Request : tags on the same line

OmniFocus OmniFocus for iOS
#1

Tags are great !

But when adding tags to an item on iOS (iPhone), all tags are presented vertically, hence I have to scroll down to find what I need. It is a pity, because there is a lot of unused whitespace on the right hand side of the screen.

Solution : put the tags on the same line, flowing to the next line if there is not enough room.

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#2

I think that would probably trade time spent scrolling for time spent searching for the right tag. It’s easier to scan a list if you only have to do so in one direction.

That said, I can see how a long list of tags might be annoying to work with. Maybe there’s another solution to it.

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#3

A stupid question first, if you allow: You know the smart search? Typing a few charcters will filter the list of tags presented for selection? Of course.

My workaround for my really very long list of tags:

  • Make liberal use of charcters, that are seldom used in a normal tagnames and
  • group and sort the tags.

I prefix the group(!)-name of people with 0, mood with 1, locations with 2, on-site-locations with @. Just a wipe each on the iPad, which I use most often. As they would still be 2 or three taps on the iPhone, which, additionally, don’t get muscle-memorized easily, you could use x, y, z or xx, yy, zz, you get my idea.
If you‘ve got a localized iOS you might use the special characters in that language: e.g. ä, ö, ü in german.

As tags are presented in their sort order, you could make use of that as well. Just remember that your sort order also affects the views that are sorted or grouped by tagname.

Some added thoughts for designing tags:

  • Some individual (not groups) tags are extraordinary in the sense of „I need to immediately grasp their presence visually“, they benefit from extraordinary prefixed icons: ‼️, ⛔️.
  • Use bland icons for individual tags within routine groups: 👤, 👥, 📂.
  • Keep the individual tag-names very short (not really possible when you‘ve got many person-tags, oh well, add them last when tagging an action), as you‘ll then see more of them in the normal views.

I wouldn‘t want a sea of tagnames. But tastes differ, of course.

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#4

I have about 15-20 tags, so searching by typing characters is overkill. How many tags do people usually have ?

By the way, I have the feeling that tags are very often displayed on a single line, e.g. in StackOverflow. And if you look at the “Tags” icon in OmniFocus itself (the orange arrow with the 3 white dots), its shape calls for tags on the same line :-)

#5

I use search every time, takes me a few seconds, but I always find the Tag quickly and rarely select the wrong one.

#6

Adding multiple tags on the same line would make it more difficult (IMHO) to spot that tag you’re looking for, especially if you wish to scroll.

Also, please bare in mind that this UI must work on the iPhone SE, right up to the iPad 12.9”

#7

I use search every time, takes me a few seconds

A few seconds ? In a productivity application like OmniFocus, this is way too much for such a common action.

Also, please bare in mind that this UI must work on the iPhone SE, right up to the iPad 12.9”

And it is exactly the problem : the current UI is probably OK on a big screen (where you can see a longer list of tags), but on my iPhone SE I can only see 4 tags at once. Putting them on one line would allow me to display 3 or 4 times more tags.

#8

Again, in an app that’s fundamentally premised on the idea that users are going to customise to meet their situation, there should really be more flexibility / options in the UI. See also Frustration with calendar display