Have a REMARKS field for Preferences->File Versioning

[ubacher]

File relations - especially what to propagate - is a difficult enterprise.

I find that I make some changes as to what gets propagated only to find several months (years) later that it is wrong  and I need to change it.
Then, several months after having changed it , I find that what I (now) propagate is wrong and I change it again because I have forgotten
the reason for the previous change.  Many cases are unresolveable but this can be hard to detect if one does not remember why one has set up versioning the way it is.
The request:
Have a NOTES/REMARKS field for each versioning rule.
I think one field would serve both detection and Versioning tabs.

[Carlo Didier]

+1  Good idea!

[Mees Dekker]

+1

[Mario]

I have pondered this for a while. While I like the idea in principle, I think doing it in the way requested here would not be really work.

- There would be no common place where to find your notes.
- I would have to change two or even more dialog boxes.
- Users would surely request features to add notes to sort presets, metadata templates, batch processor presets.
And everywhere else where you can do settings / options / presets / preferences and then likely forget after a couple of months why you did things the way you did things.

So I've put a few extra Coulombs of brain power into this and came up with a My Notes app.
As it happens, I'm working on another app right now, and I could borrow a lot code from it for this app.

The My Notes app enables you to create text notes in an app window, directly in IMatch. These are stored safely in the central IMatch app storage database.
I will enhance IMatch so you can open the notes app from everywhere inside IMatch with a keyboard shortcut, even when a dialog box is open.
This makes your notes easily accessible from every feature.

Notes are plain text, but with support for markdown formatting. This allows you to add some simple formatting like bold or italic, headlines, lists and links.
You can manage multiple notes (similar no Ms Notes), which makes it possible to separate notes regarding file relations from instructions to fill out metadata or memory aids on batch processor presets.

The app is very simple but I guess it will be very helpful for many users. I will include it in the IMatch 2020 release.
This is how the app looks:

[sinus]

Looks nice.

Is this an enhancement for the already app "Notes" or ist this something new?
If this are two different things, the names could irritate a bit.

[ubacher]

Looks good and very versatile. Only thing missing would be some kind of icon
with each of the various settings which the user could set to indicate that he/she made some notes regarding the setup.
Needn't be more than a settable checkbox - though being able to click and open the notes from it would be quite convenient.

It's then up to the user to structure his notes such that he can find the associated text among the notes stored.

[Mario]

Looks nice.

Is this an enhancement for the already app "Notes" or ist this something new?
If this are two different things, the names could irritate a bit.

The Notes app allows you to store data per file, in the XMP description or an Attribute. You use it, when I recall.

The "My Notes" app allows you to take notes. Globally. Unrelated to files.

[Mario]

Looks good and very versatile. Only thing missing would be some kind of icon
with each of the various settings which the user could set to indicate that he/she made some notes regarding the setup.
Needn't be more than a settable checkbox - though being able to click and open the notes from it would be quite convenient.

It's then up to the user to structure his notes such that he can find the associated text among the notes stored.

This won't be needed. If you cannot remember whether or not you have stored some notes for a specific dialog, just open the "My Notes" app. No check boxes or blinking lights needed - this would be a ridiculous effort to implement. There are several hundred dialog boxes in IMatch.

[sinus]

Looks nice.

Is this an enhancement for the already app "Notes" or ist this something new?
If this are two different things, the names could irritate a bit.

The Notes app allows you to store data per file, in the XMP description or an Attribute. You use it, when I recall.

The "My Notes" app allows you to take notes. Globally. Unrelated to files.

Ahhhhh, that is very cool then!
And yes, you recall correct, I do use your app "My Notes", because I like it. And each image, where I put a note in it, has a bulb  next to the thumb as a reminder.

[ubacher]

I keep a notebook right now to write down changes I make. But I would not think of searching through
the book to see if I had any remarks about a setting - just too bothersome.
With My Notes it will be somewhat easier because of the various TABS one can set up. Less to search (until we have
ten years of remarks stored away.)

Here an idea: When we press F1 at a settings page it puts us to the right place in the help file. Could a similar mechanism (Ctrl-F1?)
be used to open MY Notes at the corresponding TAB?

[Mario]

The F1 magic works based on several hundred context its.
I have thought about giving the user a way to link specific notes to specific context ids. But this is too complicated and not worth the effort.
I'd say you start using it when it becomes available in IMatch 2020 and when you have trouble finding specific notes in a couple of years, we'll think about it again.