TW for iPhone and iPad - tiddlyNotes

[mrsk]

Hi,

The subject has been used in the past to point at apps that use TW in
some form on the iPad/iPhone. Well, this is another one. Our app is
called tiddlyNotes. tiddlyNotes embeds TW for rendering purposes, but
manages the actual tiddlers in its own way. The app tries to be easy
to understand and use for the iPhone/iPad user. And at the same time
it tries to be familiar to the TW user.

But probably the best feature is the built-in synchronization based on
Dropbox. It allows you to synchronize instantaneously between your
mobile devices and, if you use our plugin for TW, your browser on a PC
or notebook. In other words the full round trip between your mobile
devices and your fat client is available to you.

There is a free version available, tiddlyNotes lite:
http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/tiddlynotes-lite/id465933435
And of course the is also a corresponding full version, including the
unlimited synchronization. The lite version only allows to sync 10
times.

On our product page www.facebook.com/tiddlyNotes you find all relevant
information about the app. It is also the easiest way to contact us.

From here you get also the instructions on how to install the plugin
inside TW: http://www.facebook.com/note.php?note_id=181704671909078

And finally, we would be happy to get your feedback, either in the app
store as a review or on Facebook.

Thanks for reading that far,
mrsk

[tiddlygrp]

Hi,

you only have a facebook page? Non facebook users can't contact you.

[Craig in Calgary]

I've been experimenting with the Lite version. I'm confused about
where to place the tiddlyNotes files in my Dropbox folder structure.
Also, does tiddlyNotes only support a single TiddlyWiki? Or can it
edit multiple TiddlyWikis? Thank you for feedback.

[mrsk]

On Nov 18, 11:06 pm, tiddlygrp <tiddly...@gmail.com> wrote:
> Hi,
>
> you only have a facebook page?  Non facebook users can't contact you.

So far yes, depending on the traffic we get, we might choose to expand
our communication channels. But you have my email, so no problem to
contact me directly.

Mrsk

[mrsk]

On Nov 19, 12:02 am, Craig in Calgary <craig.prich...@gmail.com>
wrote:

Craig,
Our approach is the following:
We are *not* copying the empty.html around as part of our
syncronization. But we extract the raw tiddlers and sync them. That's
what gets stored on Dropbox. So you don't need to copy anything into
the DropBox Folder. Instead, the tiddlyNotesSync for TW monitors
changes and extracts them and syncs them with the tiddlers stored in
your Dropbox folder. So you need to point the tiddlyNotesSync plugin
to your Dropbox folder, need to decide what you want to do for initial
sync (merge, server, client) and that's it. The rest is covered by the
plugin or your mobile devices.

At this stage tiddlyNotes works with a single TW instance to keep the
whole interaction simple once sync is completely configured. Why would
you need multiple TW?

Mrsk

[Craig in Calgary]

Mrsk,

> ... you don't need to copy anything into

> the DropBox Folder. Instead, the tiddlyNotesSync for TW monitors
> changes and extracts them and syncs them with the tiddlers stored in
> your Dropbox folder. So you need to point the tiddlyNotesSync plugin

> to your Dropbox folder, ...

Does tiddlyNotes *have* to sync to the root of Dropbox? Can it be
configured to sync with a sub-directory (whether end-user specified or
application-determined)? I don't like cluttering the root of my
Dropbox.

> At this stage tiddlyNotes works with a single TW instance to keep the
> whole interaction simple once sync is completely configured. Why would
> you need multiple TW?

I maintain multiple TWs because of content and functionality. Being
able to push a tiddler to the TW of my choosing will allow me to
maintain my workflow. Having all tiddlers push to a single TW will
require me to regularly move tiddlers from tiddlyNotes' TW to the TWs
where each belongs.

Can tiddlyNotes sync with a TW of my choice instead of just the blank
default TW? Otherwise I have to open the blank default TW and import
all the tiddlers from my TW into it.

Will the tiddlyNotes TW have any problems with the various plugins,
macros, scripts, and transclusions that populate the Tiddlyverse? As
previously mentioned my various TWs look and behave differently based
on their purpose and content. If I export any one of them into the
blank default TW so I can continue to work with that TW outside
tiddlyNotes as well as within, what might tiddlyNotes do when
attempting to render HTML, Javascript, fET code, transclusions, etc.?

Last question: I burned through the 10 free syncs performing some of
my tests. But I didn't finish experimenting. May I have a reset so I
can finish my evaluation? Thank you for your consideration in this
matter.

Bottom line, tiddlyNotes appears likely to be useful, depending on
your workflow.

Keep up the good work. I look forward to the future enhancements.

[mrsk]

Hi Craig,

Find my comments inline.

