Filing and tagging an imported item: a popup window? or automatic tagging for later actions?

jay.snoddy
Would it be reasonable to allow an *optional*, dedicated, pop-up window when saving references that would prompt user to select tags and permit filing item to multiple subcollections?

When in "literature reading and skimming mode", I find it hard to repeatably switch between that mode, then "item filing mode," then on to "tagging mode " then back to "literature scanning" mode after each article The user interface is a little cramped for cycling thru all three after each article (at least for my display)

This popup screen would just need the "first column" of subcollections and used tags. thus, could have lot more room to see a deep subcollection hierarchy and reasonable collection of tags, and when the popup went away you could see more than the title of the article!

Is this something others would use or is it a idiosyncratic request?

Thanks for recent advancements!

PS the other alternative might be option of automatically tagging imported articles for actions at some later point (e.g.adding ToFile?, ToLabel?, or other labels. Not ideal, but better than my current kludges.
PPS Apologies if I am repeating, but did not see this elsewhere!
  • jay.snoddy
    I realized after sending that this might seem similar to some "flexible GUI" requests I've seen, This is not about altered "list view", but a "single record view;" preferably one that could optionally show up after importing within a popup or a retractable sidebar. That view disappears when record saved. The "list view" would not even need to be opened to file the new article.

    The present "list view" GUI makes filing hard when also reading. Given all the permutations of display real estate, will any "list of items view" work?,

    Dan Stillman has asked before for a mockup of other GUI ...here is what I was thinking in ascii wireframe.
    Essentially a two column view. First column, a collection view with checkboses if it goes in multiple locations, second column includes selecting multiple tabs and allows new notes or attachments. (did not include editing the "info" tab as that works in present list view for me) 

    -----------------------------
    Act on imported item: (a selected item)? Title of article (as reminder)
    -----------------------------
    ? drop down list of types (e.g. journal article) ?
    -----------------------------
    Library         | tag cloud      							
    _Collections    | 
    _Subcollection 1| -Allow 
       "     "      | selecting  
    _check boxes    | multiple 
    to place item   | preexisting   
    in multiple     | tags          
    subcollections  | -Add new tag? 
       "     "      |       
       "     "      |----------
       "     "      |"Add a Note" function
       "     "      |-----------
       "     "      |"Add an Attachment" function
       "     "      |--
       "     "      |Checkboxs to change "take pdf" 
    _Subcollection N|or "take html" from defaults. 
    ----------------------------
  • Bionatsci
    +1 for this.

    A "single record view" such as that proposed above would be very useful for extensive literature searches. I feel (that for me at least) it would promote a more efficient workflow in which each item gets filed, tagged and possibly commented on in notes as it is saved, avoiding items getting "lost" or un-filed items accumulating.

    I can't really see anything that I would change from the ascii mockup - a very good idea Jay.

    Looking at other threads about GUI enhancements this would probably need to wait until the proposed abstraction of the interface, possibly it could be implemented most easily as part of the development of this?
  • amacom73
    This is also related to the requests and ticket for 'unfiled' and 'untagged' collections to create automatic bins for literature collection mode which you can then go back to for tag/comment/file mode. I'm not sure which approach I like better--certainly the "un" searches are simpler to implement. Discussed previously:

    http://forums.zotero.org/discussion/710
    http://forums.zotero.org/discussion/1233/better-handling-of-unfiled-items/
    http://forums.zotero.org/discussion/7168/how-do-people-orginise-their-content/
  • jay.snoddy
    I cam see how the 'searching for untagged" issue linked above might be related for some, but not so much for me. Searching for untagged does not help. Everyone probably has different way of using this wonderful tool, but when I first see an item to import, I often think of multiple subcollections to file it in and multiple tags to attach. But based on screen real estate and how the systems works makes filing it in even one place somewhat difficult and multiple places at once very difficult. I realize probably not an easy fix, but I find this a major frustration with current system.

    Short of an eventual GUI fix, the only other thing that I see would help is optional autotagging all incoming entries with some tag that can remind me later in other display setup to come back and file the article. By then, though, I may not even remember everything what sparked the interest in the first place. Better to file in all correct places when importing, in long run.

    Perhaps I could have been more succinct, by saying there are times I am interested in a list and there are times I am interested in just one record, asking one interface to do both of them, esp. on small laptop screen is asking too much. Amazed at what you have done as firefox extension, so far, but needs a record view to be most useful.
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