[ListfulThinking] Merging lists
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From: Andrew P. <And...@ya...> - 2004-01-06 23:56:48
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> re: http://listfulthinking.com/kwiki/index.cgi?ListManagementUserStory [A user can merge one list into another. Merging List A with 3 items into List B with 4 items results in List B having all 7 items and List A having zero items. The user might then continue to use List A, or she might delete List A.] > I dunno about that. I'm thinking it would be better if you merged list a > into list b that list B got new components and list A remained unchanged. "Copy into..." ? Perhaps add [Copy into...] as a menu item that prompts with a pull down for the desired target list, with the behavior of giving the target list new items and leaving the source list unchanged, and then add [Merge into...] as an option from a List details dialog box. Such a box would also allow users to set per-list preferences -- perhaps some lists are more sensitive to due dates as sources for item importance, or more generally the prioritization formula would have parameters settable on a per-list basis. Per-list preferences about what to do about completed items, etc, as well, perhaps. > I can't see an advantage to wiping out the contents of A like that. I > agree that they're probably not going to want that but... > just thoughts... I am not firmly convinced that leaving a alone is good > or emptying it is bad... Use case: User has 20 things to do today. Suddenly, something comes up, and he wants to clear his day. He runs Lists->Merge into... and selects [Rainy Day List]. His [To Do Today] list is now empty and the 20 tasks previously slated for the day have been moved to [Rainy Day List]. However, if only the Copy functionality is available, he will do something like copy the tasks, delete his To Do Today list, and then remake it. However, a better version of all of this would be to implement transfer of individual tasks from one list to another via a contextual right-click menu, and then allow users to select multiple items and still do the transfer. Merge of lists then becomes just a special case of transferring tasks. And a user might quite often want to move only some of the tasks in a list anyway. -Andrew |