Software for bridging gap between notes and digital media

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Posted by Slartibartfarst
Mar 10, 2020 at 02:53 PM

Duplicate reply, hopefully including relevant URLs this time…

@Nomatica:
From experience, I have observed that it’s not often that computer PIM (Personal Information Management) tool users sit down and methodically analyse and try to understand exactly what their PIM requirements are, let alone what data types they need to cater for. I was thus struck by the “list of files” you provided - per copy of text of your post of Mar 4, 2020 at 10:31 PM, copied below.

A good deal of what you seem to be looking for - including the various data types - is covered in a post relating to a personal, now 10-year experiment in the use of Microsoft OneNote (which can provide Cloud-based AND/OR Client-based PIM databases) - refer:
Microsoft OneNote - how to make it your 21st century Zettelkasten PIM.
https://www.donationcoder.com/forum/index.php?topic=31755.msg393032#msg393032

Whilst that (the use of OneNote) includes:
* the automatic OCR and indexing and search of all text embedded in images and handwriting on touchscreens (which latter is a feature that I currently do not need);
* the automatic indexing and search of text in inotes, web clippings, etc.;
* the automatic indexing and search of intelligible words/phrases (in many languages) in audio files and the audio tracks of video files;

- it does NOT provide the following 3 things:

1. An elegant/feasible solution to your apparent requirements relating to extensive image metadata. The best tools that I could recommend for that are:
- the excellent CHS (ClipboardHelp& Spell - which is a database tool where all text can be exported/imprted to/from a spreadsheet format, if required), which can be integrated with an image management tool (I use the excellent Irfanview) and an image editing/screen-capture tool (I use the excellent ScreenshotCaptor) - refer:
Re: snipping tool with image editor - Using CHS as an image clip management tool
http://www.donationcoder.com/forum/index.php?topic=42594.msg398587#msg398587

- to be used in conjunction with the amazing Picasa - refer:
Google Picasa “Sunset” version - Mini-Review and anchor-point
http://www.donationcoder.com/forum/index.php?topic=44983.msg416459#msg416459

2. An elegant/feasible solution to your apparent requirements relating to DM/ARM (Document Management/Academic Reference Management) and indexing/search of the text in douments/references. The only and best tool that I could recommend (scans your drive or specific folders and does cataloguing and automatic OCR of image-based PDFs also) for that is the superb Qiqqa - refer:
http://www.qiqqa.com/

3. A general file metadata tool. The simplest and most effective tool that I have found and which I would recommend for that is not a file cataloguing tool, or similar, but a humble application-sensitive or file-sensitive (you can use it how you want) note-making application that saves its notes (metadata) to a text file linked to a relevant application window or file properties name, which text file [fully searchable on the drive] can be set to pop up in a discrete window whenever a particular application, screen, browser window or *file properties box* is opened up - refer:
Stick-A-Note + Universal Viewer - Mini-Review
https://www.donationcoder.com/forum/index.php?topic=31349.0
__________________________

Access, Search and Retrieval benefits of the above:
The above relate to working with the concept of YHDAD “Your Hard Drive [and Cloud drive] As Database”.
Thus, with the possible exception of some of the complex image-specific metadata that Picasa may need to create (depending on what you use it for - e.g., linking people’s faces to their IDs/profiles/email addresses in your Gmail contacts), the applications referred to above do NOT lock your notes, data types and related metadata up in a proprietary tool/database, which means that most/all files on your client hard drive and in linked Cloud-based stores (such as OneDrive) can be indexed and searched by:
- WDS (Windows Desktop Search) - as installed with the Windows OS.
- GDS (Google Desktop Search) -

Filenaming methods:
Be aware that, with the limit on filename/path langths in Windows having been increased to some obscene size, filenames have become potentially very much more useful for containing lots of metadata and which can include Tags (so you DON’T need a proprietary tagging subsytem).

