Random Projects had a good year. Here’s a look at what was accomplished in 2021 and some goals for 2022.
The Year of DoMarks
DoMarks launched to the public on March 1, 2021. The initial release was focused on the app’s core functionality: Turning bookmarks into actionable to-do items. Subsequent releases added various improvements and features, including:
- Drag-and-Drop support – Users can drag a URL from another app and add it into a list, drag a Mark out of DoMarks and into another app, or drag one in the app and drop it on an item in the sidebar to categorize it. This was a huge improvement to the app.
- UI Customization – With version 1.2, the iOS apps supported some elements of customization, including changing the app’s tint color and color scheme.
- UX Improvements – Over time, the app layout has been improved. Recent updates have unified the sidebar on iPad/Mac (main view on iPhone), as well as added search bars in Mark lists and options to change how such lists are sorted.
Alongside the app were an iOS and Mac extension that help workflows dramatically.
- The Action Extension on iOS/iPadOS allows for sharing a URL from any context, such as Safari or the App Store, and send it to DoMarks to create a new Mark. For many users, this is the primary way of adding new items to the app.
- The Safari App Extension on macOS sits on the browser’s toolbar and provides a quick way to create a Mark while browsing the web. It also has a “Add Mark and Close Tab” button, making it easy to quickly triage a bunch of open tabs.
Based on user feedback, DoMarks has become a welcome addition to many productive workflows. It’s had a good start, but there’s still much to do.
Goals for 2022
DoMarks
Shortly after launch, a few development goals were shared for 2021. Some of these items have yet to be included in the app, including improved search and data management, and will appear in future updates.
Other goals for this year include supporting more extensions, suggested categorization of new bookmarks, and more options for how to view your Mark lists.
In short: DoMarks is still young and has a lot of growth ahead!
DoMarks on macOS
Some users have noticed that some features released in 2021, such as some UI customization options, haven’t come to the Mac app. During development, some of these options didn’t perform as well as they did on iOS and were thus not included in the final releases. This was never the intent. While some features main be limited by platform conventions, something that can exist everywhere should.
Other features, such as the Safari Extension, have changed little since the original launch. And those wanting to share a link from other Mac apps have no such option yet.
In short, there’s room for improvement on the Mac, and a major goal of 2022 is to bring more feature parity to the Mac app, along with an improved Mac experience, to help make the Mac app a more powerful tool.
Countr
Countr was our first app, originally launched in 2014. It was last updated in 2020, shortly before development began on DoMarks. This major update added iPad support and brought count syncing across all Apple platforms. Updates later this year will make the iPad experience even better and, for the first time, bring Countr to the Mac.
While app development itself brings its own satisfaction, more joy comes from hearing from so many customers who find these apps useful in their lives. Thank you to all who use Countr and DoMarks!