There is no problem. Sort order buttons are hidden when a global search is ongoing. When any query exists in the text field, sort buttons are invisible. In the above case, your example image is exactly what you get, and you lose no space after sort order buttons are introduced.
(NOTE: currently, this feature is only implemented in my local version and is not uploaded yet.)
By the way, the intrinsic matter is Joplin's specification that the result of a search query is out of scope of the ordinary note sorting. It seems very inconvenient for me. Does anyone know why such limitation exists?
That isn't quite what I mean, I'm aware that the search field expands and hides the buttons, I'm referring to the data left in the field after the query has completed, the buttons are visible again and the box is now acting as a visible display of the current 'filter' applied which, with the width reduction, might become almost meaningless.
My above picture was a display of what it would look like having taken into account the width reduction introduced by a new button which is already fairly generous due to the screen resolution. Your own pictures have this reduced to the point where even the placeholder text doesn't fit.
It's still no problem. I wrote "Sort order buttons are hidden when a global search is ongoing". If there is a query remaining in the search text box, it means "ongoing".
Here is an example. First, I hit a query created:20200118 -created:20201215. A global search starts.
Then, I read some notes in the results. At this point of time, the query remains in the search text area, and sort buttons are still hidden.
Finally, after I hit "X" button in the search bar to clear the query, sort buttons appear again.
In other words, sort buttons and a search query text do not co-exist in the current feature specification.
That's right: Even in Evernote the due-date column isn't activated per default in list view. Good task management features are a great advantage, however, especially when compared to OneNote (where these features are confined to the desktop version and tied to an additional Outlook account).
So please don't forget task management abilities: It's problematic enough that iOS notifications for due date don't open the specifed to-do – they just open the app, and I have to find the note for myself.
Fortunately, for sorting by due date there's a workaround: the Note Overview plugin (not fully functional on mobile of course).
If sticking with font awesome, I think in terms of the style I prefer the look of the non-filled variants although I know there are sometimes limited choices on the free set.
What about random for the custom sort?
or plain arrows? (too many similar arrows with the reverse button though)
The rest are tricky...
For title sorting, there are the icons for text justification etc. which due to the nature of markdown are absent from the main formatting toolbars so aren't currently duplicated but do have the baggage of being well known:
As for the time ones, maybe a clock based one instead? Although its hard to portray "updated" and "created" times with them.
No, we can only use the free icon set. Usually other licenses can quicky become a headache for open-source projects. Although I have to admit the license for the non-free versions looks good. On the other side Laurent hasn't bought an icon pack, thus the discussion is somewhat moot.
Not that I am aware of. Furthermore I don't think we want to include too many icon sets in Joplin.
But I think this is something Laurent will have to make a statement.
I integrated the above newly designed icons into the modified Joplin, and the rendered images are here. (Only the icon for custom order is newly selected from Font Awesome.)
Also I don't know the reason, but it seems to be a reasonable choice, because integrating IcoMoon offers a very easy way of extension of newly designed icons through IcoMoon App. It's a useful extension point for modern GUIs. Besides, IcoMoon Free does not have enough icons, so it is inevitable to be coupled with Font Awesome.
It is very nice clarification to categorize users into two groups, frequent-changers of sort order and infrequent-changers.
Since I'm a frequent-changer, I'll seek for a way to satisfy frequent-changers' needs. Simultaneously, I want not to disturb infrequent-changers' confortableness.
Daeraxa's next point is very realistic.
I agree with it. So, in this topic, I want to find which type is better to be integrated to Joplin.
Since I'm very motivated to always know current sort order state at a glance, my acceptable choices are type(A) and type(C). If type(A) does not harm infrequent-changers' comfort, I would like to try it first.
By the way, I'm not always a fan of a cyclic button. In my experience and knowledge, tolerable cyclic number is at most 4. If five or more, a cyclic button should not be used. If Joplin would offer a rich number of fields such as Evernote, a cyclic button were inappropriate.
At the moment the togggle button shows Toggel sort order field as a hover text.
Wouldn't it be better if the sorting order (title, custom, created or updated time) was included?
Currently you have to guess what the icon means.
I think that's unecessary details. It's much faster to just click the button and see what happens than wait for the tooltip to show up to see a description of what's going to happen. So please keep the tooltip to just "Toggle sort order".
I think detailed and simplified tooltips have their own merits and both are reasonable. In the end, it would be chosen by users' convenience. Rolling back to the detailed tooltip is easy.
Currently you have to guess what the icon means.
BTW, you can find what the icon means from the menu "View" > "Sort notes by".
