improving the URP3 interface

[wordmuse]

As anyone who's read my posts knows, I love URP3. My information management is hubbed with this tool.

Great as it is, there's room for significant interface improvement. Hopefully my suggestions won't be tough to implement...

- Regarding the Attributes Pane, I'd like to be able to drag attributes into desired positions and create my own groupings. And I'd like these to be all tethered to the template I happen to be using. In other words, I don't want to be forced to use the default categories of Schedule, System, etc.

- I'd like to be able to empty the Recycle Bin without actually having the focus set to it. A simple menu command that works from anywhere in the program would be great.

- Right now, when I use the Calendar to input a date into one of the attribute fields, it (the Calendar) disappears and I have to press Alt+C to get it back. Also, it doesn't insert the date into date attribute fields as easily as I'd like.

- For date fields in the Attributes Pane, I'd like it so that when I click the field a mini calendar pops up and clicking a date automatically inserts it.

- I'd like the Categories dialog to be made into a dockable pane so that I can easily see and manipulate the Categories (you might want to rename these as *tags* since that's the common language that's in vogue these days).

- Alternatively, it would be cool if you made it so that when I hover over an item, the selected categories appear as a tooltip just above the item. If I click a category it should then invoke a search for items matching the category.

- I'd like a date view so that I click a date on the calendar pane and all items created and/or touched that day come into view in the Related Items pane. I currently sort of do this with advanced searches, but that's not nearly as elegant.

- I'd like the ability to specify auto-sequencing variables. If a template includes such a variable, then each time it's invoked, the variable increases by +1. For example, this could help me automate items with unique record numbers.

Thanks.

Regards,
Bal

[ashwken]

Originally posted by wordmuse
- I'd like the ability to specify auto-sequencing variables. If a template includes such a variable, then each time it's invoked, the variable increases by +1. For example, this could help me automate items with unique record numbers.

Yes, this has been mentioned before and it's a database function that I miss.

I did find this thread from 2005:

http://www.kinook.com/Forum/showthre...&threadid=1117

where Kinook comments:

There is another system 'auto-number' attribute that does start at 0 for each indent level (that currently can't be displayed) but it only gets populated when the children of an Info Item are manually sorted (in the Data Explorer Pane or Search Pane). Would this be helpful? If so we can look at exposing this as a new System attribute.

Although this would be a positive step, I don't think it would encompass all the senarios a user might need.

Further discussion is welcome.

[wordmuse]

Right - and I'd like to be able to define such variables unique to a template. Even more than one such variable in a single template.

I guess it's asking for a lot...

Hopefully it's not *too* ambitious...

Regards,
Bal