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Using a PIM to catalog files and folders
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Posted by Cassius
Jun 10, 2012 at 04:12 AM
I’m sure some of us have done this. We’ve saved a lot of files and folders, and even though we’ve put them into folders with meaningful names, we might wish to organize some of them in other ways.
The idea is to use a 2-pane PIM to accomplish this. The left pane hierarchical tree has nodes for the topics, and in the right-hand pane corresponding to each node are links (shortcuts) to the appropriate files and folders.
Many PIMS have the capability of including such links, but it is often cumbersome to create the links, or one can only create links for certain file types. What one really wants is an easy way to create such links, say by dragging a file or folder name into a right pane.
So far, I’ve only found one PIM in my collection that seems to do this for all the folders and file types I’ve tried: TreePad Business.
Hopefully, it would be useful to gather a list of other PIMS that have this “universal” drag and drop capability.
Posted by Stephen Zeoli
Jun 10, 2012 at 10:49 AM
I believe you can add MyInfo to the list, if my memory is correct. I’m not sure if each node can handle multiple links, however. (I’m not at my office, where I have access to my Windows PC to test it out.)
Another option for achieving something to this effect is TheBrain, though without the dual pane approach. Drag folders or files from Windows Explorer or (on a Mac) the Finder and it creates “virtual folders” with links to all the files in the folder
Steve Z.
Posted by Dr Andus
Jun 10, 2012 at 11:33 AM
You can also do this in ConnectedText. In the edit view you can build whatever hierarchy you like (5 levels deep) using headings (so this would be your new “folder” organisation (which can be viewed as a left pane, if you select to have the “Table of Contents” pane docked on the left), and into the hierarchy you can drag and drop folders or files. When you switch to the “view” mode, you would have the two-pane effect. In addition a “files” window can also be docked e.g. on the right, so you would have a list of all the files in a third pane.
Originally I thought I would be using UltraRecall for this sort of thing but there are several advantages doing this in CT. First, you will be able to see the contents of all the “folders” in a single page (if by “folders” we mean the new headings). Also, it is easy to rearrange the hierarchy (cut and paste or select and drag text). Finally, you can annotate any “folder” or the target folders and files directly inside their “folder” (heading), and it is all displayed in a flat view, i.e. everything is always visible (as opposed to other two-pane PIM where you can only see the contents of the folder you had clicked on).
For me the the flat view and the ability to annotate things directly and in an unlimited way are the main attraction, as they allow for a meaningful processing and analysis of the folders and files, which is the main purpose of the exercise in the end.
Another cool feature is the ability to chop up a document (e.g. a long list of folders and files as described above) and sink them into the background by packing them away into new documents to which only a hyperlink remains (which is another way to simplify a complex hierarchy, if the list gets too big).
Posted by MadaboutDana
Jun 11, 2012 at 02:41 PM
This is something that good ole’ Smereka TreeProjects does as well - very fast, and with full-text indexing as well (at least of file types it recognises). And images!
Cheers,
Bill
Posted by Alexander Deliyannis
Jun 11, 2012 at 05:57 PM
For reference, I would add UltraRecall to the list of PIMS that can do this.