Advanced Settings & Features

PlantKeeper includes powerful features for advanced users and developers. This guide covers experimental features, developer options, and advanced configurations that most users won't need.

🎯 What You'll Learn

• How to enable experimental beta features
• Developer and debug options
• Feature flags and customizations
• Advanced troubleshooting tools
• Resetting settings and data

⚡ Quick Start

Access Advanced Settings:

1. Go to Settings → Advanced
2. ⚠️ Proceed with caution - some features may be unstable

Common Advanced Tasks:

• Enable beta features: Settings → Advanced → Experimental → Toggle features
• Debug mode: Settings → Advanced → Developer → Enable Debug Mode
• Reset settings: Settings → Advanced → Reset → Restore Defaults

📚 Complete Guide

Experimental Features

Try new features before they're released to everyone.

What Are Experimental Features?:

• Beta/alpha features in development
• May be unstable or incomplete
• Helps us test before general release
• Can be disabled anytime

Why Enable Experimental Features?:

• ✅ Early access to new capabilities
• ✅ Influence development with feedback
• ✅ Stay on cutting edge
• ⚠️ May encounter bugs
• ⚠️ Features may change or be removed

How to Enable:

1. Go to Settings → Advanced → Experimental Features
2. Toggle Enable Experimental Features (master switch)
3. Select specific features to try:

Currently Available Experimental Features:

🌱 Advanced Plant Recommendations:

• AI-powered plant suggestions
• Based on your success patterns
• Considers your environment and care history
• Status: Beta (mostly stable)

📊 Predictive Watering:

• Machine learning predicts watering needs
• Adjusts based on weather, season, plant response
• More accurate than fixed schedules
• Status: Alpha (early testing)

🤖 Plant Doctor Voice Input:

• Describe plant problems verbally
• Voice-to-text transcription
• Available in English only (for now)
• Status: Beta

📸 Bulk Photo Processing:

• Upload multiple photos at once
• Auto-assign to correct plants (AI detection)
• Batch editing tools
• Status: Alpha

🔍 Advanced Search:

• Full-text search across all data
• Complex filters and queries
• Save custom searches
• Status: Beta

📈 Correlation Analysis:

• Discover patterns in your care data
• Link weather to plant health
• Identify success factors
• Status: Alpha

How to Provide Feedback:

1. Try experimental feature
2. Click Feedback button (appears when feature enabled)
3. Describe your experience
4. Include screenshots if relevant
5. Submit feedback

Disabling Experimental Features:

• Toggle off master switch (disables all)
• Or toggle individual features
• Data created with experimental features is preserved
• Features may become unavailable if removed

Feature Flags

Fine-tune your PlantKeeper experience with granular controls.

What Are Feature Flags?:

• Toggles for specific functionality
• Enable/disable parts of PlantKeeper
• Customize to your workflow
• Power user customization

Available Feature Flags:

Interface Features:

• ☑️ Quick Actions Panel - Floating action button
• ☑️ Keyboard Shortcuts - Hotkeys for common tasks
• ☑️ Tooltips - Hover hints
• ☑️ Onboarding Tours - Feature walkthroughs
• ☑️ Animations - UI transitions (disable for performance)

Data Entry Features:

• ☑️ Auto-save - Save as you type
• ☑️ Undo/Redo - Edit history
• ☑️ Smart Suggestions - Auto-complete, predictions
• ☑️ Validation Warnings - Check data quality
• ☑️ Duplicate Detection - Warn about similar plants

Advanced Features:

• ☐ Developer Console - In-app debugging
• ☐ Performance Metrics - Show load times
• ☐ Network Requests - Log API calls
• ☐ State Inspector - View app state
• ☐ Feature Usage Tracking - Detailed analytics

How to Configure:

1. Go to Settings → Advanced → Feature Flags
2. Toggle desired features
3. Click Save Changes
4. Refresh page to apply

Recommended Configurations:

Default User:

• All interface features ON
• All data entry features ON
• All advanced features OFF

Power User:

• All features ON
• Keyboard shortcuts ON
• Quick actions ON
• Animations OFF (faster)

Low-Performance Device:

• Animations OFF
• Tooltips OFF
• Auto-save interval: 30s (instead of 5s)
• Reduce network requests

Privacy-Conscious User:

• Feature usage tracking OFF
• Analytics OFF (see Privacy settings)
• Smart suggestions OFF
• Network requests logged locally only

Developer Options

Tools for debugging, development, and advanced troubleshooting.

⚠️ Warning: These features are for advanced users and developers only!

Debug Mode:

Enable detailed logging and diagnostic information.

What It Shows:

• Console logs (in browser DevTools)
• API request/response details
• Component render times
• State changes and updates
• Error stack traces

How to Enable:

1. Go to Settings → Advanced → Developer
2. Toggle Debug Mode
3. Open browser DevTools (F12)
4. View Console tab

When to Use:

• Troubleshooting issues
• Support requested debug info
• Contributing to PlantKeeper
• Building integrations

Performance Metrics:

View detailed performance statistics.

Metrics Shown:

• Page Load Time - Initial render duration
• API Response Times - Average request latency
• Render Performance - Component update speed
• Memory Usage - Browser memory consumption
• Network Activity - Request counts, data transferred

How to View:

1. Enable Debug Mode (above)
2. Toggle Performance Metrics
3. Metrics overlay appears in corner
4. Or view in DevTools → Performance tab

State Inspector:

View the internal application state.

