Note-handling applications redux ... (I lost one) ...

[barney]

Well, it seems I'm going to have to request aid from the DC folk.  Usually don't have to do that, 'cause my problems have typically already been broached and solved, but I don't seem to be able to lurk on this one.

I've spent the last few days searching, but to no avail.

A while back - say, two system rebuilds ago - I tried out a[nother] note-tracking app.  This one used a different approach than most I've seen.  There was a two-pane window.  The pane on the right listed the title of each note.  The pane on the left, however, did not list the usual tree ... instead it listed tags with checkboxes.  every time you checked one of the tags every note that had all of the checked tags was displayed in a list in the right pane.

For instance, check the tips tag and you'd see a listing of all notes with that tag; check the linux tag, and you'd see only the notes that had both tags; check the display driver tag and you'd see only the notes that had all three tags, probably only one or two notes, at most. 

It was a reasonably nice little app, but I didn't like the way tags were assigned - typed in each time, rather than accessed from a list - so I quit messing with it.  Don't even remember the name of it.

And that's the problem.  I've now encountered a support situation where that app would be ideal, free-form tag entry and all.  It has no learning curve to speak of, and it's fairly low in resource usage, if memory serves, so it can be left up in the background for near-instant access.  But I cannot, for the life of me, remember the name of the application.

I know it's on a hard drive here, but it takes a while to search through half a terabyte of files.  Even then, if the folder/file name doesn't jog a brain cell, I'll likely miss it.

So, cap in hand, I wonder if any of you DC folk might be familiar with this little app? 

[Paul Keith]

Sounds like Incollector but Incollector takes more resources (but can be left running in the systray) and it doesn't filter specific tags and does the reverse and includes all the items under all 3 tags if you set it that way.

http://www.incollector.devnull.pl/

[barney]

Paul,

I'll check InCollector (?), but it doesn't sound right.  Prolly the closest thing I've found has been Total Organizer (TO) ... the app I remember - kinda, sorta - looks as though the author stole, er-r-r, adopted the part of TO that did the part that I'm trying to find.  But TO doesn't allow the left pane listing of tags/keywords, unless I've missed something.

My standard repository is InfoSelect, but it does have a few drawbacks - footprint is one, and inability to use keywords/tags is another.  However, it has a free-form search that borders upon the fantastic.

That being said, it is neither appropriate - too costly - nor suitable for the task at hand, which is to give a marina a way to start tracking maintenance issues w/o having to run up against issues of educating sailing captains to a methodology they have no wish to learn.This sub-set of TO that I've lost would be an ideal vehicle to bring them from the 19th century into the 21st <chortle />.  Or, at least, it would give the admin a bit of relief <chuckle />.

[Paul Keith]

Hmm...the only other software I can think of is Evernote and maybe GemX or even Microsoft OneNote or Mindmanager's way of doing things. Sorry, I can't be of much help. I don't have any expertise in your problem.

It could even be MS Outlook judging by that screenshot. There's a program called Taskblaze that allows you to tag and enter an activity timer in Outlook by just typing and giving it a category.

http://www.persisten...compatible-tracking/

[CWuestefeld]

As Paul said, that sounds a bit like the way Evernote works.

[rjbull]

It wouldn't be the Web app blist, would it?

[barney]

Paul, CWuestefeld,
I've used Evernote for years ... at least, until they went Web-based.  The app I'm trying to remember is much like Evernote, except in a super-simplified way.  I've just been looking at GemX for a week or two, but don't think I'll play with it much longer.  Anyway, TexNotes doesn't fill the bill, either.  The errant app is not mainstream, by any means, and the interface is fairly primitive by current standards, although, to me, it worked just fine.  I probably picked it up from some list that I'm on or from the weekly download.com listing - I set that one to most recent and check it religiously, although I seldom find anything noteworthy.

rkbull,
Nope, not blist, although that looks pretty interesting ... I'll have to check it out in spite of my distrust of web-based apps.

Thanks, folk, I appreciate your attempts at succor.  I've just finished looking at several thousand directories on my main storage drive, but no luck ... now I'll have to go back and do it again, paying particular attention to sub-directories, I guess.

[CWuestefeld]

Another possibility is Surfulater? This is rather similar to Evernote in many ways.

[rjbull]

It isn't quite like the OP says, at least not in terms of tickable tags, but how about ScrapBook?  Small, free, portable, registry green, looks easy to use.

If you like the same things in a tree-style notes keeper, try MemPad.

[barney]

Well,

I'm shying clear of Web-based apps for a couple of reasons - besides the fact that I don't particularly care for 'em:  they require an Internet connection, and I just don't trust remote data because of connectivity and security issues.

The guy I'm trying to help is OK as far as technology goes - spent most of his life in telecom - but the group he's supporting ... well!  As mentioned we're trying to bring 19th century sailing captains into the 21st century - as transportation moguls?!? - and in fairly short order.  If they don't know they're using the Web, it'd probably be OK, but one whisper and they'd lock up like clams sensing a starfish.  Already happened a few months ago, that's why my guy is seeking my help.    And, then, the management is not wild about having "our personal business" stored on the web.

I'm looking at two alternatives right now, bLADE Wiki and MemPad (WikiPad will be too confusing), and wishing I could combine elements of each into a separate app.

