ipfs-desktop-ux.md

IPFS Desktop user experience

...when given no particular task other than 'explore pinning'

• Getting running
• Now what?
• Other notes
  • Drag-and-drop to add items to IPFS

Getting running

• I already have Desktop installed, but I haven't checked for updates in a while -- best do that first! I head on over to https://github.com/ipfs-shipyard/ipfs-desktop/#ipfs-desktop and hit the Mac download button.
• Drag-and-drop disk image to replace my older version, and BAM, I gots Desktop!

Now what?

• Let's click on some things!
• Status sends me to this place. I'm not really sure what I'm looking for, or at. Shrug. It seems fine.
• 
• Files sends me to this place, which, from memory, accurately reflects the files I have used in the past to test WebUI:
• 
• Interesting: this page does not include the files I uploaded to the 'Share files via IPFS' utility in IPFS Companion. Are those files and their hashes lost to the ether?
• Take Screenshot gives me:
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• ...which is interesting because I didn't necessarily want that screenshot on the 'permanent web' +Can I delete the screenshot? Has it been 'shared' already? I explore these thoughts by clicking on ...More:
• 
• Hmm. I wonder if that 'share' button will send me to the same place as 'Share files via IPFS'. In the end, I just hit 'Delete'.
• Download Hash doesn't seem to do anything. Shrug.
• Advanced has some super interesting stuff in there! Taking a peek at my ipfs local directory and my config file is like -- oohhhh, interesting!
• 
• 
• About, also super useful. I can check for updates now! (Which I tested, it seems to be working.) And get straight to Github! (Working.) Nice.
• 

Other notes

Drag-and-drop to add items to IPFS

After kicking the tires on the desktop utility, I read more of the README and discovered that you can drag-and-drop items onto the little desktop top-bar (Mac) icon to add them to IPFS. This is extremely not obvious. Once discovered, that experience looks like:

• I dragged a file to the IPFS cube icon and a small, green plus appeared. I let go, and got:
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• Note that this file name has a (1) appended. That's because the first time I was too slow to react, and the 'Click to view the file' notification had already disappeared. Once I caught it the second time, I was sent to the same place as Files above.
• Now my thoughts are: ok, are all these files pinned or just added, and some or all are going to be garbage collected? A normal human wouldn't know that that's a thing, but I see an option to click 'Pins' so I do, and that's just a .... list of no idea what.
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• Exploring and clicking on things Ok what the what? Those things that I shared earlier via the Companion link to "Share files via IPFS" link are here in my pins, but my files are not.