00 Base Entity Features

Overview

The Novel-It features fall into a number of distinct sets, all having common features that behave in the same way. These feature sets are:

• Manuscript management features. Covers novels, parts, chapters and scenes.
• Element management features. Covers characters, locations, items, world-building and research
• Plot management features. Covers acts, beats and scenes

The feature definitions below are intended to be generic. Each individual feature set will define which features it inherits and how it extends the base feature.

FEAT-0001 Entity list board

Description

The entity board is the primary navigation view for an entity and its children. It consists of two sections:

Parent summary section (top)

The top section displays a summary of the parent entity and provides action buttons for operating on the parent. The following actions shall be available:

• Edit Details
• Archive
• Delete
• Add [child entity]
• Archived [child entities]

Child entity board (below)

Below the parent summary, the children of the parent entity are displayed as cards. Each card shall display the child entity’s name. Additional card content is defined in each concrete entity specification.

Child entity cards can be dragged on the board to reorder them within their current parent.

FEAT-0002 Edit entity

Description

• The Edit Entity page shall allow the user to edit all properties of the entity
• The following properties are read-only in edit mode:
  • Date and time created
• Every entity edit page shall support these functions:
  • Save Changes
  • Cancel

FEAT-0003 Archived entity list board

Description

• Archived entities shall be displayed as cards on a “board”
• Each card shall display the entity’s name property
• Each card shall have an Unarchive button
• Clicking Unarchive shall display a warning that the entity will be unarchived
• Clicking the continue button will unarchive the entity
• Clicking the cancel button shall return the user to the archived entities board

Note:

This board is filtered to show only entities with the “archived” property set to true

FEAT-0004 Add entity

Description

• Clicking the Add entity button opens an empty entity details page to allow the user to create a new entity
• Every entity shall have the following properties:
  • Name
  • Description
  • Notes
• The following properties are set automatically by the system and are not user-editable:
  • Date and time created
  • Date and time last modified
• The Add Entity page supports the following functions:
  • Save new Entity
  • Cancel

FEAT-0005 Archive entity

Description

• Clicking Archive entity displays a warning that the entity will be archived
• Clicking the continue button archives the entity
• Clicking the cancel button returns the user to the previous board

FEAT-0006 Delete entity

Description

• Clicking Delete entity displays a warning that the entity will be permanently deleted
• Clicking the continue button deletes the entity and all its child entities
• Clicking the cancel button returns the user to the previous board

FEAT-0007 Duplicate entity

Description

• Clicking on the Duplicate button creates a copy of the entity
• The user is prompted that they are making a copy of the entity and asked if they want to proceed.
• The user is warned that any unsaved changes in the entity will be lost when the duplicate is made
• The new duplicate entity is displayed for editing.

FEAT-0008 Entity reparenting

Description

The user shall be able to move an entity to a different parent of the same type within the same novel.

Reparenting shall be achievable by two methods:

• Drag and drop — the user drags an entity card from its current parent board and drops it onto the target parent
• Reparent dialog — the user selects a reparent option from the entity and is prompted to choose the destination parent from a list of available parents of the appropriate type

All child entities are moved along with the entity being reparented. Any associations the entity holds (e.g. plot scene to manuscript scene associations) are preserved. The entity appears under its new parent immediately after reparenting.

Note:

Reparenting is distinct from reordering within the same parent. Reordering within a parent is covered by FEAT-0001 Entity list board.

FEAT-0009 Entity sharing

Description

An entity can be shared across more than one novel. Sharing differs from relocation in that the entity remains associated with the original novel and is also visible in the additional novels.

• The user can add additional novels to the entity’s sharing list from the entity details page
• Edits to a shared entity are reflected in all novels where it appears
• Archiving a shared entity archives it across all associated novels
• Deleting a shared entity deletes it across all associated novels

FEAT-0010 Entity relationships

Description

The user shall be able to define named relationships between any two planning entities (characters, locations, and items) within a novel.

• Each relationship has a forward label and a reverse label (e.g. “owns” / “owned by”)
• Relationship types are user-definable and scoped to the novel
• The user can add notes to a relationship to provide additional context
• Relationships are displayed on the details page of both participating entities
• The user can add, edit, and delete relationships from either entity’s details page
• Deleting an entity also deletes all relationships in which it participates

FEAT-0011 Cross-novel relocation

Description

The user shall be able to move an entity to a different novel entirely.

• With the exception of novel entities, all entities can be relocated to a different novel
• The user shall be prompted to select the destination novel from a list of novels they own
• Where the destination novel has a different structure (e.g. parts enabled/disabled, sequences enabled/disabled) the user shall be prompted to select an appropriate destination parent within that novel
• All child entities are moved along with the entity being relocated
• Associations between the relocated entity and entities that remain in the source novel (e.g. plot scene to manuscript scene associations) are removed on relocation
• The user is asked to confirm the relocation and warned of any association losses before it takes place