[Paul Keith]

Hmm... what kind of features are you looking for?

I thought you were looking for a tagging system but if a bare bones wiki is enough, you could try Tomboy Notes for Linux or TiddlyWiki.

If you're looking for a Mempad that's even more bare bones but has more features than Notepad, you could try going the route of Akelpad and then just add your preferred plug-ins.

[barney]

Yeah, Paul,

It gets kinda confusin', but I am looking for a tagging system.  Not all of 'em are Web-based.

Tomboy is out 'cause this is a Win XP shop (and because it's limited to a single _notebook_, i.e., category, not tag).  TiddlyWiki is out for the reasons noted previously about Web interfaces ... yeah I know, it's just browser, but the issues stated previously rule it out.

Currently, I'm entertaining either bLADE Wiki or Tobu as substitute vehicles.  My guy agrees that one or the other should suffice, but we're both concerned about the education requirements.

Actually, Tobu is a kind of horizontal equivalent to that app which I lost.  More limited in tags, but reasonably easy to teach, we think.

Personally, I've used InfoSelect since before it became InfoSelect - think the DOS app was Total Recall, or Instant Recall, or some such, but really don't remember.  It's a great app, and has a search capability that I've not found in any other application, but it has one great downfall - you cannot tag individual entries.  You can search on any content in any entry, but you cannot search on _classes_ of entries w/o first pigeonholing them.

What I lost was a true tagging system, the next step up, to my mind, from a hierarchical system, with a 1.x version number - no reverse ego trip involved - and a way to report unforeseen issues.

I didn't like the free-form assignment of tags, 'cause typos can kill ya in a system like that if you have very many inputs, but for this situation, particularly with the primary _search_ feature being selection of created tags, that's not a significant issue.  And since the inputs/tags are going to be in a fairly restricted arena, free-form input is not all that heinous.  I mean, reporting problems on recreational sailing vessels does not normally enter the mainstream vocabulary of other transportation modes, ya know?

Tobu seems to fill the niche pretty well.  I don't like the layout, and don't like the search implementation, but it'll likely work given the current requirements.  At least, my guy thinks so.  And it's the best we've found to date.

I apologize if I've led you all astray with the 'tag' bit.  To me, it's not a Web 2.0 thing, it existed long before the Web.  Hell, I built a personal tracking system in PC File+ (DOS 3.x, I think, but long before Windows worked) that was based upon tags/keywords.  Mind, I didn't _call_ 'em that (think I called 'em classes, but that's another word that doesn't mean the same today as when I was really creative), but that's what they were - tags. 

At this rate, if Tobu doesn't work, I'll prolly have to write the damned thing myself, and I really wasn't looking to learn how to do that with the newer languages.  Might be able to do it with PHP if I can find a decent GUI/compiler system, or maybe an older - 3 or 5 - VB version, but then that's another thread, isn't it?

Sorry, I'm tired, my mind is wandering, and I need sleep. [Why is there no smiley for yawn?]  See y'all later.

Make a good day ...
                         ... barn

[Paul Keith]

Thanks for mentioning Tobu. I haven't heard of that app before.

Haven't tried it but if resource requirements doesn't bother you, you might opt for argument mapping tools like Compendium.

Link: http://compendium.open.ac.uk/institute/

Reading Tobu's features kind of reminded me of it's List node implementation. It probably won't make much difference feature-wise though it could potentially give you more ways to present your materials.

There are other more popular ones like PersonalBrain and MindManager but I'm biased towards it because I found it's interface comfortable.

It also has a tagging system but not very well implemented and while it doesn't have the features of a wiki, it allows you to copy paste two identical objects in two different locations simultaneously.

[barney]

If anyone is still monitoring this thread, thought I'd letcha know I found the blasted thing!

The app I couldn't remember is Incollector, a minimalist note manager for Linux/Windows.  Doesn't do everything I thought it did, but it'll fit fine into the niche where it's needed.

Showed it to my guy yesterday (Sunday) and he loved it.

Also just recently found a thread on Note Managers that was started back in 2006.

Looks as though I have a lot of reading to catch up on!

Thanks for the help, folk ... lotsa new toys to play with.

[Edvard]

Nice find Barney!
(using now...) 

[Paul Keith]

Btw Barney, I must warn you that Incollector is still not stable on Windows though I didn't use it enough on Linux to find if the bugs were the same.

Sometimes adding a Search Folder causes Incollector to just shut down. I'm not sure how random it is but it's happened enough. Also the export option only exports the tags, not the search folders.

If you're not using search folders I find it pretty stable so far.

[barney]

Yah, Paul,
That's one of the problems I had ... search folders, I mean.  It seemed to work OK under Ubuntu, Feisty & Intrepid, but I can't get the search folders to work at all on this system, WinXP Media Center Edition, SP3.  One of the things I don't like about it is that you have to add a title to anything you put in - I'm spoiled by Info Select's using the first line as title if you don't specifically add one, I guess.

Don't think they'll be doing anything 'cept straight data entry, anyway, so that shouldn't be a significant problem.  Still looking for something a bit more appropriate, but this works and I don't have to write one from scratch <chortle />.