feedback on neo4j desktop v2: too many clicks to get to remote db querying
J
Joris Cikizas
I only use remote dbs, and only the query tool. Just a bit annoying that it takes so many clicks to get to db querying. Ideally I would like to open the neo4j desktop app, and see my last used remote db on the first screen, and see button to connect to it and start querying.
In neo4j desktop v1 it was bit easier, you just click connect, then open, then also have to delete those two intro cards and can start querying.
Now in v2, the remote dbs are not even on the first screen...
Could you make it configureable, or remember last section that was used ?
Also in 'remote connections' section before connecting there is so much space, but why are the connection options hidden in a dropdown? I suggest they could be just always visible buttons.
And in the query section, everytime it shows the 'guide | dataset | feedback' card, it gets tiring after a while, should be a setting to not show anymore!
Also your feedback form is using dark UX patterns of allowing to write a big text,
but only asking for log-in before submitting, not upfront.
thanks
Nissanka Fernando
Hiya Joris Cikizas, thanks for this post! I have a few more questions for you:
- How frequently do you switch between different remote databases, and would a quick access feature for multiple recent databases be beneficial?
- Would you prefer having the option to customize the default landing page to suit your workflow, such as showing the last used section or a specific tool?
- Can you provide more details on how you typically use the query tool, and if there are specific features or shortcuts that would enhance your experience?
J
Joris Cikizas
Nissanka Fernando thanks for quick response!
- Well I mainly use two remote dbs - a staging and a production one. Could be a pretty normal workflow to switch between them a few times a day. Yes would be nice to be able to quickly switch.
- the ideal landing page for me would list the recently used remote dbs, and have a 'open query tool' button next to each one in this list. Or something as close to it as possible would be great. Whether that's something I could customize in settings or if it were the default, I don't mind.
- mainly using query tool to write cypher queries, then look at results both in the graph view and the table view. Also export CSVs occasionally for other people. Its quite ok, but I wish the graph view would show relations like it used to do in neo4j desktop v1. For example the simple cypher:
match (u:User)--(a:Actor) return u,a limit 10
in neo4j desktop v1 it used to show the user nodes, actor nodes, and any relationships between them, in desktop v2.1.1 it only shows the nodes.
Talking features or shortcuts, I hadn't thought of this before, but here's a few ideas:
1) I imagine if there were a keyboard shortcut to quickly jump between the query 'cards' (maybe like ctrl+tab / ctrl+shift+tab ), that could speed things up.
2) Another good one could be 'vim editing mode' - its something quite a few popular coding IDEs have.
3) Also the graph view - when you click and highlight a node, would be usefull to get an indication of how many relations that node has (atleast approximate), before you double click it. Because It happens that I double click a node to see its relations, but it expands to several thousand, and it causes performance issues in the graph viewer.
hope that's usefull,
cheers