firstly, i'd like to say i've given up with texnotespro. perhaps it's just my machine or perhaps i'm just doing things with the program that i shouldn't, but it seems to crash when i'm using it. mainly when i'm tempted to use the graphic functions. i suppose i can avoid trying to draw inside the program but i always think i'll try one more time - then bang, it crashes. oh well.

i'm now thinking i just need something really simply - to stop me messing about with the program. so, i have a question:

is there a note taking program that uses individual txt files as the individual notes AND has a tree structure type view so you can see all the files/notes. even more than this i'd like the program to be able to show a tree view of txt files that are in different locations on the hard drive - and the ability for it to remember this each time i run it.

i would imagine this is a pretty simple set of requirements and maybe coding editors can do this.

any suggestions, please.

edit:
i've thought of a way of doing what i requested by using directory opus. just create a 'collection' folder named 'notes' (or whatever) then just 'send to' this collection the txt files, regardless of their location.

thanks, i'll try pspad.

i really can't make up my mind what to use. i keep trying things and then abandoning them in favour of just using a txt file. but directory opus has the advantage of being able to include folders/files in a 'collection' so i'm trying to use it as a project management system - maybe i can stick to this method.

i shall definitely give pspad a try...

I am always AMAZED by TexNotes Pro's power. The developers, via the forum, are incredibly receptive to criticisms and suggestions. They are not quick to release, though, so don't expect issues to be dealt with quickly. Just know that they will be addressed eventually.

I love TNP but only use it occasionally. For example, recently I had a job application to put together that required cv, cover letter, statement of research interests and plans, statement of teaching philosophy, and a statement of expected contributions to the department and university. It was great for organizing this, though once I was ready to do my final edit, I wound up in Word 2003 because of formatting issues. But I digress...

I agree with the assessment that what is really needed is an interface for one's data. Something like ACDSee for everything, not just multimedia stuff... I suppose that X1/Yahoo Desktop Search is close, but both are resource hogs. NeXT OS used to be sort of like this. I never used it, but my MSc supervisor for my had a NeXT box when I was using Windows 3.11 for Workgroups. I used to sit in his office in awe of the interface and power of his computer...

I like Kevin's idea for a combo file explorer/organizer - something like DOpus with built in indexing and organization capabilities...

is there a note taking program that uses individual txt files as the individual notes AND has a tree structure type view so you can see all the files/notes. even more than this i'd like the program to be able to show a tree view of txt files that are in different locations on the hard drive - and the ability for it to remember this each time i run it.

If I understand your requirement correctly, KeyNote can do precisely this. The feature is called "virtual nodes". The easiest way to make it work is to drag one or more txt files into the tree panel (not the editor area). KeyNote will prompt you to 'select import method" - choose the last option, "Import as virtual nodes". The term "import" is somewhat of a misnomer here, because the txt files will stay on disk, and KeyNote will read their contents when you open the knt file containing those virtual nodes. You can also turn any normal node into a virtual node (txt or rtf).

If you have already considered and rejected that possibility, never mind

marek

i'm pleased to see things have (momentarily) woken up on this thread and like Darwin and kfitting, my current thoughts really are that i need something like ACDSee and Directory Opus combined - add to that adobe bridge because i want to see adobe illustrator files as thumbnails.

my original request focused on using txt files as notes/nodes within a tree structure, i'm grateful for the suggestions and i shall try them out.

but i do have to admit that managing all types of files/folders within a explorer like program is what i really need. for those of you feeling adventurous then, like Darwin, i'd recommend you try playing around a bit with ACDSee. if you enable it to show all file types it does become a VERY powerful file explorer. thinking seriously for one moment it's almost insane how powerful it could be. you have the ability to tag, rate, comment and keyword on any file AND/OR folder. you can view the contents of several folders all at once - and you can collect disparate files/folders into a single category - like a project group i suppose.

so why am i not using it for such things? simply because it won't thumbnail illustrator files and they are what i use in my projects. so why don't i use adobe bridge in a similar way to ACDSee? well, it's slower and doesn't quite fit the task(s).

directory opus is almost there but ACDSee would offer you more in the way of tagging and viewing things. the main drawback for both of these programs is that you are unable to edit the files directly, i.e. you can't edit a txt file without opening it up with another program - the previews are simply for looking at the file. is that a such a terrible drawback, i guess it must be otherwise i'd be using either ACDSee or directory opus to do everything regarding txt file editing.

