red dot indicates new messages

[chuongwang115]

Thank CommaFeed very much. My work relies heavily on it. I hope to add a feature where a red dot is used to indicate when the latest unread count exceeds the previous unread count, so that I can know there are new updates and be prompted to check them. Just like this

[Eshwar1212-maker]

A very good idea, I will start working on this and let you know if I am able to come up with a good solution.

[Eshwar1212-maker]

I think I solved it and came up with a working solution, just using localStoage to check if a new amount of articles has been loaded compared to the last time you opened the application. Will make a new PR and would love feedback.

[chuongwang115]

I think I solved it and came up with a working solution, just using localStoage to check if a new amount of articles has been loaded compared to the last time you opened the application. Will make a new PR and would love feedback.

Awesome, I look forward to the arrival of this feature.

[Eshwar1212-maker]

Hey, currently I have it working for the 'all' treeNode count, the one at the top. I use local stoage to store the amount of feed articles total, and if it changed to where there are more articles that are pulled that are unread(whenever the user comes and reloads the page), then set the dot marker to be there and that would practically notify them.

I will attach a photo.

Would love to PR this if you think its fine, and then work on the other rows the next few days for each specific posting.

[chuongwang115]

Hey, currently I have it working for the 'all' treeNode count, the one at the top. I use local stoage to store the amount of feed articles total, and if it changed to where there are more articles that are pulled that are unread(whenever the user comes and reloads the page), then set the dot marker to be there and that would practically notify them.

I will attach a photo.

Would love to PR this if you think its fine, and then work on the other rows the next few days for each specific posting.

This is exactly the feature I wanted, thank you so much.

[Eshwar1212-maker]

Sounds good, I made a PR waiting for @Athou approval and can work on the other rows and try to finish it later the week.

[Athou]

Hi @chuongwang115, circling back to this since there’s been some activity.
It feels to me that the unread counter already serves the purpose of indicating new entries, could you share a bit about your workflow? Usually people mark all entries of a feed as read if they don't plan to revisit them.

[Eshwar1212-maker]

I think he means when he closes and comes back to the page we wants to know if more unread articles have been pulled since the last time he used the app.

[chuongwang115]

I think he means when he closes and comes back to the page we wants to know if more unread articles have been pulled since the last time he used the app.

The unread count just tells me how many messages I haven't read, and the red dot indicates that new messages have arrived. In addition, the unread count will refresh automatically, right?

[Athou]

Sorry if I wasn't clear earlier. I understand what you're asking, I'm just trying to figure out why it's useful.

For example, say you have 10 unread entries. You come back later, and now there are 12. Why is it helpful to know that 2 of them are new? Either you haven’t read the original 10, in which case all 12 are still new to you, or you have read them but didn’t mark them as read, and you're only interested in the 2 recent ones, in which case I'm wondering why you didn't mark the 10 entries as read then.

I’m not sure I fully get the value here, could you explain a bit more? Thanks!

[chuongwang115]

Sorry if I wasn't clear earlier. I understand what you're asking, I'm just trying to figure out why it's useful.

For example, say you have 10 unread entries. You come back later, and now there are 12. Why is it helpful to know that 2 of them are new? Either you haven’t read the original 10, in which case all 12 are still new to you, or you have read them but didn’t mark them as read, and you're only interested in the 2 recent ones, in which case I'm wondering why you didn't mark the 10 entries as read then.

I’m not sure I fully get the value here, could you explain a bit more? Thanks!

Let me explain on the usage scenario.

We are a news media company, and our editors use CommaFeed to track updates from information sources. Each editor has their own sources to follow and uses their individual accounts. Editors use CommaFeed for extended periods of time, and they need to be promptly informed about which sources have new updates. Therefore:

1. The unread count simply indicates how many messages under a source haven't been read, but editors won't mark all unread messages as read—that would be too exhausting.
2. For this reason, when there are new updates in a source, editors need to be notified—this is what I mean by the red dot notification.
3. If the unread count doesn't refresh automatically, then I hope it can auto-refresh; moreover, when the new unread count exceeds the previous one, there should be a red dot notification.

This scenario might differ from how others typically use CommaFeed; if this suggestion could be adopted, I would greatly appreciate it.

@Eshwar1212-maker

[Eshwar1212-maker]

Yup I think it makes sense. Made the PR not up to me to merge it :(.

[chuongwang115]

Yup I think it makes sense. Made the PR not up to me to merge it :(.

Thank you for your dedication.