#11 More and Customizable Columns in Tree View

[Danny Weltman]

I would like the tree view to:

1. Let me have more columns. The more options the better I guess but for me personally I'd like a "Verdict" column which lists the verdict for arguments, and maybe a "Where Made" column which lists where arguments have been made (year + name format would be best perhaps?). I could imagine other people (or maybe me in the future) wanting a "Labels" column which lists any associated labels for each row in the tree, and a "Terms" column which lists any associated terms for each row in the tree. I've attached a very bad mockup for what this would sort of look like. Probably other columns could be valuable, although I'm not sure.
2. Let me reorder columns.
3. Let me turn off columns (specifically, I don't need "Type" since the icons are labeled at the top of the screen already).

[Danny Weltman]

Additional request: In the tree, "where made" entries are currently nested under the things they are linked to, and the same goes for key works. E.g. "Velleman's argument for narrativism" has, nsted under it, Velleman's 1991 article "Well-Being and Time." I don't like this. Before I expand (say) an argument, I don't know if it's because there is a counterargument nested under it, or just the work where the argument appears. I only want the little expand/collapse triangles to appear when there's a position/argument/debate to reveal. Instead, I want the key works/where made entries to appear in a separate column. There might be some reason not to want this but I can't think of it. One bonus is that right now, if you have "Show description" checked, it's useless when you select the PDF or whatever, because that has no description. If the PDF were in a separate column rather than its own row, you wouldn't have the issue.

[Stephen Mann]

"I only want the little expand/collapse triangles to appear when there's a position/argument/debate to reveal." +1 to this from me.

[Jason Winning]

So do you guys not want to see works in the tree (as nodes) at all? I actually find it very useful to see a list of key works or places where an argument is made, and to be able to click on the works and see them in the Preview window. Maybe there could be a checkbox (next to the description one) that turns them on and off; the setting would persist through restarting the application.

[Stephen Mann]

A setting that toggles works on/off in the tree sounds like a good solution.

[Danny Weltman]

I'm not 100% sure. My issue is that every single position/argument/etc. has at least one work entry associated with it, and that means that they all have an arrow next to them. I want an easy way to see whether, while expanding the tree, I've exhausted the argument thread, or whether there's a counterargument nested under there somewhere, etc. A secondary problem is that if I expand everything it gets quite cluttered with works: if one work has six arguments, then all six arguments have the same work nested under them, so when I'm looking at the tree there is a lot of redundant stuff. I'm not sure there's a fix other than having a toggle option somewhere in settings, which would be fine with me.

That's not a perfect solution, since maybe an ideal solution would have the works displayed some other way (like in another column). Maybe the column could have as many rows as there are works, which would mean more white space in the tree but a cleaner tree organization. And letting people hide that column would get rid of the white space and also be a much more intuitive way for people to make this decision rather than a separate bespoke toggle option. If there was a separate column with all the works, each work having its own row, with the result that each argument row (or position/debate/etc. row) has lots of white space under it, I'd usually leave that column visible (for the benefits you describe, Jason) but some people might hide it all the time.

If my suggestion doesn't make sense let me know and I can explain it better/make a mockup.