where did "file topic" go?

[als53466]

I upgraded to v. 5.0.2 and I can't find the "file topic" feature. I use that a lot to file all messages from a topic. If that feature's gone, how do I downgrade to v.4?
Thanks,
Andy

[ClearContext Support]

We removed File Topic in v5.0 because it didn't work with the new one-click function. We plan to implement a redesigned replacement in a future v5.x release. In the near term, use CTRL-A to select all messages and File Msg to file all messages with Topics assigned.

To downgrade, uninstall via the Windows Control Panel and reinstall v4.

[DavidG]

With all due respect to the makers of a product I've come to love and depend upon, this is completely unacceptable. As a matter of principle, a software manufacturer that respects its customers should never remove functionality that your users have grown dependent on without advanced warning or a practical workaround. In my workflow I need to file topics one at a time. Amazed and utterly disappointed about this. This has cost you a loyal customer. Regretably, I'll be requesting a refund.

[Scott - CC Support]

I expect the next iteration of File Topic to be far superior to the one in v4 and well worth the wait. Thanks as always for the feedback.

[Simon Saunders]

One click filing is nice – but is only useful when you want to eventually file an email away from your inbox. Admittedly this is a fairly frequent occurrence. But it can only be done when the email is dealt with.

The ability to assign a topic without having the email filed away (where you can’t work on it) and then sort an inbox by CC-TopicName before beginning work was pure brilliance. This is particularly powerful if you have rules set-up to auto assign a topic and you are away from your email for a few hours, come back and then sort by topic and then prioritise how you are going to tackle the emails on the basis of the topic. Especially tru if you are following GTD rules for: Do it, Dump it, Defer it.

It was why I evangelised your product and it saved me so much time.

My Document Management System uses my categories (and for that matter so do I) and I do not want (nor realistically can) forgo the control of these to ClearContext.

I extremely disappointed a way through is not possible. Given that your analysis of how people use your product led you to conclude the functionality CC-TopicName could be taken away (and from the tone of the posts that have been put up in response to this issue) I have lost faith that you understand the power of what your old software did. Consequently I’d be (pleasantly) surprised if you are going to fix it.

If you are going to address the issue – can you kindly provide a roadmap of when it will be addressed?

Regards,
Simon

[Simon Saunders]

To other users who share this concern:
If you do decide to downgrade from 5.0.2 to 4.6.6 and you still don't have the ability to apply topics to emails in your inbox, the following helped me: ClearContext/Options/Preferences/UI,Toolbar/Topic Drop Down Selector

[deva]

Simon,

Thanks for the feedback. We try to get as much feedback as possible during the design and beta periods, but that doesn't take into account 100% of our users. The changes we've made in v5 are to make the process of email management as fast and simple as possible for all users, while preserving the key features important to our more advanced users. We realize some of these changes take away some areas of flexibility that are important to you, so we appreciate the feedback and are working on ways to make the new version better fit the specific needs of users like you.

Your post covers a few different features from v4:

File all messages assigned to the same project - this feature is in the process of being redesigned to work correctly in conjunction with the new one-click filing system.

Assigning messages to projects without filing - see this blog post for info on assigning projects without filing messages, as well as a few other ways to make v5 work more like v4.

CC-Topic Name field vs Categories - the change away from writing to custom fields was to address various synchronization and performance issues as described in this post. We're looking into ways to add some more flexible options for people who prefer not to use Categories for this purpose.

We'll update this thread as we have more information on details and timing for changes in upcoming 5.x releases.

[mglacey]

When you return back to 4.6.6 like I did, make sure you use the Removal Tool (http://www.clearcontext.com/resources/remove_ims.html). I tried to remove via Windows Programs and Features and it did not work as expected. After a somewhat painful process, I got it uninstalled but I have since lost my CC Prioritized by Category view - that's another post.

[ClearContext Support]

Mitch:

What problems did you experience? You should be able to uninstall and reinstall v4 without running through the complete removal tool. If this wasn't the case for you I'd appreciate more detail so that we can look into it.

Also, please note that the ClearContext Prioritized by Category view was introduced in v5 and is not a v4 view, so I don't expect it to be available and/or function in v4.

Thanks in advance for your feedback.

[mglacey]

CC prioritized by category was available in version 4. See http://online.clearcontext.com/forums/view-cc-prioritized-by-category-gone-after-5-02-rollback-t2618.html#p9859

I'm with David on this one. I relied on this heavily. Seeing it gone in 5 is a huge let down. I too evangelize your product but this, along with the ability to sort messages based on person importance is making CC more difficult to support.

