The bundle is very nice, lightweight and fast. Excellent.
One thing I do not like is: for me it is very convenient to use text files containing a lot of stuff besides the projects: e.g., additional information, a list of the steps already taken, telephone numbers, how-to reminders, etc etc. This is extremely handy. When I open the file concerning a certain group of related projects, all the info I need is already there and makes it faster to write the details of projects or do the actions.
Now the problem with GTDalt is that any extraneous line gives an error. Wouldn't it be nicer if anything which is not contained in a project...end pair would simply be ignored, so that the file could be used in a more flexible way? This should not be too difficult to do if I understand scopes (unless it's a feature...)
Thanks, Piero
On 8 Nov 2006, at 23:44, Piero D'Ancona wrote:
The bundle is very nice, lightweight and fast. Excellent.
One thing I do not like is: for me it is very convenient to use text files containing a lot of stuff besides the projects: e.g., additional information, a list of the steps already taken, telephone numbers, how-to reminders, etc etc. This is extremely handy. When I open the file concerning a certain group of related projects, all the info I need is already there and makes it faster to write the details of projects or do the actions.
Now the problem with GTDalt is that any extraneous line gives an error. Wouldn't it be nicer if anything which is not contained in a project...end pair would simply be ignored, so that the file could be used in a more flexible way? This should not be too difficult to do if I understand scopes (unless it's a feature...)
Thanks, Piero
Use a URL in a note. Create a note with control-{. Create a link with control-N, give a brief description, replace the 'http://' with 'file://' followed by the file path of a text file containing your notes. When in the note, control-L will open the links in the note. Your text file with your notes will open. Best, Mark
Mark Eli Kalderon <eli@...> writes:
On 8 Nov 2006, at 23:44, Piero D'Ancona wrote:
Wouldn't it be nicer if anything which is not contained in a project...end pair would simply be ignored, so that the file could be used in a more flexible way?
Use a URL in a note. Create a note with control-{. Create a link with control-N, give a brief description, replace the 'http://' with 'file://' followed by the file path of a text file containing your notes. When in the note, control-L will open the links in the note. Your text file with your notes will open. Best, Mark
Thank you, but this is not a solution for me. Of course I can keep projects and notes in different files, my request was exactly about the possibility to have them in the same text file. My project files are at the same time logs of the work already done in a certain area, a collection of background information, and the place where I think about new actions. You propose to create a net of inter-related files which I feel would be more difficult to maintain for me (and would make more difficult to use a different text editor if I need to).
Piero
On 9 Nov 2006, at 10:31, Piero D'Ancona wrote:
Mark Eli Kalderon <eli@...> writes:
On 8 Nov 2006, at 23:44, Piero D'Ancona wrote:
Wouldn't it be nicer if anything which is not contained in a project...end pair would simply be ignored, so that the file could be used in a more flexible way?
Use a URL in a note. Create a note with control-{. Create a link with control-N, give a brief description, replace the 'http://' with 'file://' followed by the file path of a text file containing your notes. When in the note, control-L will open the links in the note. Your text file with your notes will open. Best, Mark
Thank you, but this is not a solution for me. Of course I can keep projects and notes in different files, my request was exactly about the possibility to have them in the same text file. My project files are at the same time logs of the work already done in a certain area, a collection of background information, and the place where I think about new actions.
Put them in a separate file in the same project ?
Specifically, put *all* of the .gtd files in a single folder reference inside a .tmproj container e.g.:
_INBOX.txt GTDAlt/ myFirstGTDfile.gtd mySecondGTDfile.gtd etc.gtd Code/ whatever.css foo.rb index.php etc.html Drafts/ myDraft.markdown Meetings/ bigProject2006-11-09.markdown etc/
As you can see, this has a particular advantage that might persuade you to give up the notion of having everhing pertaining to a project in a single file: you can use different syntaxes for different aspects of the project: .gtd for your actions, .markdown for meeting notes ?, the appropriate syntax for each of your code files etc and the GTDAlt bundle still works from anywhere within the .tmproj container.
You propose to create a net of inter-related files which I feel would be more difficult to maintain for me
no more difficult to maintain than any other single folder of files.
(and would make more difficult to use a different text editor if I need to)
well, that's true, but GTDalt only works in TextMate.
mark.
On 9 Nov 2006, at 14:52, Mark Smith wrote:
On 9 Nov 2006, at 10:31, Piero D'Ancona wrote:
Mark Eli Kalderon <eli@...> writes:
On 8 Nov 2006, at 23:44, Piero D'Ancona wrote:
Wouldn't it be nicer if anything which is not contained in a project...end pair would simply be ignored, so that the file could be used in a more flexible way?
Use a URL in a note. Create a note with control-{. Create a link with control-N, give a brief description, replace the 'http://' with 'file://' followed by the file path of a text file containing your notes. When in the note, control-L will open the links in the note. Your text file with your notes will open. Best, Mark
Thank you, but this is not a solution for me. Of course I can keep projects and notes in different files, my request was exactly about the possibility to have them in the same text file. My project files are at the same time logs of the work already done in a certain area, a collection of background information, and the place where I think about new actions.
