Feature request: multiple archives

aurelien

Hello,

For people who, like me, work on very different projects at the same time, it would be nice to be able to use different archives (this is already partly possible) and to switch easily from one to another.

Currently, it is possible to switch and then reopen the previous archive, but it is not straightforward. This is why I would suggest:

1. a menu from which to choose the archive to use (like in File > Open recent...)
2. the saved searches are associated to archives (currently, when switching archives, the list of search remains the same, but that makes no sense!)
3. even better: possibility to open different archives simultaneously (one per tab)
4. cherry on the pie: when the app is launched, re-open the tabs/archives as they were when the app was closed

What do you think?

Will

Welcome to the forums. What are your areas of interest? How do you use The Archive?

Early on, this was my thinking, but I've come to see the advantages of a single archive. Sophisticated saved searches can separate projects when desired, but I get the advantages of all my ideas comingling.

As a beta tester, I'd like to see a smoother way to switch to a "test" environment with its own theme, saved searches, and archive. But I'd find no other use for this feature in my zettelkasten.

Cypressguy

Hi new user here but so far, happy with how "simple" things are in this method and this software that it really can make it stick for me .... (I explored too many fancy apps and methodology).

Anyway, I wanted to echo TS's idea. For myself, I use The Archive as a final destination for notes.. in other words, it is meant to be the final reference point for all my knowledge. Problem is the areas of my interest are very wide. One area is Trading (as in stock and shares) and one is in Real Estate (which is my work). They are quite varied and I don't fancy lumping them into the same folder or search or ...

So I did have two subfolders in my folder and then switch them in 1Writer (on my iPad and iPhone) and in the Archive. But I find switching in the Archive a little more troublesome

I hence thought the idea of a separate archive is a good idea. Perhaps the "switching" can be done easily on this left side of the menu.

Frix_14

@aurelien said:
Hello,

For people who, like me, work on very different projects at the same time, it would be nice to be able to use different archives (this is already partly possible) and to switch easily from one to another.

Currently, it is possible to switch and then reopen the previous archive, but it is not straightforward. This is why I would suggest:

1. a menu from which to choose the archive to use (like in File > Open recent...)
2. the saved searches are associated to archives (currently, when switching archives, the list of search remains the same, but that makes no sense!)
3. even better: possibility to open different archives simultaneously (one per tab)
4. cherry on the pie: when the app is launched, re-open the tabs/archives as they were when the app was closed

What do you think?

I agree with all your ideas.

I work with many different archives (in example one Archive for each client)

I would really appreciate the ability to keep different searches saved in each different archive

Frix

ctietze

Oh, I never replied to this thread, sorry!

A similar solution, including Automator actions:
https://forum.zettelkasten.de/discussion/comment/18527/#Comment_18527

You can open multiple instances of the app at the same time. You just need to create a launch shortcut yourself that runs this shell script line

open -n /Applications/The\ Archive.app --args -archiveURL "file:///Users/YOURUSERNAME/YOURFOLDER/"

It's important to end the path with a /.

You can copy paths from Finder with ⌘⌥C, then add the file:// in front (so you have 3 slashes total)

Sascha

On the level of the method, it is truly unnecessary to create multiple archives. The whole point of the Zettelkasten Method is to deal with huge note collections. So, it has self-scaling built into the Zettelkasten.

I have wildy ranging content on my ZK, ranging from philosophy to workflows to integrate the Zettelkasten Method with blogging, philosophy, training, nutrition, child raising etc. There is no interference at all.

If that wouldn't be the case, how could you expect the Zettelkasten to deal with even one bigger project alone, since these projects often are based on unmanageable amounts of notes.

GeoEng51

@Sascha Quite right. I agree with you, philosophically and in my own practice. However, I can think of one reason why someone might want different archives, at least in a work environment. In our company, each combination of client and project has a unique number and everything gets filed in a directory with that number on the company's file server (eventually :>). For the sake of project archiving, it might be simpler if the ZK files for that project were in one directory on your computer, separate from other ZK files, which could then easily be copied over to the company folder for that project.

A way to achieve this and still meet the desirable condition of having The Archive see all your ZK files at once would be to allow subfolders in your ZK directory and have The Archive search down to at least one level of subfolders.

ctietze

My wife has similar trouble: combining learnings from work to home in a notes folder is not approved (yet), so notes from work stay in a silo, and stuff learned 'at home' stay in a silo, even though topics overlap and syncing is technically possible. Two folders are easier to manage than one folder that needs to be untangled (e.g. by marking work notes with tags). 😕