YesYouKan - Kanban plugin for Joplin

laurent · 2024-09-28T17:17:12.333Z

Joplin Plugin: Kanban

Create and manage Kanban boards from Joplin

YesYouKan is a Kanban plugin for Joplin. To begin, install the plugin, then go to the menu and select Tools => Create Kanban Board.

This is still quite new so there are probably a few issues here and there and some features are missing. Feedback is welcome!

YesYouKan converts a note into a Kanban board format. An H1 heading represents a stack (or column), while an H2 heading serves as a card within that stack. Any text below the H2 heading acts as the card's description.

To identify a note as a Kanban board, it must include a kanban-settings code block at the end. This block is required, even if left empty, to ensure the note is recognised as a Kanban board.

Example

This is how a board would look like:

image1684×824 113 KB

For a note like this:

# ⏰ To Do

## 💰 Secure funding

Research loans or investors to finance the business.

## 🏬 Find a retail location

Identify a suitable shop space with good foot traffic and visibility.

## 🎹 Choose piano brands

Decide on the brands of pianos and accessories to stock based on market demand.

# 🚀 In Progress

## 🧾 Negotiate lease

Finalize the lease agreement with the property owner, ensuring terms are favorable.

## 📚 Order initial inventory

Place orders for pianos, accessories, and other essentials to stock the store.

# 🎉 Done

## 📒 Register the business

Complete legal paperwork to officially establish the business.

## 📋 Create business plan

Draft a comprehensive plan outlining business strategy, target market, and financial projections.

```kanban-settings
# Do not remove this block
```

To do

Allow using an existing note as a card
Implement support for a few options
Create an option dialog to change the options

whitewall · 2024-09-28T18:22:24.905Z

+1 for the cool name.

Thank you for this and all your dedication to the project.

eagle · 2024-09-30T07:47:25.321Z

Brilliant plugin

I work mainly on a laptop so to view the board properly i have to hide the side bar, hide the note list, toggle editor to shut off split view & make the editor window as narrow as possible by dragging.....

Is there a better way to view the "board" only?

laurent · 2024-09-30T08:31:55.927Z

For now, that's indeed the way to go - you can also use the shortcuts to hide/show the sidebar and note list more easily. Eventually, it would be nice to have the concept of editor view for plugins - so the Kanban board would be a view and you can switch between this and the Markdown editor for example. Or maybe being allowed to create new windows from plugin would help.

eagle · 2024-09-30T09:37:40.065Z

Thanks for helping. Shortcuts really makes this a lot easier than I thought.

PackElend · 2024-10-01T17:08:06.594Z

How does it compare against the other kanban plugin, created a few years ago?

benlau · 2024-10-02T06:35:44.095Z

The name is cool, and it looks pretty neat. Thanks for this plugin!

However, I have a problem. Let's say I have 5-6 columns that are longer than the window width. How can I scroll the list horizontally? It doesn't seem to respond to drag or mouse wheel events.

Eduardo · 2024-10-02T15:16:49.561Z

Hi @PackElend
Although I haven’t spent much time to compare them, from my point of view and how it applies to my workflow, I can write:
Kanban plugin
I have dealt with some issues during my use, not always work as I expect may be the developer no longer maintains it, although I think someone has tried to improve or fixed it. Its strength is that it handles any note in Joplin as Kanban Cards.

YesYouKan plugin
Simpler, from this aspect expect less problem, the output is visually better. However, the Kanban card in fact is a title within the same note (although I can add a Note Markdown link below any title). Lastly, it has a very attractive plugin name.

t0dd · 2024-10-03T13:43:27.320Z

Yes! This is fantastic and so SO much better than the old unmaintained Kanban plugin. Simpler and just works. The other implementation achieved neither of those things.

Wishlist after using it for five whole minutes:

Publish a CSS chart of elements for it so we can customize the look and feel. The first kanban card/stanza I implemented has a link. In dark mode, the link is this dark blue that renders it nearly unreadable. Yes, I can use developer mode to introspect and all that, but … PITA. And maybe just improve the default CSS? (Mind you, my CSS is so customized, maybe I hosed it up somehow.)
These righthand panels need a better way to toggle their visibility. Or make this one, in particular, visible in the main panel? (Cuz, you don't want to see the PDF/HTML rendered version of the Kanban note, right? You want to see the chart.) The righthand panel management in Joplin needs a deep re-think, IMHO.
How the heck do you scroll right when you have a number of kanban stacks? (Fedora, Linux, GNOME)
Need a means to select a pile of notes and to-dos and add them to the Kanban.

