DTPO and note taking (academic)

[danzac]

I don’t use keywords/tags much but I definitely see the value. What about having another column created for tags, that can be viewed (and edited) in the columned window, and getting its own section in the info window? Might be a good enhancement request.

[Gerben]

Hello,

Mark, thanks for explaining the relation between BE-files and other files. Again very helpful. RapidoWrite is also very handy (only a pityy it does not seem to work in Mellel?).

Danzac, i know and use Quicksilver: but a keyboard shortcut to invoke a script is faster than the QS thing described in the link you posted, so if possible i go for the shortcuts… But yes, QS is very nice.

Best,
Gerben

[Prion]

Gerben,
you can assign keyboard shortcuts to everything you do in QS, so the “QS thing” might be just as short as anything you do in fastscript. Just google for quicksilver custom triggers, there are many pages describing how to set them up.

I run scripts with QS using shortcuts and never had problems with that but maybe that’s me trying to prevent the number of different apps I use growing without good reason. If fastscripts works for you, good.

Prion

[danzac]

Prion,

thanks for that. It didn’t occur to me that QS could put triggers to exact scripts, just like fastscripts. thanks very much for that.

Danny

[Prion]

No Problem, we are all here to either help others or find solutions to our problems.
Quicksilver is a strange product with no real sibling in the Windows world and it has some fanatical following. I found it a tad hard to sieve through the advice I got from them when I switched because some things can just as easily be done using other tools. But some things such as running scripts by defining a custom trigger for it are genuinely useful.

Quickly resizing pics is another. Mark all of them in the Finder, call Quicksilver, press Cmd- G and tab to the second pane. I then type Sc (for scale) then tab to the third, type 150 (or whatever number of picels you want the longer side of the picture to have) and hit return. Done.
This requires the picture handling plugin to be installed BTW. Only when it is always the same size I want the target to have or need more control over the output I am using ThumbsUp which permanently resides in my Finder toolbar.

Cheers
Prion

[danzac]

I’m not sure how I would function without Quicksilver, it has basically released my need for the mouse by being able to launch any file or app in a nano-second. There is no faster way to launch bookmarks (either Safari, Firefox, or Delicious) than QS, and the latest trick of getting to the menu items of the front application is just amazing.

Since we are on the QS subject, I will mention one thing I have learned for QS that specifically relates to DEVON apps. Their is a services module for quicksilver that makes your services menu open for Qs commands. So now, if I need to jot something down quickly, launch a DT search or a DA search, I can invoke QS with its text window, type my note or search string, tab, and then choose a menu action for one of the DEVON apps.

I’ve asked before on the forum, but i’d really like to see DEVON create modules for QS. I’d like to also be able to send files to the database via QS, but if DT 2 is what it sounds like it will be, this problem will be solved with an open folders structure. This means I will be able to move documents into and within a database with QS if I need to.

[swilcox]

@alexwein

I use DT Pro to store all my research information. There is no other program that I’ve found that handles such a huge quantity of information so well.

…

I never use DT for writing or note-taking, though I know others do and are happy with it. I never could use it that way–too limited for my needs. So I use Scrivener for all writing and note-taking, project development, etc. I transfer any research material from DT Pro to Scrivener.

…

For the few projects that require a word processor, I use Mellel. Usually only for projects that involve really complex footnotes/endnotes. I wrote my dissertation in Mellel then did the final formatting in Word to send to my advisors. Otherwise, I stick to Scr.

That’s how I use DT Pro in academia!

…

Alexandria

I’m arriving late to this discussion but I just wanted to add that my workflow solution is EXACTLY the same as Alex’s. I use DTPO for my research collection. On many of my writing projects I then move to Scrivener.

For some (especially highly structured documents that I know and am quite familiar with the structure, or with scholarly articles that will require extensive references) I move directly to Mellel. It’s the next best thing to my old favorite, FrameMaker (I was using it long before Adobe bought it and eventually trashed it). For reference management with Mellel I use Bookends. The current integration of Mellel and Bookends is marvelous.

[alexwein]

Left out Bookends, which I also use for reference management. So the match IS exact.

[swilcox]

@alexwein

Left out Bookends, which I also use for reference management. So the match IS exact.

My son lives in Portland, so it gets downright spooky

[alexwein]

[smolk]

@swilcox

I’m arriving late to this discussion but I just wanted to add that my workflow solution is EXACTLY the same as Alex’s. I use DTPO for my research collection. On many of my writing projects I then move to Scrivener.

I have a similar workflow, but with some differences.

For writing I prefer Ulysses. It has a pleasant environment, I think, and the footnotes can be kept outside the main text although you may also keep them in there. The left pane can be hidden from view by a double click, which is useful on my iBook. It has great Search & Replace facilities, and above all, LaTeX-export, although the latter is in the process of being updated for the latest version, 1.5. I then export to LaTeX or to Mellel.

Real note-taking I usually confine to Tinderbox, where I can find anything fast, and where the tagging possibilities can, if necessary, be exploited to great advantage.