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Why can't I rename a file, or delete a folder in Paper?

I am so close to loving 'paper', but I have run into so many non-sensical issues (not bugs, just stuff that makes no sense) that I can't even consider showing this my team.

1) You really need to make it clear that "paper" and "dropbox" might as well be two different brands and companies that have very little in common. One kind of assumes, expects, that the "dropbox" part of the name would mean they get some of the benefits of Dropbox, but they don't. There is no sharing between "dropbox" and "paper', no offline editing, or syncing. I do not like Google Docs that much, but this small detail of having your files offline is why I, and many, I am sure, do use it.

2) I have a paper doc I created called "Untitled", and nowhere, on any page, is there an option to rename that document. How does one rename a paper file?

3) I made a folder under my paper HOME, and now I want to delete it. It is not shared with anyone and it is empty, but the only options I have for the folder is Rename, Move, Archive, from within the folder. From the parent page, there is no option for that folder at all, no "..." on the right side, nothing.

So how do I delete that folder?

4) is there a way to get rid of "Recently viewed" as the default, and seemingly only, view of the files and folders. With "Recently viewed" there is no hierarchy between the files and the folder... just a long list of unrelated files and folders. It's chaotic and redundant. It is only good for when you are dealing with very few documents, so it is a good option, but nothing but unproductive when dealing with more than a few file and folders. Is there a way to enable a normal hierarchical file system view, like a typical file browser, especially considering I can't use my local file browser like I can with Dropbox?

I really hope there are easy answers to these questions and/or Dropbox is planning on making the user experience more smooth and somewhat intuitive.

Thanks

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Jay

Hi Duncan

In response to your questions:

1) Paper and Dropbox are linked to each other, and yet not, at the same time.

Let me go into more detail, the way they differ is that Paper docs don’t take up quota on your Dropbox account, they use a slightly different sharing mechanism (i.e. no groups), and the docs themselves don’t appear in your Dropbox folder or file structure as specific filetypes. This is why Paper has it’s own section on the home page, the same with Showcases and the Admin Console.

However, they are similar in that ‘syncing’ occurs instantly, where you can see users typing at the same moment, and even if not, files are saved a second after typing has finished. You can link files directly from your own Dropbox account, and if previewable, they’ll appear in the doc itself. They can also be viewed offline on mobile devices and edited, though this isn’t an option for the desktop yet.

2) The first line of a Paper doc is the filename. Since there is no physical file, it takes the name from the doc itself.

However, this is useful if you’re programming code. Try typing the title as hello.java or hello.html. The rest of the document is automatically coded in that language to highlight variables etc.

3) For Paper folders, you first need to archive them, and then you get the option to permanently delete the folder from your account.

4) There’s no option to specific Paper docs only when viewing the recently viewed section, though I can forward this to our dev team for their consideration.

You can place docs into folders and then access the folders from the site to view the docs you need to open for that day, or just star one or two files that are essential, giving you easy access to them on the site.

Regardless, we’ve passed your comments and feedback to our dev team to see what can be done to improve Paper for all users.

[This thread is now closed. If you have a similar or new question, you can ask here.]

All comments

lukeyo

Hi Duncan

Some very good points, thank you for sharing them.

Some of these (like hierarchical tree view) are already on the feature request forum, and I'd suggest you go and kudo them to upvote. The point about bringing the products of Paper and DB together are also there too somewhere, it is something many have wanted I think.

The only thing I could help you with is renaming a file - you do that by going into the file and changing the title.

Luke

duncanstroud

Thanks. Yes, I discovered that is how you rename... which is quite horrible as now I have the file name in huge letters at the top or my document!! There isn't one rational argument why having my filename as the first huge line of my document make any sense Sadly, this one useless feature almost completely breaks any chance of using "paper", which is really unfortunate because it is otherwise really good.

Here are some filenames of documents just laying around on the drive...

JCDevKitUG-Connected-3_0_2

vcd_on_cdi_41

README-94xx

Why would anyone want these names to be in huge black letters on the top of their document?

Rich

You're thinking of it as a filename when it's actually a document title. Semantics, I get it, but that's the intent. Think of it like the title of a book when you open it; the title is in bold at the top of the page.

duncanstroud

if I use your metaphor of a book, ok, the title of the book is on the inside page... but the name of the book, which is different, is where?

Perhaps this was the intent, but to change the "filename" paradigm which came about out of practical necessity, and honed over the decades, there must be a VERY compelling advantage to forcing the first line of a document to be the "document title". But let's use your metaphor of a book. I have a book titled "Legally Blind" written by Duncan Stroud, but the first line of the book is "Duncan Stroud"... so, that should be the name of my file? But I do not want the first line to be the name of my file... if I did, I would name the file the same as the first line of the document... but now I have no choice.

As a "filename" I had a choice. as a "document title" I do not. And why would the developers assume/demand that the first line IS the title document? Literally, none of my document's first-lines is the "document title". The first line of my meeting notes from last week is "her **bleep** are hanging out" (referring to a co-worker who wears tops far too small for her shapeliness.) So, that is now my document title? I guess the developers felt their decision to invent a "new concept" far outweighed the users right to name his files has he wished.

Bottom line... "paper" takes away my ability to manage my docs the way I want in lieu of a problematic (somewhat totalitarian) alternative that offers no benefit whatsoever. So, I will wait until "paper" realizes this was really dumb idea and changes back to something that works with the client, not against them.

Other than that (and the retarded file manager - was that a paradigm-shifting concept as well?), "paper" is pretty cool!

Jay

Hi Duncan

In response to your questions:

1) Paper and Dropbox are linked to each other, and yet not, at the same time.

2) The first line of a Paper doc is the filename. Since there is no physical file, it takes the name from the doc itself.

However, this is useful if you’re programming code. Try typing the title as hello.java or hello.html. The rest of the document is automatically coded in that language to highlight variables etc.

3) For Paper folders, you first need to archive them, and then you get the option to permanently delete the folder from your account.

4) There’s no option to specific Paper docs only when viewing the recently viewed section, though I can forward this to our dev team for their consideration.

Regardless, we’ve passed your comments and feedback to our dev team to see what can be done to improve Paper for all users.

[This thread is now closed. If you have a similar or new question, you can ask here.]