wordmuse
10-19-2006, 01:13 PM
Hi,
I've now been using UR Pro for a couple of weeks. It's a wonderful program. And like most anything else, me included :), it can be improved.
Others have made numerous suggestions. I'm likely repeating some of them in this post. My time is very short today, so please forgive if that's the case.
Here is my wish list for things I'd like to see in the next version of URP with the most-important-to-me items on top.
Tighter Link to external files, part 1 - If I create a link to a file and if I can edit the contents from within UR, I don't want to destroy the link. I want the linked document to be updated. Currently, if I make changes from with UR, it dissolves the link and creates a stored version of the document. I suppose an option to go one way or the other would be acceptable.
Tighter Link to external files, part 2 - When I go out to a linked file and return to UR, I'd like UR to show the updates immediately - without me having to click refresh.
Multiple Linkable Trees with Global Search in a single UR file. Or alternatively, simply let me set up links among UR files and search globally among all open UR files. This would enable me to segment my work more easily while also connecting things as necessary and also enabling me to find everything I have without doing multiple searches.
Richer Rich Text Editing - tables, table sorting, line sorting, info item word count, borders, a view of rulers with adjustable margins, styles (style sheets would be so cool!), insert pic from scanner, etc. A UR text style of hidden text that doesn't print
Hyperlinking from a text or a graphic in one info item to various locations, including *within* another info item. Very similar to web hypertext.
Tunnel hypertext: There used to be a DOS program called IZE. The way it implemented hypertext was to create a two-way tunnel between nodes. So you could go to a destination and then by clicking the tunnel icon, go back to where you came. The tunnel icon was represented as a diamond. And you could place as many diamonds in an item (they did not print) as you wanted, thereby establishing tunnels almost synaptically. The weakness was that there was no "mouseover." In order to find out where a tunnel went you had to either go there or create a surrounding comment. A tunnel icon with mouseover would be a great implementation of this.
Related window editing. Let me change attributes while in the related windows. Please!
Right-click Back – on web pages. Currently I have to go to the toolbar to go back. I’d like that from the right-click context menu. Oh - and Right-click Forward, too. :)
Calendar - It would be great to be able to see things by clicking a Calendar date. I know you can sort of see via related window, but it's not really the same thing.
Hoisting - the ability to temporarily designate a node as the "top level" and view only the items subordinate.
Something like Google Desktop from within UR so I can search for files on my local drive and have them automatically linked within a tree. Yeah, I can use google desktop from within UR, but it's not at all as elegant as UR's searches.
Additional dictionary features – right now, any word with an apostrophe, whether the base word is recognized or not, is flagged by the spell checker. This is tedious. If the base word is accepted, so should the apostrophe’d version of it be. Sure there are exceptions, but lets go with 80/20, yes? I'd also like to be able to change text case.
Includes - No one that I know of does this in a PIM or outlining program. Simply stated, includes enables you to create a bit of text and graphics, say in an info item. Then you can incorporate the includes into other items. I'd indicate an include with something like a faint blue dashed border. Double-clicking the include would open the original, let you modify it, and then have the changes cascade to wherever it is used. Think about it as a variation on server-side includes in SHTML.
And how about a thesaurus?
Simple calculations - along a row or in a column. Certainly in a table.
Two of the first DOS outliners were MaxThink and GrandView. I miss them even today. :) Anyway - among other things they'd allow a user to collect and copy outline items from multiple sources in the outline and move them to another location in the three with a single command.
That's enough for now.
Regards,
Bal
I've now been using UR Pro for a couple of weeks. It's a wonderful program. And like most anything else, me included :), it can be improved.
Others have made numerous suggestions. I'm likely repeating some of them in this post. My time is very short today, so please forgive if that's the case.
Here is my wish list for things I'd like to see in the next version of URP with the most-important-to-me items on top.
Tighter Link to external files, part 1 - If I create a link to a file and if I can edit the contents from within UR, I don't want to destroy the link. I want the linked document to be updated. Currently, if I make changes from with UR, it dissolves the link and creates a stored version of the document. I suppose an option to go one way or the other would be acceptable.
Tighter Link to external files, part 2 - When I go out to a linked file and return to UR, I'd like UR to show the updates immediately - without me having to click refresh.
Multiple Linkable Trees with Global Search in a single UR file. Or alternatively, simply let me set up links among UR files and search globally among all open UR files. This would enable me to segment my work more easily while also connecting things as necessary and also enabling me to find everything I have without doing multiple searches.
Richer Rich Text Editing - tables, table sorting, line sorting, info item word count, borders, a view of rulers with adjustable margins, styles (style sheets would be so cool!), insert pic from scanner, etc. A UR text style of hidden text that doesn't print
Hyperlinking from a text or a graphic in one info item to various locations, including *within* another info item. Very similar to web hypertext.
Tunnel hypertext: There used to be a DOS program called IZE. The way it implemented hypertext was to create a two-way tunnel between nodes. So you could go to a destination and then by clicking the tunnel icon, go back to where you came. The tunnel icon was represented as a diamond. And you could place as many diamonds in an item (they did not print) as you wanted, thereby establishing tunnels almost synaptically. The weakness was that there was no "mouseover." In order to find out where a tunnel went you had to either go there or create a surrounding comment. A tunnel icon with mouseover would be a great implementation of this.
Related window editing. Let me change attributes while in the related windows. Please!
Right-click Back – on web pages. Currently I have to go to the toolbar to go back. I’d like that from the right-click context menu. Oh - and Right-click Forward, too. :)
Calendar - It would be great to be able to see things by clicking a Calendar date. I know you can sort of see via related window, but it's not really the same thing.
Hoisting - the ability to temporarily designate a node as the "top level" and view only the items subordinate.
Something like Google Desktop from within UR so I can search for files on my local drive and have them automatically linked within a tree. Yeah, I can use google desktop from within UR, but it's not at all as elegant as UR's searches.
Additional dictionary features – right now, any word with an apostrophe, whether the base word is recognized or not, is flagged by the spell checker. This is tedious. If the base word is accepted, so should the apostrophe’d version of it be. Sure there are exceptions, but lets go with 80/20, yes? I'd also like to be able to change text case.
Includes - No one that I know of does this in a PIM or outlining program. Simply stated, includes enables you to create a bit of text and graphics, say in an info item. Then you can incorporate the includes into other items. I'd indicate an include with something like a faint blue dashed border. Double-clicking the include would open the original, let you modify it, and then have the changes cascade to wherever it is used. Think about it as a variation on server-side includes in SHTML.
And how about a thesaurus?
Simple calculations - along a row or in a column. Certainly in a table.
Two of the first DOS outliners were MaxThink and GrandView. I miss them even today. :) Anyway - among other things they'd allow a user to collect and copy outline items from multiple sources in the outline and move them to another location in the three with a single command.
That's enough for now.
Regards,
Bal