Static tag filter pane since v40

[erix]

A friendly hello to the community. First of all a prophylactic request for apology: It may be that my English is a bit bumpy. German is my mother tongue. And I am not a scripting or computer crack. So also the wording of my request could be a bit bumpy in content. Thanks for your understanding!

Well, I miss the following function in the Tag filter pane:

Up to version 39 it was possible to actually filter the tag list. That is, when filtering, only the tag you were looking for was displayed in the tag list, or additionally the tags that were associated with the specified tag.

As an example: Assuming I had a draft with the tags “colour, cold, blue”, another with “colour, warm, red” and another with “number, two digits, even”, the tag filter list looked like this when filtering by “colour”:

• blue
• cold
• red
• warm

In version 40, the filter list now remains static. The list does not change. If I now filter by “colour”, the list looks like this:

• blue
• colour
• straight
• cold
• red
• warm
• Number
• two digits

The possibility of dynamic filtering by associated tags was a very liberating way for me to use Drafts (create and access Drafts) without having to worry about a static filing structure.

In order to find a draft with the tag “blue”, now I first have to know that this tag exists. In a tag list with perhaps 300 tags, this is very awkward. In version 39, I would have seen immediately when filtering for the tag “colour” that there are drafts with the tag “blue”, or rather that the tag “blue” exists at all.

Is this function really no longer available from version 40, or am I missing something?

To explain: I use Drafts among other things also as a knowledge base. As a wiki or second brain for different topics. In that context, a better example: When I filtered for the tag “job”, I actually only got tags associated with “job” displayed in the filter pane.

“job, diseases, symptoms, diagnosis, therapy, care, medication”.

Now when I filter by “job” the other tags listed above get completely lost in the filter pane between 300 other tags like “shopping, movie, link, nutrition, gift idea, etc.”.

Again. I mean the dynamics of the tags filter pane, not the drafts filter pane.

Please tell me that I am not seeing something.

The new feature of nested tags is of course top, but . . . Help! My beloved dynamic tag filter pane.

By the way, 1000 thanks and compliments to the Drafts developers. Drafts is THE control center for 99.9% of my text based IOS and Mac usage.

[erix]

It is exactly this feature that I miss from v40: “Only Tags in the Current Filter”.

TIP: Limit Tags Available in Tag Filter Selection

If you use many tags, or often assign more than one tag to drafts, selecting tags when filtering the draft list can get unruly as your tag list grows. If you use many tags, and often assign multiple tags to drafts, using the “Only Tags in the Current Filter” option can make this process a lot simpler. When selected, the tags available to select in the tag filters will be limited to only those tags assigned to one or more draft in the current filter. As an example, say you have many drafts tag…

[erix]

Now the chaos seems to be perfect for me. In IOS latest, the “Only Tags in Current Filer” option in the Tag Filter pane is no longer available to me. Which forces me to rethink my way of using Drafts.

For this, the new Nested Tags feature seems very attractive to me.

Now I see on my iMac (late 2015 with macOS 12.7) that Nested Tags are not supported there. Mobile Nested Tags are displayed on the iMac as one contiguous tag.

In the last few days I thought “Never change a running system” when I thought about using OpenCore Legacy Patcher to update to Ventura and then to Sonoma.

But now . . .

“Never change a running system” doesn’t seem to apply to me either. My system has somehow disappeared into thin air.

Question:

• Do I really have to come to terms with the idea that the “Only Tags in Current Filter” feature has died (latest IOS/macOS)?

• Are there any solutions to my dilemma (Nested Tags on mobile vs no Nested Tags on 2015 Montery iMac) other than OpenCore Legacy Patcher or buying a new macOS device?

Admittedly, I didn’t think at all when entering texts until now, just simply created Drafts, assigned tags and relied on now missing function. That’s what made Drafts so unrivaled for me and my way of using Drafts. Drafts Actions I actually only use in a rudimentary way (forwarding to Things, Reminders, iaWriter, etc).

Grateful for suggestions

[sylumer]

It sounds like you want the limiting available tags option.

Drafts User Guide: Search & Filtering

But I’m struggling to find it myself on my iPhone app.

I see an option to single/multi select on the options menu, but nothing for limiting.

[erix]

Hi @sylumer. Thank you very much for your answer.

Yes, it is exactly this option I am missing (Limiting Available Tags).

You can’t find it anymore as it was obviously dropped with v40. It was originally introduced with v22 in October 2020.

See changelog archive

It was exactly there (from v22 to v39) where you can now find the new Selection Mode (v40).

Filtering obviously had to die for selection.

I can’t see any advantage in that. Because a targeted selection of tags was also possible before the new Selection Mode and it was also very well visible which tags were selected.

As of v40, showing the tag selection now robs itself of space in 3 places:

1. head of tag selection pane
2. body of tag selection pane (if you have a list of several dozen tags, this is completely impractical)
3. head of (now filtered) Drafts list

From the logic it is not a comfortable filter pane anymore. In my eyes it is a confusing selection pane.

I don’t understand the option of excluding tags either. In my logic, if I want to exclude it, I don’t select it.

After all, when I buy ice cream, I say “I’d like vanilla,” not “I’d like non-chocolate, non-strawberry, non-hazelnut, non-raspberry, etc.”

Now, if I want lactose-free vanilla ice cream (lactose-free as a tag associated with vanilla and ice), that option would also only jump out at me with filtered options (tags). In a selection list of 50 types of ice cream, 30 cold drinks, 20 types of coffee in 4 different sizes, the option “lactose free” is completely lost.

