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Quick Way to Annotate a Tool

Hi,

 

The current way to label or annotate a tool is that we need to double click the tool to bring up configuration window, then click on the annotation icon, then click on the annotation textbox.

 

My suggestion is when a tool is selected, simply press the Enter/Return key, then start typing the annotation right there (inline editing). Save a couple of clicks.

 

Thanks.

8 Comments
DultonM
11 - Bolide

I annotate just about every tool so this idea would be a big help! One cool thing about annotations as they exist currently is that if you have the Annotation window open on one tool and then click on another tool (do NOT click on the canvas in between), the Annotation window immediately shows for the new tool. However, this idea is a +1 over that. I would argue that the Enter/Return key doesn't even need to be pressed. Right now if you simply click on an already configured tool and start typing, nothing happens. It would be cool if annotations could be added as simple as CLICK --> TYPE!

adrianloong
11 - Bolide

+1. I would love to just Click and type directly into the tool..

RachelW
Alteryx Alumni (Retired)
Status changed to: Under Review

Thanks for the idea. We're always looking for ways to make it easier to document workflows. I've reached out to our development team to understand how we might do this. 

 

Thanks!

saujanyae
5 - Atom

I would even like the option of right click--> annotate.

Rich_U
6 - Meteoroid

I often find myself trying to click on the annotation in the workflow to edit it, only to find it doesn't activate the configuration window for the tool, so I have to move over to then click the tool to get to the option to select annotation to make the change. 

 

Would love to see either this idea or even better being able to 'click' into the annotation text on the workflow, similar to how you can amend a comment tool on the fly.  That would be so awesome!  Thanks for considering it.

KylieF
Alteryx Community Team
Alteryx Community Team
Status changed to: Coming Soon

Thank you for posting your idea to the Alteryx Idea Boards!

 

The ability to quickly annotate a tool will be included in an upcoming release! We'll update this idea again once that release is available for download!

jpoz
Alteryx
Alteryx
Status changed to: Implemented

Thank you for suggesting this! As of the 2020.1 release, you can hit F2 when a tool is selected to easily edit the annotation. The release notes for 2020.1 are available here.

dawnh80
8 - Asteroid

I can't wait to try this solution in the new version. It rolls out soon for us and I try to annotate all my workflows.