Adding text 'silently'?

[rgdot]

Is there a tool that makes it possible to add something like a task or any text to an app without actually opening it?

I want to add notes to a PIM lets say, I type something via the command line and it gets added silently. For example I know Lifehacker's Gina Trapani has a todo.sh tool that at least creates/appends to a text file but I don't want to get into cygwin stuff on this machine, also there are autohotkey scripts that create/append text files and of course those that send keys but they open the destination app. I know this must be dependent on the destination app as well but anyone know of any tools like that? or perhaps a PIM that natively supports adding of notes (or tasks or calendar entries) without opening it?

[mouser]

The FARR addnote command will add text lines to a text file; not the most featureful thing but it does work.
I'd love to see someone write a more advanced notetaking/searching plugin to farr.

[rgdot]

Thanx mouser, I didn't know about that one, will be one of my options at least

[rjbull]

err, at a very simple level, Unix "cat", from e.g. UnxUtils?

Code

Usage: C:\ZDIR\CAT.EXE [OPTION] [FILE]...
Concatenate FILE(s), or standard input, to standard output.

  -A, --show-all           equivalent to -vET
  -b, --number-nonblank    number nonblank output lines
  -e                       equivalent to -vE
  -E, --show-ends          display $ at end of each line
  -n, --number             number all output lines
  -s, --squeeze-blank      never more than one single blank line
  -t                       equivalent to -vT
  -T, --show-tabs          display TAB characters as ^I
  -u                       (ignored)
  -v, --show-nonprinting   use ^ and M- notation, except for LFD and TAB
      --help               display this help and exit
      --version            output version information and exit

With no FILE, or when FILE is -, read standard input.

  -B, --binary             use binary writes to the console device.


Report bugs to <bug-textutils@gnu.org>.

[rgdot]

Thank you rjbull if nothing else that's another option for me

[akx]

A simple "take note" batch file, let us call it takenote.bat, that also notes the date and time (Windows XP and above, I think, due to the command extensions used) would be...

Code

@echo off
if x%* == x goto e
date /t >> todo.txt
time /t >> todo.txt
echo %* >> todo.txt
echo ------------------------ >> todo.txt
goto q
:e
start todo.txt
:q

Basically, what that does is take the user's entered note (takenote Feed the cats!) if given, or shows the current todo.txt file if no parameters are given (takenote).
The only con I can think of here is that the date and time are somewhat messily on separate lines. I'm not that hot on the syntax for Windows's batch files to make it concatenate those on only one line.

Hope that helps!

[rgdot]

Thank you akx, will try that as well

[rjbull]

A simple "take note" batch file, let us call it takenote.bat
[...]
The only con I can think of here is that the date and time are somewhat messily on separate lines. I'm not that hot on the syntax for Windows's batch files to make it concatenate those on only one line.

If you can run to an extra little program, take a look at Horst Schaeffer's LOGECHO from his freeware PBATS collection

Code

LOGECHO 2.2 (c) 1997 Horst Schaeffer
ECHO using time/date information (case sensitive tokens):
	$D  day (01..31)	$h  hour
	$M  month (01..12)	$m  minutes
	$N  month (Jan..Dec)	$s  seconds
	$H  month (hex 1..C)	$c  sec/100
	$Y  year (00..99)
	$C  century (19|20)
	$W  day of week (Sun..Sat)
	$V  day of week (0..6)
	$Z  day of year (001..366)
	$$  '$'
	$+  new line

which would allow you to enter times and dates however you like.

[rgdot]

Another option to explore, thanx