Put them in a separate file in the same project ?
Specifically, put *all* of the .gtd files in a single folder reference inside a .tmproj container e.g.:
_INBOX.txt GTDAlt/ myFirstGTDfile.gtd mySecondGTDfile.gtd etc.gtd Code/ whatever.css foo.rb index.php etc.html Drafts/ myDraft.markdown Meetings/ bigProject2006-11-09.markdown etc/
As you can see, this has a particular advantage that might persuade you to give up the notion of having everhing pertaining to a project in a single file: you can use different syntaxes for different aspects of the project: .gtd for your actions, .markdown for meeting notes ?, the appropriate syntax for each of your code files etc and the GTDAlt bundle still works from anywhere within the .tmproj container.
You propose to create a net of inter-related files which I feel would be more difficult to maintain for me
no more difficult to maintain than any other single folder of files.
(and would make more difficult to use a different text editor if I need to)
well, that's true, but GTDalt only works in TextMate.
mark.
Piero, I don't know how to do what you want or even if it is possible, but let me second Mark's suggestion here---it really is more efficient to have complex info broken up into different files. TextMate's projects make it easy to keep on top of them. I do something similar. Within the context of a project I found it actually *easier* to maintain. Though of course there are always costs to changing workflow but these are minor and temporary. Sorry not to be of more help. All the best, Mark
On Nov 9, 2006, at 10:19 AM, Mark Eli Kalderon wrote:
Piero, I don't know how to do what you want or even if it is possible, but let me second Mark's suggestion here---it really is more efficient to have complex info broken up into different files. TextMate's projects make it easy to keep on top of them. I do something similar. Within the context of a project I found it actually *easier* to maintain. Though of course there are always costs to changing workflow but these are minor and temporary. Sorry not to be of more help.
First of all keep in mind, that actions CAN appear outside of projects, all on their own. This is not going to change.
Let me first of all "third" the two Marks' points and suggestions. This is partly the reason I have not allowed this at the moment. The other was for easier troubleshooting in the early stages. I have been thinking about it though, and might make a change official at some point.
What basically is going on now is that the main parser throws an exception whenever it finds something that it can't handle. You can change this behavior, and I am about to describe how, but before I do so let me issue a warning, that this might have unfortunate repercussions. If for whatever reason one of your action lines cannot be processed properly, because a bracket is misplaced or something, then GTDAlt will simply ignore it and not tell you anything about it. This would however allow you to add arbitrary lines anywhere in your file.
Second, before I move with the other suggestion, let me also point out that you can already add any lines you like, *provided* they are commented, namely starting with a # and a space after it. These comments will simply be ignored by the parser.
If you do still want to allow any arbitrary lines to show up in your file, then you have open the file Support/GTD.rb that lives within the bundle, and locate line 41, which says:
else raise "Parse error on line: #{l}\n. This is not a line I recognize."
Then simply remove this line.
All the best, Mark
Haris
Charilaos Skiadas <skiadas@...> writes:
If you do still want to allow any arbitrary lines to show up in your file, then you have open the file Support/GTD.rb that lives within the bundle, and locate line 41, which says:
else raise "Parse error on line: #{l}\n. This is not a lineI recognize."
Then simply remove this line.
Perfect. Even with the risk of overlooking an action because of a typing error, I like this mod a lot.
Also: I did not know you could embed an @action anywhere in the text. This is even better than I thought, and of course I do not want to change this behaviour. Actually I could use this feature almost exclusively,...
Thanks, Piero
Mark Eli Kalderon <eli@...> writes:
---it really is more efficient to have complex info broken up into different files.
To both Marks: on the contrary, thank you for your very interesting ideas. I'm no GTD expert and still groping to find my way. You are probably right, it is more efficient to keep separate files, but at the price of structuring stuff, and, what is the worst for me, to remember the structure you have given to stuff. And switching to a different structure (or, say, checking one's files on a USB pen on a different computer) is more difficult.
It is the same with e-mail: many people classify and archive mail into different folders. I tried but this actually slows me down (bad memory I guess): after 3 months I do not remember where I put things. So I must use the search capabilities of my computer to find things. So, in the end, it is quicker for me to leave everything in my Inbox and just search. It works perfectly, I do not have to remember anything at all.
Structuring stuff has also another very bad disadvantage for me: folders and files which are "out of sight" become more like hiding places. I need to have everything thrown up in my face at the press of a key to really use it.
Very probably it's just me, but I prefer to put everything in one place and let the computer do the work. That's why I bought it in the first place... But again, I am still finding my way.
Thank you, Piero
Structuring stuff has also another very bad disadvantage for me: folders and files which are "out of sight" become more like hiding places. I need to have everything thrown up in my face at the press of a key to really use it.
Just to address this one issue. If you structure things the way that Mark suggested, then dragging the root directory to the TextMate icon will create a project, and you can visually inspect the contents of the project (the files and folders) in the drawer. If it is not open press control-option-command-D to toggle the drawer.
All the best, Mark
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Charilaos Skiadas -
Mark Eli Kalderon -
Mark Smith -
Piero D'Ancona