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Offline Database/Task Manager with Local File Links?
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Posted by Organisateur
Oct 29, 2020 at 05:47 AM
Hi all, great forum!
I’ve joined because I’m looking for PIM/database/task manager with the ability to attach LOCAL FILES to tasks or list entries in a way that doesn’t move or duplicate them; i.e. I want to be able to link to, say, a PDF and a Word document, stored in folders on my computer, so that I don’t have to wade through all my folders to get to them.
If it helps, an example of the kind of thing I’m trying to manage is a translation project where I’ve got to keep track of a number of texts that are being translated and/or edited by different people and are at different stages of the process. So far I’ve been using Notion to make a database with an entry for each text that lets me know its status (needs translator, being translated, needs editing, being edited, etc.), the names and contact details of the editor and/or translator. But every text also has at least two files associated with it (usually a PDF and a Word doc) which (for other reasons) are a pain to navigate to through File Explorer.
The closest thing I’ve found so far is Notion. Notion’s database functionality gets me really close: I can make a database with a multi-select for the status of the text, a contact field for editor and another translator. But the only way to attach files to the database is to upload them, which is not feasible for a number of reasons (I’ve settled for copying the file path, which is better than nothing but still less than ideal). And also, Notion has very limited offline functionality which is a dealbreaker for me. They’ve said they’re working on local file integration and offline access, but I’m not holding my breath.
Has anyone got any recommendations? I considered Obsidian but I was hoping for something more WYSIWIG like Notion.
Thanks!
Posted by SmallDog
Oct 29, 2020 at 07:52 AM
You can put a local file in an excel cell. And if it’s an office file, you even get a thumbnail and updates live with the content of the file!
Here’s an screenshot:
https://imgur.com/nGFYv87
Steps to insert link to file:
Insert → Object → Create from File → Check ‘Link to File’ → Select File & Submit
Steps to make inserted file fit inside the cell
Right Click on Object → Format Object → Properties → Size and Move with Cell
Alternatively, theBrain can link to external local files quite easily by drag and drop. You can create a node (“Thought”) for each text to be dealt with, drag all 3 of its associated files into the app’s “Plex” area, and (provided the software setting for drag and drop behavior is set to “link” rather than “copy”), shortcuts will be created so that later when you navigate to the node you can launch any of the 3 attached files by the “open attachment” shortcut and selecting from the 3 associated files. You can also create separate nodes for each person on the project, and use e.g. a “Jump Thought” to represent the relation of “being the editor of” and a “Child Thought” to represent “being the translator of” (this is just a crude example). However there’s a bit of a learning curve, also I believe the ability to attach files is not available in the free version.
Posted by NickG
Oct 29, 2020 at 09:33 AM
This is something I’ve had to do many times over the years.
You can do a lot worse than Excel (as suggested above). My choice right now would be Curio, from Zengobi. Highly flexible, very visual and has all the tools you need to tag and track actions and files.
Other options (which have worked for me)
Omnifocus - very good at the task tracking part of what you want
OmniOutliner - more flexibility than OF, but needs more work to set up
Devonthink - but you would probably want a task manager as well
Posted by $Bill
Oct 29, 2020 at 11:37 AM
I do this daily with UltraRecall. I create a task with all the supporting documents linked to it. If a task has many supporting documents, sometimes I just create a folder - info item in UR that is synced to a local folder on the hard disk.
Posted by Organisateur
Oct 29, 2020 at 12:34 PM
Thanks all, these are some great suggestions — looking forward to working through them! I should’ve mentioned I’m on Windows, so can’t do Omnifocus. Out of interest, has anyone tried Priority Matrix as a Windows alternative to Omnifocus? Looks promising.