[New Here] A hello and the set of questions!

[Dummy ME]

Hey guys,

 I am new here and the world of tiddlys. I am enjoying a lot with the idea of just one file with unlimited customizations. I shall go ahead to put my use case and the queries, I hope you guys can help me out.

1. About me: engineer; knows basic programming, can learn too; currently preparing for an exam - that required me to set up notes (and revise them). My subject of study as of now is Anthropology.

2. Use Case:  As I said, I need to prepare notes. The topics are referenced to and from from many topics and are a bit dynamic at times (current developments etc.). Also, I needed it to be a bit reasy to revise later (or Spaced repetition maybe).

3. The TiddlerWikis Experience:

•  I was searching for a note taking app; Went on to find Notion, Obsidian, RemNotes and TiddlyWiki.
• Notion - Online; Data policies; a bit difficult to keep track on; interface is turnoff. (For me) (Was not sure of exports either)
  
• Obsidian - everything seemed good. I invested a lot of time too. but was only on desktop. I work on iPad too (atleast read). Too many different .md files to handle.
• RemNotes - I liked this one thouroughly. It has Spaced repetetion in itself free at the moment, decent interface, and Roam like. But before finding it, I fell in love with the Stroll TiddlerWiki and now I have a dilemma.
• TIddlerWiki - I found it somewhere in the Obsidian forum (a shout of thanks to that user). Felt incredible for its simplicity and the open source nature. People collaborating for something this great. The collaboration amongst humans is what I am studying in Anthropology, so. Anyway, I played around tiddly for a while. Tried to host it, plugins from the dynalist toolkit list, and many things.

• The tiddlerwiki I started using was Stroll. It had backlinking, and its something I was looking for. Then, I tried importing some plug-ins of my interest. eg. TiddlyMaps (despite warnings by the Stroll developer), Leaflets for embedding maps (required for me or I can manage with images (but maps cooool! :p). I tried a simple flowchart too.
  
• The problem: TiddlerMap is interfereing with Stroll. I wanted to keep it a bit smaller in the sidebar itself? Is it possible??

4. The queries:

• Suggestion for the Tiddlywik to use. eg. Stroll, TiddlyRoam, Drift (my new favourite).
• For now I am building on Drift (I found it this morning and I like it. Stroll is good too, but I like the feel, some new features and looks of drift.
• How to use TiddlyMaps without much trouble?
  
• I just want a basic flow of my tiddlers. I don't want icons, I can do fine with just a small circle with the name of the node on hover.
• The current plugin interferes with two stories plug-in : in both stroll and drift.
• Should I be using TiddlyWiki in the first place? I don't have a lot of programming knowledge, just basics. I like to dig in though and try to tweak with what I know.
• I have limited time though. I want to be able to start putting in notes without altering the setup once done.
• How to edit the wiki from multiple devices? iPad, Phone and Laptop?
• Currently, I do this way:
• I have TiddlyDesktop intalled. I edit there. The folder containing .html is synced on drive. The backup is in a separate folder.
• Then, I  have this app called TIddloidLite. Where I can open that file from the drive itself. and even save after edit. I am happy with it for now.
• And in drive I had this drive extension: TiddlyDrive....Which enabled me to edit on android earlier. But now app does better. But that link from the drive, I am using to edit on iPad. Safari doesn't work. but the app called Documents is able to do so. I dont know why...?
• So basically, is there a way I can streamline all of this? or this is fine?
  
• I had tried github, tiddlyspot things too. But went too complex for me.
• Also, I liked this tool, TiddlyRemember, I did everything but couldn't get it setup. If those guys are here, can they help me a bit?

Thanks for reading this long post. A long and selfish post maybe.

Regards,

DummyMe

The TiddlyMap Problem:

[Mat]

Hi there DummyMe (...sorry, but right away I have to say I don't like your name. You clearly deserve a better one.)

4. The queries:

• Suggestion for the Tiddlywik to use. eg. Stroll, TiddlyRoam, Drift (my new favourite).

Worth knowing/considering; Everyone uses TW and, to a greater or lesser degree, collectively develops it. Stroll and TiddlyRoam are custom themes created by a single individual. I'm sure it's great but most(?) of us are not very familiar with it. In the longer run, it possibly influences the direction of TW because it does have a lot of traction so "the core team" should consider if there's something things in it that are of general interest. But as it is, those themes are a one/few man show.

