FeatureTip: “All content” filter
This is the first entry in a new IM Roadmap series called FeatureTips. About once a week or so, we’ll share a tip or trick on how to get more utility from your chat/IM/EIM/UM solution. Some will be advanced, most will be simple little things you can quickly implement as an end-user on your own.
This week is the “all content” filter. It’s a feature I’ve used for a few years, and I am prompted to write about by this old blog entry by Michael Sampson. Not all EIM solutions support filters, but for those that do it is a powerful feature. Similar to email filters, they allow you to trap new messages as they appear in your EIM application and have them displayed in a separate window. The MindAlign product comes to mind in particular. It can filter on some or all channels, or based on certain user or content strings.
Problem:
- You have too many chat channels or private messages open to casually scan. You find yourself clicking through windows to review chats, even if you don’t need to respond.
- Alternatively, you have your channels docked like MindAlign or Jabber can do, but the channel list is so long it scrolls off your screen. Chats are happening off screen that you cannot see without going looking for them.
Solution: Usually we think about creating filters to select only certain information. For this FeatureTip, however, forget about that. Instead, simply create a new filter called something like “All Content” or “All Chats.” Configure the filter so that it scans every channel and every user, regardless of what or who they are, and what is being chatted. Voila - you now have a single window to watch to keep tabs of all your incoming chats. Watch that window and that window alone. If you see a message to which you need to respond, click on the person/channel name in the filter window, and pick up the discussion in context of the given channel.
Consequences: Make sure to set the filter to be output only. You don’t want to accidentally type in the “all channels” window and have the whole world get your messages.
Cheers,
Eric
A further refinement which wasn’t obvious to people I used to recommend this to, but tended to be well-received: filter out your own posts, and float the filter making it perhaps 6-10 lines long, having it hang out towards the top or bottom of your screen. Then you can keep your main, larger window out of the way (noting that it doesn’t work as well if you use apps in full-screen mode).
[...] Daily “Me” Log Jason Bubolz proposed a great little usage tip for chat/IM. In a comment to the first FeatureTip, he suggested filtering out a short list of just your own posts. I think [...]
FeatureTip: Daily “Me” Log « IM Roadmap said this on March 7, 2008 at 9:59 pm