Thread: Next roadmap...
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  #14  
Old 03-24-2007, 12:05 PM
xja xja is online now
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Join Date: 01-06-2005
Posts: 146
I have used colors (ie flags) a lot to help provide some clarity to the clutter. Would automatic coloring help? Probably somewhat. But nowhere near as much as filtering.

I really liked using the Data Explorer and logical linking early on but over the last couple years, as my databases have inevitably gotten bigger and bigger (whose doesn't?), the hierarchical organization collapses under its own weight. It just takes too long to organize everything with logical links because I have to spend so much time digging through the hierarchy of unrelated stuff to get to what I want. It's POSSIBLE, it's just too inefficient. I end up predominantly using Search instead with the occasional logical link. This is unfortunate since logical linking is what really differentiates UR from something like Google Desktop or the search capabilities in Windows Vista.

I don't think this inefficiency is inevitable, as some tagging proponents might suggest, but it does require better tools for being able to quickly access subsets and different cuts of your hierarchy. I know some people love the hoisting, but for me that is purely a visual thing (so you don't see unrelated items AROUND what your current focus) and doesn't really help my efficiency. What kills my productivity is having unrelated items interspersed with what I need at the moment and, as a result, having to scroll, expand, collapse, etc. constantly to get to what I want. These are like constant hurdles in the way to getting anything done.

As your start adding things to UR, logical linking is great. As it gets bigger, there comes a point where the inevitable complexity and resulting inefficiency more than offsets the benefits. I just wish UR would do something to address this reality that those who commit to using UR for all their information inevitably face... filtering the tree would be a big help, or they could hire a full-time assistant to manage my UR for me ;-)
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