Boards: provide an indication when a nested item is a board
I had to experiment a little to understand how subboards (nested boards) work. Basically:
- Board nesting is allowed. (Really, it has to be allowed, because it's possible to move existing boards into the contents of other existing boards.)
- Only one level of board can be displayed at a time, and it is always the highest-level board in the current view that will display as a board. (So if you are looking at a parent board and its child or grandchild is also a board, only the parent board will display as a board.)
- You can turn a child of a board (e.g., a column heading) into a board (and you can do this from any level, e.g., from a grandparent who is not a board), but nothing visible will happen when you do, because of rule 2. So you have no way of knowing/remembering that that child is really a board unless you look at the context menu (or until you move deeper, to a point where that child is the highest-level visible board; then it will magically turn into a board).
- I think this is the right behavior from a functional perspective (really, it's the only option, other than "make nested boards visible at the same time," which would be a visual disaster).
- BUT it bothers me that something can "be" a board even though there's no indication in your current view that it is a board.
- SO I would prefer there to be some small but unambiguous iconic visual indication that an item is a board (even when it is collapsed, or when it is not displaying as a board because of rule 1).
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So, it appears the board icon (at least a concept of it) is live in the beta, and I have to say, I'm not a fan. I get the need for it, and wouldn't mind having some kind of indicator (perhaps a different colored bullet), but having that board icon in front of the text for the node next to the bullet doesn't look good.
Or, perhaps an option to turn it on or off in settings? -
After thinking about the board indicator some more, I do think my vote would be on a subtle change in bullet color. When we share a node, it turns light blue. What if the bullet turned light green or some other color to note a nested board? Unless they have other plans for bullet colors, that fits with the current aesthetic and still provides an easy visual cue.
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Hmmmm, so as a colorblind person this is...less than optimal lol. I'm not sure exactly why there is a "board indicator" honestly.
Since we are developing different "views" so to speak wouldn't it make more sense to simply add a "view" icon or something more ingrained in the current UI? That could be a great starting place for switching between boards, grid, bullets, etc.
It could go in, or next to, the three dot menu that pops up on hover.
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