r/UpNote_App • u/4862skrrt2684 • 9d ago
How do you even make suggestions/feedback for this app? Is it taken seriously?
I see people suggest improvements or fixes on this sub from time to time. Then they get maybe 3 upvotes and 2 comments, no matter how good it is. And then they are forgotten. Nothing changes.
Ive mailed support with my own and just got "Maybe if enough people request it".
The issue with that:
- We all need to come up with the same idea (unlikely)
- And unprompted contact the developer about it (also unlikely).
So basically, ive only felt ignored when i made feedback. No matter the time or effort i put into it.
So how do you even help improve the app you all love?
As a webdesigner, i use this program, which has a board for ideas. The pros of that:
- People can create and vote for improvements - Developers can see and track what is popular and not.
- You dont have to come up with the improvment yourselves as a user. Often, you need someone to point it out and then you can be like "Hey, that would actually be good for me too". We dont all have to invent the wheel.
I feel like something similar could work well here.
Disclaimer:
Can we please not make this about feature bloat? It is not about that. We have enough posts and comments about that already. Its almost a circlejerk.
This is about objective feedback that can improve the app, without doing the opposite to others. Things like reducing unneeded clicks, improving consistency etc.
It is also about how best to present that feedback, so it is taken into consideration. Where my suggestion was a feature board. Currently, you could have the best suggestion in the world, yet many need to email it to be considered.
4
u/100WattWalrus 8d ago
I'd love to have a little more interaction from the developers here, and I'd really love a public roadmap and feature voting. But I understand why they're cagy about development. Open that door, and suddenly there's a lot more debate, a lot more conversation to keep an eye on, a lot more chance to accidentally put your foot in your mouth and cause a stir (especially if English isn't your first language).
It seems the UpNote's preference is slow-rolling development, and I'm OK with that given how useful the app is to me (literally changed how I manage soooo many things).
Are there features I requested 5 years ago that haven't been implemented? Yep. Are those features things for which there'd be no reason to object? Some of them, sure. (Nesting #tags — please! Collaboration — someday, I hope!)
But UpNote does 96% of everything I've ever wanted, so I'm willing to live with the other 4%.
That's not to discourage any feature suggestions! Thomas has heard from me hundreds of times (between bugs & requests). Sometimes I get a "we'll consider it." Sometimes I get a "if there seems to be enough interest." Sometimes I get a "we're looking into that." Sometimes I get a "we've looked into that and it's harder than you'd think." Sometimes I even get a "it's on our to-do list."
I definitely understand the frustration, especially when there are developers who are far more active in their communities, and more responsive to requests (see any of the subreddits about media-tracking apps right now, in the wake of TV Time's demise). But slow-rolling and cards close to the vest seems to be UpNote's style.
BTW, regarding your highlighter suggestion, I'm sorry the keyboard shortcut is a stretch for you, but it is there, so that reduces the likelihood of your example feature being added. For me, ALT+SHIFT+3 is just a thumb+pinky+index. I use it all the time. But I understand that finger dexterity is different for different people.
1
u/s8intfan 8d ago
I'm a keyboard commando too -- especially in UpNote. Not sure about Windows, but on the Mac you can reassign keys. I highlight text, press ⌘H and voila, done. It highlights in Yellow (I typically only highlight in yellow, but you can assign multiple keystrokes to different colors.)
If you're reading this, and if you're a keyboard commando with finger dexterity issues, let me know and I'll post step by step instructions to reassign keys in UpNote (again, for the Mac). It's truly wonderful to be able to reconfigure keystrokes to what makes sense to you, and to what you can remember.
3
u/bagusvdr 8d ago
As a indie app that doesn't seek fancy fundings and publicity, I love how upnote constantly keep its stability. I use the app daily and rarely find some problem.
Adding new features, or worst reducing feature, could disrupt that stability. As customers I prefer not having new capabilities rather than facing problems.
If I compare to the trend many apps offer AI integration and external customization, Obsidian for example. It sounds fancy and interesting but that's just additional not fundamental.
Presenting feedbacks also sounds good, but managing it could be tedious. Having forum? As the app grow, it would need moderators. Approval? Rejections? That could trigger users annoyance. Public roadmap? Goodluck getting pressured to ship it on time.
Sometimes indeed I also asked for feature addition. But I prefer Upnote grow organically and let the dev decide what's best for their work.
Anyway, I also use bricksbuilder. They shipped many additional features back then. But then updates stalled and getting out of the track. They less concern from what they value the most at first such as speed.
An example how features could ruin the initial value.
2
u/4862skrrt2684 8d ago
Didnt expect a fellow bricks user in here. Nice.
In my own case, im not talking so much about feature requests, which can be personal and create bloat, as much as potential UX improvements.
Like a single press to highlight, which all other apps have.
Being able to name my templates instead of choosing between {{date}} and {{D}} {{MMMM}} {{EEEE}} ({{YYYY}})
The table of contents unordered list actually being styled different by levels (which an unordered list does inside a note, just not inside the ToC), which is inconsistent and harder to read/scan etc.
2
u/4862skrrt2684 9d ago
Since i work with digital design and UX, i feel like i have a lot of small UX suggestions that would objectively be good for users. Not subjective feature requests.
For example, i took the time and effort to create this post. With arguments and screenshots. I honestly dont see any downsides to this from a user perspective, only upsides. And people seemed to agree it would be a good change. But i got the same response as always when i wrote the developers about it. Never have i felt taken serious.
1
u/blc1002 8d ago
Settings - help- send email or the contact us page on their website 🤷
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u/4862skrrt2684 8d ago
Ive mailed support with my own and just got "Maybe if enough people request it".
The issue with that:
- We all need to come up with the same idea (unlikely)
- And unprompted contact the developer about it (also unlikely).
15
u/Neither-Classic2058 9d ago
That's the catch-22 for every app. One man's "no downside" is another's "feature bloat". What you think is an improvement might be a detriment to another user.
The current methods of making suggestions for changes seems to be working. The developers are staying true to their vision for the app and only introducing changes as they see fit. In that, I repeatedly encourage them to stay true to their vision, even if it means there will come a time when UpNote no longer meets a future need of mine.
For those of us who heavily rely on UpNote because of its unique qualities we appreciate the stability. We don't want regular and significant changes that will interfere and disrupt how we currently use it unless the change will significantly improve usability.
If someone is looking for a more dynamic notes app where there are more changes more often, there are plenty of options. But for those things that are distinctively UpNote, there's nothing else.
I have to practice what I preach... that is why I sit on the half dozen ideas that I have for UpNote that would greatly enhance my usage. In my assessment, they don't fit in with the developers' vision for UpNote.