Feature Request: A way to set individual drafts read only

Feature Requests
1

Feature Request

A way to set individual drafts to read only:

  1. Easy to set on/off (or toggle) in context menu
  2. on/off in JS Scripts
  3. on/off in action settings: “After Success” - “Set Read Only”

I like to archive certain draft as write protected so I can be sure I don’t change them accidentally.

Use case:

It could be anything: logs, quote collections etc, drafts I use for reference and often need to copy parts and sections from. That way you have the choice to have a more permanent “real archive”, (but with an easy way to override and make it writable if needed)

Because sometimes you accidentally use cut instead of copy, without noticing, and your archive is compromised: both content and modified date have now changed without you knowing nor intending to.

So when you come back to it (weeks, or years later) you have no idea what happened.

“Notebooks” app has this switch, and Bear’s archive is read only (except they messed up and only allow select, but not copy!!??). And in macOS and Windows you can set “locked/read only” on all files.

It could be a bit like “Link Mode” today, but state saved with the individual drafts. So Copy, Share, Look Up, Speak, should available, and iPad/iPhone keyboard don’t pop up, making selection easier on a full screen, just like in “link mode”

What do you all think?

4 Likes
2

@agiletortoise
I understand now that this request is much more difficult to implement than it seems.

Guess you would also have to add a new database field, and thereby making backwards compatibility and syncing very difficult. I also understand you have a lot of other request and improvements that are more important.

On a side note, I would like to say that the new “Quick Search” in the current beta, brings Drafts to a new level, I really love it!

Some more brainstorming, sorry:

But further down the road, maybe the “read only” mode could be implemented in a simpler way, by adding a new general setting?

  • “Let All Drafts in Archive be ‘read only’” (“link mode” would be fine)
    (or “locked”, “write protected” or whatever name to call it).
    (Should be off by default of course)

Could that be easier to implement, and also easier for users to relate to and maintain? No script actions needed, and no need to save state on individual drafts?

  • If I needed to edit something in archive later on, I could just move it back to Inbox, edit, move back to archive, done.
  • Or make a duplicate draft instead.
  • Or switch off in settings, edit all the archived drafts I needed to modify, and then switch back to “Archive Read Only” mode.
  • Or having a temporary ‘make editable’ button/switch on a draft, that resets back to “read only” mode once you leave the draft.
  • Of course this would have implications for existing scripts that modifies drafts in archive, with error handling etc. So maybe this is also more complex than it seems.

But no worries, know you are super busy, it’s just an idea to keep on the back burner – and maybe I’m the only one :nerd_face::wink: