Viewing templates as types for creating and sorting objects

[jmatienza]

This is a broader and more encompassing application of a feature suggestion I made on this forum.

WHAT DO YOU RECOMMEND

I recommend that sets be created by template, not just by type. If a set is created by type, I further recommend an option to allow the set to be sorted or filtered by template.

HOW COULD IT BE DONE

The type menu for creating sets should include templates so sets could be created based on templates. Also, the menus for sorts and filters for a set based on a type should include templates for that type as parameters.

REAL WORLD USE CASES

The Human object can include several templates, such as “Client”, “Colleague”, “Friend”, etc. It would be good to be able to sort or filter a set of Human objects based on the template used, i.e., grouping together clients, colleagues, and friends. In other cases, for ease of access I might want to create separate sets for my clients, colleagues, and friends.

RECOMMENDED ALTERNATIVES

None.

ADDITIONAL CONTEXT

This recommendation implies that templates should be viewed as types in their own right, or sub-types if you wish. The default template is the type, while the other, user-created, templates are the subtypes.

[badgalmeli]

I think this is really important and not sure why your post hasn’t had more engagement. I’m very new to AnyType and struggling to find a clean method of organising my projects because of this. Already I’ve had to create an additional object to tasks - “project tasks” - so that my general task list isn’t overwhelmed.

My solution so far has been to create various different templates within the “project tasks” object, which I’ve labelled, for example, ‘house project task’ ‘freelance project task’ etc. On my desktop this basically works fine - each project has a filtered view within my master ‘project task set’, which means the ‘freelance’ tab will only ever show “project tasks” like ‘pitch for new work’, and not ‘paint bedroom walls’ or ‘upcycle dresser’). I’ve also created a separate page for each project, where I store notes, objectives, and an inline view of relevant project tasks.

HOWEVER, this is a total mess on my phone. The inline set on my ‘project page’ takes me to the master view of all my project tasks, which requires needless extra navigation and clicks to see how I’m progressing with a project at a glance. It also prevents me from toggling back and forth to see my notes/objectives and project tasks in one place. One way of navigating this would be an improved in-line view on mobile, but I think the ability to create sets via template would be a neater and more organised solution overall.

[jmatienza]

Thanks for adding your experience. I’ve forgotten about this topic, and now that you mention it I’m a bit puzzled myself why no one seems to have run into this use case.

Perhaps they’re working around it by creating entirely new types for what could logically be templates?

Or, maybe, there’s something really basic that we’re missing here.

Help, anyone?

[jmatienza]

I’m currently checking out the docs of another PKM app, and for them it seems that templates are NOT an extension or modification (hence a superset) of an object type, but rather simply a way to pre-fill a new instance of the the object type.

This set off a lightbulb in my head. If Anytype defines templates the same way, and I understood it correctly, then I probably wouldn’t have made this request. I would simply need to create new types for each class of Human that I need, say, for work, like Customers, Suppliers, etc. The catch of this is that, Based on this understanding, they would not be a class of Human, they would not show up in a Set of Humans, because they are not a subset of the Human type. Naturally they would share the same properties (Relations) as Humans because they are, in real life, humans. But in Anytype they are not Humans, but Customers, Suppliers, etc.

I wish the documentation spelled it out more. But I’m going to try it out if this understanding is correct.

[badgalmeli]

I did originally experiment with giving each project type its own object - ‘freelance project task’ etc., but the only drawback I found was not being able to see ALL my project tasks at a glance, as you can’t add multiple objects to a set, right? I like to designate one ‘next up’ task per project, and try to tackle a few of these each day, so it’s nice to be able to have this view.

However, I have found a workaround! I think I first saw it mentioned on here, but I’ve basically created a ‘tag’ relation for each different project, which I add to that particular project task’s template. I’ve then created a set of each tag, so I can have two master views - one for all of my projects (grouped by the object ‘project task’) and one for each project (grouped by its individual tag).

Not sure if this is helpful for your use case or not, but adding a screenshot in case someone else ends up here with the same issue. And I agree, I wouldn’t have voted for this functionality now either

[badgalmeli]

see also the sets: