Embed tags in a note

[Macdemac 2]

I have recently been using a simple note taking app called Bear. It is very good for very simple notes. However, it offers a quick and easy method for create tags and multilevel tags.

In a note on daily tasks for instance. I capture info about a customer call and can tag it simply by adding a # to the start of a word, e.g., #customer_name. I can also add a multiword tag by surrounding the words with #'s, e.g., #customer_name issue#. I can also add multi-level tags by #customer_name/project or #customer_name/issue.

The tags are created automatically and dynamically. Why this is so simple is that I no longer duplicate tags and create a mess in my hierarchy. I can simply see the tags in a sidebar when creating the note and add the relevant tags in the appropriate place in the note. I can also simply select the tag I want from tags sidebar and am presented with a list of notes that contain that tag.

Right now I have a heap on untagged notes and have started the processing of tagging them appropriately but it is a difficult process in EN. I have to look at the note, search through existing tags in a different window, and add the tags to the note or create new tags. I find that I am always duplicating the tag or misspelling it and this creating a big mess.

Does anyone have any other thoughts on a simple method for tagging?

let me know.

brettm

[jim.g 53]

On 1/26/2017 at 9:56 PM, Macdemac said:

 

I have recently been using a simple note taking app called Bear. It is very good for very simple notes. However, it offers a quick and easy method for create tags and multilevel tags.

In a note on daily tasks for instance. I capture info about a customer call and can tag it simply by adding a # to the start of a word, e.g., #customer_name. I can also add a multiword tag by surrounding the words with #'s, e.g., #customer_name issue#. I can also add multi-level tags by #customer_name/project or #customer_name/issue.

The tags are created automatically and dynamically. Why this is so simple is that I no longer duplicate tags and create a mess in my hierarchy. I can simply see the tags in a sidebar when creating the note and add the relevant tags in the appropriate place in the note. I can also simply select the tag I want from tags sidebar and am presented with a list of notes that contain that tag.

Right now I have a heap on untagged notes and have started the processing of tagging them appropriately but it is a difficult process in EN. I have to look at the note, search through existing tags in a different window, and add the tags to the note or create new tags. I find that I am always duplicating the tag or misspelling it and this creating a big mess.

Does anyone have any other thoughts on a simple method for tagging?

 

I’m also a Bear user. Based on its current features, I see it as more of a writing app with Markdown support (like Ulysses) with some note app features. I consider Bear’s tag management features quite lacking at this point, but I know they are focusing on that area in the next updates and I anticipate significant improvement in the near future.

I think EN may have more robust tag creation and management features than you realize. When you create a new note, there is an area to the right of the tag icon at the top of the note that says "click to add tags". Here you can add a new tag on the fly that immediately shows under Tags in the sidebar (no # required). As you are typing your tag name autosuggest displays underneath so you can see if the tag already exists. Multi-word tag names are allowed, again with no need for hashes. Unlimited levels of nesting of tags are allowed, not just two as currently exists in Bear.

Existing tags can also be added by dragging the note over the tag name in the sidebar. Bulk tagging is possible by selecting the notes you want to tag and typing in the tag name at the bottom of the window that pops up after the notes are selected (no bulk tag addition in Bear). Once again autosuggest is available. You can delete a tag in the sidebar and it’s auto-deleted from all notes with that tag. Currently in Bear you have to manually delete the tag from each note with that tag in order to completely eliminate it (i.e., no bulk deletion in Bear). If for example you have 100 notes with that tag, then you’re looking at a significant task.

As far as sorting with tags, you can click on the tag name in the sidebar and you immediately see all notes with that tag. In Bear you find untagged notes by searching using @untagged. In EN you use -tag:*. Note counts show next to the tag names in the sidebar. By clicking on Tags in the sidebar, a tag management window opens that allows you to add a tag, search for a tag, sort tags by name or note count, and create nested tags with drag and drop, so no typing like in Bear. And there are probably some other tag features of EN that I’m leaving out.

I really like Bear and intend on using it in the areas that I feel like it excels. But to me, the current tagging system in Bear doesn’t really stack up very well at all compared to that of EN.

[DTLow 5,736]

On 2017-01-26 at 7:56 PM, Macdemac said:

In a note on daily tasks for instance. I capture info about a customer call and can tag it simply by adding a # to the start of a word, e.g., #customer_name.

Evernote has a tag system, operating at the Note level
but there's nothing stopping you from embedding keywords within a Note

Special characters don't work, but you can use a phrase, for example kw_customer_name works
I have this scripted on my Mac to maintain a master list of keywords

The keyword is searchable

[Macdemac 2]

Thanks very much for the great feedback jim.g and DTLow. I appreciate it.

The feature of Bear that I like is that I can tag a word within the note itself rather than adding them as an "after thought" (couldn't think of a better way of saying this). This is different to EN as the tag is within the note not appended to the note. When I add the special character # I automatically create a tag of that name. I can change the tag spelling by simply editing it or deleting it by removing the # character.

I suppose what I am saying is that I create the tags on the fly as I see fit and is relevant. For me this is an ideal way of creating tags of interest and importance. Trying to organise notes by appending tags is messy for me and I always forget the tag syntax I am trying to create. I end up with duplicates and slight variations of the same tag.

