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[Managing] auto-link to other note based on its title recognition

Posted: Tue Dec 22, 2009 8:55 am
by apenf
Hi,

I'm a new user of CintaNotes. Thanks for this light, pleasant and useful tool.

The requested feature could operate like this:
1. User writes a list inside a note, one item per line
2. User copies an item from this note and pastes it in title of another note
3. CintaNotes automatically creates link from the first note to the second one
4. After, clicking on the link in the first note opens the second one

This feature would be empowered when CintaNotes will offer the ability to edit several notes at a time.

I've searched such a feature, or a similar one, in roadmap but I haven't found it. So, sorry if it was here yet.

Best regards

Re: [Managing] auto-link to other note based on its title recognition

Posted: Tue Jan 19, 2010 10:24 am
by CintaNotes Developer
Hello apenf,

thank you for your suggestion and sorry for the belated reply.

I agree that this feature might be useful, however I don't see an easy way how
CN could "automatically" recognize the link between these two notes without some
special markup. Do you have any idea?

Re: [Managing] auto-link to other note based on its title recognition

Posted: Wed Jan 20, 2010 8:21 pm
by apenf
Hello Alex,

Sorry no, I haven't really thought about a solution.
Maybe with a regexp search through all contents of the already existing notes when the title of a being created note losses the focus ?
Then, all strings fitting the regexp string search criteria could be transformed as link to the new created note.

Hope this will help you.

Arnaud

Re: [Managing] auto-link to other note based on its title recognition

Posted: Thu Jan 21, 2010 11:59 am
by CintaNotes Developer
Well, I guess this could be a way to do it.
But certainly I'll make it so that this feature could be turned off, because of the inevitable slowdown
of this regexp search.

Anyway, let's have a vote first and see how much demand there is for this feature.

UPD: I've remebered that this topic has already come up..
Not in the exact form, but please see: viewtopic.php?f=4&t=286
I'm gonna leave the poll here because here the stress is on "automatic" (as opposed to manual) linking.

Re: [Managing] auto-link to other note based on its title recognition

Posted: Thu Jan 21, 2010 10:14 pm
by Guest
Alex,

Thanks for considering this feature as an conceivable one.

:idea: I've thought about another way to do it: using CamelCase, like Wikidpad does (see http://wikidpad.sourceforge.net/).

In short:
- In edit mode, User writes a CamelCase word, and a double-click on it creates the new note with the title "Camel Case" (note the whitespace between Camel and Case), or leads to the note if it has already been created before. Of course, if there isn't a double-click on the CamelCase word, the new note and the link are not created.
- In view mode, CamelCase word appears like a standard link, and a simple click leads (opens) to the targeted note.

I didn't think of it yesterday, yet I use Wikidpad almost every day (like CN) !

This way is probably easier for the user as he must not copy and paste in the title bar of the new note. But I'm not sure that the same thing for the developper ;) .

Hope you'll find this helpful.

Arnaud

Re: [Managing] auto-link to other note based on its title recognition

Posted: Fri Jan 22, 2010 5:29 am
by CintaNotes Developer
Arnaud, thanks for the suggestion!
Frankly I personally am not a fan of wiki-like CamelCase because it has caused me quite a lot of pain
in the past. It turns out, from one hand, that too many names are naturally CamelCase (StarCraft, CintaNotes);
on the other hand, some links would be of only one word and require adding a redundant word
such as "Link" in ChristmasLink.

I'd definitely prefer a simple markup like e.g. back-quotes `this is a link` or pipes |this is a link|. Of course it will become a link only if there is a note with the title "this is a link".

Re: [Managing] auto-link to other note based on its title recognition

Posted: Fri Jan 22, 2010 9:50 pm
by Guest
OK Alex,

Although I'm not really a programmer, I sensed that CamelCase was a more difficult solution than the other one described first.

Now, wait and see if this feature is a success !

Re: [Managing] auto-link to other note based on its title recognition

Posted: Sat Jan 23, 2010 6:48 am
by CintaNotes Developer
CamelCase is not much more difficult. I just don't like it ;)

Re: [Managing] auto-link to other note based on its title recognition

Posted: Sun Jan 24, 2010 9:19 pm
by Guest
Yes, I understand.

Just a practical remark about markup to help:

From a user point of view, I find CamelCase more handy and faster than "extra" markups, especially markups which needs to hit at the same time a key at the bottom of the keyboard (eg: Alt Gr) and a key at the top of the keyboard (eg: {, [, |, ...).

I have "french" keyboards (azerty), and I definitely prefer markup like ; : ! * $

For example, I use ! to tag urgent or important things in Cintanotes, I prefix my GTD tags by :, and I use <YYYY/MM/DD to tag todos with deadlines (so I have in my tag sidebar, from top to bottom, !, my list of : prefixed GTD tags and my list of duedates prefixed by <, followed by other miscelaneaous tags).

Arnaud

Re: [Managing] auto-link to other note based on its title recognition

Posted: Mon Jan 25, 2010 8:49 am
by CintaNotes Developer
Thanks, I'll definitely consider that.

Re: [Managing] auto-link to other note based on its title recognition

Posted: Mon Jan 25, 2010 5:31 pm
by ale
Yup I agree 100% with the remark :) for example we don't have the ` (U+0060 GRAVE ACCENT) character on the italian keyboard layout and I can't type it easily. Well, italian keyboard is somewhat strange, you can't type proper italian with it :mrgreen: but this is another story. So please Alex if at one point in time you'll need to give special meaning to a character try to make it customizable if possible.

Re: [Managing] auto-link to other note based on its title recognition

Posted: Tue Jan 26, 2010 5:36 pm
by CintaNotes Developer
Thanks for the remark! It is a very valuable one indeed.

Re: [Managing] auto-link to other note based on its title recognition

Posted: Wed Jan 27, 2010 8:56 pm
by Guest
Hi, All

Let me show you just an example of the possiblities I see that an autolink feature would allow.

Assume having a list of contacts in CN, one contact/note with note title = contact name (see export extract from CN below):

[27/01/2010 20:56] Donald

Grumpy

Phone # 6165113219



[27/01/2010 20:57] Daisy

Pleasant girl

Phone # 61651135448


Assume now having a note tagged ":phone" with a list of next phone-calls to have (see export below):

[27/01/2010 21:09] Next phone-calls

Donald
Dingo
Daisy


Then, closed to your phone (@GTD context), you type ":ph..." to see your next phone-calls list, and by clicking on the name of the contact, you directly reach the contact note where the phone number is.

In this way, CN would save time, particularly if associated with a tool like texter (eg: contact name first letters -> contact names)

Hope you'll find this useful.

Arnaud

Re: [Managing] auto-link to other note based on its title recognition

Posted: Thu Feb 11, 2010 6:28 am
by CintaNotes Developer
Arnaud,

I understand what kind of benefit this feature would bring. But still it won't be possible to do without "opening notes in muptiple windows" implemented first.