Hi,

I think I need your experience to find out which software can be a good part of a Zettelkasten workflow. And I think I can offer something interesting in return: a platform. On that platform, we can collect information and cross-reference resources on the web to create a useful resource to anyone interested in a Zettelkasten-style knowledge management.

I have added the two apps I have already reviewed to the Zettelkasten.de tools section to get us started. See for yourself:
http://www.zettelkasten.de/tools/

Once you drop me an e-mail, I'll gladly add a link to your personal software reviews and usage reports to the collection.

I find it hard to really compare software by some set of abstract criteria. It's easy for me to select software based on compliance to the basic Zettelkasten requirements, but this won't help anybody who is searching a good fit to her case. Instead, I think that detailed and personal write-ups of a user's experience provide deeper insight, and that this really helps to illustrate how to use an application.

This is totally a work-in-progress. I'd love to hear your opinion.

-- Christian

Christian Tietze wrote:

Once you drop me an e-mail, I'll gladly add a link to your personal
software reviews and usage reports to the collection.

Hi Christian,

It's a very interesting project, I wish you the best of luck with it. Unfortunately I'm too busy at the moment to be writing a complete review of my current Zettelkasten software (ConnectedText), but I'm happy to offer you pointers and suggestions, if you decide to review it.

I've only just adopted the Zettelkasten method a few months ago, and I can't even claim to be an authentic user of it. But just earlier today I tried to summarise the process of creating a Zettelkasten-type note in CT (sorry, didn't have time for screenshots):
http://drandus.wordpress.com/2014/04/30/taking-reading-notes-with-connectedtext/

Thanks! Screenshots of course would be nice. I'm going to add your CT posts to the collection anyway to get people started. I also think MK of takingnotenow has interesting posts on the topic. The hardest part will be to decide which posts add value for someone trying to implement a Zettelkasten with the application.

Christian Tietze wrote:

Screenshots of course would be nice.

Sorry about that. My current database is confidential and I don't have time right now to make a fake database just for the screenshots.

But I can recommend Steve Zeoli's post, which does illustrate some of CT's capabilities for a Zettelkasten:

http://welcometosherwood.wordpress.com/2012/04/08/connectedtext-does-the-work-for-you-or-a-lot-of-it-anyway/

I like Christian's project -- it is very ambitious, but is already demonstrating its value. Thank you for your work, Christian!

I mentioned somewhere (perhaps here, but I cannot find it) that the zettlekasten project is similar to what Brett Terpstra did a year or more ago with a community-sourced roundup of key features for "iText Editors". Brett created a Google spreadsheet configured to capture information about apps that fit his scope, and opened access to let readers of his blog make entries describing software they knew about. It wasn't a "review" process, but it did create a resource with more feature information about more apps than a single author could have compiled in a reasonable period.

Here's the project: http://brettterpstra.com/ios-text-editors/

Here is another possible candidate for a Zettelkasten, apparently an nvALT alternative for Windows.

Notation:
http://getnotation.com/

h/t Taking note blog:
http://takingnotenow.blogspot.co.uk/2014/05/notation.html

Dr Andus wrote:

Here is another possible candidate for a Zettelkasten, apparently an
nvALT alternative for Windows.

Notation:
http://getnotation.com/

h/t Taking note blog:
http://takingnotenow.blogspot.co.uk/2014/05/notation.html

I'm thrilled! I'd love to have a review of this app because it sounds like a real Windows alternative to my favorite note taking app. All the others couldn't keep up with nvALT's performance.

If somebody is interested in writing a review, I promise all the help I can offer. This application really is exciting!

@Paul:

Thanks for reminding me about Brett's collection. I see that such an overview can be a good starting point. Qualitative reviews are important to me, though such a list can provide app review ideas.

Christian, what would you suggest as a good Zettelkasten programme for Linux (or even better multi-platform)?

I can't recommend a specific application because I haven't had the time to test them thoroughly myself. With the help of my readers, I was able to assemble a list which might have something for you: http://christiantietze.de/posts/2014/03/baseline-zettelkasten-software-reviews/#software-i-want-to-look-at

If you happen to test some of these or stumble upon another app, I'd be happy if you tell me how it works. Of course I'd love to link to a review to provide information for others in the same situation you are in right now on zettelkasten.de/tools

I hope this experiential tip is a useful comment on this subject:
Microsoft OneNote - how to make it your 21st century Zettelkasten PIM.
https://www.donationcoder.com/forum/index.php?topic=31755.msg393032#msg393032

Missed this the first time around. You perhaps know that nvpy (Notational Velocity Python) is available for Linux. Not sure if it's the system you're looking for, but it works.

A detailed example of an implementation of the Zettelkasten method using OneNote:

http://zettelkasten.de/posts/one-note-review/