i understand there is a plugin architecture for directory opus so maybe it already has the ability to edit files - if not then someone ought to make such a thing for it.

i suppose the bottom line is that no matter what functionality a program has you'll always think of something missing. if the deficiency is something you can't help but dwell upon, so much so that you abandon the software, then it probably is time to go back to basics.

i think maybe dismissing something like ACDSee as a general file explorer may also be down to prejudice - it's hard not to simply see it as an image management program - anything more just seems wrong. even with the things i've just said above i'm still thinking to myself "i can't possibly use ACDSee as a file manager, it's just not cricket."

thanks, Darwin, i'll get the DO plugin.

very interesting, tomos.

i shall give your naming structure some thought as i see what you mean about the 'collections' being a bit restrictive.

the 'descriptions' thing is okay but one very nice feature of ACDSee is that if you view your files in 'thumbs + details' mode you can have a very large area for displaying notes related to each of the files - it will easily show you a paragraph of text within the columns of the details view (you do have to make the thumbnails large, though, for  it to work).

i'd like to know a keyboard shortcut for creating txt files in DO, so if you find it please let me know.

FileType NEW=.txt

When the file is created, the name of the file is \"New Text Document.txt\" with the name already highlighted in F2 rename mode.

Instead, I'd like the file to be created with the name \"Notes YYYY.MM.DD.txt\" and not be in rename mode. Is that possible?

nudone, see this thread for making new "button" for to make new text file (dopus):
http://resource.dopus.com/viewtopic.php?t=2262&highlight=default+title+file+current+date

You can then make your own shortcut in customise mode ..

Quote

FileType NEW=.txt

When the file is created, the name of the file is \"New Text Document.txt\" with the name already highlighted in F2 rename mode.

Instead, I'd like the file to be created with the name \"Notes YYYY.MM.DD.txt\" and not be in rename mode. Is that possible?

nudone, see this thread for making new "button" for to make new text file (dopus):
http://resource.dopus.com/viewtopic.php?t=2262&highlight=default+title+file+current+date

You can then make your own shortcut in customise mode ..

Hi Tomos,
I tried that, but I can see no difference in my right click menu.
Can you ellaborate on this?

I didnt know you could change the context menu there! (I knew you could do it somewhere  )

from this point you can edit it how you like. just make sure you put the command in the "function" field bit.

or you can make a toolbar/menu button with the advantage of being able to create a keyboard shortcut - or better again do both 

from the above thread:

<?xml version="1.0"?>
<button display="both" effect="gray">
   <guid>{8AA48DFB-7BA1-48DA-A412-3ACFFC2BEFA1}</guid>
   <label>Create text file (no rename mode)</label>
   <icon1>162</icon1>
   <function type="batch">
      <instruction>runmode hide</instruction>
      <instruction>echo.>"Notes {DATE|yyyy.MM.dd}.txt"</instruction>
      <instruction>dopusrt /cmd Select MAKEVISIBLE "Notes {DATE|yyyy.MM.dd}.txt"</instruction>
   </function>
</button>

again: right click a menu/toolbar> customise.
then right click toolbar where you want the button & select paste (paste the above)

That will give you a button which creates text file with title:
Notes_yyyy.MM.dd.txt    (i.e. with todays date)

- you can change this to whatever you want on this line

 <instruction>echo.>"Notes {DATE|yyyy.MM.dd}.txt"</instruction>

there's tutorials at that forum as well for creating menus, toolbars, etc

An added problem: no formatting, pictures, or tables in your notes.

urlwolf, you are right, of course.

txt files don't do much other than provide text and there won't be any way of searching within the txt files. hmm, i'd not considered this but the truth is i've never needed that kind of functionality. i work mainly with image files and just add a few notes to them to suggest further editing or possible project ideas. this is probably why i don't get very far with traditional note manager programs.

textnotespro looked like the perfect app in that it's for managing notes but you can also attach any kind of file and even draw images from within the program - only that you can't, or i can't, as it crashes when i start trying to do 'image' things with it.

i have surfulator and so i tried to use that as note manager but it's really not geared up for that kind of thing yet. i know it has the 'note' creation feature but it's too clumsy the way it works. it's great for its primary job of grabbing content from elsewhere but not for creating original content.

i like the idea of locate, i've tried it, but i tend to know exactly where my files are BUT i don't tend to know what the files are named. so it's of little use to me.