Hi,
First, thank you for such superb information. It's much appreciated for me as a starting ZK enthusiast.
Second, I'm just starting with ZK, but I think I grasped the idea. However, I have got a technical issue that I haven't found addressed anywhere on this website or on the internet. I'm a Windows user, so I cannot use The Archive, instead, I opted for Typora.
Now, one of the key features of ZK is the linking together which is described in the "Introduction to the Zettelkasten Method" under the subheading "Connecting Zettel". My problem is that I cannot interlink zettels in Typora, which seems odd. I can link articles using "anchor" within the same file, but not across files.
I'm not sure if I'm doing something wrong, or if this feature is simply absent. I tried to search through the internet but I couldn't find an answer. I know this may be the wrong thread to ask this, but is here someone who is using Typora and could confirm/refute that I can do links across files in Typora? And if so, could you please point me to relevant sources?
Thank you.
@zlodam said:
Hi,
First, thank you for such superb information. It's much appreciated for me as a starting ZK enthusiast.
Second, I'm just starting with ZK, but I think I grasped the idea. However, I have got a technical issue that I haven't found addressed anywhere on this website or on the internet. I'm a Windows user, so I cannot use The Archive, instead, I opted for Typora.
Now, one of the key features of ZK is the linking together which is described in the "Introduction to the Zettelkasten Method" under the subheading "Connecting Zettel". My problem is that I cannot interlink zettels in Typora, which seems odd. I can link articles using "anchor" within the same file, but not across files.
I'm not sure if I'm doing something wrong, or if this feature is simply absent. I tried to search through the internet but I couldn't find an answer. I know this may be the wrong thread to ask this, but is here someone who is using Typora and could confirm/refute that I can do links across files in Typora? And if so, could you please point me to relevant sources?
Thank you.
Hi zlodam!
As far as I know, at least the macOS version of Typora doesn't support WikiLinks (i.e. [[...]] links) – that's why I have never considered it as a zettelkasten app. What you possibly can do is insert clickable links to files via their path in your folder system, e.g. /Users/thetzger/Dropbox/Zettelkasten/201802121037 Welcome to The Archive.md. If that works, you could try to automate it with a Windows-equivalent to Keyboard Maestro (if that exists), but that would be for you to figure out...
As far as I know, at least the macOS version of Typora doesn't support WikiLinks (i.e. [[...]] links) – that's why I have never considered it as a zettelkasten app. What you possibly can do is insert clickable links to files via their path in your folder system, e.g. /Users/thetzger/Dropbox/Zettelkasten/201802121037 Welcome to The Archive.md. If that works, you could try to automate it with a Windows-equivalent to Keyboard Maestro (if that exists), but that would be for you to figure out...
Thank you Vinho. I'll take your advice into consideration.
@zlodam Why note find another Windows app that is better suited to building a Zettelkasten? There was a good discussion of this topic (with recommended Windows apps) at:
@zlodam Why note find another Windows app that is better suited to building a Zettelkasten? There was a good discussion of this topic (with recommended Windows apps) at:
Thanks for your reply. That's what I tried to do, but I've found dozen of apps and everyone has a very good reason to use their particular one and not the other ones. But what do I know? I've got no programming background. Typora seemed to be very basic, perhaps too basic for Zettelkasten. So how do I chose? I know I'd be forever deciding on a perfect app as a way to procrastinate, so I applied Oakham Razor's logic and just went with the simplest solution. It may not be perfect, but to me, it beats indecision.
Now, correct me if I'm wrong, but what I understand, the simpler the note is, the easier it should be to later transfer it into another software. So if I use Typora I can later just transfer the notes into some other program if I chose to - is that right?
I think I'll stick with Typora. Maybe that's a mistake and I should use a different app. Maybe it's not a mistake. I don't know and I've got no tool to decide whether I'm right or wrong. But what I know is that even Typora is about 100x better than my current note-taking system and that's an improvement.
By the way, I found the article by searching "zettelkasten on windows" in Duck Duck Go (or Google) - a trick I learned from @Will.
@zlodam I understand your desire to have a simple markdown editor. However, I think you will find the lack of ability to follow links to be limiting after a short period of time.
Before I decided on The Archive (on a Mac), I tried out Zettlr and found it very capable. It is a markdown editor designed for Zettelkasten and works with plain text files. I still use it on occasion as it has some capabilities that The Archive does not, and I can have it access my Zettelkasten folder (produced by The Archive) directly.
