Checkvist links development

[maxkir]

Hello friends,

I have some more news regarding the development of linking in Checkvist, available on beta.

Some time ago we’ve added recognition of links to list items, so if you copy a link with lc and insert it into the list, Checkvist shows the text of the linked item:

In the last beta update, Checkvist started tracking such links. I.e. if a list item is referenced in such a way, you can see “Backlinks” section for the referenced item:

This is a work in progress, but I think it is interesting enough to show this work to our community and hear the feedback.

Backlinks work for newly added/edited list items with links. If you already use multiple links and want them re-indexed, please send an e-mail to kirsa@checkvist.com with your account.

Would you find this feature useful? How would you use it in your lists?

All the best,
KIR

[Thomas_Girard]

Hello ! Thanks for the update, appreciated.

Nevertheless I would like to ask if the vote gathered on this page https://checkvist.uservoice.com/ are still relevant in order to more or less set priorities in Checkvist future developpement ?

To me the recent updates with Sync to google Calender, or even this one with the link are really nice !.. BUT it really seems like to me that some other “Must have” features aren’t still on the roadmap despite having collected several votes.

I think especially about the mobile version of Checkvist, which is great… BUT not really functional since really basic function like :

Use grab-bars at right to move items; use long press to open a context menu.

Move items to other lists

Nowaday, having a strong and reliable outliner also means having one on which we can rely on the go, and not only comfortably installed at the office in front of the PC with a cup of coffee.

Especially since only the mobile version could run “offline”, this should me (in my opinion) fully functional in order to be able to save time in the plane, on the got to work etc.

Thank you in advance for considering this though.

[maxkir]

Hello Girard,

Thanks for the comments!

First of all, the Uservoice requests and votes are very much important for our understanding of Checkvist’s weak points. At the same time, there are other considerations - time and effort needed for a particular feature and its place in the Checkvist’s vision.

Checkvist’s main idea is productivity and efficiency via keyboard-centric design. Without the keyboard, Checkvist will turn into a yet another to-do app - or we need to come up with a new gesture-based app concept, which might bring a full-stop to the desktop version development.

We have to choose and to correct our plans all the time. Your and community feedback is important, but it’s not the only criterium.

Speaking of links, the current iteration might seem quite modest, but it’s the first step to one of our top-voted requests. With this, Checkvist will let you create new, cross-list types of structures, quickly, conveniently, and via keyboard.

All of that does not mean we’re not going to develop the mobile version further, just that we have a different focus at the current moment.

Thanks a lot again for your comments,
KIR

[Ralf]

I’m glad you are working on the linking abilities. This is so fundamental. Seeing how my list items are connected helps a lot for orientation. And it supports navigation. Here are a few thoughts.

A link’s target can be a list item, but it can also be the list itself. Can I see the backlinks of a list in a similar way I can see the backlinks of a list item?

Currently, backlinks and notes somehow feel too close together in the visualization/interaction.

When there are links in my list, sometimes I want to copy the URL instead of opening it. It would be great if this were as easy as gg.

It’s not unusual that I have more than one link in a task item. Currently, only the first one is privileged (gg). I also want to open/copy the second, third, etc., link using the keyboard.

And I wonder whether the backlinks will be hidden from collaborators if the source is not available to them.

[maxkir]

Hello Ralf, thanks for the feedback! Please see my answers below.

@Ralf

Links target can be a list item, but it can also be the list itself. Can I see the backlinks of a list in a similar way I can see the backlinks of a list item?

Not yet. Initially, the plan was to show list backlinks as well, but it is a bit more work as requires some other noticeable changes in the UI. We definitely plan to add them as well in the coming releases.

@Ralf

Currently, backlinks and notes somehow feel too close together in the visualization/interaction.

Yes, we show notes, backlinks, and attachments in the same section. We’re thinking about an option to show such details in a sidebar at the right side of UI, maybe we’ll introduce it the same time when will show backlinks to the list.

@Ralf

When there are links in my list, sometimes I want to copy the URL instead of opening it. It would be great if this were as easy as gg.

Hmm. There could be several links in a list item. Not sure how to implement it without using a mouse.
In the same area - I’ve noticed that lc shortcut does not work in the backlinks section - but it should. Will fix this.

@Ralf

It’s not unusual that I have more than one link in a task item. Currently, only the first one is privileged (gg). I also want to open/copy the second, third, etc., link using the keyboard.

Have to think about it. There are possible solutions, but not very simple ones. Will add it to our “linking” list.

Thanks a lot for the feedback!
KIR

[Thomas_Girard]

Hello Kir,
Thanks for the reply. I love the “keyboard-centric” design of checkvist. I just wanted to point out that to me , the mobile version ist already almost functional. Only few functionalities are actually missing to make it a “simple but absolutely useful tool” to extend Checkvist (like moving task from inbox to other lists).

I still have the picture in my head that the development of the mobile has just stopped 1 meter before the finish line :-). Whereas checkvist ist already fully-functional.

You could stop developing checkvist additional functionalities right now, I would still be able to use it for years. Whereas the only functionality of the mobile version that I could really use today is the “1 clic- add task” button.

Nevertheless, be sure I’m a happy Checkvist user and will patiently wait for new releases. I will also launch soon my new personal organisation course based on the use of checkvist

[jondoran]

Very happy to see development focusing on better backlinks! Referencing backlinks is definitely one important part of the equation, however for me reducing the friction involved in copying and pasting item links to create the link in the first place is a higher priority. I would like to be able to lookup and insert links to items as part of the editing flow. One of your competitors does this well - I don’t know if it is improper etiquette to share a link to their documentation?