How to use TiddlyMaps without much trouble? 

Again, TiddlyMap is a one man creation, albeit much more mature than the previously mentioned ones. So if they are currently not compatible, it does makes sense to ask the community because maybe someone did solve it, but I think you see the problem - i.e neither of these plugins are the common denominator in the community. Add to that that they're quite complex creations so it is unlikely that someone who is not a user of them will immerse themselves for the sake of solving your specific needs. But who knows ;-)

 

Should I be using TiddlyWiki in the first place? I don't have a lot of programming knowledge, just basics. I like to dig in though and try to tweak with what I know. 

I have limited time though. I want to be able to start putting in notes without altering the setup once done.

 

As you've noted, TW is infinitely adaptable. If your needs are covered by some other ready made product then perhaps that is a better choice because this adaptability subtly encourages constant tweaking - at least in my case. There is of course a bias here on the forum; the people that "I've used the one and same TW since the Carter administration and never had to tweak it"... well, they don't need to hang out here. There is no direct way of knowing how many people use TW or what they use it for (because TW totally respects integrity).

How to edit the wiki from multiple devices? iPad, Phone and Laptop?

There are many options. My personal favourite is to use TiddlySpot set up via this site: http://tiddlywiki5.tiddlyspot.com/

It is not a https service and it is not protected by million dollars of latest technology but TiddlySpot is a service that has served as a cornerstone for the community for whoever wants a simple way to host a TW online. Since you're only going to store study notes, as opposed to state secrets and bank account information, then I'd recommend it. You can always transfer the wiki later on if you want some self hosted sophisticated solution.

 

<:-)

[Dummy ME]

Hey Mat, 

First of all, thanks!

About the name, I will see if I find a new one. Its basically the dummy email I have to give everywhere. lol.

Worth knowing/considering; Everyone uses TW and, to a greater or lesser degree, collectively develops it. Stroll and TiddlyRoam are custom themes created by a single individual. I'm sure it's great but most(?) of us are not very familiar with it. In the longer run, it possibly influences the direction of TW because it does have a lot of traction so "the core team" should consider if there's something things in it that are of general interest. But as it is, those themes are a one/few man show.

Yes, I know they are oneman show kind of a thing, I just find them a bit better suited for what I am about to do. I thought maybe the developer or the user might respond to my queries here.

Regarding the other solutions: I do like RemNote but I just like the flow of the TW5 better. Kind of, the card system make me like it even more, plus its customizable without the loss if I take up frequent backups, which is easy too! :P

Though I had one more question: How big the files become after some decent usage? Can you (Mat) or anyone else share?

A lot of thanks for shareing the TiddlySpot! I tried it but the TW official page has the link to the old TiddlySpot!!!! I was having a hard time finding a way to have my TW5 up there. I will look around the TW5 TiddlySpot :) Thanks again..

Will keep pestering!

Regards, DM

[JD]

Hello! I Actually have nothing to say but that we are using almost the exact same saving methods across devices! 

I find this a bit of a hassle when in situations where my work environment changes multiple times in a day (commute an hour: edit on mobile, have some coffee: edit on laptop, had an idea at work: edit on mobile again because of laptop restrictions at work... when management tightens on mobile use even while on breaks, I resort to tiddlyspot).

So, if you encounter a saving method across devices that are better than what we have now, please do share! It'll save my life.

And, welcome to TW !

-jd

[Mat]

Dummy ME wrote:

Though I had one more question: How big the files become after some decent usage? Can you (Mat) or anyone else share?

How big is a web page, because that is what TW "is"? And, perhaps more importantly, how long does it take to load it? Depends. But you should avoid filling it with big images or other stuff that adds directly to the files code. Instead link to the stuff. (Images can for example be directly shown by means of the _canonical_uri field.) I think I recall people having files the size of 12 MB without any problem. Regular computer or super computer, I have no idea. And, I think Jeremy (the lead TW developer) has mentioned tests with 60.000 tiddlers without any problem.

 

A lot of thanks for shareing the TiddlySpot! I tried it but the TW official page has the link to the old TiddlySpot!!!! I was having a hard time finding a way to have my TW5 up there. I will look around the TW5 TiddlySpot :) Thanks again..

Yeah, the link I shared is just a "shell" with an iframe showing the underlying tiddlyspot site. Tiddlyspot has been working reliably for over a decade but the host doesn't update it anymore so the original front page doesn't cater for TW5.

<:-)

[JD]

About the sidebar! You can go here:

ControlPanel > Appearance > Mono Tweaks > Vanilla tweaks

On the list of this tab, the last one is "Sidebar width", maybe the value of 500px or more will suffice :)

-jd

On Tuesday, July 28, 2020 at 8:06:22 PM UTC+9, Dummy ME wrote:

[Saq Imtiaz]

@jd if you could find the time to add support for the Stories plugin to the mono theme, I am sure that would be very well received by users of Drift:

https://akhater.github.io/drift/

[Mark S.]

If you're on a variety of platforms, then a hodgepodge of saving techniques is pretty normal.  With firefox and chrome you could, in theory, use the default save mechanism everywhere. But it's not as convenient. With tiddlyserver, you could have all your devices save to one central computer.

If you have specific questions, such as how to use stroll with TiddlyMaps, then you should probably post them as separate questions so people with specific knowledge of those entities will notice.

Have fun!

[Dummy ME]

Hey JD,

  By saying exact method, you mean the GDrive/TiddlyDrive/TiddloidLite method?

  Btw, I am still not able to setup TiddlySpot. Lets see.

  I tried setting up GitHub Saver(attached)  too with personal access token, but I couldn't get it to save it.

Regards

DM

[Mat]

Dummy ME wrote:

  Btw, I am still not able to setup TiddlySpot. Lets see. 

Note that you must add the password in your TW once you have it set up, i.e Ctrlpanel > Saving > TiddlySpot ... spotname+password

<:-) 

[Dummy ME]

Thanks Mat,

• I think the size is fine with me if it goes around 20MB max maybe, because I am using gdrive and greater sizes might cause me troubles. 60,000 is cool.
  
• Yes, I saw the TiddlySpot. Its basically the same website, but I couldn't find a way to upload my version on it.

regards

DM

PS:  I am pondering on a new name, thanks to you :p. How about Prestige? ;p

[Dummy ME]

JD,

   I did change the Sidebar width to 500px or even more, but it messes up my Drift setup. It kind of worked okayish with stroll because it had bigger width by default on the left. It messed up when I had two column enabled. There was a work around provided by Dave (created Stroll), where we fix the Map window fixed with sidebar. I think I will try that with drift too (I just remembered the tweak -_-)!

Thanks :)

[Dummy ME]

Hey Mark,

   Sure. I think I messed up and crammed a lot of querries and my stories, in one place :)

   I will take care next time.

-DM

[Dummy ME]

UPDATE: I finally got my TW uploaded on TiddlySpot :) Thanks Mat! :)

[JD]

Hi Saq! Happy to say I've made a compatibility tiddler for Stories plugin!

http://j.d.mono.tiddlyspot.com/ 

> Then the tiddler: $:/themes/jd/Mono/Stylesheet/StoriesPluginCompatibility

Thanks for bringing this to my attention, I'll also post this to the Mono.theme thread to not hijack this one!

-jd

[JD]

Oh wow, I'd like to mess around with that wiki containing those cool mix of plugins, maybe help with an edition containing those as recently they've become popular.. But I understand it's your data and privacy! 

I'm thinking actually of multiple sidebars now... another button with another sidebar to toggle... where the second one can be configured to not affect the story river width (of course this can be an option that can be integrated into Mono.theme)

With that kind of solution (multiple sidebars), however, one can be lists (narrower, can affect story river width/position), and the other can contain wider stuff (won't affect story river)... where their toggles are both always present ... (just throwing around an idea i might actually build around lol)

[mi...@mpmanti.info]

I use TiddlyWiki mostly on my iPad with Quine 2. It works rather well. Sometimes after loading a plugin, I need to reboot Quine, rather than simply refresh, and I haven't figured out which circumstances necessitate it. But I'm pretty happy with it overall.

