at will.
Best
The short version; simplify everything, remember mobile users, why not 2 plugins?
The long version;
Reading and writing might be two distinct modes
and a user might use different devices for each mode. e.g I might read on my phone but prefer to write on a laptop. The interface and navigation should be mobile friendly wherever possible.
I'd like to be able to clearly switch between modes. When I'm reading I'd like a minimal set of options and very simple user interface, like most e-readers.
A library, a title selector, a table of contents (only as far as chapter level), bookmarks, a clipping collector. That's about it. I'd like these to disappear completely when I'm actually reading.
Maybe I'd like to swipe or keypress to advance the page, rather than scrolling. Navigation everywhere by buttons.
Import of html as an e-book would be nice. e.g Project Gutenberg, but maybe webpage import too for study/notetaking. Gutenberg books already have an html toc.
For me good e-readers are minimalistic to look at and the content already has a structure that I'm not going to mess with. It's for reading only, not editing or writing.
Writing on the other hand is all about editing, playing with the structure, granular control (to paragraph or even sentence level), the ability to move things around, generating a toc, indexes, bibliographies, notes on notes etc. A good writing tool also enables creativity by hiding the bells and whistles away until called for.
Maybe this plugin/edition should be split into two? An e-reader for TW and a Writing tool for TW.
I think I'm going to need more information. I made a tiddler and almost immediately lost it. Then I had to dig for the recent tab to recover it.
I think I don't understand the "loading". Is it loading an entire new set of items (replacing the old set), or is it adding to the story river?
I think you previously had buttons in the menubar that would allow you to add new items in place? That seems to have disappeared.
I'm using a phone to look at it so that makes navigation harder. If I sound negative it's because I'm trying to drive this baby manually, with one thumb and one eye on the road. You need more 'driverless' options on it!
The short version for Reader; I want kindle style interaction, but with super-charged annotation/clipping options and easy import.
The over long version;
I'm going to go Marie Kondo on your visuals Thomas. They don't spark joy. First up is the landing screen. Where is it? I'm an idiot and a phone zombie, so when I open an app (I'm calling it an app) I need to see a blank screen with 2, maybe 3 buttons. That's all I can handle.
On this app I'd like the buttons to be 'Reader', 'Writer', 'Settings'. I don't want to see a sidebar, obscure tabs or any TW mechanics buttons, I don't want to know about config options (yet). I'd prefer not to have any text, just icons.
The reader mode icon that you have at the moment doesn't say 'Read' to me Thomas. Here's an alternative from the Noun Project on WikiMedia <a title="OCHA Visual Information Unit [CC0], via Wikimedia Commons" href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Education_-_The_Noun_Project.svg"><img width="512" alt="Education - The Noun Project" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/28/Education_-_The_Noun_Project.svg/512px-Education_-_The_Noun_Project.svg.png"></a> (I hope that link works on GGs).
You don't have a Writer icon yet, but you need one. Here's an e.g. from the same source <a title="OCHA Visual Information Unit [CC0], via Wikimedia Commons" href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Learning_-_The_Noun_Project.svg"><img width="512" alt="Learning - The Noun Project" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/ec/Learning_-_The_Noun_Project.svg/512px-Learning_-_The_Noun_Project.svg.png"></a>
imo, on startup these 2 (or similar) should be all I can see, plus a Settings Cog icon. No sidebar, no title - nothing. If I want to know what the app does I go to Setttings, then 'About'.
Marie Kondo is very big on boxes. She says every object should have a home, use smaller, open top boxes within larger containers to categorise objects by size or function and fold/store everything in a way that allows it to be seen once the biggest container is opened.
'Reader', 'Writer', 'Settings' are your 3 top level containers. Everything else should fold away in progressively smaller boxes beneath them. You use MyStory as a box label. I think you need to change that everywhere to 'Writer'.
You know how Marie Kondo takes all the clothes out of the cupboards and piles them up in a mountain on the bed? First of all the owners are amazed at how much stuff they've got. Next they have to go through each item, discarding the ones that don't spark joy, and then categorising the others, folding them in a special way, before putting them in smaller boxes according to type.