On Nov 19, 6:54 pm, Craig in Calgary <craig.prich...@gmail.com> wrote:
> Mrsk,
>
> > ... you don't need to copy anything into
> > the DropBox Folder. Instead, the tiddlyNotesSync for TW monitors
> > changes and extracts them and syncs them with the tiddlers stored in
> > your Dropbox folder. So you need to point the tiddlyNotesSync plugin
> > to your Dropbox folder, ...
>
> Does tiddlyNotes *have* to sync to the root of Dropbox? Can it be
> configured to sync with a sub-directory (whether end-user specified or
> application-determined)? I don't like cluttering the root of my
> Dropbox.

So far we have to use the root as when haven't been able to find a
reliable way to create a subfolder from within TW.

>
> > At this stage tiddlyNotes works with a single TW instance to keep the
> > whole interaction simple once sync is completely configured. Why would
> > you need multiple TW?
>
> I maintain multiple TWs because of content and functionality. Being
> able to push a tiddler to the TW of my choosing will allow me to
> maintain my workflow. Having all tiddlers push to a single TW will
> require me to regularly move tiddlers from tiddlyNotes' TW to the TWs
> where each belongs.

Okay, fair enough. This might be an option for future enhancements.

>
> Can tiddlyNotes sync with a TW of my choice instead of just the blank
> default TW? Otherwise I have to open the blank default TW and import
> all the tiddlers from my TW into it.

This is fully up to you. You define within TW, if it should sync or
not. There is no dependency on the filename.

>
> Will the tiddlyNotes TW have any problems with the various plugins,
> macros, scripts, and transclusions that populate the Tiddlyverse? As
> previously mentioned my various TWs look and behave differently based
> on their purpose and content. If I export any one of them into the
> blank default TW so I can continue to work with that TW outside
> tiddlyNotes as well as within, what might tiddlyNotes do when
> attempting to render HTML, Javascript, fET code, transclusions, etc.?

Today tiddlyNotes uses the embedded standard TW functionality. So we
don't sync plugins. This doesn't mean that it doesn't work, but we
wanted to get the test matrix under control first before expanding to
the full feature set, where you can hit all sorts of problem because
of the sandbox approach of iOS and specifics of the mobile browser.

>
> Last question: I burned through the 10 free syncs performing some of
> my tests. But I didn't finish experimenting. May I have a reset so I
> can finish my evaluation? Thank you for your consideration in this
> matter.

Well, delete the app and start fresh.

>
> Bottom line, tiddlyNotes appears likely to be useful, depending on
> your workflow.
>
> Keep up the good work. I look forward to the future enhancements.

Thanks for taking it into consideration.
Mrsk

[wolfgang]

Tried, but somehow must have understood something wrong: Opened the
tiddlyNotes backstage panel in a TW on my Desktop, entered for its
location the public link to my Dropbox with an older version of the
same TW, and selected Client from the available options:

> You have modified your Dropbox location so your tiddlers will now be synchronized with your Dropbox account.
> We'd like to understand how you want to handle this first synchronization. Please choose one of the following options.
>
> Merge Recommended:
> Synchronize your TiddlyWiki tiddlers with the tiddlers in your Dropbox account
> Server Erase all your TiddlyWiki tiddlers and replace them with the tiddlers in your Dropbox account
> Client Erase all the tiddlers in your Dropbox account and replace them with your TiddlyWiki tiddlers

Half hour later the local Dropbox TW still isn't synchrinized. What
did I do wrong?

[mrsk]

Hi Wolfgang,

You don't need to copy anything yourself into the Dropbox folder. The
only thing you need to do is, to point the tiddlyNotesSync plugin to
the folder. Once saved and sync option selected, the plugin will
extract the data from your TW and place it into the folder.

Maybe it is easier to configure first your iPhone/iPad. If this is
correctly configured, you will notice that a file named
"tiddlyNotes.xml" appears in your Dropbox folder. This file is used to
sync the tiddlers and move them between devices.

Mrs.

[wolfgang]

> You don't need to copy anything yourself into the Dropbox folder. The
> only thing you need to do is, to point the tiddlyNotesSync plugin to
> the folder. Once saved and sync option selected, the plugin will
> extract the data from your TW and place it into the folder.
>
> Maybe it is easier to configure first your iPhone/iPad. If this is
> correctly configured, you will notice that a file named
> "tiddlyNotes.xml" appears in your Dropbox folder. This file is used to
> sync the tiddlers and move them between devices.
>

Thanks for the reply. But don't have a iPhone and just wanted to use
tiddlyNotesSync to update my dropbox TW with changes made on other
computers away from home. Of course, could just log into my dropbox
account and upload the whole file. But tiddlyNotesSync seemed to be
able to do without.

So for this use-case I would have to get a tiddlyNotes.xml and place
it into my dropbox folder?

> only thing you need to do is, to point the tiddlyNotesSync plugin to
> the folder.

Do I at least understand you right, that you mean the public link to
my online dropbox folder? Because otherwise it wouldn't make much
sense if it only worked at home.