What You Can See:

• Current user data
• Plant data in memory
• Active filters and searches
• Form values and validation
• Cache contents

How to Use:

1. Enable Debug Mode
2. Toggle State Inspector
3. Click Inspect State button (appears in corner)
4. Browse state tree
5. Search for specific values

Use Cases:

• Verify data is correct
• Troubleshoot form issues
• Understand caching behavior
• Debug integrations

Network Inspector:

Log all API requests and responses.

Information Logged:

• Request URL and method
• Request headers and body
• Response status and body
• Response time (latency)
• Errors and retries

How to Enable:

1. Enable Debug Mode
2. Toggle Network Inspector
3. View logs in console
4. Or use browser DevTools → Network tab

Export Logs:

1. Click Export Logs button
2. Downloads JSON file
3. Attach to support tickets
4. Helps diagnose issues

Reset Options

Restore default settings or clear specific data.

Reset Settings to Defaults:

Restore all settings to factory defaults.

What Gets Reset:

• ✅ Display preferences (theme, layout)
• ✅ Notification settings
• ✅ Units and measurements
• ✅ Privacy settings
• ✅ Feature flags

What Stays:

• ✅ All plant data
• ✅ Diary entries and growth records
• ✅ Photos
• ✅ Account information

How to Reset:

1. Go to Settings → Advanced → Reset
2. Click Reset Settings to Defaults
3. Confirm action
4. Settings instantly restored
5. Refresh page to see changes

Clear Cache:

Remove temporary app data.

What Gets Cleared:

• Browser cache (images, assets)
• API response cache
• Temporary files
• Session data

What Stays:

• All permanent data
• Settings and preferences
• Login session (not logged out)

How to Clear:

1. Go to Settings → Advanced → Reset
2. Click Clear Cache
3. Confirm action
4. Page refreshes automatically

When to Clear Cache:

• App behaving strangely
• Outdated data displayed
• After major updates
• Support requested it

Full Data Reset ⚠️:

Complete fresh start (nuclear option).

What Gets Deleted:

• ❌ All settings
• ❌ All plant data
• ❌ All diary entries
• ❌ All growth records
• ❌ All photos
• ❌ All reminders

What Stays:

• ✅ Account and login
• ✅ Subscription status

How to Reset:

1. Export your data first! (Settings → Data → Export)
2. Go to Settings → Advanced → Reset
3. Scroll to Danger Zone
4. Click Full Data Reset
5. Type "DELETE ALL MY DATA" to confirm
6. Enter password
7. Click Confirm Reset
8. All data deleted immediately

Use Cases:

• Starting completely fresh
• Clearing test data
• Before giving device to someone else
• Troubleshooting severe issues

Alternative: Consider Delete Account if you're done with PlantKeeper entirely (Settings → Account → Delete Account).

Keyboard Shortcuts Configuration

Customize hotkeys for power user workflows.

Default Shortcuts:

• Ctrl/Cmd + , - Open Settings
• Ctrl/Cmd + K - Quick Search
• Ctrl/Cmd + N - Add New Plant
• Ctrl/Cmd + S - Save Current Form
• Ctrl/Cmd + / - Show Keyboard Shortcuts

Customize Shortcuts:

1. Go to Settings → Advanced → Keyboard Shortcuts
2. Click shortcut to customize
3. Press new key combination
4. Avoid conflicts with browser shortcuts
5. Click Save

See full Keyboard Shortcuts guide for complete list.

Advanced Preferences

Offline Mode (Pro Plan):

• Enable offline data access
• Sync when connection restored
• Limited functionality offline

Multi-Account Support (Team Plan):

• Switch between accounts
• Separate data per account
• Shared team workspace

Custom Fields:

• Add custom data fields to plants
• Define field types (text, number, date)
• Include in exports

💡 Tips & Tricks

Safe Experimentation:

• Export data before enabling experimental features
• Try one feature at a time
• Disable if unstable
• Provide feedback to help development

Performance Optimization:

• Disable animations on slow devices
• Increase auto-save interval
• Clear cache regularly
• Enable compact mode

Developer Workflow:

• Keep debug mode OFF normally (performance)
• Enable only when troubleshooting
• Export logs for support tickets
• Use state inspector to verify data

Reset Strategy:

• Clear cache monthly (maintenance)
• Reset settings if confused (rarely needed)
• Full data reset only as last resort
• Always export before resetting

❓ Common Questions

Are experimental features safe to use?

Generally yes, but they may have bugs. Your data won't be lost, but the feature might not work perfectly. We recommend exporting data before enabling experimental features as a precaution.

Will experimental features become permanent?

Some will become permanent after testing. Others may be removed if they don't work out. We'll notify you before removing features you're using.

Can I customize keyboard shortcuts?

Yes! Go to Settings → Advanced → Keyboard Shortcuts. Avoid conflicting with browser shortcuts (Ctrl+T, Ctrl+W, etc.).

What's the difference between Debug Mode and Performance Metrics?

Debug Mode shows detailed logs (for troubleshooting). Performance Metrics shows load times and speed (for optimization). You can enable both simultaneously.

Can I export my debug logs?

Yes! Enable Debug Mode and Network Inspector, then click "Export Logs". This creates a JSON file you can attach to support tickets.

🔗 Related Topics

• Display Customization - Themes and layouts
• Data & Privacy - Backup and export
• Keyboard Shortcuts - Complete hotkey list
• Troubleshooting - Common issues

💡 Pro Tip: Enable experimental features one at a time. Try each for a week before enabling the next. This helps identify which feature caused an issue if something breaks!