Suggestions for 3.0

Hi ,
Thank You for the awesome work You guys have done on NR. We will be soon moving to 2.2.
I would like to suggestions for 3.0 . I am aware that its all basis availability and time - other parameters.
But in case any of the following is doable - it can be probably added to the backlog for 3.0.
I am sure others may have better suggestions.

  1. Inject Node - have an option (allow duplicates - default selected) - If the flow gets triggered again via. manual / scheduled run and previous instance still running - the flow should not be run (based on option selected) and give error.

  2. Side Bar - Help - Show category for subflows and group the sub flows as per category. This way user can have a visual single on what falls where.

  3. Side Bar - info - Provide an option to sort the flows and subflows - a-z / default (like today) / user preference (user can drop / drag up down).

  4. Debug pane - allow to be opened at user level. So each user can see debugs for his own actions. Maybe tie it with user login is enabled and debug pane popup existing today.

  5. I think below may be a big one - not sure.

    Provide a limited option of source control on editor while keeping the runtime common (like today).
    Any user (user needs to login & write access) will need to lock a tab / subflow before being able to edit. (property of the flow).
    Once locked other user cannot edit it. They can view it. Release option to unlock the tab/subflow.
    Show who has locked what in side bar. Some way for others to unlock (main idea being aware that someone else is working on the flow).

    When unlocking/deploying - user can tag it with comments and versioning happens automatically.
    And Flow /Sublow notes can be appended with - cumulative of past version - username - user comments on deploying.

    The runtime remains like today - that changes continue keep going to common runtime. Every deploy continues to deploy changes to runtime.
    Above can be enabled via. some parameter in settings.

I am aware of the constraints - so feel free to push this back in the list if above doesnt't fit current prioritizations.

Just some context on these:

  1. Nodes have no knowledge of any other nodes they are linked to so have no way of knowing what is happening after the msg object has been sent on.
  2. I'm not sure I fully understand what you are asking here, but it's probably worth remembering that when you have a subflow open for editing, you are working on the template, not an individual instance of that subflow.
  3. Probably possible
  4. There is no concept of different users when the flow is running, there is nothing to indicate which user triggered anything or which debug nodes they have enabled.
  5. You a correct, this is would be a very large piece of work, it would need a messaging system allowing different editor instances to communicate. It also would need some very careful design around how locks get released if uses disconnect.

Work on improving how multiple users can interact with a flow and also at version control is on going, with a current focus around how to present diffs and merging changes. On the version control looking at how to decouple it from git to allow for more options.

To add a little more context to what @hardillb has already said...

    1. Flows/Subflows have a Description tab where you can provide text in markdown format. This is then shown in the Info sidebar when that flow/subflow is selected.
      I think your suggestion is to also have an index of the flows/subflows in the help sidebar to provide a way to check their contents without having to switch tabs. Whether that is what you meant or not, that is a good idea. I'll add it to the backlog.
    1. Yup - we have things around that on the backlog
    1. First up, there is the Projects feature that adds version control to the editor - Projects : Node-RED . But this is an active discussion at the moment around what sort of concurrent editing could be supported. Whether that involves locking tabs, or real time collaboration (like Google Docs) is still a hot topic of discussion. If anyone is interested in that discussion its happening under PR in the node-red/designs repo on GitHub.

Thank You for your response @hardlb

#1 Noted. ,

#2 I am talking about the Side Bar - Help section on right . Today all subflows are one below another. I was asking if its Category (which is defined under Appearance tab) can be added there. So all subflows are displayed under that category. This is more to do with display on side bar - where we can have a visual on some kind of logical grouping.

#3 Noted. Thank You.
#3 Noted.

#5) Swell. Waiting for 3.0.

Thank You as well @knolleary

#2 - please see above . I mean listing of subflows on Right Side Menu - Help part.
So Category is like a hierarchy. Show Category and list the subflows in that category.

I mean in below part.
So
Subflows
Catogory : File Handling
Subflow X
Subflow Y
Category DB Work
Subflow A
Subflow B

image

ahh yes - that makes sense

Hello
one sugestion would be system, for ... Flow open.... Flow New ... just like programs, with the file open ....new file ....

Hello.

For me the possibility to debug function nodes will be a huge advantages.
Having the possibility to add break points to run code inside the function node step by step and to add debug window logging points without the need of use node.send(), node.warn() or node.status() between the lines of code would be great.
Also, some of the current errors are rather generic.

While it would be amazing to step debug a function node, I don't see this as something easily added (due to browser being client side and the function code running server side) but it's not impossible, just not a small tweak.

In the meantime, you can already do this using vscode and even chrome debugger.

Search the forum for answers.

Maybe an option to select with checkboxes which flows to include in the export can be a useful feature.

When im in the Export tab and wanted to make a backup of some flows,
but i didnt find a way to exclude a bunch of test flows, that i didnt want included in the export.

Already on the backlog - Trello

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If anyone has any suggestions unrelated to those posed by @SandeepA, then please start your own thread. Otherwise your suggestions are likely to get overlooked.

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