--- title: 'Shorts: add, edit, share and adjust' description: In my previous blog post, we looked at the key screens for Shorts, the organic grid and the reading view. You can read about the list view behaviour in this document. In this post, I would like to look at journeys for adding and editing content, sharing an article and adjusting the reading view. Sharing […] url: https://canonical.com/blog/shorts-add-edit-share-adjust?format=md --- 1. [Blog](https://canonical.com/blog) 2. Article --- [Canonical](https://canonical.com/blog/author/canonical "More about Canonical") 28 June 2013 # Shorts: add, edit, share and adjust [app design](https://canonical.com/blog/tag/app-design) [Design](https://canonical.com/blog/tag/design) --- Share the article In my previous blog post, we looked at the [key screens for Shorts](http://www.google.com/url?q=http%3A%2F%2Fdesign.canonical.com%2F2013%2F05%2Fshorts-rss-reader-app%2F&sa=D&sntz=1&usg=AFQjCNHGSryjaATUqM6Gaek4CeufGzOkpQ "Key screens for Shorts"), the organic grid and the reading view. You can read about the list view behaviour in [this document](https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1KlpJdbq_w2N4CCERhdlFPPWnUnAIsbVXuHOCO7Fah-A/edit?usp=sharing "List behaviour document"). In this post, I would like to look at journeys for adding and editing content, sharing an article and adjusting the reading view. ## Sharing and adjusting the reading view From the reading view, pull up the toolbar to reveal options: Options for adjusting the reading view are: * Font size * Light / dark theme Any changes made to the reading view are persistent until the view is changed again. ## Adding things to read There are different options for adding content to the Shorts app. All of the options described here are for when the user already has feed subscriptions in the app; the first use scenario is not yet covered. To get to the different options for adding content, pull up the toolbar from the topic view: ### 1. Adding a topic Adding a new topic with feed suggestions makes finding things to read much easier for users who don’t understand RSS. However, suggesting feeds for subjects could easily become quite complex; for example feeds related to ‘News’ are location specific. Whether we can suggest feeds for users will depend on if we can automate this process. ### 2. Adding feeds When adding one or more feeds, the user needs to select a topic to organise it under. Selecting the topic is done with the [expanded option selector](http://www.google.com/url?q=http%3A%2F%2Fdesign.ubuntu.com%2Fapps%2Fbuilding-blocks%2Foption-selector%23expanded&sa=D&sntz=1&usg=AFQjCNFb1Z6_qORBgBUHjktWJERPbiKbUA "The expanded option selector pattern"). ### 3. Add online accounts This might not be possible for version 1, but being able to read articles that were posted on your social networks would be a great feature to have in Shorts. Connecting to social networks will be done through Ubuntu Online Accounts. ### 4. Import subscriptions Exact functionality for importing and exporting subscriptions will depend on the how the file manager works. ### 5. Other Depending on browser functionality, it might be possible to add feeds from the browser. ## Edit topics In Shorts, feeds are organised under topics. Occasionally, users might want to change the names of their topics and the organisation of their feeds. Under ‘edit topics’, users can: ### 1. Change topic names ### 2. Change topic organisation by adding a new one ### 3. Moving feeds into a different topic The above proposal lets users drag feeds from one topic and drop it into another. The list of feeds under a topic could be very long, so there is an option to collapse the topic. Whether this is possible depends on the drag and drop pattern available in the SDK. Drag and drop is not the easiest thing to do on a touchscreen. A possible alternative would be to long-press on a feed, go into selection mode and have move topic as one of the options. ### 4. Deleting feeds or entire topics Same as in the messaging menu, we will use the swipe to delete pattern – this will soon be in the app design guides. ## Next steps We aim to make the app powerful but simple by having the more complex options easily accessible where they are needed, and to cater for both advanced and novice users. Do you think this app can work without pages and pages of settings? Looking forward to hear your feedback and ideas. You can follow our progress on [Google+](https://plus.google.com/communities/111350780270925540549/stream/7914b6fd-cb15-485c-a50a-cd18b7768c2d), the [Ubuntu Phone mailing list](https://launchpad.net/~ubuntu-phone) and [IRC channel](http://webchat.freenode.net/?channels=ubuntu-touch). Next thing to do is look at first use and no content scenarios. [Get in touch Interested in running Ubuntu in your organization?](https://ubuntu.com/about/contact-us/form) ## Sign up for our newsletter Get the latest Canonical news and updates in your inbox. Work email: \*I agree to receive information about Canonical's products and services. By submitting this form, I confirm that I have read and agree to [Canonical's Privacy Policy](https://canonical.com/legal/dataprivacy). Sign up ## Share on --- ## Related posts [### Challenges designers face in open source (and how to fix them)](https://canonical.com/blog/challenges-designers-face-in-open-source-and-how-to-fix-them) Open source powers up to 90% of modern software, yet many projects lack usability. Canonical’s Design team surveyed 115 cross-functional professionals to uncover the 4 core... [Kola Ojoodide](https://canonical.com/blog/author/kola-ojoodide) 26 June 2026 [### Why web engineering is great](https://canonical.com/blog/why-web-engineering-is-great) Hi, I’m Johann! I’m an engineering manager in Canonical’s web team. For the larger part of my 15 years of work experience as engineer, I’ve been working in web development.... 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