InfoQube IM - Community

Submitted by dyuhas on 2010/01/08 10:59

I found IQ via a mention by James Fallows on his blog. It looks extremely promising. It's also, at this point in the development cycle, extremely frustrating and confusing. Couple of questions:

1 - Import of Evernote data does not seem to work. Is this feature enabled?

2 - The Firefox extension does not seem to work. Or perhaps the data is being store somewhere that is not obvious? Is this feature enabled?

Comments

Hi dyuhas.

Not to be disagreeable but I think a better way to put it, is that you are frustrated & confused about how to get started in IQ. IQ is much more mature than the numbering would indicate & is basically easy to use once you grasp a very few basic functions of the program but let's put that aside.

IQ has a learning curve like any other program but the concept is relatively simple. IQ can function as a pure outliner or as a grid... your choice. If you haven't done so yet you might take a look @ the getting started documentation for some of the basic ideas. www.sqlnotes.net/drupal5/index.php

This is a very friendly forum & we all help each other. The developer, Pierre, is extremely supportive as well as being very active on the development side. So ask your questions and we'll all help you get started.

On to your current questions:

Evernote - I don't know anything about importing Evernote but so I can't help you there.

I use the Firefox extension every day, currently FF v3.57. IQ adds the data as an item. There is a grid called the "Journal". That grid is filtered for any new item activity in IQ, i.e. anything you add to IQ in any way can be seen there. You can also create a new grid & call in "InBox" or "Entry Point" or anything you want & get the same effect.

Perhaps if you described the steps you were taking I -- we -- somebody can be more precise in helping you clip to IQ -- a really simple matter I can assure you.

Welcome to the forum.

Jan Rifkinson

Ridgefield CT USA

HP Blackbird Vista Ultimate SP-2

Jan -

Please don't take my remarks about IQ as disparaging.

I found the Journal grid in the sample data. It does not seem to be accepting data from either the FF extension or the shell extension (right-click menu). How would I confirm that it is configured to accept data?

I've read (ad nauseum) page 6.10 - Grabbing, Linking and Clipping Web content (in addition to the Getting Started documentation). None of what is described on that page works.

For the record, after I select text (by highlighting) I either click the FF ext "Copy Content to InfoQube" button or right-click and select "InfoQube: Copy Content." I know the both methods are putting the selected text into the clipboard (I checked) but if they're putting it into IQ I, as of yet, don't know how to find it.

The Win + C hotkey opens a gmail compose window and pastes the selected text into the body of the message. Not the default behavior I assume?

Another example: the method of grabbing entire web pages does not bring up the Add New Item dialog as described in the docs. And Alt-H, which is supposed to display the HTML pane, instead selects IQ's Help menu item. Shift+F12 displays the HTML pane in my version (Version 0.9.25Pre-Rel13 build 12/31/2009 4:04:54 PM Beta) of IQ.

IQ, in its present state, has all the hallmarks of a lone programmer who is in slightly above his/her head (I've been there). I've read elsewhere that IQ has been in beta for 2 years. If that's true, and I can't make substantial progress up the learning curve in the next day or two, I'll probably put IQ on the back burner for 6 months.

try one more 'copy content' from FF (select text >> Copy Content or Create Link when no text selected)

(Your file/database should be open in IQ)

Take note -

what is selected under 'Assign to' [default is 'inbox']

is anything selected under 'Other fields' ?

If inbox isnt selected, tick it

In IQ - open the Inbox grid (Ctrl+Shift+O will give you a list of Grids)

Your clippings from FF should be there

[edit - updated first line]

[edit #2 - after clipping content you have to refresh the grid if it's already open - F5]

It also occurs to me that s/he may not have opened HTML pane <F12>

Jan Rifkinson

Ridgefield CT USA

HP Blackbird Vista Ultimate SP-2

F5 was the answer.