What is even better - it is available for a number of operating systems. You can download it here:
Ok, thank you for finding the time to respond to me. I appreciate it.
I downloaded Zettlr and tested it. To me, it seems like a boosted Typora. I haven't noticed any significant difference other than tags. I cannot do tags on Typora unless I do it manually. But I can create links in Typora the same way as in Zettlr (finally I've found how).
On the other hand - and maybe I'm already biased because I've been using Typora for a whole week - Typora seems to work for me ok. I realize I'm ignorant and I don't discount your opinion because you've obviously more experience with creating ZK than I do.
That's why I'll keep an open mind about this, but after I reviewed other forums on a similar topic I'll stick with Typora for next three months and review again.
Thanks again
Comments
Hi,
First, thank you for such superb information. It's much appreciated for me as a starting ZK enthusiast.
Second, I'm just starting with ZK, but I think I grasped the idea. However, I have got a technical issue that I haven't found addressed anywhere on this website or on the internet. I'm a Windows user, so I cannot use The Archive, instead, I opted for Typora.
Now, one of the key features of ZK is the linking together which is described in the "Introduction to the Zettelkasten Method" under the subheading "Connecting Zettel". My problem is that I cannot interlink zettels in Typora, which seems odd. I can link articles using "anchor" within the same file, but not across files.
I'm not sure if I'm doing something wrong, or if this feature is simply absent. I tried to search through the internet but I couldn't find an answer. I know this may be the wrong thread to ask this, but is here someone who is using Typora and could confirm/refute that I can do links across files in Typora? And if so, could you please point me to relevant sources?
Thank you.
Hi zlodam!
As far as I know, at least the macOS version of Typora doesn't support WikiLinks (i.e.
[[...]]links) – that's why I have never considered it as a zettelkasten app. What you possibly can do is insert clickable links to files via their path in your folder system, e.g./Users/thetzger/Dropbox/Zettelkasten/201802121037 Welcome to The Archive.md. If that works, you could try to automate it with a Windows-equivalent to Keyboard Maestro (if that exists), but that would be for you to figure out...Thank you Vinho. I'll take your advice into consideration.
@zlodam Why note find another Windows app that is better suited to building a Zettelkasten? There was a good discussion of this topic (with recommended Windows apps) at:
https://forum.zettelkasten.de/discussion/777/trying-to-implement-zettelkasten-on-windows
By the way, I found the article by searching "zettelkasten on windows" in Duck Duck Go (or Google) - a trick I learned from @Will.
Thanks for your reply. That's what I tried to do, but I've found dozen of apps and everyone has a very good reason to use their particular one and not the other ones. But what do I know? I've got no programming background. Typora seemed to be very basic, perhaps too basic for Zettelkasten. So how do I chose? I know I'd be forever deciding on a perfect app as a way to procrastinate, so I applied Oakham Razor's logic and just went with the simplest solution. It may not be perfect, but to me, it beats indecision.
Now, correct me if I'm wrong, but what I understand, the simpler the note is, the easier it should be to later transfer it into another software. So if I use Typora I can later just transfer the notes into some other program if I chose to - is that right?
I think I'll stick with Typora. Maybe that's a mistake and I should use a different app. Maybe it's not a mistake. I don't know and I've got no tool to decide whether I'm right or wrong. But what I know is that even Typora is about 100x better than my current note-taking system and that's an improvement.
Thanks
I shall remember it for next time.
@zlodam I understand your desire to have a simple markdown editor. However, I think you will find the lack of ability to follow links to be limiting after a short period of time.
Before I decided on The Archive (on a Mac), I tried out Zettlr and found it very capable. It is a markdown editor designed for Zettelkasten and works with plain text files. I still use it on occasion as it has some capabilities that The Archive does not, and I can have it access my Zettelkasten folder (produced by The Archive) directly.
What is even better - it is available for a number of operating systems. You can download it here:
https://www.zettlr.com/download
Ok, thank you for finding the time to respond to me. I appreciate it.
I downloaded Zettlr and tested it. To me, it seems like a boosted Typora. I haven't noticed any significant difference other than tags. I cannot do tags on Typora unless I do it manually. But I can create links in Typora the same way as in Zettlr (finally I've found how).
On the other hand - and maybe I'm already biased because I've been using Typora for a whole week - Typora seems to work for me ok. I realize I'm ignorant and I don't discount your opinion because you've obviously more experience with creating ZK than I do.
That's why I'll keep an open mind about this, but after I reviewed other forums on a similar topic I'll stick with Typora for next three months and review again.
Thanks again