[APBeta] New annotation feature in 2.0b30

[Paul Rodman]

On Apr 3, 2009, at 11:53 PM, Hilary Jones wrote:

> I tried the new annotations feature quickly tonight.  I haven't  
> really explored all the possibilities yet, but I do have a couple of  
> comments.

Now why did I think you'd be the first  :^)

> First, a possible bug.  To demonstrate this, create an annotation,  
> but don't click the save button.  Now create a second annotation.   
> You will find that AstroPlanner has forgotten the first annotation  
> and replaced it with blanks. Perhaps AP should warn about this, or  
> maybe better still, just remember the first annotation.  There's  
> also a question of whether AP should warn you that the annotations  
> haven't been saved when you exit the app or move to another object.

Yeh. I've been pondering this and I believe I can do away with the  
Save button altogether and just do it automatically.

> Second, I can't find a way to highlight objects based on their  
> annotations. I use annotations to tell whether an object is  
> especially interesting or not.  For example I prefix each annotation  
> with an asterisk if I think the object is especially noteworthy, and  
> I use an exclamation point to show that the object is something I've  
> finished work on.  Then I can use the highlighting rules to place  
> the interesting objects at the top of the plan and the uninteresting  
> ones later.  It's true that I can set the highlighting based on the  
> object's "notes" field, but I really need to be able to set the  
> highlighting based on an annotation.  That way the highlighting will  
> be the same with every plan and I won't have to edit the notes field  
> for every plan.  Actually, the best answer would be if the notes  
> were shared between all plans in the same way that annotations are  
> shared.  Alternatively, I would be happy if there was a highlighting  
> rule that worked for the first annotation, say.  I certainly don't  
> need to be able to set my highlighting based on the contents of the  
> 37th annotation!

As I mentioned, this is a work in progress. However, I didn't mention  
highlighting as one of the areas to be attacked. I will probably have  
two separate highlighting items for an object: number of annotations,  
and contents of those annotations. i.e. you ca highlight on "Number of  
Annotations > 0" or "Annotations contain 'UHC' " for example.

I'm also looking at flagging plan objects and catalogue objects to  
show that they have any annotations. Not sure how I'll do that yet.  
Either a new column, or some kind of badge in an existing column.

Paul R.

> ----- Original Message ----- From: "Paul Rodman" <paul at ilanga.com>
> To: "AstroPlanner Beta Testers" <apbeta at lists.astroplanner.net>
> Sent: Friday, April 03, 2009 4:52 PM
> Subject: [APBeta] New annotation feature in 2.0b30
>
>
>> This release sees the beginnings of a new Annotation feature. This  
>> feature is similar to the old Catalogue Annotation feature, and   
>> replaces it. It's designed to allow you to "annotate" specific  
>> objects  with notes. This feature is not in the list of new  
>> features for this  version.
>>
>> This can now be done from various places (the Objects tab, the  
>> Observations tab, the Catalogue display window, and others to  
>> come.). Annotations are cross-referenced by ID, so that an  
>> annotation for M31 would also appear for NGC224, etc. You can have  
>> multiple annotations  per object, and so on. Annotations for solar  
>> system objects are also  now allowed.
>>
>> If you have existing Catalogue Annotations, they will be imported  
>> into the new database via a background thread when you startup this  
>> version for the first time. This will be indicated by a green  
>> pulsing "Anno"  icon near the top right of the plan window. Since  
>> this import process  has to build cross-references it might take  
>> some time, and during that  period the Annotation features will be  
>> disabled. PLEASE DO NOT QUIT  FROM THE APPLICATION UNTIL THIS  
>> PROCESS IS FINISHED. i.e. the green  icon thingy goes away.
>>
>> This feature is a work in progress. Other items still to be  
>> addressed include:
>> - Allowing display and editing of ALL annotations at once.
>> - Import and export of annotations
>> - Script access to the annotations
>> - Printing of annotations and including them in printed reports, etc.
>> - Catalogue search by annotation
>>
>> Please be patient.
>>
>> Paul R.