Could someone explain a bit more about how the View > Extras sidebar (image below) is being fed with data?
I looked at the documentation on p87 of the DT3b5 manual. From that, I’m guessing this is an RSS feed from DT?
Is this feed automatically updated every time DT3 is opened?
When we do a global search from the top search bar, this data is excluded? (presumably because it is not data that the user has specifically entered into DT)
Are there settings to turn this feed on/off?
Suggestion:
A third section called “Community” would be extremely useful. What I envision for this section is a moderated section of scripts, tips, templates and smart rules developed on the DT discourse forum.
Some of the information in this “Extras” section is quite dated, but there have been excellent discussions and solutions developed on the forum which could augment this
There isn’t really a need to grab the whole thread from the forum most of the time, but a direct link to the helpful post (or a lightly edited repost) seems like a good synergy here
The benefit of this extra’s sidebar seems to be that we can access this information within DT without having to perform additional actions in a web browser. Also, the feed style curation helps to cut through some of the clutter on the web.
A third section called “Community” would be extremely useful. What I envision for this section is a moderated section of scripts, tips, templates and smart rules developed on the DT discourse forum.
We don’t assume any responsibility for third-party scripts and their behavior, so who would be moderating this?
Resources we publish for general use - scripts, templates, etc. - are already found in the Support section.
I think it would be fine if it were on a “use at your own risk” basis. I don’t know that moderation is needed beyond just setting it up or maybe some categories.
Yes there are resources in the Support section - but there are no doubt 100 times as many similar resources that users have written for their use and would be willing to share.
but there are no doubt 100 times as many similar resources that users have written for their use and would be willing to share.
This well may be true, but I actually disagree with the approach since their appearance in the Extras sidebar would elevate their status. This would imply they have been curated by us, that they have our “stamp of approval” on them, and likely that we’d offer support for them.
Watching a feed on the Scripting section should be sufficient for those wanting to keep an eye on what’s new in that facet.
And to anyone wondering, getting an RSS feed to a section of our Forums is as easy as copying a section’s link and appending .rss to the end of it, like…
I think it could be wherever you wish on your Discourse site, appropriately marked as not having your stamp of approval on it.
But I do think that there is a distinction between a section for “working scripts” or other “working Devonthink integrations” vs. the current Scripting section. The current section(s) have lots of Q&A on “how to” do something intermixed with occasional reports/sharing of completed projects. All of that is of course helpful - but I think the completed projects shared with the public get lost in the noise and can be hard to find among all the other Q&A.
Actually that’s already the job of the support assistant, useful tips of common interest are sometimes published on the blog too. The major problem is that most scripts and code snippets here are either incomplete, highly specific, require customization or installation instructions (e.g. third-party software). But usually we add only scripts that run out of the box and are of common interest.
I didn’t notice this until you mentioned it just now. But I’m glad to know of it!
(Based on the name I thought it was some kind of tech support feature and never clicked on it, ha!)
So there is some redundancy here because the support assistance covers some of the same info that’s in the “extras” sidebar?
@BLUEFROG I hear your point about needing to manage what content is DT Official versus home-brew. You all know what is possible under the terms-of-service better than myself.
I totally agree that the installation of extras and the extras that are made available from this support assistant should be the DT Official content. One reasonably assumes in these places that what is being provided is from DT and there is probably a duty to provide support on these.
Basically why I started this post was because I just wasn’t sure what this “extras” sidebar was really intended for.
Currently its most compelling feature is that all the product release notes are available in an easy to access place.
But some of the information, like in the Promotions section is dated to 2018 and for events that have already passed and no longer apply (which is why I wondered why it was even being served with data).
In my view, something like a “Community” section could make this sidebar a more compelling feature because it will be served with curated data from the forum, thereby offering something more than redundancy of the install prompt and the service assistant.
What @rkaplan was trying to emphasize, and I agree with, is that there is a lot of content that could be translated from the forum with a bit of help — think of it as curating the best of.
But if it’s not possible c’est la vie. DT3 is already awesome. We’re just thinking out loud here.
The request about any potential gems in the Forums is understandable, but given the volume of data, the need for testing / verifying results / and potentially fixing things, combined with the already heavy workload internally, this would be a project for the future.
It’s launched after starting the app for the first time and available via Scripts > More Scripts… or Data > New From Template > More Templates… too.
The sidebar extras are just for convenience and include stuff from e.g. the support assistant & from our blog. As it’s automatically updated it’s easier to notice new stuff (see Extras icon in sidebar).
