ForumsQuestionsHow do you use tags and would a dropdown list work for you?
How do you use tags and would a dropdown list work for you?
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dannyw0011 |
After using the new UI (and admiring it), one of the areas that doesn't quite seem to fit in seamlessly is tag selection. I personally have a standard list of tags, only one of which I use for each task.
I had been thinking that it would be better to have the tags in a dropdown checklist box for selection (with tags selected/de-selected with a single click), but it then occurred to me that a user can select more than one tag (unlike how I use tags). Current dropdowns for other fields allow only one selection. Do other users find the current way of selecting tags sufficient, or would a multi-selection dropdown (with tags selected / de-selected with a single click) work better for them? If a user doesn't have a pre-defined list, a dropdown probably wouldn't work as well. Just curious how others use and feel about tag selection ... |
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Folke X |
Currently, just like you, I also use only one tag per task - they are mutually exclusive, but:
Over the years, in different systems, I have experimented with many different setups for tags, with multiple kinds of tags. I know many others use such multi-tagging, and I cannot exclude the possibility that I might need more tags again one day. Therefore, I would advise against implementing tags as a single-value dropdown. In my opinion, the tag field is a flexible "spare" field for throwing in all kinds of categorizations that you have no other room for. Potentially it can be many more things than just one that you have no other fields available for, so it is nice to keep the multi-tagging door open, just in case. But the downside of using more than one tag in the tag field is the list is slower to read (or just to notice particular items in) than when each type of item has its own fixed column. Therefore, it might be an interesting alternative idea to have a bunch of additional spare single-value fields available - fields that the user could enable/disable as needed just like the fields we already have. Thsese could be called Tag1, Tag2, Tag3 etc, or whatever. Those who prefer single-value dropdown and fixed column positions then could disperse their tags across those additional fields. This message was edited Aug 05, 2011. |
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dannyw0011 |
What if the dropdown tag selection allowed multiple tag selection and deselection with a single click per tag? Currently, the tag list looks less aesthetically pleasing compared to the newer UI, and when you deselect a tag, you delete it letter-by-letter instead of as an entity unto itself.
Functionality would remain the same, but the look would change and less keystrokes would be needed to deselect a tag. |
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Kenny Schiff |
Gmail labels are essentially tags and would be a good model for how TD could allow users to better manage user defined filtering criteria...
Users pushed Google to make labels more structured over the years, and today they are even nestable. While the nesting piece is not likely that important for TD, the idea that one could easily tag a task with multiple tags, and yet still manage the larger list (e.g easily add, rename, and delete tags), would be highly desirable. |
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Salgud |
Since I've started using TD, I've felt that the tag configuration was a weaker feature. I find it very difficult to find a tag in the "tag cloud", and don't like that tags are displayed in order of number used. I'd like to see them in alpha order so I can find the one I'm looking for, whether it's while I'm tagging a task or looking in the list of tags in the tags view. Certainly, I'd be happy with an option at the top of the tags view to sort by alpha or by frequency, and that setting would also determine how they appeared in the tag list used when tagging tasks.
A good implementation of hierarchical tagging would be even nicer. I imagine a drop down list would work fine for me. This message was edited Aug 06, 2011. |
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JCarl |
Agree, at a minimum alphabetical is easier to find especially if using them as initials of resources like I am
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Folke X |
Just curious, how come no one seems interested in using a bunch of entirely separate fields (instead of a composite tag field)?
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Salgud |
Posted by Folke_1293790322:
Just curious, how come no one seems interested in using a bunch of entirely separate fields (instead of a composite tag field)? There are already a lot of fields in TD, and I've found a use for most of them. Having a bunch more, all of them tags, sounds like a nightmare to me, even though I use tags for a number of different things. I'd prefer hierarchical tags to a bunch of separate tag fields to try to keep track of. |
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Folke X |
Hierarchical - yes, I can see the potential in having THAT :)
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joseimora |
One of the problems with tags is that it also saves typos. It is a very non-robust feature. After a while, I have the following for the same tag:
tag1 t ag1 ta g1 tag 1 and any other typo. This would not happen in a robust drop-down menu. Also, I would LOVE to have fields that I could configure for my own purposes. Tag is just a very flimsy way to do that. |
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Jake Toodledo Founder |
Thanks for the suggestion. We can't comment on a timeframe for implementation, but this is on our to-do list.
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