If you now assume that the tag pane would be the control bar for ordering in an ice cream parlor, the comfort of a tag filter pane becomes apparent.

On the selection list there would first be 100 products (corresponding to the tags in the analogy). So dozens of ice creams, cold drinks, coffees, flavors, sizes, etc.

What sense would it make to leave the option “decaffeinated” or “large cup” when selecting “ice cream”?

When I select “ice cream”, I want the list to be dynamically limited to the clear options of “ice cream”. Number of balls, with or without lactose, container, flavor, etc.

Sorry for the computer distant analogy.

I stand in front of my tag machine and have lost the option to get an overview, control, manageability over hundreds of texts and captured thoughts, ideas.

Where before I had a feeling of relaxed creative manageability, now the feeling of unwillingness and sensory overload is very present.

[sylumer]

@erix

From the logic it is not a comfortable filter pane anymore. In my eyes it is a confusing selection pane.

Well, there is always a lot of discussion during feature development and changes. I would suggest joining the Slack group for the beta to get deepwr insights and the opportunity to diwcuws changes prior to release.

@erix

I don’t understand the option of excluding tags either. In my logic, if I want to exclude it, I don’t select it.

If you want everything tagged “foo”, but not everything tagged “foo” and “bar”, you would filter on “foo” and not “bar”. It is as simple as that. If you cannot understand the reason for something, it does not make it illogical, simply that it might be, or it might be that you don’t have enough insight yet.

@erix

I stand in front of my tag machine and have lost the option to get an overview, control, manageability over hundreds of texts and captured thoughts, ideas.

Where before I had a feeling of relaxed creative manageability, now the feeling of unwillingness and sensory overload is very present.

Okay, you obviously feel very passionately about this point, and that is wonderful, but keep in mind someone else may know where the option is, it may be an accidental deprecation, etc. Be patient and see what other information others can offer.

[erix]

@sylumer

" . . . . joining the Slack group for the beta to get deepwr insights and . . .

Thanks for the suggestion. I will consider it.

@sylumer

“If you want everything tagged “foo”, but not everything tagged “foo” and “bar”, you would filter on “foo” and not “bar”. It is as simple as that. . . .”

This makes total sense to me when filtering the drafts list as well. Absolutely right! Thank you for your objection and example.

However, I am primarily not concerned with “Drafts Filtering”, but with “Tags Filtering”.

Yes. I can only speak from my subjective perspective. I write with a basic attitude of “I experience XYZ so and so”, not with a basic judgmental attitude of “XYZ is so and so”. I apologize if a different impression arose.

@sylumer

" . . . . but keep in mind someone else may know where the option is . . . "

I practice patience

[sylumer]

@erix

However, I am primarily not concerned with “Drafts Filtering”, but with “Tags Filtering”.

When applying tag filtering you could say contains all tags (logical AND) or contains any tags (logical OR).

If you regularly ‘all’ your tags, you probably want to filter on only tags that can be found in combination. If you regularly ‘any’ your tags, you probably want to display all tags as there is no guarantee they will appear in combination.

Make sense?

[erix]

Again. I am not concerned with the options for filtering drafts using tags. The functions and possibilities are known to me.

I am concerned with the filtering OF TAGS, not WITH TAGS.

[sylumer]

That is why on the last reply that I switched to talking about in terms of filtering tags. The purpose of filtering the tags is to help to select them for the filtering of drafts. The type of draft filtering you want to apply has a direct correlation to the type of filtering of tags you might want. That is what I attempted to explain.

My apologies. I guess I must still be missing some nuance in the explanation of what you are trying to do. From this point I will leave it to others who hopefully have a better appreciation and understanding of that nuance. I would not wish to introduce any confusion in your request.

[erix]

That’s what I’m missing since v40. See how the tag list shrinks when filtered. Only tags that are associated with each other will be displayed. Focus on the tag list, not on the drafts list.

Drafts Tip: Limit Tags Displayed in Tag Filters

Thank you for the conversation up to here. It has certainly helped me to chisel out exactly what my concern is about.

[agiletortoise]

Request noted. It’s possible that option may return if there is more demand for it. It was extremely inefficient on large data sets, so I preferred to remove it if not needed.

To counterpoint, the new nested tag option is meant to address these types of organizational needs - but would require re-working the way you assign tags, of course.

For your example, you might use tags like ice-cream/chocolate, ice-cream/vanila, rather than separate ice-cream and flavor tags, then they would already be grouped in the list and can be filtered hierarchically.

[erix]

@agiletortoise Thank you very much for your specific feedback on the elimination of the missed feature.

This is the signal for me to rethink my way of using Drafts and to find a workflow that suits me. My confusion has thus come to an end and orientation may begin. Thank you for the exemplary impulses, which @sylumer already gave similarly.

Secretly I hope I am not the only one who misses the option "Only Tags in Current Filter " and would welcome a return. Maybe as a switchable option.

As I said, I saw the hierarchical and associative tag filtering as a unique selling point of Drafts. Along with its many other strengths, of course.

Keep up the great work!

Question to the community: Who would also like to see the return of the option “Only Tags in Current Filter”?

[erix]

“Only Current Tags” in Tag Filter Pane is back

What a lovely Christmas present. Many many thanks dear Drafts Developer.