[emilyk...@gmail.com]

Hey,

I've recently started using TW too and moved on from Notion. I would recommend TidGraph if you just want to view stuff. Easy to use and configure in tiddlers.

http://ihm4u.github.io/tw5plugs/

I use it for my notes. For a trello-like board I'd recommend DropBoard.

https://reidgould.github.io/tiddlywiki-dropboard/

I use it a different board for different categories, and have a Today View that shows Today tiddlers for organized viewing. Similar to my Notion setup, I used TiddlyTables to make a table for assigning durations to each task scheduled for today. Using the durations I show how many hours they are in total in my Today View and above the durations table. 

The Shiraz plugin (a general quality-of-life plugin and I love its image templates) has an up-to-date method for searchable tables, although I've found an older macro that's simpler to use.

Emily

[emilyk...@gmail.com]

Some awesome themes to consider are Material, Mono, and Whitespace (all by JD I believe).

Emily

[twid...@gmail.com]

Final message I swear. This is good for toggling and very easy to use:

http://tid.li/tw5/plugins.html#DetailsWidget

I found myself missing a toggle although I could link a tiddler to avoid a wall of text.

On Tuesday, July 28, 2020 at 4:06:22 AM UTC-7 Prestige wrote:

[Alexander Zelenukhin]

I'm using a version of TiddlyWiki (Stroll) with TiddlyMap.

Here is the test build:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1itjHnsa2cIeIZUp1sx-e86OOTWDd1a0P/view?usp=sharing

I hope you will not be confused - the russian language in the tiddlers.

I switched to TiddlyWiki from TheBrain so for me having TiddlyMap was a crucial point.

[Prestige]

Emily,

Thanks for sharing your way of working and setup. I haven't used Trello or Notion either. I am kind of starting note taking digitally, and I started off with Notion but kept moving on and on :p

Yes, I included TidGraph, and Leaflet too. 

And yes, all three themes by JD are a big thumbs up for me. I am using Drift variant which used the Mono theme. I like Moonlight too.

-Prestige

[Prestige]

Thanks Alex!

Yes, it works. It crashes sometimes, but its fine :) thanks.

[TW Tones]

Prestige,

I read your post yesterday, and only getting to reply today. I see there has being a lot of water under the bridge since then, however I want to share my approach to making use of different tools and editions available.

may I suggest "think outside the Box/tiddlywiki", I make use of multiple wikis mostly using Timimi in Chrome and Tiddlywiki but also TiddlyServer, TiddlyDesktop and Bob. This helps avoid too many clashed between editions and plugins etc...

• I divide wikis by functional area and project etc... 
• with a couple dedicated to links, plugin library, reference material.
• I also have wikis that act as factories to create tools 
• Or sources of images and icons
• I have some dedicated to file conversion and imports I can then transfer to the destination wiki

You could call this "meta tiddlywiki" or being god of your own Tiddlyverse"

There are many tools and tricks can help with this 

• such as Mohammads searchwikis that allows you to import multiple search index's into one wiki to search across multiple wikis.
• iframes to other wikis - you can drag and drop between them
• The new ZIP plugin
• and many more techniques

Drag and drop is also your friend, and more and more easy methods are coming available for quick interwiki transfers.

Regards

Tony

[Prestige]

Tony,

Thanks for a wonderful reply. The ideas you convey will definitely add to my learning, and I am already trying stuff with my limited knowlegde. The thing is, I need to get started with the notemaking as the exams are nearing, so kind of want the setup ready soon. I will keep on changing the Wikis as per my needs maybe at time to time intervals when I have 'free time' :p.

But yes, I am very curious about the possiblities here at TiddlyWiki!

I liked the idea of using TW5 for different purpose vehicles - I was thinking on these lines too! Like,  can make my notes at one place and import them later into Maps to study via views directly. Something like that.

Thanks again! I will keep posting queries and hope you will engage at some point or the other :)

Prestige

[TW Tones]

Prestige,

You have the right approach. Evolve your wiki as you go, just use a backup process, so when making larger changes you don't destroy your data. Keep in mind you may divide it in future to more than one wiki.

Design you wiki so it is easy to separate the data from the workings, and it will be easy to migrate into another edition etc... eg give tiddlers a project or subject tag etc...

Regards

Tony

[Prestige]

Sure, Tony. Will keep your suggestions handy :)