John O'Keefe
bf4735f3ce
The old page was stale in ways the standard now forbids: spatial
language ("top-right"), documented URL query params users should never
need, no mention of smart collections or podcast episodes, no hand-off
to the filter docs.
Ground-truthed against the templates: Static vs lightning-Smart type
choice, Books/Podcast episodes rules scope, Add Items picker ( Books /
Episodes tabs, Add Selected, Remove Selected), Edit Rules -> Filter
tree -> Apply to Collection, Play as Sequence with the listening-order
picker (Feed order / reversed / oldest / newest), Hide finished books
(reading-queue mode) and Show Up Next strip toggles, system shelves
(Continue Reading, Recently Added, Recently Read, Not Started, Continue
Series) and Restore System -> Restore.
Plain language per the user-docs tone contract: short sentences,
pattern-first (one shelf concept, four flavors), every step ends in an
outcome, rules taught by LINK to the filter guide (reference, never
restate). Every quoted control exists as a literal and is glossaried in
ui-controls.md (gate-checked).
5.1 KiB
Collections
A collection is a personal shelf you name yourself. You put your books and podcast episodes on it, and it appears as a section on your dashboard.
That is the whole idea. Everything below is variations on it.
The one pattern, four flavors
Every collection behaves the same way on the outside: it has a name, an icon, a color, and a list of items. The flavors differ in how items join:
| Flavor | How items join | Right for |
|---|---|---|
| Static | You pick each item by hand | Curated lists — "books for the trip", "new house ideas" |
| ⚡ Smart (books) | Rules match books live, forever | "everything by Asimov", "still not started", "over 400 pages" |
| ⚡ Smart (podcast episodes) | Rules match episodes live — and they can play back-to-back | "catch up on my feeds", "episodes to finish" |
| System (built-in) | Bookhoard maintains them | Continue Reading, Recently Added, Recently Read, Not Started, Continue Series |
A collection holds books and podcast episodes — mix them if you like.
The ⚡ Smart badge means the same thing everywhere it appears: membership is matched by rules right now — always current, nothing to refresh.
Creating a collection
- Open the Collections page (sidebar navigation)
- Click New Collection
- Choose the Type:
- Static — pick items by hand
- ⚡ Smart — match by rules, always live
- If you picked ⚡ Smart, choose the Rules scope: 📚 Books or 🎧 Podcast episodes
- Fill in the rest: Name, Description, an Icon you can search or pick, and a Color
- Click Create Collection
Starting from a completely empty account? The button Create Your First Collection does the same thing.
Adding items by hand (Static collections)
- Open the collection from the Collections page
- Click Add Items
- Pick the tab for what you want:
- 📚 Books — searchable by the Search books... box, and the Author and Genre boxes
- 🎧 Episodes — the episodes of the feeds you subscribe to
- Click one or more items — a checkmark marks what you picked; the bottom of the window counts them for you
- Click Add Selected
To take items out, check them on the collection page and click Remove Selected (it asks first).
While checking what is in the collection, the Search within collection... box narrows the view — it never removes anything.
Rules (how ⚡ Smart collections work)
A smart collection keeps its own list of rules, the same rules that power the filter drawer. On the collection's page, click Edit Rules to open the rules editor: build your groups and rules in the Filter tree, then click Apply to Collection. From that point the collection matches those rules by itself — add a book that matches and it appears without you doing anything.
Rules live in one guide, so this page does not repeat them. The full how-to walks through groups, ALL/ANY, and value picking in Filters — the complete guide, ready-made examples are in the cookbook, and every filter field lists what you can ask about.
Finding it again later: open any collection's page and look for the Edit Rules button; the ⚡ Smart badge in the page title marks a collection that is already matching.
Playing an episode collection
When a collection holds a downloaded episode, it grows a Play as Sequence button: the episodes play one after another. Next to it, the order picker decides the sequence — Feed order, Feed order (reversed), Oldest first (pub date), or Newest first (pub date). Your choice is remembered on the collection.
Changing a collection
The pencil button on a collection card, or the edit control on the collection page, opens the edit form:
- Change the Name, Description, Icon, Color
- Hide finished books (reading-queue mode) — finished books drop off this shelf, which keeps a to-read list short
- Show Up Next strip — show the collection's Up Next strip where it is used
Click Update Collection to save. Deleting a collection asks first, and deleting only removes the shelf — never the books or episodes inside it.
System collections
The five built-in shelves — Continue Reading, Recently Added, Recently Read, Not Started, Continue Series — work like any collection on the outside, but Bookhoard decides their membership by what happens while you read. They appear on your dashboard automatically.
Deleted one and want it back? Click Restore System on the Collections page, pick the shelf from the list, and click Restore.
Your dashboard shelves
Collections appear as sections on your dashboard, and you choose which ones show and in what order from the dashboard's own settings. That page's details live in Dashboard.
Finding your way back: Collections is the sidebar page whose top has the only New Collection button — from a dashboard shelf's View All, the collection detail page is the place with Add Items.