I have tried variations methods of tag organisation I found on the web but they always end up in a mess. Maybe its me and the way I think that changes but I found the Bear method really works for me. However, as jim.g stated Bear has its limitations and does not have the feature function set of EN.

In Bear, before I add a tag I very easily check the tags I have already created and use the most relevant. This method means I am using the same context and I do not have duplicates. It is simple. I have not found a way of replicating this in EN but, jim.g, I am looking at your suggestions right now to see if I can "replicate".

DTLow, when you say you have scripted on your Mac to maintain a list of keywords, how did you go about creating the list? Do you scan somehow through EN and extract tags? How do you use the master list? What processes do you have in place to use the info?

It sounds interesting.

Thanks again.

brettm

[DTLow 5,736]

25 minutes ago, Macdemac said:

when you say you have scripted on your Mac to maintain a list of keywords, how did you go about creating the list?

My project is documented here https://www.evernote.com/l/AAqSZZOQItxLDJz6asXr3dqLzU-5zyfLEf8

On the Mac, Evernote has an additional scripting layer we can access using AppleScript 

My solution was to create a note for every keyword
When I want to insert a keyword in a note, I use a shortcut key
- The list is displayed
- I can select an existing keyword, or add a new one
- The keyword is typed in the note (or the search box)

The two places I need the list are when inserting keywords in a note, or when searching for notes having a keyword

[jim.g 53]

On 1/26/2017 at 9:56 PM, Macdemac said:

Right now I have a heap on untagged notes and have started the processing of tagging them appropriately but it is a difficult process in EN. I have to look at the note, search through existing tags in a different window, and add the tags to the note or create new tags. I find that I am always duplicating the tag or misspelling it and this creating a big mess.

Does anyone have any other thoughts on a simple method for tagging?

I don’t think I addressed what you wanted help with specifically enough, so here goes.

Here is how I would go about tagging untagged notes in EN. First off, I would have my Sidebar visible and Tags visible in the sidebar. I would have the Toolbar visible so I could use the Search box. I would use -tag:* to find all untagged notes in All Notes.

If I had multiple notes that needed the same tag, I would select them and then start typing in the "Click to add tags" box at the bottom of the window that comes up after I make my selection of notes. As I type, the autosuggest appears below the box. So, to use your list of Bear tags, if I type an "a" I’ll see acs, adp, anapuma, anhb, anupama, anz bank, etc. I don’t know if anapuma and anupama are the same thing or not, but if so, autosuggest should have helped prevent the creation of a duplicate tag with a slightly different spelling. If I didn’t already have a tag that I wanted to use, then I would just keep typing. If I wanted to add a combination of new tags and old tags, I would use the tab key between each tag I was adding, hit return when I was finished, and the tag modifications would be applied to all the selected notes. If needed, I could also select multiple notes and remove tags this same way.

If I had only one note that I needed to add tags to, then I would just use the “Click to add tags” box at the top of the note, and add tags using the same approach as just described.

Hope this helps.

[jim.g 53]

8 minutes ago, jim.g said:

I would use -tag:* to find all untagged notes in All Notes.

I forgot to add that it may be helpful to further sort your untagged notes, especially if you're going to be adding tags in bulk. So you may want to look at your untagged notes by notebook, or if there are certain keywords in the untagged notes that you want to base your tagging on, then you could add the keywords to your search criteria, and so on. Here is a link to How to use Evernote's advanced search syntax.

[DTLow 5,736]

On 2017-01-26 at 7:56 PM, Macdemac said:

Does anyone have any other thoughts on a simple method for tagging?

This depends on your platform.  
I have an @Inbox notebook which I process on my Mac;
moving notes to my Filing Notebook, and assigning tags

I use Top List view, it's easy to see the tag column
and identify if no tags are assigned

 

 

I have my taglist in the sidebar, I can easily assign tags by dragging
- but my usual process is to simply start typing the tag name and a droplist shows matching tags
I have my tags organized first by class (?Who, !What ...)
I prefix my tagnames with symbol and text; for example all doctor tagnames begin with ?Dr

My tags are in a hierarchy.  Here is an image from my Mac
As you can see, new tagnames stand out and give me a chance to organize them, rename ....

[CalS 5,280]

4 hours ago, jim.g said:

If I had only one note that I needed to add tags to, then I would just use the “Click to add tags” box at the top of the note, and add tags using the same approach as just described.

If you are adding more than one tag using the note header area you might want to go to Tools - Options - Search and make sure Search when note is updated is unchecked.  When you use the note header area to add tags with a -tag:* search in play the note will leave the search list after you add the first tag.  Then you have to go find the note to add the other tags.

[DTLow 5,736]

12 minutes ago, csihilling said:

you might want to go to Tools - Options - Search and make sure Search when note is updated is unchecked.

Good thought, but its Windows only.  I've been burned many times when I updated things and the note dropped out of the search criteria

Another idea is to open the note in its own window 

[CalS 5,280]

11 minutes ago, DTLow said:

Another idea is to open the note in its own window 

My preferred method....