I think that's what you need to do with your sidebar tab 'containers'. You've got everything in there, jumbled together, very difficult to find, not obviously labelled by function or findable for a newcomer. Clear instructions are difficult to find. If you threw it all into a pile you'd be amazed at how much is there but you have to go through it, discard some, re-categorise some and break it all down into smaller units, each with their own 'box'. A 'help' pop-up for each box might be necessary.
Then you need easy, clearly labelled navigation between each box. Personally I hate the sidebar in TW, imo everything you have in the sidebar should go under 'Settings' and that should have a page of its own.
Ok, imagine we've got a 3 button landing screen. When I click on the Reader icon I don't want another tiddler to open below. Scrolling on a phone is out for me. (Sidebars are out too. Scrolling through a paragraph list in a sidebar or getting dropped back to the end of a book long story river, with a sidebar on top is really out! (A 'return to top' button is essential if you're determined to keep the scrolling).
On clicking Reader I'd like the 3 icon landing screen to disappear and a simple Library page with these options to appear;
'List of Titles'
'Import New title'
'Writer' icon
'Settings' icon.
Back and Forward arrow heads for navigation.
We're in standard kindlish e-reader territory now.
If I click on the 'Writer' icon it should take me to the top level of the writer mode. It shouldn't toggle the 'reader library' into a 'writer library'. The exit from one function to the other has to be clear. Again, no story river, no sidebar, no headings. Each new page/screen replaces the last.
('View in Writer' is a different thing and needs a different icon.)
If I click on a title in the library for the first time I'd expect it to just open the book at a toc, maybe at page 1 if there is no toc. (Maybe at a 'last read point' if I've started the book already).
When reading I would like you to extend your pop-up bookmarker and change it to a pop-up with these selectable options;
'bookmark here'
'my bookmarks for this title'
'make clipping' **
'my clippings from this title'
'go to..' > page number
'go to toc'
'go to library'
'Open in Write mode'
and 'home'. (Home being the first landing page).
'Settings'
I'd like to turn pages like an e-reader does. Moving backwards and forwards a page at a time, no scrolling for me, but it should be configurable in settings.
A pop-up with navigation options should always be near to hand.
** How you would make a clipping from within Reader I don't know, but for me this is what could make your Reader indispensible.
If I'm reading an article or factual material I want to make annotations with notes. Not many e-readers do this well. TW should be able to do it in theory, but I'd like to be able to just highlight text and click 'make clipping', without going into edit mode or leaving the text I'm reading. BJ's tiddlyclip works on desktop but not on mobile.
Well, having written all that I've just realised that Import is going to be quite import-ant. How do I do it?
I'm going to try Writer another time Thomas. How do I install?
Thanks again for your work!
I had another look Thomas, and your explanations helped, but you need many more explanatory signposts up on the site. I really like the complex functionality you are working towards. It is a complicated beast though, a bit like a powerful sports car with all the engine and mechanics on the outside and the sleek, polished bodywork hidden underneath. It may not be ready for the luxury showroom yet but when the mechanics are tuned and hidden away Reader/Writer could be a classic vehicle.
I'm using a phone to look at it so that makes navigation harder. If I sound negative it's because I'm trying to drive this baby manually, with one thumb and one eye on the road. You need more 'driverless' options on it!
The short version for Reader; I want kindle style interaction, but with super-charged annotation/clipping options and easy import.
The over long version;
I'm going to go Marie Kondo on your visuals Thomas. They don't spark joy. First up is the landing screen. Where is it? I'm an idiot and a phone zombie, so when I open an app (I'm calling it an app) I need to see a blank screen with 2, maybe 3 buttons. That's all I can handle.
On this app I'd like the buttons to be 'Reader', 'Writer', 'Settings'. I don't want to see a sidebar, obscure tabs or any TW mechanics buttons, I don't want to know about config options (yet). I'd prefer not to have any text, just icons.
The reader mode icon that you have at the moment doesn't say 'Read' to me Thomas. Here's an alternative from the Noun Project on WikiMedia <a title="OCHA Visual Information Unit [CC0], via Wikimedia Commons" href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Education_-_The_Noun_Project.svg"><img width="512" alt="Education - The Noun Project" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/28/Education_-_The_Noun_Project.svg/512px-Education_-_The_Noun_Project.svg.png"></a> (I hope that link works on GGs).