This is slightly ridiculous. An event handler should execute to do the refresh after a copy operation. And there's no mention of F5 on page 6.10. If there is, I missed it.

Thanks for the help.

Dave

[quote=dyuhas]I found the Journal grid in the sample data. It does not seem to be accepting data from either the FF extension or the shell extension (right-click menu). How would I confirm that it is configured to accept data?

I've read (ad nauseum) page 6.10 - Grabbing, Linking and Clipping Web content (in addition to the Getting Started documentation). None of what is described on that page works.

[/quote]

You first need to understand how IQ works.

I really suggest you start from the first sections (getting started, etc.) of the manual

Here are a couple starting points :

1- grids display items which are in the Database, but they don't "contain" items per se. They show items base on the filter criterias specified in the source bar (alt-s or grid menu-->show source bar).

So if you import items into the database, they might not show in any grid unless you specify the right filters. Here's an example of a grid source : contact (this a field name which would be written in the source text box of the source bar)

2- To see everything the DB contains. just remove all source and filters from the source bar (alt-s) of a grid. Do that with the search grid as it doesn't have fixed filters anyways.

Use the sort text box filter (in the source bar) to sort (please read the manual for details : it's simple) , or just use the column headers in the grid : right click : sort ascending or descending).

You can also use quick search (ctrl-f) and type a few letters of a word you know is in your imported items.

[quote=dyuhas]

The Win + C hotkey opens a gmail compose window and pastes the selected text into the body of the message. Not the default behavior I assume?

[/quote]

Is IQ opened when you're using this shortcut ? I have no idea how you come with a gmail compose window... unless you use gmail and have that shortcut assigned to it already... And IQ is maybe not running.

[quote=dyuhas]

[/quote]

Alt-H is supposed to display the HTML pane ?? It's always been F12 or shift-F12, or F11 when zooming is involved. Can you please tell us where have you.ve seen that so that we can correct it? It might be a mistake.

In any case, the HTML pane is also reachable through the View menu.

"Alt-H is supposed to display the HTML pane ?? It's always been F12 or shift-F12, or F11 when zooming is involved. Can you please tell us where have you.ve seen that so that we can correct it?"

From page 6.10 of the manual:

"The Add New Item window will be shown with your selected text in the HTML pane (bottom part of the window). Press Alt-H if hidden

Satisfied?

Trust me, I understand how IQ works. I also understand how docs get out of sync.

But I don't understand why the user has to refresh the grid after every copy operation. This should be handled internally.

You assumed I hadn't read the docs. I have.

[quote=dyuhas]

"Alt-H is supposed to display the HTML pane ?? It's always been F12 or shift-F12, or F11 when zooming is involved. Can you please tell us where have you.ve seen that so that we can correct it?"

From page 6.10 of the manual:

"The Add New Item window will be shown with your selected text in the HTML pane (bottom part of the window). Press Alt-H if hidden

Satisfied?

Trust me, I understand how IQ works. I also understand how docs get out of sync.

But I don't understand why the user has to refresh the grid after every copy operation. This should be handled internally.

You assumed I hadn't read the docs. I have.

[/quote]

dyuhas, we seem to have gotten off on the wrong foot here.

We are trying to help you so lets all be nice to each other (that's aimed at myself just as much as as you)

The text you quote there from page 6.10 refers to the "Add New Item window" and it's HTML pane - I've adjusted the text so hopefully it's clearer now -when the "Add New Item window" is open, Alt+H will show/hide the HTML part of the window (personally I never use this & think it could be chucked but maybe others do use it..)

Agreed re refresh should be handled internally

[quote=dyuhas]

"The Add New Item window will be shown with your selected text in the HTML pane (bottom part of the window). Press Alt-H if hidden

Satisfied?

[/quote]

Yes, thank you. However, I don't get the tone as I was just trying to help to correct the manual if there was a mistake. When we speak about about the HTML pane, we're usually talking about the one in the main interface, that's why I didn't get it. Alt-H does work to activate the HTML texdt box of the add item dialog. (And thanks Tom for helping with the manual.)

Documentation is a collaborative effort here. If you understand how IQ works, fine, that's great.

Jan -

[quote=jan_rifkinson]

Not to be disagreeable, but here's an example of how IQ is confusing: I created a simple "Appointments" grid. In order to track appointments, you need a minimum of four fields: who, where, date & time.

In the field manager there is a "Date" field, but no "Time" field. (Why? I ask.) There is an "Appointments" field that is a combined Date & Time field, though type is simply "Date." Why not name it DateTime, which is clear, rather than "Appointments" which is not? This is complexity for no good reason.

If I misunderstand this, please enlighten me.

Dave

[quote=dyuhas]In the field manager there is a "Date" field, but no "Time" field. (Why? I ask.) There is an "Appointments" field that is a combined Date & Time field, though type is simply "Date." Why not name it DateTime, which is clear, rather than "Appointments" which is not? This is complexity for no good reason.

[/quote]

Hi,

Other fields can be created if you don't like the default ones. And if changing a field name is not possible for programming/formula/scripting reasons, they can at least be changed at the grid level (i.e. : the names displayed in the column headers, in grids ; this is done in the field management window/dialog).

I guess Pierre chose to use the name "Appointment" so that it's easier to define a specific "date source" for calendar events. However this is not written in stone and you can change it if it doesn't suit you. That flexibility is one of IQ's great strength.

As for the "no Time field" problem, well.... it's not that there's no time field, it's that you can either create one using the Date data type for a field. The "Date data type" is standard in vb and includes time info. Not implying that you don't know this, but explaining, just in case. Yes DateTime could be used for descriptive precision in the field management dialog -- it might help the user.

[Edit : I just checked and Datetime would be SQL's VB equivalent -- but I'm no expert. In any case... It would probably be nothing to change for Pierre if it brings discomfort.]

Dave, given the 'tone' of this thread I think it's best for me to bow out @ this time.

Jan Rifkinson

Ridgefield CT USA

HP Blackbird Vista Ultimate SP-2

Hello all! Yes, it has been a while since I last posted here, though I do stop in fairly often to see what advances have been made to IQ.

I post today only to reflect a bit on this thread. To be frank, I am surprised at the "tone" of many posts in this thread. I know that there have been a few flame posts made here in the past, though not really that many. I'm referring to the "This Program is Terrible..." type of posts. I agree that they are completely unnecessary and should probably be ignored or deleted, as they seem intended only to stir up a storm. The initial post in this thread however doesn’t read like those others IMO; not even close. The OP asked a few reasonable questions and didn't really say anything I felt was disparaging about IQ. He did say it was "frustrating and confusing" which aren't exactly offensive terms. They are a reflection of how the user sees the program. The questions are certainly valid and not deprecating in any way. Then the next several posts sounded - to me at least - defensive. Sounded like some took the original post as an "attack" to a certain extent and went into a protective stance. Maybe I am not seeing it correctly but I have no reason to have a shaded opinion there. Naturally once a few defensive-sounding replies were posted the OP then replied in like kind; that always happens and always will! The original questions could probably have been answered and disposed of rather quickly but the thread has grown disproportionately mainly because of the barbs being traded. Politely in some cases but still sharp. Pierre, your responses here have been extremely brief and not very helpful. I would have expected this thread to be put to bed quickly. Hasn’t happened that way.

IQ is definitely a complex program that takes some serious learning and the documentation is not exactly the clearest I have seen. That's my opinion of course but I don’t think many here would disagree with that. Learning IQ takes working with it and finding the occasional "warts" all over again. No easily found corrections/clarifications in the manual, no "sticky posts" to highlight the apparently well-known glitches. I'm talking about the menu items that aren't clear; the field names that could use some polishing and renaming. The "refresh" issue has been around for over a year and not only does it still exist but it is not clearly pointed out anywhere. People have to come to the forum and ask about it every time it is encountered by a new user. Wouldn’t it be much easier to post a sticky at the top of the forum with a clear title than answering that question over and over? Seems like it would.