Anyway. Kudos! This is such an improvement.

P.S. An aside: Laurent, I was in London a few weeks ago. I was hoping to carve out time to invite you to go grab a beer but just couldn't swing it. Family obligations and all that. Cheers to you, though. -t

laurent · 2024-10-03T19:35:08.346Z

benlau:

However, I have a problem. Let's say I have 5-6 columns that are longer than the window width. How can I scroll the list horizontally? It doesn't seem to respond to drag or mouse wheel events.

Yes this is actually already fixed and it will be part of the next release. A workaround in the meantime could be to reduce the width of the column in the settings

laurent · 2024-10-03T19:37:10.054Z

Eduardo:

However, the Kanban card in fact is a title within the same note

In a future version I plan to add support for using an existing note as a card.

laurent · 2024-10-03T19:43:04.246Z

t0dd:

Publish a CSS chart of elements for it so we can customize the look and feel. The first kanban card/stanza I implemented has a link. In dark mode, the link is this dark blue that renders it nearly unreadable. Yes, I can use developer mode to introspect and all that, but … PITA. And maybe just improve the default CSS? (Mind you, my CSS is so customized, maybe I hosed it up somehow.)

I'm not sure I would publish a chart of elements, unless there's really a strong interest for it. In the meantime, one option is to check the plugin CSS file, which contains all the elements: plugin-yesyoukan/src/style/main.css at master · joplin/plugin-yesyoukan · GitHub (In there, a "stack" is basically a column)

t0dd:

Need a means to select a pile of notes and to-dos and add them to the Kanban.

Yes I'll add support for something like this. I'm still not sure what form it will take - I think I'd still want a central Markdown note that represent a board, and the linked notes would be cards.

t0dd:

P.S. An aside: Laurent, I was in London a few weeks ago. I was hoping to carve out time to invite you to go grab a beer but just couldn't swing it. Family obligations and all that. Cheers to you, though. -t

No problem, and hopefully some other times then!

t0dd · 2024-10-09T18:20:58.963Z

Bug!

Changes made via the KanBan interface itself are not saving.

Reordering is not saved

Change the order of cards on a board by dragging them up or down
You'll notice the associated "note" changes accordingly
Switch to another note
Come back … the reordering is reverted

New card just disappears

Create a new card
"Save" it with by clicking the check mark
Click away to another note
Come back … that card has vanished

External editor notices no change to the associated note

Open your KanBan note
Hit the external editor button
Change the KanBan boards using the KanBan board interface directly
Notice the associated note in the Joplin interface appears to change
Notice the lack of notice by the external editor that the associated note has changed

I.e. The KanBan board is not being saved to disk when you change it with the interface.

laurent · 2024-10-11T11:19:24.429Z

Thanks for the bug reports, I've added them here: Issues · joplin/plugin-yesyoukan · GitHub

laurent · 2024-10-13T18:03:36.813Z

Version 1.0.4 is now available. However please note that it requires version 3.1 of Joplin (which will be available soon and is available in prerelease)

v1.0.4

Fixed horizontal scrolling
Fixes #1: Display list bullets and numbers in cards
Added settings for stack width and confirm key behaviour

ymzk64 · 2024-10-15T12:33:33.187Z

can support H3 or more?
or max only H2?

laurent · 2024-10-15T12:41:06.591Z

H1 is a stack and H2 is a card. I guess anything above this would be considered part of the card. Do you have any specific use case in mind?

ymzk64 · 2024-10-16T13:11:03.669Z

Example

# Todo
 
## Setup Storage
 
### Network
- [ ] request IP
- [ ] setting IP
 
### OS
- [ ] setting snmp
    - [ ] setting community string
    - [ ] setting ip address
- [ ] add to monitor server
- [ ] setting mail
 
kanban-settings
# Do not remove this block

render is

laurent · 2024-10-16T16:05:25.139Z

Looks like it's working as expected? (the headers at least) Or do you mean the checkboxes are the problem?

ymzk64 · 2024-10-17T11:23:20.834Z

Sorry, I didn't make it clear yesterday
I used indentation and the checkbox didn't work
I personally put many items in Todo, and each item may have more sub-items, so I raised this question.