Making Workflow Questions Visible in Notes

Adam Borries (Logos)
Adam Borries (Logos) Member, Logos Employee Posts: 872
edited November 20 in English Forum

Workflows are one of the most exciting new features in Logos 8; but after you've walked through all the steps and you look at your answers in the Notes tool, it's not always obvious what question you were responding to.

We are working on improving this experience in 8.4 (beta 1 ships March 11).

Workflow questions will appear as preview text in the anchor. The hyperlink text for the anchor, instead of the generic term "Workflow" now also reflects the workflow step title, and clicking the link scrolls to that step in the workflow instance. 

Would love to have your thoughts.

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Comments

  • Adam Borries (Logos)
    Adam Borries (Logos) Member, Logos Employee Posts: 872

    From another thread:

    ...when I'm completing a workflow, I'd like the workflow question placed into the note (ideally as a title). Thanks to workflows, I have at least half-a-dozen notes on many verses, and without the context of the workflow, it's hard sometimes to know what the note refers to.

    Mark, the solution above that we are working on doesn't make the question part of the note content, so you wouldn't see it in a tooltip for the note icon in a resource. If that's an important use case, we'll need to take that into consideration.

  • LaRosa Johnson
    LaRosa Johnson Member Posts: 32 ✭✭

    Very nice. That will be extremely helpful!

    Weekly Bible Study Tips - https://biblestudy.tips 

  • David Taylor, Jr.
    David Taylor, Jr. Member Posts: 4,326 ✭✭✭

    I like this idea. I'm sure I will have more feedback once we get into the beta.

  • Myke Harbuck
    Myke Harbuck Member Posts: 1,646

    Now I have no excuse to not use workflows. :-) Thank you FL!

    Myke Harbuck
    Lead Pastor, www.ByronCity.Church
    Adjunct Professor, Georgia Military College

  • Mark Barnes
    Mark Barnes Member Posts: 15,432 ✭✭✭

    Mark, the solution above that we are working on doesn't make the question part of the note content, so you wouldn't see it in a tooltip for the note icon in a resource. If that's an important use case, we'll need to take that into consideration.

    I'm really glad you're looking at this.

    The tooltip is important to me. Can you make sense of this note?

    The workflow itself looks like this:

    Without the tooltip, I'm forced to write long answers to my questions to make sense of them outside the workflow.

    One additional question with your approach. What happens if you edit a workflow 'template' later, and perhaps add a new section or re-order the sections? Would that break the anchor, or is the anchor always to a specific 'instance' and therefore wouldn't break.

    PS — My screenshot also highlights the issue of a workflow creating lots of notes. It would be good for that to be addressed in the 8.x cycle.

    This is my personal Faithlife account. On 1 March 2022, I started working for Faithlife, and have a new 'official' user account. Posts on this account shouldn't be taken as official Faithlife views!

  • Adam Borries (Logos)
    Adam Borries (Logos) Member, Logos Employee Posts: 872

    Without [the question in] the tooltip, I'm forced to write long answers to my questions to make sense of them outside the workflow.

    I see your point. It might be simple to preview the question in the tooltip, which might be a better experience than adding it as a title field in the note. We'll look into it.

    What happens if you edit a workflow 'template' later, and perhaps add a new section or re-order the sections? Would that break the anchor, or is the anchor always to a specific 'instance' and therefore wouldn't break.

    Workflow notes are anchored to the specific question/response field for that instance. If you add a new step or re-order the steps, it would not affect the anchor; only if you delete Question. 

    My screenshot also highlights the issue of a workflow creating lots of notes. It would be good for that to be addressed in the 8.x cycle.

    Working on it. See discussion at BUG??? Workflow Notes

  • Andrew Biddinger
    Andrew Biddinger Member Posts: 439

    Woah....that is awesome!

  • Mark Barnes
    Mark Barnes Member Posts: 15,432 ✭✭✭

    I see your point. It might be simple to preview the question in the tooltip, which might be a better experience than adding it as a title field in the note. We'll look into it.

    Yes, I don't mind how it's implemented. I just want to be able to see the question without opening the workflow editor.

    Workflow notes are anchored to the specific question/response field for that instance. If you add a new step or re-order the steps, it would not affect the anchor; only if you delete Question.

    Great.

    My screenshot also highlights the issue of a workflow creating lots of notes. It would be good for that to be addressed in the 8.x cycle.

    Working on it. See discussion at BUG??? Workflow Notes.

    Thanks. I'd seen Phil (I think) mention you were aware of the issue, but I'd not seen those recent posts.

    This is my personal Faithlife account. On 1 March 2022, I started working for Faithlife, and have a new 'official' user account. Posts on this account shouldn't be taken as official Faithlife views!

  • Reuben Helmuth
    Reuben Helmuth Member, MVP Posts: 2,485

    clicking the link scrolls to that step in the workflow instance

    This is what you've referred to as deep-linking, right? Thanks for doing this!

  • Reuben Helmuth
    Reuben Helmuth Member, MVP Posts: 2,485

    It might be simple to preview the question in the tooltip, which might be a better experience ...

    I think this combined with the ability to see the question in the full anchor text would be great.

  • MJ. Smith
    MJ. Smith Member, MVP Posts: 53,039 ✭✭✭✭✭

    Looks like a well thought out solution.

    Orthodox Bishop Alfeyev: "To be a theologian means to have experience of a personal encounter with God through prayer and worship."; Orthodox proverb: "We know where the Church is, we do not know where it is not."

  • Andrew Biddinger
    Andrew Biddinger Member Posts: 439

    Maybe there should be a light subtitle that says it's a Workflow note anchor?

    "Research Commentaries for Lemma Discussions | Workflow"

  • Richard G. Cain
    Richard G. Cain Member Posts: 3

    Mark, could you send me a copy of your sermon preparation workflow using the FCF?

    Also, if you could explain briefly how I import that workflow into my copy of Logos 8.0?

    Thank you so much.

    Richard Cain

  • Mark Barnes
    Mark Barnes Member Posts: 15,432 ✭✭✭

    Mark, could you send me a copy of your sermon preparation workflow using the FCF?

    Also, if you could explain briefly how I import that workflow into my copy of Logos 8.0?

    Hi Richard. I've put my workflow here: Christ-centered Sermon Preparation Workflow.

    This is my personal Faithlife account. On 1 March 2022, I started working for Faithlife, and have a new 'official' user account. Posts on this account shouldn't be taken as official Faithlife views!

  • Richard G. Cain
    Richard G. Cain Member Posts: 3

    Thank you so much Mark. This is a very helpful resource.

    19 years ago I participated in a seminary class led by Edmund Clowney and Tim Keller at Reformed Theological Seminary. Ed was the mot kind and warm-hearted 82 year old man that I had ever met... a spiritual giant in the area of biblical theology. His teaching and Keller's sample sermons revolutionized my preaching, my ministry, my parenting and my journey with Christ. The idea of the Fallen Condition Focus was so helpful in Bryan Chapell's book that they recommended. Thank you for putting together this workflow for others to use. I, for one, am very grateful.