Two examples:

Example 1: If I am manging (say) a project called “CASE Implementation” which has a file-naming convention such that all documents created are titled thus:
ISODateOfCreation DescriptiveFileNameOrTitle (VersionNumber) STATUS (InitialsOfAuthor).Extension
- then I might have a report about it in an MS-Word document named thus:
2020-03-11 [CASE Implementation] - Review of CASE tools offering IDEF0+3+ABC modelling (V01.52) DRAFT (JB).docx
Here, the ISODate is at the front for ease of cataloguing and sorting and the square brackets are used deliberately to create a Tag: [CASE Implementation]
Creating [Tags] like that out of parts of a filename can be extremely useful when searching for that metadata using a fast file search tool such as (say), Everything.
Later. I might want to add another Tag to that file, so I might rename it thus - by adding a Tag of the name of the tool the report recommends most - [Platinum] software.
So the new name is:
2020-03-11 [CASE Implementation] - Review of CASE tools offering IDEF0+3+ABC modelling (V01.52) DRAFT (JB)[Platinum].docx
(The added Tag can be anywhere you think it fits without breaking the sense of the filename description or the filename convention.)

Example 2: Let’s say that I want to capture a web page that I am reading containing a blog post - maybe in case it gets expunged later - in such a way as to have it on disk, as a single file, so that it can be indexed and catalogued by the search tools (WDS or GDS). I can do this most easily and space-efficiently by saving it as an .MHTML file (a sort of .ZIP email file) - which can be saved by the browser (and opened/viewed within the browser or other viewing tools) - and I would use a similar filenaming convetion as above:
ISODateOfBlogPost TitleOfBlogPost - RelatedDomainOrOtherMetaData.Extension
So the filname that I “Save As” might be:
2020-03-11 Review of [Platinum] CASE Tool and bugs - casenet.com.mhtml
Here I have Tagged the [Platinum] part of the blog post title; the full URL will be contained in the .mhtml file.
______________________

That’s all I have to suggest in terms of recommended “PIM tools that work really well for me” as an IT nerd, but of course your specific requirements could be different to mine. I’m still not entirely “sold” on OneNote, as it still leaves a lot to be desired in terms of ergonomics and structruring of data - the latter being something that the excellent IQ (InfoQube) seems to be rather good at.
___________________________

You might also find this interesting:
There is one rather novel PIM tool that specifically I would suggest you might be interested in, but I personally have not yet fully explored it.
It is KFTF-Planz:
Keeping Found Things Found™ - refer: https://kftf.ischool.washington.edu/planz_install.html
Version 8.2 (2010-06-18)
Refer also: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Planz
It is based on the concept of YHDAD.

Having read the background to its development history, it seems like quite a nifty application, but CAUTION: In use, it can accesses and manipulate actual data (files) on the hard drive (i.e., not really in a self-contained proprietary database), so, if trialling, you may need to use the tool carefully. If the tool is used incorrectly, then you could indvertently delete that data with no warning or “Undo” capability (apart from retrieving it from the Recycle bin, or a backup).
The application seems to have been finished OK and works OK, but it seems to have been abandoned in 2010 (no further updates/maintenance), and though the website is still alive (and exists in Wayback), the forum (uses the old phpBB bulletin board software) seems to be present, but defunct.
There is an interesting report on XooML:
XooML: XML in Support of Many Tools Working on a Single Organization of Personal Information
https://kftf.ischool.washington.edu/docs/XooML,%20tech%20report.pdf

Hope this all helps or is of use/interest.

_________________________________
Posted by Nomatica
Mar 4, 2020 at 10:31 PM

(must not have copied all the text to my post)
> >These are the types of files I work with:
> >Photos Notes (a photo taken to remember something)
>Voice Memos (phone & voice recorder)
>Saved Web Pages (offline)
>Saved pages (read it later)
>Bookmarks
>Screen Captures
>Copied Text (win clipboard)
>Emails & File attachments
>Audio & Video Interviews & and accompanied notes (text)
>PDFs, Open/MS word documents, power-point slides
>PDF Notes/ Highlights
>Scanned Documents, Business cards, Family Artifacts
>Notes & Journal entries (text, video & audio)
>Hand Written notes with pen and paper then scanned (though I would like
>to switch to a tablet).
>Contacts (Personal, & Business)
>Photography & Video files (downloaded from camera)
> >Thank you

Posted by Slartibartfarst
Mar 10, 2020 at 02:54 PM

OK. I give up.

Posted by Nomatica
Mar 11, 2020 at 02:44 PM

Slartibartfarst wrote:
Duplicate reply, hopefully including relevant URLs this time…
> >@Nomatica:
>From experience, I have observed that it’s not often that computer PIM
>(Personal Information Management) tool users sit down and methodically
>analyse and try to understand exactly what their PIM requirements are,
>let alone what data types they need to cater for. I was thus struck by
>the “list of files” you provided - per copy of text of your post of Mar
>4, 2020 at 10:31 PM, copied below.

