Collections
Collections are a design pattern for use by applications. They allow content items to be grouped together and organized.
Collections is a generic name that can be altered according to the context. A photos app might call them "Albums", while a notes app could call them "Notebooks", for example.
Participants
WilliamJonMcCann, AllanDay, JakubSteiner
Objectives
- Assign content items to collections, both individually and as sets.
- Assign content items to collections, as a part of the import process.
- Browse collections.
- Edit collection names.
- Remove content items from collections. Move them between collections.
- Be quick and simple to use.
- Design pattern should be applicable to Documents and Photos. Could have implications for similar apps, but is not intended to be identical across different application types.
Use cases:
- Organize newly imported photos into a series of albums.
- Place a set of papers into subject-specific collections.
Relevant Art
Google Drive
http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-HpaQ6z5cOYs/UtVxryKN5iI/AAAAAAAACC8/FzJKWHWDpBk/s1600/Activity+stream+image2.png
Filesystem-like model:
- Folders can be nested.
- Files can be placed in a single folder.
- Folders can be empty.
- Folder trees are browsed using a sidebar.
Google Keep
https://www.aivanet.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/google-keep-labels-lede-630x360.jpg
Classic tag-based model:
- Notes can have multiple tags.
- Main view shows all content items.
- Tags act as filters (accessible from a sidebar).
- Tags don't have to have notes attached to them.
Tomboy
tomboy.png
- Notebooks act as filters in the search window.
- Each note can be placed in a single notebook (or not have a notebook).
- Notebooks can be empty.
iPhoto
http://cdn.cultofmac.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/all.jpg
Flickr
https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7123/13884678221_15eb87ff1f.jpg
- Main view is a timeline of all photos. A separate view allows browsing albums.
- Photos can belong to multiple albums.
- A special mode is used for album editing. This allows adding photos to albums through drag and drop.
Shotwell
shotwell.png
- Main view shows all photos.
- Uses "tags" as opposed to albums.
Discussion
- An view showing all content items is good to have, particularly if it shows recent activity.
- Ability to quickly select multiple content items is important for organising content into collections. Density of items on display could be a factor here.
- Important for Photos (maybe documents too):
- Select by date.
- Add to album during import.
- Manual ordering of photos in an album (or set the order as an album property).
- Export or share an album.
Tentative Design
Things that Photos needs and are missing from this design:
- Select by date in Photos.
- Automatic albums by date?
- Assign collections during import.
- Manual ordering inside an album.
See 705708
https://raw.githubusercontent.com/gnome-design-team/gnome-mockups/master/collections/collections-wires-documents-main-window.png
https://raw.githubusercontent.com/gnome-design-team/gnome-mockups/master/collections/collections-wires-documents-dialog.png