InfoQube IM - Community

Submitted by WayneK on 2017/12/12 20:47

Is there a way to set the defaults for the following grid options?

1) Item font applies to fields:

2) Item color applies to fields:

I create a lot of grids and I want all of them to have the same settings (item font and color applied to item field only). It's fairly annoying to have to

do this manually for each grid created.

Assuming there is no present way to do this, my suggestion is to add these two default options to Tools>options. This would apply the choices to every new grid created. Could still leave options in "manage grids" for those cases where you want to deviate from the default settings.

Wayne

Comments

Hi Wayne,

No problem, I'll add it.

I'm always surprised that users feel the need to create so many grids. After all Ecco had a maximum number of 20 notepads...

But then again, it is a sign that IQ is used for many things I guess

FYI, using the source bar filter dropdown, you can have the same grid show lots and lots of different sets of items. Perhaps this would be useful for the source dropdown too...

Pierre_Admin

IQ Designer

Thanks, Pierre

Partly, it's because I'm using multiple files, 8+ so far. I know you use just one. I use InfoQube for research and I like having a physical barrier between topics so my file sizes and item counts don't get excessive for any given file. I also just like the physical separation of information so when I'm organizing notes I'm dealing with just one topic for each file.

As far as the number of grids, the alternative would be to use filters and maybe I should be doing that. For some reason, I find grids easier to grasp and I use them as permanent filters. In the research I'm doing I need to filter and sort the info and many different ways...thus, many grids.

Grids exist as permanent filters (no need to recreate the right filter parameters each time). I can keep a list of grid links with descriptions in a home grid for easy navigation. It also makes it easy to determine whether a note has been assigned to the correct "filter" (grid).

I can still, of course, use filters within the grids. The grids function as a "rough sort" to get like info grouped together, after which I can apply filters for more refined grouping.

I believe there has been talk about creating a dialogue for named filters etc that would make it easier to create, use, and organize filters.

Any thoughts you or anyone else has on this topic are welcomed.

Wayne

That subject was discussed a few times

1- Meaning

Grids, fields, items, etc. offer the flexible elements to build a meaningful and convenient/practical working environment.

And although it's sometimes good to have generic grids to see stuff, it's also immensely useful to have (many) specific grids for specific projects.

Data needs context (which creates familiarity) to be meaningful. It's a basic concept : meaning is context dependant.

Some data also needs more context than other data. It has nothing to do with the complexity of the data per se, but more with its variety, its quantity, its abstractness, its polysemantic nature (in IQ's case because of the number of data/fields possibly assigned to one single item, the possibility of being detached from everything or, on the contrary, attached to many parents, that polysemy is at the same time greater AND potentially reduced -- more elements to recreate the right context).

In any case, if an item can have multiple meanings, depending on the context, then the right "grid"/map/gantt, etc. setup can become very important.

2- speed

So there's *meaning*, and also -- intimately connected -- there's time/speed... and energy.

Recreating meaning (through the right grid setup, maybe, in that case) takes time. Sometimes, meaning can't even be fully recreated. It's rare, but it can happen (think about those "lost" items).

"Parents", sibblings, fields, and... *grids* [which encompass field/column selection, sorting, fonts, styles, etc.], and even separate files/DB (like what Wayne does) : they all give meaning in a speedy manner.