Feature request: Moving tags inside other tags

The way I organize my notes in Bear is that I have a tag for each of my projects, and these projects tags are sub-tags divided into different tags (depending on the project content, if its active, archived, etc…) So it would be great if it was possible to drag tags inside one another in the sidebar.

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Dragging is not possible bout you could select a given tag and all its correspondending notes. Then just rename them so that they are moved under another tag

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It would be so much more elegant if you could implement drag/drop of tags. This would simply perform a rename operation, without the user having to manually type it out.

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But what if the new desires name doesn’t already exist? You anyway would then use the typing way so that you end up with two different ui elements for the same feature. I believe that the current renaming dialog indeed is enough, powerful and last but not least more convenient. Think about dragging a note into another tag tree path that is closed: it has to be opened, maybe there or more levels deep, and on each level you have to find the right node. That is not a good experience in my eyes

you end up with two different ui elements for the same feature.

Of course, and so what? The existing manual method would be considered the “advanced” method, and the drag/drop would be the fast/convenient method. Many UI aspects are redundant, such as keyboard shortcuts vs mouse operations. Some people prefer one method, others prefer the other method. To each their own.

Think about dragging a note into another tag tree path that is closed: it has to be opened, maybe there or more levels deep, and on each level you have to find the right node. That is not a good experience in my eyes

I must respectfully disagree that it’s not a good user experience. Most UI trees support drag/drop of elements within the tree and this is the standard approach. You need look no further than MacOS Finder and Windows Explorer for two among thousands of examples of this functionality. Surely, Apple and Microsoft know a thing or two about UI/UX? Imagine if you had to manually type out the new path each time you wanted to move a file in Finder!

I find it quite counterintuitive that we’re unable to drag/drop tags in Bear and keep forgetting that it doesn’t support this basic operation. In the example you mentioned, the user would expand the tree at the target parent tag and drag from the original location. It’s no different from moving a file in Finder. Typically, it would require two or three clicks, then a drag. The existing method requires you to right-click the tag, select the Edit option, then manually type out the new name. If the tag is deeply nested, this could be long, complicated and error-prone,

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The drag and drop logic inside the finder is totally different. It doesn’t rename but changes the place of the note. When you drop a folder onto another folder the first one becomes the subfolder of the latter one. Alone that would made counterintuitive what you ask for and speaks against that kind of RENAMING in bears tag tree

Changing the location of a file is exactly the same thing as renaming it. As I’m sure you know, file paths are just pointers, You’re correct that in Finder, you drop a folder on top of a folder to make it a sub-folder. The same behavior in Bear would be perfectly fine. Drop a tag on top of another tag to make it a sub-tag. I don’t know why you think that would be counterintuitive. You’re literally performing the exact same action as you would in Finder or any number of other applications. Or you could implement it like many other applications have done, by displaying a horizontal line indicating a drop point. With that approach, the user could drop tags in between other tags. Either way or both ways would be totally fine and intuitive.

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I thought you wanted the notes to get the name of the folder you have dropped on. That would not be counterintuitive. But while with the current renaming tool you can do any kind of renaming the drag and drop kind of renaming would be limited. What you want you already can achieve easily and more retraceable

I don’t know what you mean about notes getting the same name as the folder. I’m suggesting a more convenient way to move tags around in the tag tree, without having to manually rename each tag. I’m well aware that it’s easy to rename a tag, but it’s not convenient, especially when you want to reorganize your tag hierarchy. It’s a pain to have to manually edit the name in each tag, rather than being able to simply drag a tag to a different location in the hierarchy.

I am not sure what you two are debating about tbh. Drag and drop of notes to tag is already possible. What is not possible is drag and drop of a tag to the other as a nested tag which I find it useful.

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Yes, Eleanor, thank you!

This is what I’ve been trying to explain the entire time. I’d like to be able to reorganize the tags list by dragging dropping TAGS within the list. I never said anything about notes. It’s incredibly inconvenient and cumbersome to have to move tags around by manually editing the tag path.

Then I believe you want a manual sort of tags, of which anything manual doesn’t seem to be on the dev’s table as what I have seen so far.

You cannot know: I have trafen some of my posts. It seems I was not in the mood yesterday to write in English. There are some phrases that are totally misunderstanding. Sorry for them, @sobeguy! :wink:

However, my problem with that drag, drop and rename feature is:

  • it has limited capatibilities in comparisons with the manual renaming
  • the manual renaming is easier to understand in regard to what is going to be the results
  • if at all it is a nice-to-have for some

And exactly this is the most counterintuitive part of that feature. Dropping a tag on a tag means something different than dropping notes on a tag. The latter one gives the name of the tag you‘ve dropped on whereas the first one creates a subtag which name is then added to the notes. Sorry but that is potential for confusion

That is a different feature, sobeguy didn‘t ask for: a manual sorting of tags would mean that you just change the position of a tag inside its folder. No renaming and therefore changing of notes would happen. The notes themselves remain untouched

Thank you for your patience. Now that you understand what I’m asking for, please allow me to respond to your points:

it has limited capatibilities in comparisons with the manual renaming

Agreed, but I’m suggesting drag/drop as an alternative, not a replacement for manual renaming.

Dropping a tag on a tag means something different than dropping notes on a tag

I have to disagree. I think it’s exactly the same thing. As a user, I think of my tag hierarchy like a folder hierarchy:

  • Dragging a note into a tag is like dragging a file into a folder in Finder. Behind the scenes, Bear renames the tags in notes that contained the original tag.

  • Dragging a tag into a tag is like dragging a folder into a folder. Behind the scenes, Bear renames the tags in notes to reflect the new tag hierarchy.

Bear does not create subtags. The subtags are created by adding paths to tags in notes. The subtags displayed in Bear are just a visual representation of the tags in the notes. Thus, creating a subtag is the same thing as applying a tag to a note. You’re just adding or changing a path in the tag. Whether you’re dropping a note onto a tag, or a tag onto a tag, Bear is performing the same operation. It’s renaming the tags in the notes to reflect the drag/drop operation.

I said you had to misunderstand me because I wrote worse English. I in turn understand what you want :wink: