Hi..
Total newbie here. I come from the ConnectedText (CT) world. Sadly, the developer no longer maintains it and I'm having issues running the program. So, I'm looking to switch to InfoQube (IQ). I'd like help on how to setup my database (DB).
I started a new IQ DB using a template as a base. Wow! So many different objects. Seems overwhelming. Maybe I just need to learn about each object, let it sink in, and wait for that Aha! moment that tells me how to put it together for my needs. IDK.
Or, in the interest of getting to work faster, can you share what IQ setup/objects should I use to accomplish my need?
I have a main page topic that has an overview, showing the current month's dates and links to what I did under each date.
Example Main Page:
5/7/20
1 hr. [[Link to topic 1]]
2 hr. [[Link to topic 3]]
0.5 hr. [[Link to topic 2]]
5/6/20
4 hr. [[Link to topic 1]]
3 hr. [[Yet another link]]
1 hr. [[Link to that]]
Each link opened a topic where I describe about the topic. Also, there's a History section on it, where I'd put a date and detail what I did then. I may also have other sections for other info, e.g. Links, Tips, etc.
Example Topic 1:
==Description==
This is a description about this topic.
==History==
5/7/20 12:18:25 PM. This is what I did at this date.
5/1/20 9:18:25 AM. What I did on that date.
==Links==
At the end of current period (at 2 periods per month), I move the main page's dates and links to a new topic, naming the topic after the Year, Month, and Period, e.g. 2020 March 01. Then, I'd begin filling the main page again for the next period as described prior.
I'd like to have a similar setup in IQ.
If you're experienced enough in IQ to know, I'd appreciate it if you could help me out.
-- Chris
Comments
I actually still use ConnectedText and RightNote. But InfoQube is now the mainstay.
There are many differences between InfoQube and ConnectedText. In ConnectedText the meta data is built into the page, categories, properties, links and queries are actually embedded in the page as part of the CT markdown language. InfoQube has items. The page is just an HTML document which is part of an item. The HTML page can contain links but a lot of the other meta data is not explicitly embedded within the page but is part of the 'item'.
The 'item' is a very important concept in InfoQube, everything which has data is an item. All items have a document associated with them and whatever other meta data has been assigned to that item. The other concept which you needc to get to know is the 'grid'. A grid doesn't have any data.
Items aren't contained in grids, items exist independently of grids. A grid is just like a query which shows a subset of items (although you can get a grid to show absolutely all items in the database). Each grid has a 'source' field which sets the criteria for inclusion in the grid, it can be a simple flag which says this item is in this grid or it can be a complex SQL query.
Items can be arranged like a heirarchical tree, like an outliner but with the freedom that an item may have more than one parent and can appear in many places. When an item appears in more than one place the duplicates are clones, any changes to one changes all of them because they are all just instances of the one.
Hi Chris,
As a fellow newbie figuring out InfoQube, and someone with some modest experience with ConnectedText, I have had a go at creating a workflow that might work for you. This method makes use of two grids, Projects and MainPage, and can be extended to more grids.
First step: create a grid called MainPage (or any name you like). Click Grid > New Grid > enter the name > click OK
In the grid MainPage, we will add the coumns Date, ItemParent, Duration. These fields already exist inside InfoQube. Click Column > Add Columns > select each of these and tick the box > click OK
Drag the date column to the left. You now have a blank grid. In the image below I have called it NewVillagerMainpage. I have also edited the caption of Duration to Duration (hrs) to remember the unit.
Second step: create a grid called something like MyProjects (since the Projects name is already taken). Click Grid > New Grid > enter the name > click OK
In the grid MyProjects we will add the columns Date, Duration and MainPage (where MainPage is the name of the grid you just created). Click Column > Add Columns > select each of these and tick the box > click OK
In the MyProjects grid, create a new item called, say, Project 1. In the document pane of the Project 1 item, you use write HTML text for the project description and links, and anything else that you like.
Here is the essential part that links your history entries to the projects. When you want to make a history entry, don't wrte it inside the HTML document of the project item. Instead, make it a child item of the project in the MyProjects grid. Hit enter to create a new item then hit Alt+right arrow to make it a child item. Fill in the text, date, duration fields. You can write extra details of what you did in the HTML document of the history entry itself. Don't forget to hit the save icon on the HTML document once you have written your text. I filled in some text then moved to another item, and it was gone when I came back. This may be a bug, so better safe than sorry.
Because this entry is a child item, it is linked to the project without you having to make links manually. You can add another one by hitting enter. You will also see that the durations for the project child items are automatically being added up for the Project 1 parent item.
To get the history entries to show up on your MainPage, simply tick the box in the MyProjects grid for the entries you wish to see. There's no need to tick the Project parent items themselves.
Now you can go back to your MainPage, hit F5 to refresh, and the ticked items will appear there. To get the layout like that of your ConnectedText main page, click Grid > Context Parents > (None). This removes the parent project entries. Then click Grid > Sort > Group-By Bar, and drag the date column title to the group-by bar. By clicking on the arrow in the Date column title you can switch the sort order.
Note that the MainPage is a live view of the same items as in the MyProjects grid. You can edit the Date, Item and Duration fields in the Main Page grid and they will be visible in the MyProjects grid (after refresh, of course). What you cannot edit in the MainPage grid is the ItemParent, since that is a field that is derived from the position of the item in the MyProjects grid. To change the item's parent project, you can move it in the MyProjects grid using the Item > Move commands.
A few other things that I think are true (and everyone who knows IQ better than I do, please pitch in): InfoQube gives you more flexibility in filtering and linking than Connected Text. For example, you can create multiple MyProject grids, and any item on any of them that has MainPage ticked will show up on the MainPage grid. So you don't have to keep all your project histories in one long list - you can have one per project if you like.
And when you no longer want certain history items to show up on MainPage, you simply untick them in the MyProjects grid. That way you no longer need to create historical MainPage grids. However, if you want to have historical grids, then the solution is as simple as creating a new grid called "2020 March 01" with the same layout as MainPage, then adding it as a column to the MyProjects grid, ticking the items you want to move to "2020 March 01", then removing the column from the MyProjects grid again.
I hope this helps you to get started working with InfoQube. Let me know how you get along. Good luck!
Here's my attempt to give…
Thank you very much for the demo file! It's really useful to be able to poke around and look at the file internals as a learning method. I was curious how you got the topic links into the grid "y2020 m05" column "Topics" - did you make those manually?
Also in the grid "Main Page Cygnet" the "ItemParent" column has links to the parent topics instead of just their names. How did you make those? I didn't manage to make them myself.
Thank you,
Cyganet