[maxkir]

Hello @jondoran,

Thanks for the follow-up! We’ll be glad if you share whatever you find useful for Checkvist and the community

Our close plan is to improve the link adding using [[ style syntax as an addition/replacement of our old lst: smart syntax. But we’re not sure about the exact implementation/UI yet. We also consider improvements in other scenarios like “move to” with mm.

And, we want to simplify the navigation to a particular list item as well.

We’d also want to utilize the new “shift+shift” window for some linking/navigation tasks.

So, please feel free to share your ideas.
We are working on these features, so it’s the best time

[maxkir]

Hello @Thomas_Girard,

Thank you very much for the kind words I feel sorry a bit that there is a couple of features on mobile which you miss. At the same time, in my experience, there is always a couple of features each user would like to add, we cannot do all of them

A better linking is becoming (or already has become) de-facto standard for many knowledge management and task management tools, and we believe Checkvist users would benefit a lot if we add it.

@Thomas_Girard

I still have the picture in my head that the development of the mobile has just stopped 1 meter before the finish line

The finish line always moves further when the new features are added

@Thomas_Girard

Nevertheless, be sure I’m a happy Checkvist user and will patiently wait for new releases. I will also launch soon my new personal organisation course based on the use of checkvist

Please don’t be patient but share your thoughts and ideas. We’re always listening. And need some kicking sometimes We may not implement everything at once, but the feedback helps us to shape and evolve our vision.

As for your course - it sounds great and we’d be glad to share the details about it in our blog when it is ready

Thanks a lot!
KIR

[jondoran]

[[ syntax seems to be emerging as a convention across multiple apps, I think that is the right choice.

I quite like how the mm popup menu works today, but I can see how that might become unmanageable with deep hierarchies. Is the idea to replace it with a search/autocomplete menu?

In any case, a consistent and low effort experience across navigating to items within a list, moving items to new lists, and creating links to items in new lists would be welcome, and would make Checkvist a very competitive personal knowledge base.

[Ralf]

I like the direction this is going.

Sticking to syntax conventions clearly helps, but finding a proper UI is still a challenge. And I hope I will be able to style my different link targets differently. (It’s a visualization of the segmentation of my information environment.)

Side note on moving: Often moving to new lists starts small: with a single item. Unfortunately, that’s too small for Checkvist. I have to add an artificial sub-item to use xx.

Ad “several links in a list item”: For me, that’s often the case. Either I want to navigate to the target or copy the target URL. Note that tt copes with several tags; so you have already proven you can handle multiple values very well. Backlinks are also collections of links – but get a separate visualization (not inline). My point is that thinking of only one link per item would be limiting.

[maxkir]

@jondoran

I quite like how the mm popup menu works today, but I can see how that might become unmanageable with deep hierarchies. Is the idea to replace it with a search/autocomplete menu?

Basically, something like this. The idea is to allow selecting a list first, and then choosing a list item with auto-completion within the list. At the same time, we’d like to allow choosing a list item directly. Not 100% sure about UI solution yet.

All the best,

[maxkir]

@Ralf

And I hope I will be able to style my different link targets differently

Hmm, you could probably use CSS based on hrefattribute value - is it what you meant?

@Ralf

Side note on moving: Often moving to new lists starts small: with a single item. Unfortunately, that’s too small for Checkvist. I have to add an artificial sub-item to use

Thanks, quite reasonable, we’ll remove this limitation.

@Ralf

Ad “several links in a list item”: For me, that’s often the case. Either I want to navigate to the target or copy the target URL.

You’re right, we could probably ask for a specific link after pressing gg or lc shortcut, when there are several possible targets. Don’t promise it soon, but hope to add it too - after all, it is all about keyboard

Thanks a lot!

[maxkir]

Hello again,

Just a heads up on an update on beta:

1. xx does not require subtasks anymore
2. there list a new list details ld window which shows backlinks to this list, if there are any

We’re going to update the production the next week, please let us know if you face any bugs.

Thanks!
KIR

[Ralf]

Hi KIR,

@maxkir

xx does not require subtasks anymore

Nice, thanks!

@maxkir

there list a new list details ld window which shows backlinks

ld gives a good overview. I am tempted to use the arrow keys to navigate to actionable items like the backlinks and press Enter to activate them.

@maxkir

you could probably use CSS based on hrefattribute value - is it what you meant?

Yes. Similar to what you have started with styling links, e. g. jira:.

@maxkir

specific link after pressing gg or lc shortcut

Something like that. Though not sure if gg and lc should be used for that. Those are very quick to use – and I use them often. (Behavior would change depending on the number of links. I would need to be aware of the number of links – and I don’t always want to be aware; only if I need it.)

Best,
Ralf

[maxkir]

Hi @Ralf,

Keyboard navigation in ld sounds useful, and I tempted to implement it too, but decided to postpone a bit. Totally agree that it would be in a spirit of Checkvist
I’ve added this and smarter external link styling into the list of possible enhancements

Talking about multiple links, we’ll probably leave lc alone, as it copies the link to the item, not to the embedded link. But how do you envision gg alternative? We can add a command even without a dedicated shortcut, and add it into “Shift+Shift” window for the beginning.

Best,