A feature for Mara to approve
Pin a note to the top
Pinning lets you keep up to three notes at the top of a notebook, it costs 2 build days, and I ask you to approve it for 2.4.
- Up to 3 pinned notes stay on top of a notebook.
- It costs 2 build days. 4 of 6 checks already pass.
- In a shared notebook, your pins stay yours.
Pinning, before and after
Needs your approvalOne notebook, two screens
The verdict
It costs 2 build days. With my three sharing picks, 2.4 then uses 13 of my 14.
Take: pinning changes one thing on one screen, and 4 of its 6 checks already pass.
- What pinning doesHold a note, choose Pin to top, and it stays.
- What changes for youOne screen, and what a shared notebook shows.
- How we know it worksSix checks, four already passing.
- What could go wrongThree risks and what keeps each one small.
Chapter 1 of 4, about 1 minute
What does pinning do?
Before this: pinning keeps up to three notes at the top of a notebook, so an old note you need often does not sink.
You pin a note with two taps. Each notebook holds up to three pins, and a fourth asks you to unpin one first.
- Hold a notePress and hold, or right-click on the web.
- Pin to topIt is the first item in the menu.
- Moves upThe note joins the pinned group.
- StaysEvery device shows it there.
Take from this: the whole feature is one menu item and one group at the top of the list.
Show the exact rules
- The newest pin goes to the top of the pinned group.
- The same menu item then reads Unpin.
- Deleting a note also removes its pin.
- A pin belongs to one notebook, because a note lives in one notebook.
Remember: pinning is two taps, and each notebook holds up to three pins.
Chapter 2 of 4, about 1 minute
What changes for you?
Before this: pinning is two taps, and each notebook holds up to three pins.
Only the note list changes. Sorting below the pinned group works as it does today.
- Notes sort by last edited.
- A note you need often sinks as you write new ones.
- Up to three notes stay on top.
- Every other note sorts by last edited, as before.
Remember: one screen changes, and a pin is yours alone even in a shared notebook.
Chapter 3 of 4, about 1 minute
How do we know it works?
Before this: one screen changes, and a pin is yours alone even in a shared notebook.
I built a rough prototype to test the parts that could lose a pin. Four checks pass and two are still to run.
- Pin and unpinWorks on Android and on an iPhone.
- Pins survive a restartNo pin lost in 20 restarts.
- Pins reach the web appThey show up within 3 seconds on Wi-Fi.
- A fourth pin is refusedA message asks you to unpin one first.
- Two devices pin at onceNot run yet. It is my first job on day one.
- A notebook of 2,000 notesNot run yet. The pinned group must not slow the list.
Take from this: the four checks that guard against a lost pin pass. The two left are edge cases.
Show how I tested
I ran a throwaway build on my Android phone and on a borrowed iPhone, with a test notebook of 300 notes. I closed and reopened the app 20 times and counted the pins after each restart.
Remember: four of six checks pass, and the two left are edge cases.
Chapter 4 of 4, about 2 minutes
What could go wrong?
Before this: four of six checks pass, and the two left are edge cases.
Version 2.3 saves a whole note at once, and it does not know pins exist.
Kept small by: pins live in their own list, away from the note.
On a 5.4 inch screen, three pinned rows push the other notes down.
Kept small by: a pinned row shows one line, and I test on the smallest phone we support.
In a shared notebook, your pins stay yours, so Sam does not see them.
Kept small by: the share sheet says so in one line.
The first risk is the only one that could lose something, so it decides where pins are stored.
- Version 2.3 saves the whole note.
- It drops the pin, which it has never heard of.
- Version 2.3 saves the note and leaves the list alone.
- The pin stays.
Take from this: a separate list costs no extra build time and removes the one risk that could lose a pin.
Remember: the risk worth fixing is an old app erasing a pin, so pins live in their own list.
Recap
- Pinning is two taps, and each notebook holds up to three pins.
- One screen changes, and a pin is yours alone even in a shared notebook.
- Four of six checks pass, and the two left are edge cases.
- The risk worth fixing is an old app erasing a pin, so pins live in their own list.
What I need from you
Do you approve pinning for 2.4? Reply with one of these.
If you do nothing: pinning waits for 2.5, and I start on sharing alone.