The IQ user manual. I know that Pierre is busy with development but having the users take over hasn’t really helped the documentation problem IMO. The manual has gone from being kind of sparse to now being updated by several users, all contributing a little at a time, and all with different styles, levels of understanding, etc. Plus some pages have actual forum posts after the manual text with corrections, complaints, and other comments that only serve to make the page more confusing. I think it would be a very wise investment to hire a technical writer to recreate the documentation from scratch, and then update and revise it on a periodic basis. Keep it out of users' hands; a simple wiki - separate from the official documentation - would serve better for user input!

And perhaps a forum moderator or two who could prevent threads from going in this direction, instead getting questions answered and generally handling the few true flaming posts that occur now and then.

I hope that no one here takes this post as an attack on them personally or on IQ; that is certainly not my intention. A few here know me from DonationCoder.com over the last few years and a thousand or so posts there, and that I am not in the business of making offensive or flaming posts. Everything I write here is intended to be constructive and helpful. If anyone here feels offended by anything I posted here please contact me - privately would be best (Pierre, is there a PM feature here? Not sure.). If there isn't a PM feature then contact Pierre and he can direct any messages to me. I just don’t want to hijack this thread anymore than I just have. (Sorry for that).

Thanks!

Jim

Hi Jim

I think that's fair enough what you say..

Personally I feel like I'm learning how to do basic support (I say basic because I'm no expert in this programme).

For example, I realise after this thread, that it's better to ask questions of the OP than to make assumptions (in this case I assumed that the OP had not read introductory information).

I'm glad that Pierre wrote a thread about conduct in forums (unfortunately it's lost already - I cant find it anyways, I'm hoping he's going to be able to add a link to it on top of the forum pages.) We users that do respond to queries are learning as we go along... so a post like yours is helpful IMO.

You can write a personal message by clicking on a user's name/link and go to the contact tab. I have used that a couple of times in dc forums if things start getting personal, (when things get personal send a Personal Message - not a bad approach, but this thread got out of hand so quick I didn't even think of it...)

Re the manual. There is mammoth work being done by KeithB to document the various menus and options. This can be used in any future manual. I think that the rest of the manual needs a structure and a concept - I personally think it's not a problem that various people work on it but it can be a real challenge to find things because sometimes the info is under a page about the relevant menu entry and sometimes elsewhere (= a structure problem as I see it).

If you, or others, want to respond in more detail about the manual, could you go to Documentation. Thanks!

Also, there is a link here -- link to nonexistent node ID 1373 -- for a downloadable version of manual

Tom

[minor edits, added another link for the manual]

[quote=Tom]

I'm glad that Pierre wrote a thread about conduct in forums (unfortunately it's lost already - I cant find it anyways, I'm hoping he's going to be able to add a link to it on top of the forum pages.)

[/quote]

You're welcomed, Tom. There is a link on the community web site home page.

Hi Jim,

I'd like to say that I appreciate the fact that these types of "tensions" happen very rarely here.

I find that most IQ forum users quite polite, generous and helpful. Thank you all !

[quote=J-Mac] And perhaps a forum moderator or two who could prevent threads from going in this direction, instead getting questions answered and generally handling the few true flaming posts that occur now and then.

[/quote]

AFAIK, the forum is moderated and Pierre and others are always aware of what happens here -- he sends notes (PMs) to offenders etc.

Sometimes it takes time to decide that a thread should be stopped, deleted, etc. if a user should be warned, etc.

The thing is that these situations almost never happened in the past... and this is what made it "harder" to solve.... You know, when you're used to deal with such situations, you do it easily. Not so much when it's rare.

-----

Now to some more interesting business...

