Any new, improved Phone Note scripts or templates?

@Greg’s advice is very sound and spot-on for those who rely on the classify AI features of DEVONthink.

The image posted is from Rachel Leow’s blog – a part of a series she wrote a few years ago on using DEVONthink for historical research. I don’t think she uses tagging at all, so the long document names are probably not a problem for her. They are, however, essential to her workflow. For classification she relies on labels and a very clever (albeit complex) technique for using smart groups. I recommend Rachel’s three articles in the series (I, II, and III) as good reading for anyone interested in DEVONthink for research.

Thank you so much, guys! This is great, and it gives me a lot to chew on. @Greg, you gave a terrific summation! @korm’s suggestion for enabling database for groups-as-tags tagging to create easier replication was revelatory. And so, I was just trying to understand the functional benefits / costs of applying the “Exclude from Tagging” for certain groups. You’ve graciously outlined how it would affect the organizational structure, e.g., through creating an even larger number tags, and how that could overwhelm a tagging system, etc. I suppose I didn’t see the groups-as-tags tagging as having an impact on tag numbers or structure (i.e., my groups-as-tags don’t re-appear as tags), which is why I was wondering if there was any other feature I was overlooking in the default/“Exclude from Tagging” DB & group setup.

Anyway, I thank you again for the examples and the literature on groups, tags, and DB organization. That stuff is incredibly helpful. We all experiment w/ different ways of organizing DTP, but seeing other organization layouts for these and other DTP features is enormously helpful! I know these kinds of examples are floating around disparate parts of the forum, as well as in other corners of the web, but I’d suggest we create a space – some kind of central clearinghouse – for these kinds of templates, examples, literature and images for DTP groups, tags, and DB organization (while it overlaps w/ other tag/group approaches, it seems to me that DTP has its own, particular features and setup).

Maybe this are lady exists already, and if that’s the case please disregard! Just thought it might be helpful…

Thank you again, everyone! Once again, you’ve been tremendously helpful…

I was just suggesting a seperate topic could be created within the forum where image, literature and templates on DB organization (i.e., tags and groups) could reside. Just trying to be helpful to the community.

Just following up about this with a quick question… Is there app one could recommend for note taking (or a text editor) that would work in conjunction w/ this macro setup that @korm described here?

I’ve traditionally just used TextEdit, but maybe there’s another, better solution. I’d like to use something that’s similarly straightforward, has spell checker (at least a red underline) – but perhaps there’s something that also saves to the iCloud (and maybe syncs to an iPad app), and allows me to save the document as an RTF to DTP (obviously, TextEdit does that). I suppose Pages could be another solution, though I also like some apps that have unified folder system like Notes or Ulysses. Some have suggested using Evernote. While Evernote has great syncing ability, a nice interface for basic notetaking, and helpful tagging (along with other features), it doesn’t allow users to save documents as an RTFs.

Does anyone have any other ideas / suggestions about notetaking app solutions – that would also work with @korm’s macro setup?

Thanks!

DEVONthink.

I’ve been tinkering around with this, per your suggestions. I was hoping to create a template w/ TextEdit, since it doesn’t have to be opened w/in DTP (which just means it’s quicker to open when I need to take quick notes) and TextEdit documents are automatically saved on the iCloud, allowing a kind of autosave and filing for later. Sadly, one cannot create templates in TextEdit, so I’ve just tweaked the default settings a bit – and will employ the kind of snippet you suggested (via TextExpander).

But it seems that one might be able to also create a template (e.g., a “Note Taking template”) that would include the desired file format, and include the kinds of fields that exists in the DTP’s Phone Note template or our respective snippets – and then one could quickly launch this template w/ Quicksilver, Alfred, etc. I don’t know if there’s another app that might work w/ setting up this kind of template – i.e., one that can create an RTF, be launched outside of DTP, first saved via the iCloud, and contain the kinds of automated fields (date/time) and other, particular fields.

Sure. Pages, Word, Numbers, Excel, Tap Forms, Nisus Writer, Mellel … and probably a dozen or more in addition. All can be used to make forms/templates that can be exported to a cloud as RTF.

That’s an interesting approach… What about Scrivener? That might be another way to go. I’m trying to figure out how to create proper template files, instead of files that I’d be able to launch and then have to “Save As…” each time I want to use an iteration of that file type. Make sense?

Using Scrivener to build templates for a single file is like hiring a commercial prep kitchen to peel an apple. IMO, of course. 8)

Afraid I don’t know what “a proper termplate file” is, actually. Every app does its own thing.

I’m not aware of templates in any app that don’t require you to use “Save As” to save your data.

Good point! Yeah, well…one of my next tasks is trying to see how best to integrate / coordinate between DTP and Scrivener. Trying to find the latest and greatest info about that.

Right. So, when I create & open a new template in Word, it creates a pre-formatted document (e.g., a letter template tailored to my needs). When I open it, it appears as “Document1” (instead of “Letter with header template”), and so I can can just save it and not be afraid that I’ve accidentally changed the actual template – that is, if I reflexive hit “Save” instead of “Save As…”

As I said, I’m just trying to create such a template for note taking docs (using the time/date & subject schema we discussed) that can hopefully be initially saved to the iCloud (or even DropBox), and then allows me to save the document as an RTF to DTP. I thought I might be able to do this through TextEdit (and maybe a variation of the TextExpander snippet you suggested). But TextEdit doesn’t do templates, and maybe there’s a better app for this.