NoodleTools Help Desk

Overview: In July 2021, we released a major update to the NoodleTools interface. We've itemized some of the most significant changes here.

This article applies to:

✔︎ NoodleTools School Subscription

✔︎ NoodleTools Individual License

✗ NoodleTools MLA Lite

✗ NoodleTools Express

Updates

Navigation and general interface changes

• We've updated the interface throughout the application with a clean, modern look. Wherever possible, we've reduced the amount of text on the screen, removed unnecessary buttons, and simplified interface elements.
• Consistent, intentional use of color. For example, the green button on each screen is always the "New" operation (new project, new notecard, new citation, etc.).
• The main navigation bar has been moved into a side panel on the left, which can be minimized to provide more workspace area on smaller screens.
• ClassLink SSO integration.
• iPad compatibility improvements.
• Accessibility improvements.

Dashboard (has been removed)

• We've removed the "Dashboard" screen! The items that used to be on the Dashboard can now be accessed more directly, without navigating back and forth:
  • Research question and thesis statement: These are now displayed at the top of the Sources and Notecards screens (right below the project title), so that you can view or edit them without leaving your work.
  • Project history and 30-day log: On the new Projects screen, just click the date in the "Updated" column to bring up the 30-day log.
  • Links: When you have a project open, any links provided by a teacher for shared projects are now available via the "Teacher's Links" option in the left side-panel.
  • Sharing/collaboration: On the Projects screen, click the icon in the "Sharing" column to set up or change sharing options (share with inbox, add collaborators, or change public view settings).
  • To-do's: When you have a project open, click "To-Do's" in the left side panel to check your To-do's. On the Projects screen, the column to the right of the project title also allows you to view/edit to-do's for the project, and displays a red alert icon if a to-do in the project is due now.
• Clicking the project's title on the Projects screen now navigates directly to the Sources screen, instead of a separate Dashboard screen. If you wish to navigate directly from the Projects screen to the Notecards screen, you can click the notecards icon (four orange squares) in the "Contents" column.

Projects

• We've removed the concept of "archived" projects. Instead, your default Projects view simply displays projects that have been edited during the current school year. You'll see a dropdown filter displaying the current school year at the top of the screen (e.g., "2021-22"). You can access older projects by simply selecting a different school year in that dropdown.
• The Projects screen is paginated, so if you have more than 20 projects in a particular school year, you can page through them as needed.
• Projects can be searched by title.
• Projects can be sorted by name or update date
• Project 30-day log, to-do list, sharing/collaboration options and teacher links can all be viewed directly on the Projects screen, without needing to first open the project.
• Project updated date now only changes if a change is actually made (as opposed to just opening the project)

Sources

• Citations can be given a color tag (and sorted/exported based on their color).
• Added source attachments feature.
• Notecard colors now display when viewed from Sources screen.
  
• Quick access to show/hide comments, notecards, or citation update history.
• Quick access to edit citation by clicking on the citation itself.
• Have you tried importing a citation using a DOI? An ISBN? Also stay up to date with the latest database integrations.

Notecards

• Notecard Tabletop can be accessed directly from the Projects screen (just click on the orange notecard icon in the Contents column).
  
• Many improvements to the notecards on the tabletop:
  • larger, allowing us to display much longer notecard titles
  • colors displayed prominently, not just by small dots
  • more color choices (10)
  • tags, cues and colors efficiently applied via notecard's mouse-over toolbar
• Easy navigation of tabletop via simple scrolling (rather than old, slow click-drag method).
• Multiple tabletop pages can be added, providing yet another way to organize groups of notecards and helping to keep the tabletop space uncluttered.
• Birds-eye-view removed -- no longer needed as tabletop area is quickly navigated via scrolling, and is smaller in size due to paging.
• Notecard search allows for multiple search criteria.
• Notecards and piles can be "pinned" (placed in a special area at the top of the tabletop page).
• Notecard selection represented with green checkmark (instead of an orange highlight)
• Expanded notecard piles displayed as scrollable vertical list of notecards.
• On the New/Edit Notecard screen, instructions for each field can be viewed (even after typing into the field) via a "?" icon button.
• In Details view, notecard colors displayed in left panel (as well as in center view).
• In Details view, selected notecards now use an "eye" icon rather than a highlight to indicate they are displayed in the center view.

Outline

• By default, outline no longer auto-displays on Notecards screen. Outline can be shown or hidden via a checkbox at the top of the screen.
• Improved drag/drop.

Inboxes and comments

• We've removed the concept of "archived" inboxes. Instead, your default Inboxes view simply displays projects that have been created during the current school year. You'll see a dropdown filter displaying the current school year at the top of the screen (e.g., "2021-22"). You can access older inboxes by simply selecting a different school year in that dropdown. Students can only share with inboxes associated with the current school year. If you want them to share projects with an older inbox, click the "more" (three dots) option next to the inbox and choose the "Move inbox to current year" option.
• Inboxes are now expanded or minimized via a "+" next to the inbox name, eliminating the need to navigate between different screens to view the list of projects in each.
  
• General project comments and Citation/Notecard comments that are in a "To-Do" state (i.e., someone wrote a comment and you haven't responded) now viewed by clicking "Comments" in the left side panel.
• Cleaner comments field, with toolbar only displayed when you mouse in to the field to type.

Files and attachments

• We've removed the Google/M365-specific "Paper" functionality, replacing it with a far more flexible "Files and attachments" module.