A Hub for Ideas – Taking It Further
The Idea Channel is the place where users can submit their requests, challenges, and creative flashes of inspiration. Every idea goes through a clearly structured and transparent process—from submission, through content review and public voting, to potential integration into the LINEAR software.
Important to note: This process is not driven by an automated mechanism, but by a dedicated product management team. Suggestions are reviewed, evaluated, and prioritized by people—in direct dialogue with the community and with an eye toward real-world practical requirements.
The principle remains the same: Anyone who wants to improve something submits it. Anyone who is convinced votes for it. And the product management team takes it from there.
What’s new, however, is just how much more convenient, modern, and efficient this exchange has become. The update brings a series of far-reaching improvements, visually redesigns the channel, and expands its capabilities far beyond previous limits.
An Overview of the New Key Features
Data set requests – finally where they belong
Untilnow, data set requests were submitted via a separate page. While requests could be submitted there, the subsequent process was hardly transparent for users. Feedback, status updates, or the opportunity for discussion were missing, and valuable insights often remained hidden.
Of course, these requests have not been lost: All previous dataset requests are fully available and are currently being transferred step by step to the LINEAR Idea Channel. This way, they will be visible in the future, processed in a traceable manner, and integrated into the same transparent process as all new dataset requests – to the benefit of everyone involved.
The Idea Channel has been equipped with a completely new module:
- Submitting new data set requests
- Select manufacturer
- Assign relevant tags (AutoCAD, Revit, calculation data, 3D pipe classes, CAD library)
- Vote on existing requests
- Subscribe to requests
- Track status changes transparently
Important: Chat messages are exclusively between you and product management. Status and tag updates, on the other hand, reach all subscribers – a major step toward transparency.
For users, this means: finally, a clear view.
For us: more structured processes and faster processing.
A win-win – in practice
Highly rated data requests are forwarded directly to the respective manufacturers and incorporated into further coordination and implementation.
Like and reply directly to comments – conversations as they should be
Discussions thrive on interaction, and that’s getting a real upgrade now.
- Comments can be liked
- Comments can be replied to directly
This creates clear conversation threads, faster feedback, and a more lively discussion. The community is thus provided with tools we’re familiar with from everyday life.
The only exception: feature requests remain in a private chat between you and product management. The reasoning is pragmatic: in this context, the focus is typically not on an open discussion, but on specific inquiries regarding technical details, specifications, or use cases. Direct communication helps quickly clear up misunderstandings and precisely
categorize the request.
An interface that not only looks great – but also works really well.
We’ve given the UI a thorough overhaul and completely restructured it. The result: a modern, clear, and streamlined workflow.
- Collapsible sidebar for maximum workspace
- Central list of suggestions for a quick overview
- Detail panel on the right with title, description, tags, status, and comments
- A visually guided color hierarchy that draws the eye exactly where the next action awaits
This makes interaction fun again, and scrolling feels less like work and more like a "look and feel" experience.
New File Preview: View Attachments First, Then Download
Attachments are no longer downloaded immediately in Idea Channel. Instead, a clear preview opens where you can easily view and click through images and files.
And best of all: Downloads can now be done in bulk – all attachments at once if desired, or individually as before. More practical, faster, and significantly more convenient.
Reply via email – direct communication From
now on, when you receive a notification, you no longer need to switch to your browser, log in, and search. Simply reply to the email – and the message will automatically appear in the corresponding proposal or data request. It’s so simple that you’ll wonder why it wasn’t always this way. For anyone who’s often on the go or jumping between appointments, this added convenience is a game-changer.
Everything at a glance: the new notification panel
The new notification panel is the command center for all activities in the Idea Channel.
It shows:
- Status changes
- Tag updates
- New comments
- Follow-ups from product management
- All activity on subscribed proposals
- And for data requests: all relevant updates
One click takes you straight to the right place – fast, intuitive, and clear. It couldn’t have been clearer before. Now it can.
Multilingualism that thinks for itself – now even smarter
The Idea Channel’s integrated translation feature was already a true linguistic talent. Now it has two new options: Dutch and Polish expand the language portfolio and make the platform even more accessible for international users – and our internal teams.
But the update brings not only new vocabulary, but above all more intelligence:
- Automatic detection of input language
The Idea Channel immediately notices if the language of an entered text doesn’t match the set interface language and alerts you. This elegantly eliminates accidental mistranslations and unnecessary misunderstandings. - Even “non-system languages”? No problem.
Even texts in languages that aren’t officially available as interface languages aren’t blocked. Instead, the system simply translates them automatically into English. It’s the idea that counts – not the source language.
The result:
An Idea Channel that faces fewer barriers, understands more people, and makes discussions more precise. Or to put it another way: The platform now speaks “community” even more fluently.
Conclusion: A tool that not only grows – but grows with you
The new LINEAR Idea Channel is more than just an update. It’s a clear statement: We don’t develop our software in isolation from the community, but together with it.
The platform has grown – structurally, functionally, and visually. It has become faster, more direct, more modern, and more transparent. And it shows how seriously we take our users’ feedback.
Of course, we can’t implement every suggestion immediately. But one thing always holds true: The clearer the benefit is described and the stronger the community’s support, the higher the chance that the idea will be implemented in one of the next LINEAR versions.
The new Idea Channel makes the further development of the LINEAR software more visible, more transparent, and more collaborative than ever before. Or, in short: Our projects grow from your ideas, and together we shape the future of the LINEAR software.