Larger note titles for desktop version

mic704b · 2020-01-24T11:45:51.141Z

There is a proposal being considered to change the format of note titles in Joplin desktop version.

This thread is to bring it to your attention and to hear any comments. Ideally it would be great to find out if there is a consensus for or against the idea, or if opinion is divided.

Current

Currently the title of a note is shown in normal text. For example:

screenshot1004×395 53.7 KB

Proposal

The proposal is to display the title in a larger font. So the above example would then look something like this:

title-note1-15nb-large-little1010×339 57.8 KB

Poll

Do you want larger note titles?

Yes - I would like larger note titles
No - I don’t want larger note titles
Don’t care

0 voters

If you do want larger titles, how big do you want them?

Larger than the proposal
Same as the proposal
Smaller than the proposal
I don’t know

0 voters

dpoulton · 2020-01-24T12:31:43.371Z

Makes sense to me to emphasise the title a bit compared to how it is now.

Suggestion would be just to make it bold and a couple of points bigger, nothing excessive. I only say this as with the edit bar and the new tag bar (not shown on your screenshot) already at the top, if the title becomes too big the top of each note it may start to become a bit large for those with smaller screens.

If you want consensus why not start up a poll like for the icon change?

Options:

Yes,
Yes - But not too big,
No,
No - Unless I can switch it off / adjust in settings,
No Opinion, either will do

should give you an idea!

mic704b · 2020-01-24T12:43:04.424Z

Thanks for your comments.

The poll is a good idea, I didn’t know we could create them on here. I will have a look.

mic704b · 2020-01-24T12:58:52.329Z

make it bold and a couple of points bigger, nothing excessive

For reference then, here is an example, but this time in the main heading format (large and bold)

title-note1-15b-large-little1007×335 57.7 KB

if the title becomes too big the top of each note it may start to become a bit large for those with smaller screens.

If there was a heading in the note body before, then we will actually save space by having larger titles, because the heading isn't needed anymore.

Also to make best use of vertical space, perhaps the new tag-bar could be relocated to the right-hand end of the edit-bar or title?

dpoulton · 2020-01-24T13:40:29.348Z

mic704b:

If there was a heading in the note body before, then we will actually save space by having larger titles, because the heading isn’t needed anymore.

For info I do not have any notes at all where the note title is repeated as the first line of the note itself. I never considered doing that because I have always considered it duplication. That's what having a note title field is for.

mic704b:

Also to make best use of vertical space, perhaps the new tag-bar could be relocated to the right-hand end of the edit-bar or title?

I thought that at first but there is limited space in those locations especially the edit-bar when using the edit pane. Just a couple of tags could easily fill all the available space.

The layout for me is fine as it is, I was just suggesting that if the title is made bigger / bolder it should not be made too big, just enough to empasise the title amongst all the other elements of the note's header. I use Joplin almost filling a 24" 1920x1200 screen so it will not impact me at all but there will be people out there using 13" or smaller ultra portables who may have less space to play with. It's a minor point but I was just putting it forward as something to consider.

subie · 2020-01-25T01:54:27.520Z

would you consider having the notebook, notes, and title all aligned?

5bd579d9541da3d1c33a81955befcb2b398166a11007×335 104 KB

mic704b · 2020-01-25T05:13:09.460Z

@dpoulton FYI it doesn’t seem like I can create a poll.

mic704b · 2020-01-25T05:13:40.835Z

subie:

would you consider having the notebook, notes, and title all aligned?

That’s a question for @laurent, however I think aesthetically it would be nice if it could be made to work. The suggestion applies even if we don’t increase the title size. Well spotted.

tessus · 2020-01-25T08:00:47.983Z

mic704b:

it doesn’t seem like I can create a poll.

Reply -> Options -> Build poll

image1148×396 18.1 KB

memophen · 2020-01-25T12:26:41.658Z

Excellent idea! It would be nice if there would be an option to display the field in reversed video, with the color scheme of the sidebar. Currently I use H1 for the note title, and H2 as primary level within the note:

Snap 2020-01-25 at 12.50.361040×526 36.4 KB

I would happily give up my own H1 titles. The name field does not have to be as big as my H1, the proposal of @dpoulton /@mic704b would be fine. I am not interested in alignment of the three panels.

kartoo · 2020-01-25T18:19:07.499Z

Why not let the titles to render markdown as well?

mic704b · 2020-01-25T20:39:34.517Z

Thanks @tessus. A poll is now added above.

tessus · 2020-01-25T21:33:27.496Z

You are welcome. Although the poll does not reflect other important decisions related to:

setting to switch it off / adjust
size of toolbar buttons
size of the title

mic704b · 2020-01-25T22:10:37.113Z

@tessus, yes, I tried to keep it to the simplest question for now, reasoning as follows:

setting to switch it off / adjust

My thought was that a particular user will either want it or not. I couldn't think of a use case where one will want to toggle it on and off regularly, so I omitted this from the poll.

If, as a group, opinion is divided, then a setting to enable or disable would be the best solution to keep everyone happy.

size of toolbar buttons

I would like to discuss this too, but thought it was best to treat it as a separate question.

size of the title

Size, format. There are many choices, so left it as a yes/no question for now. Of note, no one has yet commented here that the size in the image is too large. If there is mixed support, allowing the user to configure may be the best answer.

I'll see if I can update the poll with a second question without losing the progress.

tessus · 2020-01-25T22:29:05.347Z

mic704b:

I’ll see if I can update the poll with a second question without losing the progress.

If you modify the poll, you lose the votes up until that point. So don't do it.

I understand your reasoning. So let's wait for the results and go from there....

mic704b · 2020-01-25T22:30:46.258Z

@tessus, the poll is now updated with a second question, concerning the size.

Further formatting options should be discussed in the comments.

tessus · 2020-01-25T22:31:52.846Z

Yep, I’ve voted already.

mic704b · 2020-01-25T23:59:39.032Z

memophen:

Currently I use H1 for the note title, and H2 as primary level within the note

FYI in the proposal above, I was aiming for H1 size.

memophen:

option to display the field in reversed video

Nice, but that would definitely have to be optional. Perhaps in a future iteration.

mic704b · 2020-01-26T00:05:57.679Z

kartoo:

Why not let the titles to render markdown as well?

That would be great, but I suspect it would be a complex change. Perhaps when a WYSIWYG editor is integrated in Joplin would be the right time for that.

tessus · 2020-01-26T00:58:23.397Z

I don’t think we need the title twice (in the title field and note body). I certainly do not want this.

Btw, there’s been another topic about minimal UI changes where some of the lines were removed and also the title field was changed. I can’t find it now, but maybe the author can reference it when reading this.