ForumsQuestionsRecent - not sorting by hidden date field


Recent - not sorting by hidden date field
Author Message
Folke X

Posted: Aug 31, 2011
Score: 0 Reference
OK, this maybe is not a bug, maybe just an instance of poor design, or maybe I missed something somewhere, but in either case:

There are views for Recently Added, Recently Completed etc. In principle this is very good. It would be very useful to have, if they worked. It would help you find mistakes etc that you recently did, so that you can correct them.

The key word here is Recent. Obviously you would want to see these lists sorted by "date changed", with the most recently changed ones at the top, because that is where you will tend to look for your most recent mistakes (changes).

As it is now, you get the list sorted by "Importance", which has nothing to do with when you made the mistake (i.e. changed the item). And you cannot change the sorting order to "date changed" because this field cannot even be enabled in Settings. And even if it could be enabled I would not want to have this date permanently clutter all my screens. The only time I can think of that I even need this field to exist is for these particular "find recent" views.

So, a special hidden implicit sorting order is called for in these lists - otherwise they serve little or no real purpose.


This message was edited Aug 31, 2011.
Purveyor

Posted: Aug 31, 2011
Score: 0 Reference
You can Sort by the hidden fields: "Date Added", "Date Modified", "Date Completed".

Also, when you sort by any of these fields, they become visible.
Folke X

Posted: Aug 31, 2011
Score: 0 Reference
Oops, sorry, I didn't see that. My mistake. Thanks for telling.

But I still think it should be automatic - because if not, if I have to do it via the sort menu, then why would I go to a special view first, if I can do it from anywhere?
Purveyor

Posted: Aug 31, 2011
Score: 0 Reference
You can sort by any of the hidden fields in any view, but you can't filter by them.
Folke X

Posted: Aug 31, 2011
Score: 0 Reference
I found a workaround. I already had a "Completed Today" saved search that I modified such that it also includes Added Today and Modified Today - three-in-one, just for today. I usually find errors quite shortly after they were made.

Most days I will probably get so few tasks in this all-comprising "Recent.." list that I will not need any particular sorting order at all (not very often, anyway).


This message was edited Aug 31, 2011.
Folke X

Posted: Sep 01, 2011
Score: 0 Reference
Further correction - another thing I did not think of before I opened ny big mouth:

By sorting the "Recently modified" list by "Date modified" (using the Sort dropdown) and including Completed tasks (using the Show dropdown) I seem to get exactly the list I want - all tasks that have been either added or modified or completed, beginning with the latest one.

All these settings then remain in place automatically. As soon as I hit "Main" I get this list, and I don't seem to have to set up the filters or sort order or anything again.

(Luckily, I do not use the other views under Main, because then I would have to fiddle with the sorting order etc every time I switch to another view, but as it is now it works perfectly.)

So, thanks Purveyor for pointing me in the right directon!

And I also think Toodledo drew the right conclusion when the same subject was brought up at an earlier time (which I found in the forum) that this whole issue really boils down to the old request that list settings should be on a per individual view basis rather for a group of views as a whole.

To some extent it is also related to my own suggestion that the top of the left-hand menu should hold a set of user-selected Favorite Views, some of which could be out-of-the-box views (such as Recently modified) and some of which could be customized views (saved searches, such as personal hotlists for various purposes). The reason why these two different requests are related is the fact that it "costs" yet another couple of unnecessary clicks to also have to move up and down the hierarchy of views to get from one part of it to another. With a list of favorite views at the very top, each one individually having its own sort and show criteria etc, it would be as smooth as it ought to be to gho ahead and work with the tasks from the various perspectives that the individual user would most frequently need.


This message was edited Sep 01, 2011.
You cannot reply yet

U Back to topic home

R Post a reply

To participate in these forums, you must be signed in.