[cc: BareBones support]
First up, I would like to say that I think Yojimbo is a superb
application and BareBones deserve massive credit for creating it. It
really should be bundled with every Mac. It has gone from being one
of many 'download, evaluate, delete'-type apps to a 'can't function
without' app in just 6 months. I have just finished tagging the 800+
items in my library and I find myself working in Yojimbo more and more.
I have to say I have never before been so interested in the future
development of an app, and I've suggested a few things to BB and on
this list, and seen lots of other suggestions posted which is great.
However, a good number of these have been turned down on the grounds
that it would detract from Yojimbo's simplicity and ease of use. And
given how intuitive and simple Yojimbo is, this is a good point, as
it is ideally suited to the non-technical user.
At the same time, though, it would be a massive shame to limit the
potential of what could be a real power app for the people who use it
to the full and push the boundaries of what it can do. And then it
came to me - what do other developers do? They make a Pro version!
I for one would happily pay twice the money for a Pro version of
Yojimbo with all the advanced options that the basic version doesn't
need. And while I'm conscious that BB is a small company and Yojimbo
can't be all things to all people and arguably not all of these
things would be used by all users, having them available would also
broaden the range of people who would be able to benefit from using
Yojimbo.
So here is my blue-sky list of 20 suggestions for features that could
be added to make Yojimbo Pro™!! Some are probably more workable than
others, but I throw them out for interest value...
[NB: Lots of these suggestions come from my experiences of using
other apps - they're not 'stolen' however, they're 'shared' :) ]
Pro Feature Suggestions
A. Data Input/Item Creation
1. Customisable templates for data types. On the model of the Serial
Number and Password fields, it would be good to be able to design
your own Item templates, adding from a set of basic fields. Nothing
too complex - just the option for various free text fields, a
password field, URL fields, a place for an image and so on. This
would allow the creation of, e.g. a recipe collection, personnel
records or the management of a collection of physical objects etc.
Yes there are other apps that can do these specific functions, but to
have the option to bring it all into Yojimbo would be cool. I have no
idea how easy this is from the database POV, but from the user POV it
would add a lot of power to Yojimbo.
2. More discrete data types. I think somebody suggested this
recently, but it would be good to import audio files, movies and
images as discrete file types rather than just as seemingly RTFD
attachments to Notes. Again, not to replace iTunes, iPhoto or e.g.
iVideo, but there are times when you want the option to add these
types of data to the database.
3. Modular tools for creating/working with entries. Perhaps in a
dynamic inspector depending on the data type (rather like
OmniGraffle), including eg. the existing 'Text Edit'-type tools from
the 'Format' menu, plus highlighting (suggested by someone on the
list), basic drawing tools (like FlySketch), hyperlink tools and so
on, all within easy reach of the main Yojimbo window.
4. Creation of linked items from within other items. I would very
much like to be able to (with GTD in mind):
- Type something in a Note (e.g. a next action in a project)
- Select that text (a word or a whole line)
- Right-click/toolbar button/menu command and 'Link to new note'
- Yojimbo creates a new note and makes the selected text into a link
to that note (whether it should inherit the tags of the 'parent' note
I'm not sure)
- Yojimbo could switch the focus to the new item or not depending on
a preference setting perhaps?
B. Data Retrieval
One or more of the following would be good:
5. Dashboard Widget. A simple, resizeable widget for doing quick
lookups of Yojimbo data.
6. A menu bar lookup utility as per SohoNotes.
7. A floating bezel lookup tool like Buddy Pop? (Quicksilver may
already provide something like this, but I haven't tried it properly
yet.)
C. Data Output
Some useful options for getting Items or their contents into other apps:
8. Create e-mail from a Note (where the Note is the message body, not
an attachment). This should definitely be a toolbar button/contextual
menu item and not rely on an AppleScript/dragging to the Dock.
9. Create e-mail with the selected Item(s) as an attachment.
10. Export to Word/Pages/a text app of your choice. Again, Yojimbo is
excellent for drafting documents, especially in the early stages.
Viewing/Working with Items
11. Tabs. I've said it before, but IMHO an essential power-user tool.
Plus contextual menu options to 'open in new tab' and a preference
for whether new items should open in new tabs or in the main window
(Ã la Safari). Allows you to create/work with/refer to multiple items
all within the same window (I hate spawning multiple windows).
Similarly, item links should have a contextual menu/preference option
to switch main view to linked item and/or open in a new tab.
12. Back/Forward buttons. Like any number of browser-style apps, the
option to remember the last x items viewed and navigate accordingly
would be useful.
13. Icon view. Currently there is only 'list view'. I would like the
option (via toolbar buttons) to view by icons as well, with
thumbnails of appropriate file types, eg. images and PDFs. Icon view
could have its own separate remembered layout, with ideally a larger
preview pane at the bottom and maybe a smaller horizontally scrolling
thumbnail view along the top (like iPhoto's editing mode).
14. PDF Archive/Web Archive viewing. I would like a sliding resize/
zoom button like iPhoto/Yep rather than the somewhat clunky Preview-
style contextual-menu/menu method. Perhaps in a 'status bar' style
setup at the bottom of the window? (like Web Archives)
15. Full height window view. I would also like an option (toolbar
button?) to view items (primarily PDFs, Web Archives and maybe notes)
in the full height of the Yojimbo window without manually dragging
the middle separator or having to open in a new window. (I am trying
out Yep at present but wouldn't need it at all if I could do this in
Yojimbo. And since Yep now costs $34 there is all the more reason not
to double up for the sake of it.)
D. Collections
16. Collection sets. Ideally I don't want the collections pane to
scroll and I'd also like to retain the large icon view as the custom
icons are a useful feature, but that list soon fills up. If nested
folders are definitely out (and I'm not convinced they're the best
option anyway), then what about 'sets' of collections, with more than
one collections pane which can be toggled between different
collection sets? Something akin to Yep's rotating collections/tags
pane? Multiple collection sets would allow you to switch between,
say: work, home, GTD, reference, bookmarks and so on without
cluttering up the collections pane or resorting to nested folders.
17. Manually ordered collections and separators. This is not even a
Pro feature really but is important for GTD and any other system
where you don't want to have to stick spaces and stars in front of
collections just to bump them up the list.
18. Customisable settings for collections. These ideas are not
necessary for basic Yojimbo, but would be useful for power users: the
option to have different window layouts for different collections,
eg. big preview/small list for archives, small preview/big list for
bookmarks (as there is little data to 'preview' in a bookmark), the
ability to have different columns visible in each collection, and so
on, perhaps based on a default layout in the preferences.
19. I would also like the ability to turn on and off the 'folder
count' option on a collection by collection basis - this allows you
to draw attention to those collections where the amount of items in
them matters, instead of the all or nothing approach.
E. Smart Collection/Tag Collection functionality
20. Smart Collections are coming, I know, and the issue of Tag
Collections offering ANY/ALL functionality has been raised many
times. However, to be really useful (especially for GTD), I would
like to be able to do the following:
Example 1: A GTD 'Next Action' List
Item contains tag §project AND
Item contains tag §next action AND
Item does not contain tag §done
Example 2: Reviewing/Purging Old Data
Item date modified is not in the last 3 months AND
Item does not contain tag §reference AND/OR
Item does not contain tag reference
[I use the '§' prefix for GTD-related items, hence there are two
separate reference categories]
I'm sure I'll think of more - I have got Yojimbo cunning plans on the
brain at the moment! - but that will do for now :)
OK BB - over to you!
Thanks for reading,
Rich
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