Hello friends! I'd like to ask for your opinion regarding multi-line text editing. This suggestion comes from one of our Russian-speaking customers Dolina Zamkova so here is a translated abstract of our email conversation. Current problem: When you write multi-line text, you must press 'Shift-Enter' first, then use 'Enter' to start a new line, then 'Ctrl-Enter' to submit the text. Wouldn't it be easier to have a setting that will allow using Enter to always write multi-line texts, and always submit on 'Ctrl-Enter', like you do it in text messengers? So we could add a new account-wide setting, on the Settings page: () Finish editing by pressing 'Ctrl-Enter' (convenient for multi-line text) What do you think? Do you write multi-line texts in Checkvist at all? Other thoughts of how we could make it better? :)
Hello,
ReplyDeletePreviously, Checkvist opened external links in a new tab, and local links in the same tab. There are several reasons why we've changed this behaviour:
- to navigate back, it is much faster to close the current tab with Cmd+W (Ctrl+W on windows) than to press Backspace and wait for the previous page to load
- it simplifies opening several lists in several tabs for people who prefer one tab per list style of work (and you can switch between tabs with keyboard)
- finally, this removes the inconsistency with 'gg' behaviour which depends on destination of the link
Why would you want to revert to the original behaviour?
Hi, a good reason to allow for the original behavior is that not every user wants to have multiple lists open. This creates more noise with more windows/tabs to stay aware of when trying to focus on the current task at hand.
ReplyDeleteAlso, I use Checkvist in it's own Chrome "app" window, which displays Checkvist's favicon in the task switcher, so it's easy to quickly switch to Checkvist by sight.
However, the 'gg' shortcut now opens links in a new window, resulting in having to switch between multiple windows to find the desired checklist. Additionally, the new window uses Chrome's own icon in the task switcher, so it's difficult to identify from other browser windows.
Opening external links in a new window never presented an issue with inconsistency: a user would most likely not want to leave their task when opening an external link. However, it makes sense to load internal links in the same window as a user most likely wants to focus on the linked task list when doing so.
If consistency is the priority, then it would make the most sense to maintain consistency with a web browser's standard behavior, where all links open in the same window, but users have the ability to open links in a new tab using the CTRL key.
This would give users the option to decide how links are loaded, with the standard 'gg' shortcut opening links in the current window and 'CTRL+gg' opening links in a new window.
Currently, I now have to avoid using the 'gg' shortcut that I love and manually click the link as that still loads the list in the same window (hopefully this will not be changed as well). This of course negates one of Checkvist's primary benefits of being a fast keyboard-driven task list.
If opening all links in a separate window is to become the new default without any warning at all, please at least provide an option the settings to open internal links in the same window so that long-time users (nearly 5 years myself) can continue to use Checkvist in a focused way.
Thank you.
Sol M it's probably hard to say in general what a user "most likely wants". I never want it to open in the same window, but that's just my working style. I do agree that there is a reason that browsers let the user choose the action (click vs. ctrl+click; maybe there should be two keyboard shortcuts or an option to decide what gg does). Would be interesting to know how others use it.
ReplyDeleteThe mentioned inconsistency was that one had to know the destination of the link to predict whether it would open in the same window or not. And ctrl+click does not work for links to lists. (You need to right-click and choose to open in new tab.)
Sol M, Ralf Hauber, thanks for your input!
ReplyDeleteSeems like two shortcuts with a consistent behaviour is the best option. How about --
gg: opens external links in the new window; opens Checkvist links in the same window;
Shift-gg: always opens links (and list items) in the new windows.
Thus it's going to be predictable and accessible from keyboard in both scenarios. Could you please see how it works on https://beta.checkvist.com (same credentials, same data) and tell us how it feels? And thanks again!
The updated shortcuts work great Sasha Maximova!
ReplyDeleteThe standard 'gg' shortcut allows Checkvist to work as a "self-contained app", where internal links are loaded in the same window, while external links are opened in a new window because they are separate from the Checkvist app.
The 'shift+gg' shortcut adds the missing piece, giving the user the choice to open any link in a new window (just like ctrl+click in a browser).
I look forward to seeing this on the production site.
Thanks!
Sasha Maximova it works that way, thanks. Could you please add a CSS class to the links to be able to style external and internal links differently?
ReplyDeleteAdding the shift modifier to two-character keyboard shortcuts is new. Not sure how big this is. ;)
Ralf Hauber Good idea, thanks. Created a request about that http://checkvist.uservoice.com/forums/2121-general/suggestions/11534001-css-class-for-external-hyperlinks, will try to implement it in the nearest releases.
ReplyDeleteAs for Shift-gg, agreed, that's a novel idea. But it suits its purpose, I hope - like Shift-click :)
Sasha Maximova Shift modifier: It definitively suites the purpose. No problem for me, but I also like vim. It's just a new flavor for your shortcuts (four possibilities gg/GG/gG/Gg; how it feels to type on a virtual keyboard/tablet; no big issues, just thinking).
ReplyDeleteHi, any word on when this change will be pushed to the production version? I'm fine working in the beta site, but there's always the risk of other changes being introduced that could slow me down.
ReplyDeleteThanks!
Sol M I hope we'll update the main production site this weekend. Actually, the changes on the beta.checkvist.com should probably speed you up, we're working on some performance issues there. If you notice any problems there, please let us know :)
ReplyDeleteThanks!
Thanks for the update Kirill Maximov :) New features are tested on the beta site (e.g. the original change to the 'gg' shortcut, etc.), which is what I meant by being slowed down by changes. I'm all for more speed! :)
ReplyDeleteSo the (modified) old behavior is back. At least I've lived in an ideal world for a couple of days.
ReplyDeleteTwo wishes: (1) ctrl+click should open the link always a new tab; that's an urgent one, because the context is lost when the list is replaced by another one and pressing back in the browser does not really go back; an because that's how it usually works. (2) gg/GG should work with multi-select and open all the links. In new tabs, of course. ;)
Consistent ctrl+click behavior would be great. It is strange that a browser's native functionality is overridden.
ReplyDeleteMulti-select link opening would be interesting as well, though the gg shortcut only opens the first link in a task, so it wouldn't open multiple links in a single task, for example.
Sol M Ralf Hauber My bad, I haven't tested ctrl+click on windows after making changes. Now ctrl+click should open tabs regardless the target of the link.
ReplyDeleteRegarding multiple selection with gg - please add this request to uservoice :)
Thanks!
Nice! Thanks for the quick fix.
ReplyDeleteThanks. As for making multiple selections more complete, I can't add anything to uservoice. No votes left.
ReplyDeleteHere it is: https://checkvist.uservoice.com/admin/forums/2121-general/suggestions/11714121-gg-shortcut-should-work-with-multiple-selection
ReplyDeleteThank you for adding it. (Found it, but couldn't use the link you provided. Probably because it is going to the /admin section.,)
ReplyDeleteRalf Hauber Yes, that was silly of me. I'm out of votes, too, so I had to use the Admin screen :)
ReplyDelete