I am not sure if this was exactly a choice. These files make up my digital landscape and I want to be able to work within that landscape.

>A good deal of what you seem to be looking for - including the various
>data types - is covered in a post relating to a personal, now 10-year
>experiment in the use of Microsoft OneNote (which can provide
>Cloud-based AND/OR Client-based PIM databases) - refer:
> Microsoft OneNote - how to make it your 21st century Zettelkasten
>PIM.
>
>https://www.donationcoder.com/forum/index.php?topic=31755.msg393032#msg393032
>

I will look up the posts reviews you mentioned. Specifically the Zettlekasten and Onenote. My experience with people using zettelkasten is that they try to keep text based with a few photos. I will look at OneNote.
> - it does NOT provide the following 3 things:

>
>1. An elegant/feasible solution to your apparent requirements relating
>to extensive image metadata. The best tools that I could recommend for
>that are:
> - the excellent CHS (ClipboardHelp& Spell - which is a database tool
>where all text can be exported/imprted to/from a spreadsheet format, if
>required), which can be integrated with an image management tool (I use
>the excellent Irfanview) and an image editing/screen-capture tool (I use
>the excellent ScreenshotCaptor) - refer:
> Re: snipping tool with image editor - Using CHS as an image clip
>management tool
>
>http://www.donationcoder.com/forum/index.php?topic=42594.msg398587#msg398587
> > - to be used in conjunction with the amazing Picasa - refer:
> Google Picasa “Sunset” version - Mini-Review and anchor-point
>
>http://www.donationcoder.com/forum/index.php?topic=44983.msg416459#msg416459

I will refer to the posts above. I am very curious how you use CHS to edit metadata and as an image management tool….

>
>2. An elegant/feasible solution to your apparent requirements relating
>to DM/ARM (Document Management/Academic Reference Management) and
>indexing/search of the text in douments/references. The only and best
>tool that I could recommend (scans your drive or specific folders and
>does cataloguing and automatic OCR of image-based PDFs also) for that is
>the superb Qiqqa - refer:
> http://www.qiqqa.com/
>

I will take a look. I see that it was recently open sourced.

>3. A general file metadata tool. The simplest and most effective tool
>that I have found and which I would recommend for that is not a file
>cataloguing tool, or similar, but a humble application-sensitive or
>file-sensitive (you can use it how you want) note-making application
>that saves its notes (metadata) to a text file linked to a relevant
>application window or file properties name, which text file [fully
>searchable on the drive] can be set to pop up in a discrete window
>whenever a particular application, screen, browser window or *file
>properties box* is opened up - refer:
> Stick-A-Note + Universal Viewer - Mini-Review
> https://www.donationcoder.com/forum/index.php?topic=31349.0

As the sticky note is just a text file, it seems as though there would be no limit of how long the note could be. I am imagining a long note with a date stamp on vairous application windows. Based on the review thread it looks like how well it works might depend on how the application you are using it with handles the naming of windows. Having the note linked to the program. I have also wondered if there was a way to do this, and also create a shortcut within the note that will open the specific file, within the application? I am curious if you have tried any other programs like this since.

Posted by washere
Mar 11, 2020 at 03:02 PM

No man’s land and twilight between two genres, why The Brain sells well though it’s not exactly the fit nor bridging the gap. Might like to re-engineer a quote with brackets:

Laughter is day (a good Outliner software), and sobriety is night (a good multi FileTypes visual manager, rare in itself if not non-existent); a smile is the twilight (non-existent hybrid app) that hovers gently between both, more bewitching than either.

Posted by Nomatica
Mar 11, 2020 at 04:27 PM

washere wrote:
No man’s land and twilight between two genres, why The Brain sells well
>though it’s not exactly the fit nor bridging the gap. Might like to
>re-engineer a quote with brackets:
> >Laughter is day (a good Outliner software), and sobriety is night (a
>good multi FileTypes visual manager, rare in itself if not
>non-existent); a smile is the twilight (non-existent hybrid app) that
>hovers gently between both, more bewitching than either.

Well said.

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