This implementation looks really great and useful. However, I’m not convinced that the statistics panel (the one with word count etc.) needs an always-visible sidebar. When I use it it’s usually just for a quick check. But I also understand that adding another popover for just the info may be too much and this is the only way.
Maybe I’d lower the contrast of the side panel; the card background could be even more subtle, and maybe the text too, to differentiate it from the main note body. The statistics panel especially is very eye-catching with its bold type.
You may be right with that but on the other side: why not if someone wants to have it always visible? We EITHER could switch to toc/backlinks as that makes more sense OR we could turn off the whole info column. The main point is: as the statistics shows attributes of the note it belongs together with toc and backlinks that do the same
I see suggestions of backlinks being in the note body, below the note content; yes, you could put backlinks below the note body, but you can’t really put the outline or stats there. The info column would still be necessary.
If you have a long note, you’d probably wish the backlinks were shown on the side instead. Showing backlinks always on the side is a good compromise. I think it would be too much if we had backlinks on the bottom of the note AND outline in the side panel.
I think it would be essential to have keyboard shortcuts to access a specific tab of info column, not just have one keyboard shortcut to expand/close it. That way you could quickly access backlinks, outline, stats with one key-combo.
Also it looks like the info column tab selector is a dropdown menu which you’d have to click to show the options, then another click to select? The old 3-way-button is probably visually more busy but saves a click, so it gets my vote.
Hard to comment on static screenshots, compared to trying the functinoality in practice but I would expect that the info panel, when pinned, shows me all its information (if vertical size allows it), rather than only showing statistics or outline or backlinks.
My thoughts go towards that I would like to see outline and backlinks always shown, not just showing one and switching back and forth, as the needs arises.
In general I love the ideas and the simplicity/non-bloatedness of your implementation.
I love your solution – the only thing I worry about is discoverability, i.e., unless you expand your editor, you might never even know this was an option.
Two suggestions:
if the editor is big enough vertically, it would be awesome to be able to open more than one info panel at the same time. E.g., have the stats up top as one item, and then backlinks right below that, visible concurrently
for backlinks, there really needs to be a “collapse all” and “expand all” option. You want to be able to quickly search through the list of backlinks sometimes (collapse all), while other times you need to look through content (expand all). I was using these options constantly when I was working in Obsidian.
Something similar: even if you know the feature it may happen that you don‘t know if the popup or the info column will be open, depending how wide the editor is. Think it would be helpful if the icon in editors Toolbar somehow indicates what will be opened. Something like two similar but nevertheless different icons
I love the Idea of Backlinks - and in my opinion this is a good place. I do agree, that sometimes it would be really nice to have the Backlinks right in the Note itself at the very end, as footnote. But maybe this would be optional to choose, show the Backlinks and also with the option to expand those Backlinks with some context.
Additional thought: If the icon indicates if the info columns will be opened rather than the popup we could adjust the editor to the minum or maximum wideness so to get a guarantee that the desired ui element will be opened
Keep in mind, we still CAN write our own backlinks. The act of making the connection yourself is key to the zettelkasten method (just like making your own flashcards is key to spaced repetition in anki). So for those times you mention where you want the back link at the bottom, you can still have that with manual entry.
Backlinks look great and I think how they are currently designed has more positives than placing them at the bottom of each note as many other apps do. As some have said it before scrolling down a long note is not very productive and is more accessible on the panel.
I do wonder if it is possible to link to portions of a note or just the entire note itself? I think the context is key.
Either way it’s a great development for a wonderful app!
Is there a way to toggle rich preview for multiple links at once? Or for all links in a specific note? I have some notes with many links I use for reading lists and I’d like them all to have rich previews.
I got a problem when experience backlink in bear 2. Search for the note which includes backlinks to another note → open info panel → click on backlink tab → then bear 2 will crash
Figured I would necropost here even though I’m sure all the decisions have been made. Never hurts to +1.
I love the idea of the dedicated info panel! I mentioned it as one of my main wishes in the “first impressions” thread I just posted.
Thoughts on implementation
I would love to see the tabs/dropdown items rearranged. Personally I think ToC should be first, Backlinks second, and Stats a distant third. But I would be happy with any order as long as Stats is last
I would love to see the Info panel have sticky settings that persist after quitting the app. So when I set backlinks/ToC as the current view and quit the app, whichever I was last looking at would be what I see when I reopen the app
Unlike some sentiments here, I think the screenshots in the OP are my preference. They’re always visible and actionable but not super in your face. I will always vote for seeing the Info panel no matter where I am in a note (so my pref wouldn’t be to have it injected inline at the top/bottom or whatever).
I think tabs are better than a dropdown, but I’m not dying on this hill
I think that sums up my feelings. Really looking forward to seeing what y’all came up with!
Sorry - I just asked a question on the forum about this exact issue. I think it’s essential to be able to pin the information panel into a fourth column. Otherwise, you’re pursuing a design vision that has a negative impact on functionality and usability whilst adding friction.
I don’t understand how a fourth column adds visual complexity. Surely a popover adds that complexity? And friction!
Finally, I’d hate backlinks to pop up from below. Why not just be able to expand the popover and pin to to a fourth column if you want it?
Why not give the user the choice over the complexity (or otherwise) of their own individual set up?
When there are multiple links from one document to another it is hard to tell where each is coming from
It would be nice if backlinks could also show what section the backlink is originating from
For example, in the first post there are two results from the “Marc Andreessen” note. If there are 5 or 6 context can get muddled and it can be hard to tell the context of the backlink.
If there is not a space-efficient way to do this then obviously it is not important enough to make changes for.
