TreeSheets - an interesting and innovative note taker (freeware)

[superboyac]

This is good. No portable version?

-Hyphen (February 25, 2011, 04:45 AM)

Sometimes you can just copy the program directory to your usb stick and it works.  but I don't think there's an intentional portable version.

[Steven Avery]

Hi Folks,

Mostly, I use Linkman for freeform stuff, pointing me to web links with keywords.  However when I write and organize I usually want a simple explorer-style hierarchial notepad, preferably with tabs (tabs basically mean I do not have to open a different file or have long involved left side explorer looks ... it is simply an organizational dimension). Good RTF is essential. Stability too. Everything else is negotiable. Multi-folder-level comes in handy, 2 levels might be sufficienct.

Keynote I traditionally used.  Keynote-NF remains in the running.

TreenoteDB has a nicer look-and-feel, but they have a funny concept of "Free" where you really need "Free-registered" .. which is about $20. In terms of value, it's worth it, as is the Professional .. right now I do not like the misuse of the word free.

MyBase is pricey, the look is impressive, I am very tempted to give it a whiz. Any real downside other than $ ? Does it have real hefty-pizazz ?

Other contenders, most sans tabs, are TreePad, MyInfo, Whizfolders, AllMyNotes Organizer. I think these are some of the leaders in the more traditional look-and-feel.  Each has some special pizazz.

Granted InfoQube, Treesheets or another might also be really fine even in traditional mode.  If I remember InfoQube was special in your flexible field creation. How important that is for me, as more a database or PIM feature, I am not sure. If I try it, I may like it.

Sticking with the more traditional sense (straight hierarchy) and going around the thread theme, your thoughts ?  More exotic stuff is fine, as long as it is strong on the basic "Treepad" (Keynote, TreeDBnote)  look as well. 

Shalom,
Steven

[superboyac]

Hi Folks,

Mostly, I use Linkman for freeform stuff, pointing me to web links with keywords.  However when I write and organize I usually want a simple explorer-style hierarchial notepad, preferably with tabs (tabs basically mean I do not have to open a different file or have long involved left side explorer looks ... it is simply an organizational dimension). Good RTF is essential. Stability too. Everything else is negotiable. Multi-folder-level comes in handy, 2 levels might be sufficienct.

Keynote I traditionally used.  Keynote-NF remains in the running.

TreenoteDB has a nicer look-and-feel, but they have a funny concept of "Free" where you really need "Free-registered" .. which is about $20. In terms of value, it's worth it, as is the Professional .. right now I do not like the misuse of the word free.

MyBase is pricey, the look is impressive, I am very tempted to give it a whiz. Any real downside other than $ ? Does it have real hefty-pizazz ?

Other contenders, most sans tabs, are TreePad, MyInfo, Whizfolders, AllMyNotes Organizer. I think these are some of the leaders in the more traditional look-and-feel.  Each has some special pizazz.

Granted InfoQube, Treesheets or another might also be really fine even in traditional mode.  If I remember InfoQube was special in your flexible field creation. How important that is for me, as more a database or PIM feature, I am not sure. If I try it, I may like it.

Sticking with the more traditional sense (straight hierarchy) and going around the thread theme, your thoughts ?  More exotic stuff is fine, as long as it is strong on the basic "Treepad" (Keynote, TreeDBnote)  look as well. 

Shalom,
Steven

-Steven Avery (August 21, 2011, 02:48 PM)

Excellent analysis.  Everyone who is exploring PIMs should read this, as Steven points out some very fundamental characteristics that might help you choose one program over the other.  It's hard to make that choice because we ourselves don't really know how we prefer to keep track of information.  Our mind's mechanics is a mystery...even our own minds.

I think you are also right about Infoqube.  It's power is the flexible field creation.  Unlike other outliners, you are not limited to the fields out of the box, everything is basically up for grabs.  The presentation is fundamentally a tradional outline (top-down, indent to the right).  That being said, it's outline navigation features are also probably better than anything out there (it's based on Ecco).  It's not simple, however, and for a lot of things may be a bit overkill.

Mybase, i feel, is antiquated by now.  You may remember that I really like mybase about 5 years ago, but what does it do that's really that special?  Also, it's interface feels like it hasn't kept up with the times.

Treesheets is as simple as it gets.  Plus it is different and unique.  It is probably the simplest application of the bunch with the most powerful possibilities...I feel it's the most elegant application of these types.  Doesn't mean it's the best, though, depending on what you need to do with your info.

[Armando]

MyBase: I remember Josh chose MyBase after careful examination. I’m sure it’s worth a look.

Just a note about InfoQube as I almost know it inside out. Yes, the fields are very customizable and not just in terms of names and types (date-time, number, string, boolean), but in many other ways which would be too long to enumerate here.

But it’s not just about the fields, it’s also about items:

1- items (entries in the DB) aren’t fundamentally tied to a specific grid, data type etc. (i.e.: an item can be at the same time a calendar event, a task and a book reference),

2- items are all “equal” and somewhat “autonomous” (i.e.: an item can be a child of another specific item in a grid, the child of another one in yet another grid, and also be a top level item in another one, etc.)

And then there’s the flexibility of the grids (not to mention gantt charts, pivot tables/charts, calendar, and maps), which are almost as customizable as fields and aren't "containers" but just ways of displaying what's inside the DB. What appears in grids is conditioned by filters (i.e.: erasing a grid doesn't do anything to your items).

Of course, grid flexibility is something we grew accustomed to... But in IQ it is usually even more flexible then other PIM software using grids.

… These make data management quite flexible. Too flexible for some, of course, but ideal for others.

That flexibility allows me to use IQ to manage data for incredibly different purposes, ranging from finances to simple web-clipping.