Outside of dropping stacks in and out of the RW themes and add-ons folder I really do wish there was a way to select (by default) the stacks that will load for any given project. I recently purchased Joe Workman’s email stacks which will be used exclusively for my “email” project file only and I hate to have all the email stacks appearing in every project I have.
I also think selective add-on loading would be helpful for better clarity and productivity (for projects that have been saved at least once), but implementing that feature would probably be a very complex process.
Besides, what if you decide to add a new stack to your project at some point and that stack would not be loaded?
In it’s simplest implementation, the user would simply have the ability to simply “suppress” the showing of individual stacks in the stacks library (they would load, but not show). This would be at the Project File level and with each Project File the user could determine which stacks appear in the library. For example, when I’m in my “Mail” Project File I don’t want to see all my other stacks as only Joe Workman Mail stacks can be used. Likewise, I don’t want to see Mail stacks in all my other projects.
At a “deeper” level the selections made by the user would prevent the stack from even loading for that particular project file. By default, new stacks would be set to load. After that the user could turn them off for that project.
@isaiah - is this an absolutely crazy/impossible wish?
This sounds like a “stacks” feature request. You should request this on YourHeads slack page:
short answer: we’re planning a lot of changes to the library for Stacks 4.0. i think your specific request poses some serious challenges to feasibility, but it would be very cool. i’m adding it to the list to see what i can do.
longer answer:
where we’ve been
in Stacks 1 the library was just a single list of giant sized icons. there were no options, no customization, and it was limited to about 30 stacks. we’ve come a long way in 8 years.
the challenge
for every part of stacks, the challenge is to build an interface that’s simple enough for the core stacks user: a novice user that wants to build a great site themselves – BUT ALSO works well for the much smaller group of pro-users.
changing dynamic
although there are still a large number of users that fall squarely in the novice and pro camps there are more users than ever that fall somewhere in between. especially with the advent of frameworks like Foundation and Foundry, there are now a ton of users that are building very complex sites and have very complex needs.
a hint at what’s to come
the overarching idea behind the Stacks 4.0 upgrade is to respond to this changing dynamic. the features that we add, and the UI that we upgrade, will be first and foremost, to give more power and efficiency to these pro-sumer users.
real challenge
as much as it’s super fun to build things like this – it can also be super hard. the largest bulk of users (and so the largest bulk of our revenue) comes from novices. i have to tread very carefully. adding difficult to use features – or even just too many features – alienates those folks. i can’t do that.
in conclusion
i just wanted to paint a picture of just how challenging it can be to find the right balance. i suspect the features that get implemented will be awesome for almost everyone – but there we surely be a few disappointed too.
so i’ll ask for…
a bit of patience: even if we don’t get your feature on 4.0 – there’s always a 4.1
a bit of persistence: keep submitting feature requests – i read every one – it makes a big difference!
a bit of understanding: sometimes – though rare – meeting the needs of the larger group of novice users makes other features infeasible.
and one more thing: here’s our bug-list / feature-list. please add to it! don’t be shy!
we like to keep it open so that you can add features (or just comment on the existing ones) and keep tabs on our work – see what we have scheduled. think of it like the roadmap of this long journey we’re on together. 
5 Likes
@isaiah Thanks for detailed answer, I appreciate the time it took. I fully understand each point you make, especially the financial aspect of your work and the need to “make it simple.” You do have my patience, my persistence, and my understanding. Stacks is already the best thing about RW and I’ll look forward to safe, sane, and beneficial things to come. Thank you!
2 Likes