[ClearContext Support]

To clarify, ClearContext Prioritized by Category was introduced in v5 and will not function in v4. It remained in your Outlook view list after you downgraded because it had been added to your mail file and was not removed in the downgrade process, but it was not a view that was available in v4.

As we said earlier, an alternative to File Topic will be available in a future release.

Thanks as always for the feedback.

[interxs]

The ability to assign a topic without having the email filed away (where you can’t work on it) and then sort an inbox by CC-TopicName before beginning work was pure brilliance. This is particularly powerful if you have rules set-up to auto assign a topic and you are away from your email for a few hours, come back and then sort by topic and then prioritise how you are going to tackle the emails on the basis of the topic.

Folks, straight up, the ability to associate, but not necessarily disposition an email from my Inbox to a folder, was one of the prime reasons I was stoked about the functionality of Clear Context. I came to the forums to see if perhaps I was missing something, but I see that the topic has already been broached. This missing functionality, as I see it, is a key reason why I will be downgrading to the previous version.

As Simon asked, if there is a roadmap available on when this functionality will be restored, it would be appreciated. Or minimally, when a newer version is released that re-incorporates this feature, please be crystal clear that this feature is now available.

UPDATE: OK, not to be a fickle poster, but I just ran through the configuration changes that Deva suggested earlier (Ways to make v5 act more like v4) and the configuration to add "Project" to the toolbar definitely eases the pain a bit. Still a few more clicks and not the same feature, but for those of you that are frustrated enough to roll-back, you may want to try some of the suggestions first.

[ClearContext Support]

Still a few more clicks and not the same feature, but for those of you that are frustrated enough to roll-back, you may want to try some of the suggestions first.

I would it appreciate it if you would describe in more detail how you are using this feature. Specifically, now that you have followed the changes outlined in Deva's post, what extra steps are required in v5 that weren't there in v4? Thanks.

[jimjwilliamson]

We removed File Topic in v5.0 because it didn't work with the new one-click function. We plan to implement a redesigned replacement in a future v5.x release. In the near term, use CTRL-A to select all messages and File Msg to file all messages with Topics assigned.

To downgrade, uninstall via the Windows Control Panel and reinstall v4.

Where do we stand on this now?

I'm asking because I have been trying to force myself to get used to v5 without complaining. One of our KC office attorney's, the guy who turned me on to CC in the first place way back when, assured me that 5 was the way I wanted to go when I was resistant to upgrading... so I upgraded, again, and I really only have this one Major problem now. I wanted to wait long enough to say I actually tried this time, instead of making snap judgement after only a day or two.

It's Monday morning, the only emails in my inbox are from this morning, (YaY Me!) The problem is, there are 68 of them already, 30+ of which are 'review only' material for me, and all flagged to one project folder. In v4, to clear those out and get to the important work all I needed to do was select one of them, click my friendly 'File Topic' button, and away they went... now I have to sort by category, and then click once per email... this is not saving me time...
The only other thing I I have an issue with, and I didn't look to see if this had been mentioned anyplace else, is I miss having my 'File Explorer' in that little right hand window, I didn't actually miss it until this morning.

Otherwise, after following the post about making 5 more like 4, things seem to be going smoothly...

If the timeline to getting the file topic (or a reasonably good replacement) button back is short, I'll stick it out, if it's going to be months rather than weeks, then I'm going to roll back and wait.

Thanks for an awesome product guys, I know a lot of work went into the upgrade, and I know you can't please everyone no matter how hard you try, so even though I'm complaining, I wanted to say thanks for a job well done!

[ClearContext Support]

jimjwilliamson:

Where do we stand on this now?

File Topic is being redesigned for a future v5.x release. I don't have a release estimate at the moment.

It's Monday morning, the only emails in my inbox are from this morning, (YaY Me!) The problem is, there are 68 of them already, 30+ of which are 'review only' material for me, and all flagged to one project folder. In v4, to clear those out and get to the important work all I needed to do was select one of them, click my friendly 'File Topic' button, and away they went... now I have to sort by category, and then click once per email... this is not saving me time...
The only other thing I I have an issue with, and I didn't look to see if this had been mentioned anyplace else, is I miss having my 'File Explorer' in that little right hand window, I didn't actually miss it until this morning.

I think you're doing this the hard way:

• If you want to file ALL messages in your Inbox that have a project assigned to them, press CTRL-A to select all messages in the inbox and press the File button. It will file all messages with a project assigned, but leave those that do not have a project assigned.
• Alternatively, after you have sorted by Project, highlight all messages from projects that you want to file and press File.

Thanks for the feedback!