Having great fun with the latest version of Curio. It can function like an outliner on steroids.

The notes for each chapter or subdivision of a story can go in idea spaces (like pages, or corkboards), like the top level of an outline.

The new synced text objects will let notes about a character, location, or plot device appear on each sheet where it plays a role. Since they are synced, you can update the notes from anywhere they appear.

Now, let's say you have a huge Zettelkasten in a Devonthink database and you want to use a subset of your ideas for a manuscript.

If you click and option-drag a text file out of DT into Curio, you have the option of making it a file-backed text block, which can also appear in as many places as you need, each instance being in sync with all the others - and with Devonthink. You can update a note in DT and it updates in lockstep everywhere it appears in Curio. Update any instance in Curio, and Devonthink follows along. Neither has to be open when you edit a file in the other.

You can even shuffle the Devonthink database without disturbing the Curio file-backed references. When a file goes into DT, it is assigned a physical location. As you move files to different groups, that's at the user level, not at the physical storage level.

I've been messing with this for a few days, so call this a limited test run. I haven't seen a hint of a glitch. It appears quite solid.

One thing missing in the outline and mindmap tools I've used is the ability to make something appear as mirrors everywhere it's relevant.

If one were to write sequels, a story bible in DT and book plans in Curio projects would be pretty cool. 'Course, that's just daydreaming for me. I've never written anything long form. Documentation, short stories, news back in the day, and the occasional grocery list in three acts. That's about all I've been good for.

So far, heh, heh, heh.

Dang you, Amontillado, you've just gone and tickled my CRIMPing addiction – just when I thought I was getting on top of it!

Okay, okay, I lie! There's no getting on top of it. Must. Resist!

It's a cool combination.

I've had a Curio license for a long time, although I had retired Curio from most use. Older versions have minor stability issues. Nothing too serious, but enough to be frustrating. That seems to be in the past, at least from what I've seen so far. For instance, I used Curio for a math notebook, but had troubles with some equations becoming invisible. The current version opens those old notebooks without glitches.

I've also come to appreciate some of Curio's built-in features are more useful than they immediately appear.

For instance, I initially thought Curio's mind map could never replace MindNode. It's not quite as pretty as MindNode and I thought Curio's mind map was missing some features. MindNode allows notes per node, and each node can have a file attachment.


If you turn on Curio's Notes Inspector, you have notes per node - because anything in Curio can have an attached note. Mind map nodes aren't special, just like mind map nodes can have check marks. Because everything can have a check mark.

You can attach files to nodes for the same reason. File attachments are pretty much universal.

A node can have a jump target, a button linked to anywhere else. On top of that, it can have cross reference links, as many as you want, to other entities in the Curio project or to external links, including deep links into other applications. You can pile more features on a single node than you would ever want to.

All universal features. Anything in Curio can have those attributes.

It's not for everyone. For one thing, it's very solidly in the not free category. On the other hand, it does mind maps, kanban stacks, lists, and lots of organizational things. Taken as a solution for several applications in one, it's not what I would call expensive.

I might prefer Devonthink for most class notes, but I would not take a math course without Curio.

Despite my gushing, I have no association with Zengobi or their product, Curio.

And, it's not for everyone. Please don't take me too seriously, particularly when I'm having this much fun.

George posted a video presenting a simple use case for the "file-back text figure" feature he added to Curio 22:

https://youtu.be/jV5x8gm2EY4

This is a tremendous innovation -– a graphical "whiteboard"-like workspace with text or images editable on the workspace or "live" in external apps or in apps synced to collaborator's computers.

Actually, that is seriously cool.

He's come up with some ingenious ways of using Curio on multiple platforms without having to develop his own Curio Lite version for e.g. iOS (something he argues would be technically unfeasible, although I feel that the recent development of in particular iPadOS mean that's really no longer the case). Including Curiota, of course, which is a very capable data capture app that's free of charge (and worth using even if you don't use Curio).

The CRIMP is coming!!!

Paul Korm wrote:

George posted a video presenting a simple use case for the "file-back
text figure" feature he added to Curio 22:

https://youtu.be/jV5x8gm2EY4

This is a tremendous innovation -– a graphical "whiteboard"-like
workspace with text or images editable on the workspace or "live" in
external apps or in apps synced to collaborator's computers.

For my use, the coolest thing is multiple instances of file-backed text or the new synced text.

Where an outline fails for story planning is context. Probably Tinderbox would be an answer.

Curio's learning curve is far less steep.

Anyway, for context in an outline, I want an analog to a corkboard with index cards. Some of the index cards are for what the story will say at the point the corkboard addresses, other cards will be for the background information. That background will usually belong in more than one place in the story.

Curio came out with the new features just in time. Next week I wander Galveston Island with my laptop.

Fun times!

That sounds fun!

While I'm thinking about it, I'd just remind Mac users reluctant to pay Curio's rather robust subscription charges that there is a very capable free alternative in the form of GrowlyNotes (from growlybird.com). The software itself is similar to OneNote, but has impressively broad import options, including a Curio-a-like range of PDF import possibilities, and integrates nicely into macOS Services.

It's under ongoing development, and the latest version 4.2.7 dates from February 2022. I've had very occasional instability issues on Monterey, but I've never lost any data. Personally, I use it for multiple document drafting (like OneNote, each "page" is a more or less unlimited whiteboard – oh, and it supports collaboration, too), but also for storing notes on specific projects etc. (rather usefully, you can embed multiple documents and PDFs in a single page – you can use a page as a storage area for "embedded" files, even if GrowlyNotes doesn't support them itself).

It doesn't have an iOS version, unfortunately (there was one, but it never really took off, so the developer sensibly stopped working on it). You can, however, link to files so that they are regularly updated within GrowlyNotes, so you can set up links with specific files or folders in e.g. iCloud. GrowlyNotes is, in many respects, much more powerful than OneNote itself (the developer is ex-Microsoft).

Finally, the search function is seriously efficient and very fast.

Just a reminder!
Cheers,
Bill

Thanks for that link and you're right. Curio is expensive. I don't have OneNote on my Macs because of the Microsoft marketing juggernaut. GrowlyNotes, totally different.

Looks impressive.