How and why to … use Category Sets in Thortspace
More basic information about using Categories in Thortspace is on the link immediately below. If using Categories in Thortspace is unfamiliar, this linked article is probably a better place to start:
Introduction
The fundamental idea is that the thoughts/thorts on a sphere can be categorised in multiple alternative ways.
Thortspace allows users to assign a single category within a given category set to any given thort, but it supports applying multiple category sets (ie. alternative categorisations) to any given sphere.
For example within the context of a category set “People”, a given thort might have a category “Andrew”. And then within the context of an alternative category set “Urgency”, the same thort could have the category of “Very urgent”.
Thortspace stores all the category sets that have been added or created on a sphere, and all the the categories that have been assigned to any given thort and then allows users to switch instantly between the viewpoints of different category sets.
Also when you create “Journeys” in Thortspace, journey steps (aka. viewpoints) store the applied category set, as well as the applied arrangement, and the applied camera position etc. So it is possible to have the steps of your journey switch between the different category sets you have applied as you move along the journey.
1. You can apply multiple Category Sets to any given sphere
You can apply multiple different category sets to any given sphere, and then switch between them using the drop-down on the Categories menu or the Category Set selector when in Present Mode.
2. Journey Steps in Present mode include the applied Category Set
In Present mode, the applying Category Set is saved in a Journey Step ie. the applied Category set can change as you step through a Journey.
Arrangements are independent of categories.
But Viewpoints in Journeys combine
(1) The current Category Set with
(2) The current Arrangement and
(3) The current camera position (or thort/group position).
So you can switch Category Sets when moving from one viewpoint to the next viewpoint on a journey (as well as switching Arrangements).
3. Use the Category Set Library and Add, Apply or Create multiple Category Sets to or on a given sphere
The button in the screenshot below gives you access to the library…
Select a category set and add it to the current sphere:
All the category sets on a sphere appear on the drop-down:
Now you can switch between them by selecting them from the drop-down.
So when six-hats is applying, that’s what I see:
Then I switch back to “colours”:
So category sets are apply-able independently of each other.
Then in addition to the ones in the libary you can create your own category sets…
Something useful you can do with categories is assign pictures to them… eg. Sometimes I like having a category for Questions …
4. Apply “Group By” to group thorts according to their Categories
Once you have applied the categories from a Category Set to a sphere-full of thorts, you can automatically put those thorts into groups according to their categories. Before you apply the GroupBy button, save the initial arrangement using the Arrangements tab. Click the New Arrangement button to create and go into the new Arrangement. Any changes you make to a sphere while you have a given Arrangement selected gets automatically saved into that Arrangement.
Step 1 [Optional] — create a copy of your sphere
Just to be on the safe side, take a copy of your whole sphere first, and test the following procedure out on the copy before doing it on anything too important. When you use “Copy Sphere” from the main menu, the copy of the sphere will appear at the top of the Spheres list on the “Search” tab, with a name that begins with “Copy of …”
Step 2 — create a new Arrangement
Next, go and create a new Arrangement. We do this so that the exist arrangement of thorts on your sphere can be preserved just as it was. Any changes you make to a sphere always get automatically applied to the currently selected arrangement. Initially this arrangement is always called “Initial”. To create a second Arrangement, use the “New” button on the Arrangements tab. The new Arrangement will be created and selected. The state of the initial Arrangement (ie. the positioning of thorts, the application of categories, and the layout of path-steps) will now be preserved as it was. [Note that changes made to the text in Thorts applies to all Arrangements.]
Step 3— apply “Group By” using your current Category Set
5. How to create a new category set (a set that is not currently in library)?
Use the drop down at the top, as shown in the graphic below.
You can also copy a given category set from a given sphere into the library, and then use it on another sphere.
To do this, create a new category (as per the graphic above), and then go back into the library and select “Add Current Category Set to Library”.
One thing that makes this functionality slightly less than ideal is that the Category Set Library is stored locally on a given user’s machine, and does not get synced between devices (according to the user’s account).
So potentially users have a different library on different devices… :-( … I know. It is on the list of things to improve.
The workaround for this issue is to use spheres to copy category sets around. Because spheres sync across all your devices, and category sets also get stored into the sphere (and then can be copied into the library from the sphere on any given device).
Here’s an article by Dasaratha Rama reporting on practical on-the-court use of Categories in Thortspace.
