5 ms·

How are you using org-mode for this? I have recently switched all my note-taking and task/todo management to org-mode, but I'm still figuring out how to use it

How are you using org-mode for this? I have recently switched all my note-taking and task/todo management to org-mode, but I'm still figuring out how to use it properly. At the moment, I just have a personal.org, refile.org and project specific .org files, all kinda taking the shape of headings with sub-sub-sub-sub-headings inside until there is either none or some content inside, but a personal wiki, it doesn't feel like. It feels more like ordered mess, kinda. It's definitely better than anything I've ever used before. Any good tips you want to share?

nextos 8y ago
That's not an easy question. I think you need to enforce some style guide, like Wikipedia does. org-mode is a bit like C++ or LaTeX. I say this as a good thing. It has tons of features, but you need to choose what to use and what to keep out. For me, something that works great is to keep all org files in the same folder, with a flat structure. That includes my task list and my calendar. I version control everything, except organizational things that change often instead of growing like articles. I also keep out of version control first quick drafts of any article.
- fredsir 8y ago
  Thanks for the reply!
weaksauce 8y ago
It’s nice to have a personal man page folder on different subjects. I personally use a binding in Emacs to bring up a helm buffer to select it quickly. Also, a tab completion function tied to an alias for it called “mm” so you can access it from the command line too is useful.
kornish 8y ago
Org-wiki and linking between pages is a godsend. Add a keybinding to search pages using helm and you’re up and running.
- fredsir 8y ago
  I guess I should check out helm since it's been recommended a couple of times now!
  - _asummers 8y ago
    Helm is great. Others prefer Ivy, but I prefer the way Helm works.
  - TeMPOraL 8y ago
    I don't think you really need Helm explicitly for this (though you could make use of it if you're using it for other things). The standard Emacs function for prompting for data with autocomplete is completing-read. You could build an elisp function that prompts for the name of a wiki file with completing-read, and then visits it. The autocompletion will be provided by whatever package you have configured globally - be it Helm, or Ivy, or something else. A quick example how I started using this feature - I have my half-done invoicing system (for turning time clocked on org-mode tasks into PDF invoices). An entry point to invoicing a customer may look like this: (defun invoice-customer (customer-name) (interactive (customers--completing-read-customer)) ;; TODO Create an org document containing the invoice table and link. (message "Invoicing %s" customer-name)) Note that the "interactive" declaration has a function call in it. Now the completing-read call: (defun customers--completing-read-customer () "To be used as a value of `INTERACTIVE' declaration for functions that need to read a customer value." (list (completing-read "Customer: " (mapcar #'car *customers/customers*) nil t nil nil *customers/current-customer*))) There's a bunch of parameters to completing-read, but at a glance you can see the prompt ("Customer: "), code generating a list of entries (I'm doing a mapcar over customer database; you might want to do a mapcar over a call to directory-files), and an optional default value. Or, instead of all that, you can do what I actually do for the wiki - bookmark the wiki folder itself (with C-x r m in a dired buffer), and use C-x r b foldername to jump to it, and use incremental search in the resulting dired buffer to find the entry you need.

nextos 8y ago

That's not an easy question. I think you need to enforce some style guide, like Wikipedia does. org-mode is a bit like C++ or LaTeX. I say this as a good thing. It has tons of features, but you need to choose what to use and what to keep out. For me, something that works great is to keep all org files in the same folder, with a flat structure. That includes my task list and my calendar. I version control everything, except organizational things that change often instead of growing like articles. I also keep out of version control first quick drafts of any article.

fredsir 8y ago
Thanks for the reply!

weaksauce 8y ago

It’s nice to have a personal man page folder on different subjects. I personally use a binding in Emacs to bring up a helm buffer to select it quickly. Also, a tab completion function tied to an alias for it called “mm” so you can access it from the command line too is useful.

kornish 8y ago

Org-wiki and linking between pages is a godsend. Add a keybinding to search pages using helm and you’re up and running.

fredsir 8y ago
I guess I should check out helm since it's been recommended a couple of times now!
- _asummers 8y ago
  Helm is great. Others prefer Ivy, but I prefer the way Helm works.
- TeMPOraL 8y ago
  I don't think you really need Helm explicitly for this (though you could make use of it if you're using it for other things). The standard Emacs function for prompting for data with autocomplete is completing-read. You could build an elisp function that prompts for the name of a wiki file with completing-read, and then visits it. The autocompletion will be provided by whatever package you have configured globally - be it Helm, or Ivy, or something else. A quick example how I started using this feature - I have my half-done invoicing system (for turning time clocked on org-mode tasks into PDF invoices). An entry point to invoicing a customer may look like this: (defun invoice-customer (customer-name) (interactive (customers--completing-read-customer)) ;; TODO Create an org document containing the invoice table and link. (message "Invoicing %s" customer-name)) Note that the "interactive" declaration has a function call in it. Now the completing-read call: (defun customers--completing-read-customer () "To be used as a value of `INTERACTIVE' declaration for functions that need to read a customer value." (list (completing-read "Customer: " (mapcar #'car *customers/customers*) nil t nil nil *customers/current-customer*))) There's a bunch of parameters to completing-read, but at a glance you can see the prompt ("Customer: "), code generating a list of entries (I'm doing a mapcar over customer database; you might want to do a mapcar over a call to directory-files), and an optional default value. Or, instead of all that, you can do what I actually do for the wiki - bookmark the wiki folder itself (with C-x r m in a dired buffer), and use C-x r b foldername to jump to it, and use incremental search in the resulting dired buffer to find the entry you need.