Usage Patterns

1. A quicker way to create new items in the App area you're currently in
2. Quickly jotting down a whole string of items (e.g. doing a brain dump into your task list, transcribing a whole bunch of events from your head, email or your paper calendar, etc)
3. A way to record a one-off item that does NOT fit into the App area you're currently in

Basic Structure

Command line options

• /NOTE
• /MSG or /MESSAGE (Should always displays as /MSG)
• /TASK
• /EVENT
• /SEARCH

Potential future commands

• /LABEL
• /TICKLE

Interaction

Default display

• The command displays in text in the command line field
• The pulldown displays the icon for the command
• If the user tries to delete the command from the field, the field is automatically re-populated with the default command

Specifying a command

TYPING

• "/" is the way the user tells Chandler that they are trying to type in a command
• "/" prompts the pulldown where users can use the arrows keys to choose from the list of command options
• The command should auto-complete as soon as the user has typed a unique key combination (e.g. /N --> /NOTE)

PULLDOWN

• Click and hold pulldown to view command options
• Select new command
• Command text in command line field changes accordingly to match icon

Multiple commands

• Users can type multiple commands to stamp a single item with multiple stamps
• The interaction is the same for subsequent commands
• Multiple commands are separated by a space

• If the user specifies multiple commands, the pulldown displays multiple icons
• Open Issue As users specify items with multiple kinds, those combinations get added to the pulldown

ILLEGAL MULTIPLE COMMANDS

• 2 commands that specify the same kind: /NOTE /NOTE
• Multiple commands where Search is one of the commands: /SEARCH /NOTE

Workflow

Default set up

• By default, there is always a command
• The command displays in grey
• The default command matches your context
  • /NOTE in the All App area
  • /MSG or /MESSAGE in the Mail App area
  • /TASK in the Tasks App area
  • /EVENT in the Calendar

Moving focus to the command line field

DEFAULT BEHAVIOR

• If keyboard focus is NOT in another text field, then whenever the user types, focus shifts automatically to the command line field
• This creates a new item that matches the kind of currently selected App area

EXPLICITLY CHANGING THE COMMAND

• Clicking into the command line field with a mouse selects the entire field
• Users can either replace the command by typing in a different command, or use the right-arrow key to move the cursor to the end of the command to preserve the default command

Changing contexts mid-stream

• If the user explicitly selects and/or types a command into the command line field and then switches App areas mid-stream before completing the command, we should not automatically change the command to match the App area, e.g.
  • User is in the Calendar
  • User changes the command to /TASK
  • User switches App areas to the Mail App area
  • Command line field should persist /TASK command setting

Smart parsing of Events versus Ticklers

• All times that have duration are parse as events, no matter what (e.g. 2-4PM)
• All times that only have a start date or start date/time are parsed as Ticklers, UNLESS
  • The item is explicitly called out as an event with the /EVENT command

Follow-up

• Users are expected to go back to items created in the command line to fix them up, correct mistakes and process / triage them
• As a result, items created in the command line are marked as Unread and should be automatically added to the Dashboard collection
• Items created in the command line are not automatically added to the currently selected collection
• Open Issue If an item is created that matches the currently selected App area, then it should be automatically added to the currently selected collection?

Visual design

Commands

• Font size = Small and Bold (10 pt)
• Font color = 50% grey

Pulldown

• Icons on the left (12x12)
• Commands on the right

* alpha5_quickitementry.png:
-- MimiYin - 22 Aug 2006