You don't have a Writer icon yet, but you need one. Here's an e.g. from the same source <a title="OCHA Visual Information Unit [CC0], via Wikimedia Commons" href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Learning_-_The_Noun_Project.svg"><img width="512" alt="Learning - The Noun Project" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/ec/Learning_-_The_Noun_Project.svg/512px-Learning_-_The_Noun_Project.svg.png"></a>
imo, on startup these 2 (or similar) should be all I can see, plus a Settings Cog icon. No sidebar, no title - nothing. If I want to know what the app does I go to Setttings, then 'About'.
Marie Kondo is very big on boxes. She says every object should have a home, use smaller, open top boxes within larger containers to categorise objects by size or function and fold/store everything in a way that allows it to be seen once the biggest container is opened.
'Reader', 'Writer', 'Settings' are your 3 top level containers. Everything else should fold away in progressively smaller boxes beneath them. You use MyStory as a box label. I think you need to change that everywhere to 'Writer'.
You know how Marie Kondo takes all the clothes out of the cupboards and piles them up in a mountain on the bed? First of all the owners are amazed at how much stuff they've got. Next they have to go through each item, discarding the ones that don't spark joy, and then categorising the others, folding them in a special way, before putting them in smaller boxes according to type.
I think that's what you need to do with your sidebar tab 'containers'. You've got everything in there, jumbled together, very difficult to find, not obviously labelled by function or findable for a newcomer. Clear instructions are difficult to find. If you threw it all into a pile you'd be amazed at how much is there but you have to go through it, discard some, re-categorise some and break it all down into smaller units, each with their own 'box'. A 'help' pop-up for each box might be necessary.
Then you need easy, clearly labelled navigation between each box. Personally I hate the sidebar in TW, imo everything you have in the sidebar should go under 'Settings' and that should have a page of its own.
Ok, imagine we've got a 3 button landing screen. When I click on the Reader icon I don't want another tiddler to open below. Scrolling on a phone is out for me. (Sidebars are out too. Scrolling through a paragraph list in a sidebar or getting dropped back to the end of a book long story river, with a sidebar on top is really out! (A 'return to top' button is essential if you're determined to keep the scrolling).
On clicking Reader I'd like the 3 icon landing screen to disappear and a simple Library page with these options to appear;
'List of Titles'
'Import New title'
'Writer' icon
'Settings' icon.
Back and Forward arrow heads for navigation.
We're in standard kindlish e-reader territory now.
If I click on the 'Writer' icon it should take me to the top level of the writer mode. It shouldn't toggle the 'reader library' into a 'writer library'. The exit from one function to the other has to be clear. Again, no story river, no sidebar, no headings. Each new page/screen replaces the last.
('View in Writer' is a different thing and needs a different icon.)
If I click on a title in the library for the first time I'd expect it to just open the book at a toc, maybe at page 1 if there is no toc. (Maybe at a 'last read point' if I've started the book already).
When reading I would like you to extend your pop-up bookmarker and change it to a pop-up with these selectable options;
'bookmark here'
'my bookmarks for this title'
'make clipping' **
'my clippings from this title'
'go to..' > page number
'go to toc'
'go to library'
'Open in Write mode'
and 'home'. (Home being the first landing page).
'Settings'
I'd like to turn pages like an e-reader does. Moving backwards and forwards a page at a time, no scrolling for me, but it should be configurable in settings.
A pop-up with navigation options should always be near to hand.
** How you would make a clipping from within Reader I don't know, but for me this is what could make your Reader indispensible.
If I'm reading an article or factual material I want to make annotations with notes. Not many e-readers do this well. TW should be able to do it in theory, but I'd like to be able to just highlight text and click 'make clipping', without going into edit mode or leaving the text I'm reading. BJ's tiddlyclip works on desktop but not on mobile.
Well, having written all that I've just realised that Import is going to be quite import-ant. How do I do it?
I'm going to try Writer another time Thomas. How do I install?
Thanks again for your work!
3 thumbs Thomas, on each hand ;)
I'm going to try installing the plugins and see if I can contribute something constructive back to you. It may take some time but you've done all the hard work. I think my suggestions are mainly about layout and appearance, from one mobile zombie's perspective.
Marie Kondo is on Netflix now. She's should be required viewing for app designers!
Thanks again for the great work!