[quote=J-Mac]

The IQ user manual. I know that Pierre is busy with development but having the users take over hasn’t really helped the documentation problem IM.

[/quote]

I think the "collaborative wiki style manual" is much, much better than nothing -- it's a work in progress.

If no users had done it with Pierre's help, we'd be in a terrible situation. And of course it would be better if someone could be paid to do it. But there are certainly reasons for it to not happen... But as V 1.0 is approaching, this will surely change and AFAIK... it's part of Pierre's roadmap. And... Keith just did a tremendous job : -- link to nonexistent node ID 1373 --

Had to spread the word.... ;)

[quote=J-Mac]

no "sticky posts" to highlight the apparently well-known glitches.

[/quote]

Sticky posts would be great -- there are some, but they're sparse.

**Pierre : could we have more of these (and even in the "What's new section" maybe ?)

Let's see if it can be done a bit more frequently (but not too much...) and let's see if it'll truly help.

Maybe instead of asking "did you read that section of the manual ?" we'll be asking "did you read that sticky post ?". What's better, I'm not sure. ;)

----

Most often than not when users have requests, Pierre is very responsive. In fact, in the last 17 years of using computers intensely, I don't think I've met a more responsive developper. Your mileage may vary, but... it seems that I'm not the only one to find that here.

[quote=Armando]

AFAIK, the forum is moderated and Pierre and others are always aware of what happens here -- he sends notes (PMs) to offenders etc.

Sometimes it takes time to decide that a thread should be stopped, deleted, etc. if a user should be warned, etc.

[/quote]

True, and in this particular case, it all happened very fast... 22 posts in a mere 2-3 hours. At least, newcomers cannot complain that the IQ community is not responsive...

In defense for the original poster:

Evernote 3.0 is not currently supported, and
the clipper seems to be having problems in certain installations... I suspect it has to do with the Windows username (spaces ?), I'll be investigating and report back.

Thanks to all, and yes, we're lucky that this does not happen too often.

If I'm a bit less active on the forum in recent days, it is because I'm working on something top secret...

Wow - to be honest I didn't realize that all had taken place in just a couple of hours. Normally when I see a thread here with 20+ posts it has taken place over a few days - sometimes a week or more. Pierre, I wasn’t trying to say you don’t reply enough here; just that I thought the questions raised in the OP could have been disposed of in maybe two, three posts quickly and be done with. It just looked like if everyone had just answered the questions and left all else out that this thread would have been only three or four posts long and forgotten by now.

Oh well, that should be the case now, so onward and upward! Move on, folks, nothing to see here.

Thanks all!

Jim

Evernote 2.2 import works fine, but I don't know about V3.

dyuhas

can you give the following details

Version of IQ (Portable /Installed)

Version of FF

have you had a look at the manual www.sqlnotes.net/drupal5/index.php * e.g.

1. Clipping Content from other Apps

hmm I thought there was a manual page or a forum thread about importing from Evernote [edit - version 2.2] but I couldnt find - anyone?

It's supposed to be easy - I just tried it, I found it easy - I mean ~~it worked too~~ - all data came through here - but images are shown in the html pane as whachamacallit (hex?)/code/text

Evernote -> Menu >> File >> export file

IQ -> Menu >> File >> Import >> Evernote export file

* I find it easiest to search the actual manual index page for whatever I'm looking for

some more getting started stuff recommended in this thread

Really basic getting started questions (queries from 'an ex-Agenda, ex-Ecco' user)

Evernote 3 (EN3) has been out for quite some time.

" I find it easiest to search the actual manual index page for whatever I'm looking for"

If IQ doesn't support EN3, I would expect to find a mention of that fact in the user manual.

When trying to import the EN3 export file, IQ's input mask is *.enx. The EN3 export file's file type is .enex. I don't have EN2 so I have no way of knowing if .enx is that version's export file type.

