Tag filtering, accessibility, multi select, context menu, add multiple links, compact UI, browser extension and more.

Opening-Button-8988 commented 6 months ago

I've looked far and wide for a good bookmarking tool. I've tried them all, and Linkwarden is the best (ArchiveBox comes close but the usability and UI aren't there). The ability to archive bookmarks in different formats, and then search for content within, entirely offline, is essential for me. I've had my eye on this app for a while but there are some problems that are preventing me from using it. I'm currently using Firefox's built in bookmarks and have been for a long time. I have 2000+ bookmarks with a lot of folders. Pretty much all of my suggestions consist of basic functionality that should already be in the app. Here's what they are. Note: I am self hosting with Docker, v2.5.2 Linux.

Filter tags (#481)

Lets say I have the following tags: windows, operating systems, renovation. I have a tag for Windows the operating system, but I also use the same tag for window panels because I'm shopping for some (this was the best example I could come up with). I want to be able to filter results (even if I'm in a collection or subcollection) so that I only get entries with the tags operating systems and windows. Of course, I'm not going to create a tag with multiple words that should be separate tags anyway.

How I expect this functionality to be implemented is similar to the multi select function. By default all entries are shown; clicking on a tag (from the Tags collapsible folder on the left) only shows entries with that tag; clicking another tag only shows entries with those two tags, you get the idea.

Tag tree / tag menu

Basically, sub-tags. But it's only visual, ie. sub-tags do not inherit parent tags. Having hundreds of tags is discombobulating and having a tree-structure keeps them organised. Possibly add a toggle for inherit parent tags? This functionality would make it so that a subtag would also have its parent tag; there is some redundancy here since we just got that from subcollections, but some people may want it. Alternatively, have a dedicated page for tags, for people who have hundreds and need a better view.

Multiple-select

I was making a suggestion to add multi select functionality but in trying to explain it, I realized that functionality exists. However, I can't use Shift to select multiple in a row. I can only select individual entries. I should be able to select (for example) entry 1 through 5, 7 through 12, etc. Selecting individual entries should be with Ctrl, and multiple with Shift, as it works in Windows file explorer and in basically any other file manager.

Accessibility

It takes more clicks to do stuff than it should. The best example of this is when adding new links. To add a new link I have to click Create New > New Link > paste link > more options > enter tags. The workflow has a few redundancies. Instead of a dropdown that selects for new links or new collections, make them more accessible by being 1 click away. Make "more options" visible by default. The tag selection is a little weird (not comma separated?) but I won't criticise it.
Formats selection should be more accessible. Formats and the direct links to them should be next to the original link. See image below. Eg. yellow is pdf, red is png.

ddaq

Right-click context menu

As described above, there should be a dedicated context menu when right clicking when using the app. Makes regular-use actions like deleting and creating much faster. (All users retain the ability to use the built in Firefox context menu using Shift+RMB).

Add multiple links / Import from comma-separated or space-separated txt file

The two options for adding links are adding one link at a time, or importing from HTML. What if I want to add 5 or 10 links? I don't have them in HTML form, and adding each one can take too long. A way to add multiple links, either via the regular way, or via import option in the settings. Or better yet (and this is probably the best way) move the import option from settings to the New Link menu, so that you add stuff all from one place. Add a text box that allows you to add links in newline format. Retain the ability to add tags for each link.

Browser extension

ArchiveBox has a browser extension that allowed you to bookmark links in your browser using an extension. I played around with it but never got it to work. Without this, my workflow would be to accumulate a bunch of bookmarks using the built in browser bookmarks, then offload them to Linkwarden. Better save them directly to Linkwarden to save time. I know bookmarklets exist but I've never liked them, and don't like the idea of using javascript in a bookmark for security reasons (I may not be justified in thinking this).

More customizable UI

I would like a more compact option for list view. When you have thousands of bookmarks, only being able to see a dozen links on screen (2560x1440) is annoying. There should be a compact view that reduces the padding between entries, and be able to view maybe 30+ on a single screen.
More UI/UX options. While I like the current UI visually, I would like to see a version that has less padding, because at the moment it looks very bubbly, which is user friendly, but can be an obstacle for power users. Suggestion above is specific to the link views, this suggestion is more general.

Misc

Remove auto-collapsing of subcollections (better, add an option to enable/disable this). When I'm in a subcollection and then select a tag, it collapses all subcollections.
Small nitpicky thing, but there is a larger than expect area where you can click on an entry and the original link opens. The clickable area should only be on the link itself (it gets highlighted when you hover). The date shown next to the link misleadingly sends you to the link.
This would solve all of my problems at once; I want to be able to import all of my Firefox bookmarks, and swap folders for tags. I currently sort my bookmarks by folder, but the main reason I want to use Linkwarden is because I can't put one bookmark in two folders (without creating duplicates of course). The functionality for creating subcollections from folders is already there, just give us the option to convert folders to tags or vice versa! Bonus feature: "add offline" (add links but don't use networking).

Amir-Ahmad commented 3 months ago

+1 on multi select and "more compact option for list view". Perhaps some of these points should be separate issues?

About the browser extension, linkwarden already has one which allows bookmarking: https://github.com/linkwarden/browser-extension

Opening-Button-8988 commented 3 months ago

@Amir-Ahmad Thank you. I haven't been using Linkwarden lately but I will revisit it and use that bookmark tool when I get around to it. I've actually switched to Brave recently, their bookmarking functionality is even worse than Firefox. I'm sorely needing something better.

daniel31x13 commented 3 months ago

Hey those who are asking for a more compact UI could you please give us a feedback here? https://github.com/linkwarden/linkwarden/issues/664#issuecomment-2303263592

(The two questions)

amsolenberg commented 2 weeks ago

I would also like to see tag filtering as OP outlined. That's the main feature I can't seem to find even in some other apps I've tried. I don't like"folders"/"collections" and so don't use them. I find them too limiting.

But, for example, I have bookmarks that are Gift Ideas (and have them tagged as such) but I also tagged people's names to them. It would be fantastic to be able to choose '#Gift Ideas' then drill down further to '#Gift Ideas' and '#Person 1', etc.

Because I don't like/use collections it would be nice if we could share by tag instead of by collection only.

(I don't know if this was done the right way, this is literally the first feature request I've ever made/tried to 'upvote' or whatever.)

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