Notes searchability: please IMPROVE (reboot)
I have asked this again and again and while I am grateful for tweaks and improvements being continually provided to the application, for some reason this continues to be an important yet neglected area of need.
We made steps forward in being able to search user documents and then having previews in the search window. But we continue to have significant usability problems in locating search hits precisely within annotation files.
1) Search hits are not highlighted within individual notes like they are in resources. This is problematic for long notes as it is frustratingly long to have to scan the whole to find it or them.
2) Only the preview of the first hit in a note is displayed with a frequency indicator in the right margin (e.g., 6x meaning it occurs 6 times in that note). This means that we have no way of scanning through multiple results to see if any are relevant to what they are being searched for like we can when we search resources. When there are multiple hits in multiple notes again the waste of time that would be involved in locating each hit for that determination is considerable, unpractical, and extremely frustrating.
3) The same limitation applies to CTL-F within the annotation file. Even if the cursor is inside an individual note, it will search the whole file and return the list of notes in which the term appears rather than search the individual note in which one is located. When in full mode (as opp. to compact, split, etc), the search will only produce the first note in which the term appears, that's it. There are no arrows for next and previous and the hit is not highlighted within the notes nor indicated on the scrollbar.
It should not be difficult to see that these are significant limitations on the searchability of user documents, especially annotations. I don't understand why it seems that Faithlife is just turning a deaf ear to this problem even though it has been pointed out a number of times before.
Remember, Faithlife, that ultimately user documents are what Logos "personal" and allow users to maximise their use of the software. To neglect these in favour of features and resources only is a short view.
PLEASE DO SOMETHING ABOUT THIS.
Comments
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Francis,
Thanks for your post. This is a priority for us. The main reason we've delayed addressing it is that we're actively working on a new notes system. Instead of fixing it in a system we'll retire, we're going to get it right in the new system. A very early implementation is available at https://app.logos.com/tools/notes, and you'll see it continue to get better over the coming weeks and months. We're also beginning the work of implementing it into the desktop app. Mobile work will begin later this year. We're working out the details of a coordinated cross-platform launch to make the transition as smooth as possible. Retrievability of your valuable content is one of primary goals for the new notes system, and this feedback is really helpful as we work to deliver on that.
Thanks for taking the time to share how we can make Logos a better tool for your Bible study needs.
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Thanks, Phil, for the response. Good to hear that a new note system is coming up that will address these issues. I saw that there was a different system in the app but had no interest in it when I saw that my existing notes were not imported. Since you tell me this is precisely what is being worked on, that will certainly make transitioning to the new better system feasible. Looking forward to this. It has been such a regular hindrance in my work!
Thanks again for responding and doing something about it.
While the new system is being worked on, I read in your post that it will be sortable by resources. Will it be an alphabetical sorting? The quotes mode in the current note system was really annoying because it sorted by the resources most quoted and since CTL-F did not work, finding a specific resource in it (when you have many) was a real pain.
I also hope that the new system will include the ability of organising notes in a parent-child or folder-notes format, not with the merely visual indenting that is available in the current system, but with a true subordinating approach more akin to how folders work in favourites.
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Francis said:
While the new system is being worked on, I read in your post that it will be sortable by resources. Will it be an alphabetical sorting? The quotes mode in the current note system was really annoying because it sorted by the resources most quoted and since CTL-F did not work, finding a specific resource in it (when you have many) was a real pain.
You'll be able to apply a resource facet (e.g., BDAG) to see all the notes, highlights, and clippings that you took in that resource. Then you'll be able to sort those notes by a variety of criteria.
There will be a sidebar facet find/filter box that will allow you to find the facet to apply with ease. We'll probably also let you autocomplete against the resource facet from the main search box (though maybe not with the first version).
Francis said:I also hope that the new system will include the ability of organising notes in a parent-child or folder-notes format, not with the merely visual indenting that is available in the current system, but with a true subordinating approach more akin to how folders work in favourites.
We do have plans for a hierarchical organizational system like folders in favorites. It's an open question as to whether that will be part of v1 or not.
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What about the long requested ability to insert images and tables?
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Francis said:
What about the long requested ability to insert images and tables?
Images is on the list. Not sure about tables. I'll have to dig into that.
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Phil Gons (Faithlife) said:Francis said:
What about the long requested ability to insert images and tables?
Images is on the list. Not sure about tables. I'll have to dig into that.
We'll be able to support pasting tables in from elsewhere in v1, but creating and editing tables will be a v2 feature and a non-trivial amount of development work.
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What is going to happen with note colours? The current system worked but the default was for everything not for subsets (ie, specific note files). When using different notes files, one always had either to adjust manually or switch the default. How will the new system relate to that?
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While changes are being made, I hope that the loss of focus problem will also be solved. What I mean is that when one is a given spot inside an individual note within a note file and goes to another window in Logos, the cursor moves back to the top of the note instead of remaining where it was. This can be really annoying when one switches back and forth.
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Francis said:
While changes are being made, I hope that the loss of focus problem will also be solved. What I mean is that when one is a given spot inside an individual note within a note file and goes to another window in Logos, the cursor moves back to the top of the note instead of remaining where it was. This can be really annoying when one switches back and forth.
Thanks for the report. We'll make sure to address this and other common usability issues in the new system.
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Francis said:
What is going to happen with note colours? The current system worked but the default was for everything not for subsets (ie, specific note files). When using different notes files, one always had either to adjust manually or switch the default. How will the new system relate to that?
We're still working out the details, but we're thinking that we'll remember your last note indicator, color, and highlight style per note type. Once we get closer to this, we'll make sure to get user feedback to make sure we get the experience right.
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