Hi dyuhas,

IQ imports EN2.2 files. A request was never made for EN3.0, so it does not do it. Make a request and it will be done.
May be you can help us debug IQ and your installation... I need to know what OS you're using.
Win-C is probably assigned to something else. In Tools>>Options>>General>>Other, you can set the shortcut for the universal clipper to something else
Does Win-N (when not in IQ) open the New Item dialog ?
When does this dialog open ?

[edit] David, could you provide an answer to the items marked in bold. This is the only I can help you [/edit]

[quote=Pierre_Admin]

IQ imports EN2.2 files. A request was never made for EN3.0, so it does not do it. Make a request and it will be done.[/quote]

I'm not familiar with this programming philosophy. Evernote is at version 3.x. When I see the menu item File|Import|Evernote export file I don't think "which version do I want to import?" I assume, as most reasonable people do, that IQ will import _any_ EN export file, or the user would be informed as to which version(s) is/are supported.

Dave

David, could you provide an answer to the items marked in bold. This is the only I can help you

[quote=dyuhas]

Evernote 3 (EN3) has been out for quite some time.

" I find it easiest to search the actual manual index page for whatever I'm looking for"

If IQ doesn't support EN3, I would expect to find a mention of that fact in the user manual.

When trying to import the EN3 export file, IQ's input mask is *.enx. The EN3 export file's file type is .enex. I don't have EN2 so I have no way of knowing if .enx is that version's export file type.

[/quote]

dyuhas

this programme is in Beta - I've been using it professionally for over a year so it's very stable and yet developing rapidly - I would recommend you tone down your expectations though - especially with regard to the manual which often cant keep up with development

[quote=Tom]

[/quote]

I've been testing and using software for well over 20 years. To date, I have never known any other way to discover the less than obvious features of a piece of software than to RTFM.

More than one person on this forum has suggested that I have not read the introductory docs or referred me there. I assure you and the rest of the people reading this thread that I have read those intro docs. There is no mention of the need to use the F5 key to see what's been copied into a grid. This is not a case of the docs being out of sync with recently updated software.

I understand and appreciate that it's stable. I wouldn't be participating in this forum if it wasn't. But I don't appreciate a condescending tone, or outright incorrect answers to what I thought, and has proved to be, a very simple question.

Dave

[quote=dyuhas]

[quote=Tom]

[/quote]

I've been testing and using software for well over 20 years. To date, I have never known any other way to discover the less than obvious features of a piece of software than to RTFM.

Dave

[/quote]

Dave,

I wasnt condescending (or didnt mean to be) when I wrote that - I was angry... I apologise if I was condescending at any stage - I didnt mean to offend (anger was quickly gone - I dont think that needs an apology...). As I say I think we got off on the wrong foot - you gave us very little info to go on so why should we presume that you're an expert and that you've read all the intro stuff ? - most people havent.

Also,

you say it was a simple question but I didnt even know (initially) if you had installed the FF addon! - the answer was simple it was just a case of finding it. So this thing works both ways. (I suspect that you're a lot more of an expert with these types of programmes than I am btw)

The manual cant keep up with development also in the sense it's a community effort while Pierre focuses on development. So it needs work in lots of ways.

BTW I'm not sure why you're getting to het up about being offered the ability to import Evernote 3 files - I gotta say it's one of the things I love about being involved in a programme (with a responsive developer) at the beta stage - I can have an influence (& have had an influence) on the development and direction of this programme.

So, anyways, welcome to the forum !!

[quote=Tom]

hmm I thought there was a manual page or a forum thread about importing from Evernote [edit - version 2.2] but I couldnt find - anyone?

It's supposed to be easy - I just tried it, I found it easy - I mean ~~it worked too~~ - all data came through here - but images are shown in the html pane as whachamacallit (hex?)/code/text

[/quote]

Tom, all we have in the manual is Tips for EverNote (2.x) users and there was quite a bit of discussion in the old forum, when Pierre first made the import (2.1/.2.2 days), and the improvements made to someone's imports.