[Sabine Kalinowsky]

Hi Peter,

Sorry for this late reply. Very busy these days.  Find my comments inline.

On Aug 17, 2012, at 9:42 PM, pw wrote:

I finally got sync working between laptop & iPhone. It took many tries as the documentation was very unclear.

Yes, it is far too technical. Once it is working, or once you've done it yourself successfully, your are fine. But getting there can be tedious.

 

However, it is not working properly. When I restart my TiddlyWiki after installing the tiddlyNotesSync tiddler I get this error about four times:

"JavaScript Error

It's not possible to save changes. Possible reasons include:
- your browser doesn't support saving (Firefox, Internet Explorer, Safari and Opera all work if properly configured)
- the pathname to your TiddlyWiki file contains illegal characters
- the TiddlyWiki HTML file has been moved or renamed"

The as soon as a do a sync, I can no longer open my local TiddlyWiki html file. I just get a continuous loop of the this JavaScript error message. The only resolution is to quit the browser.

Using Safari 6 (with Disable LocalFileRestirctions checked) on Mac OS 10.8. Not seeing the issue with Firefox. 

There are problems with Safari, also with safari 5 before. Firefox is definitely our preference. We will file an issue for this. Until this is resolved, please stay on Firefox.

Regards,

 Sabine

[Søren Svendsen]

Hi Sabine,

When trying to google for the TiddlyNotesSync I didnt find anything, it is a bit strange to be completely unable to find anything on a published software when using google :) Thing is, when I see the instructions in the TiddlyNotes app on my IOS I am not really able to use the url to the tiddlynotessync for anything. I need that on my pc. But there's no app there! Finally found it rooting around on the facebook page.

[Sabine Kalinowsky]

Hi Guy,

It seems that you are pretty close in getting it working. And I have to admit, it is really complex, the whole syncing stuff. But we have to work within the limitation of TW. - Anyway, just to recap how the syncing works. There are 3 data sources:

* ios with its internal store

* TW with the empty.html or equivalent

* And the xml file that we store on Dropbox, which is an intermediate format

The important thing is, that iOS and the browser point at the right location for the sync, there is no need for you to copy manually data. On iOS this is done implicitly within the project structure. For tiddlywiki you need to point the plugin to the right location. For the default project this is the root dropbox folder and for a project, this is [dropbox-folder/tiddlyNotes]. And the rest should be automatic, if projectname = name of the tiddlywiki file.

Hope this helps,

 Sabine

On Jan 29, 2013, at 10:14 AM, Guy Saville wrote:

Sorry to contact you directly, but I have not been receiving responses to my Support requests on your Facebook page

I have a problem with sync'ing.  The problem is not the one covered in all your support - ie it's not about using the plug-in to automatically sync TiddlyWiki files to Dropbox.
My problem is on the iPhone - I cannot sync Projects between Dropbox and the TiddlyNotes (TN) app.

I have TiddlyNotes upgraded with all the in-app purchases. I am running IOS 6 on iPhone 4S. I have successfully opended TN and linked it to my Dropbox account. However I cannot merge or sync a wiki (project) from Dropbox to TN, and vice versa.
I have followed the directions closely. The problem is on the iPhone - sync'ing (merging) the file in Dropbox to the Project in TiddlyNotes (TN):
TN has activated Dropbox and created the Tiddlynotes sub-folder in Dropbox, and the correct xml files have been created in Dropbox. When I do a sync from TN, the Dropbox xml files are updated.
I created a new blank project in TN and added a TiddlyWiki html document (with content) of the exact same name in the TiddlyNotes sub-folder in Dropbox. When I then sync from TN, the xml file in Dropbox is updated, but the project in TN remains empty?

[Guy Savile]

Thank for your your kind response , but no, it doesn't help. I am following your instructions exactly, with no success.

I have set Project Name in TN = tiddly (.html file) in Dropbox\tiddlynotes folder. 

The .xml files in Dropbox are updated everytime I sync from TN. However no content is merged between the Project in TN and the Tiddlywiki in Dropbox 

[Eric Weir]

On 29 Jan 2013, at 23:42, Sabine Kalinowsky <mrskal...@googlemail.com> wrote:

It seems that you are pretty close in getting it working. And I have to admit, it is really complex, the whole syncing stuff. But we have to work within the limitation of TW. - Anyway, just to recap how the syncing works. There are 3 data sources:

This post alerted me to the existence of TiddlyNotes. I've installed the lite version. It appears that customization is not possible, i.e., that there's no access to the timeline and the control tiddlers.

To start with I'd like to like to add TiddlersBar, TagglyTagging, and to change the way tagging is implemented.

Possible?

Thanks,

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Eric Weir

eew...@bellsouth.net

"Human coexistence and social life constitute the good common to us all 

from which and thanks to which all cultural and social goods derive." 

- Zygmunt Bauman