Block templates
Steffen Bleher
Save a group of blocks and name it to reuse it again. For example, you could define an "info box" as block template and simply reuse this block group with all its styles by typing
+info box
in your note.Log In
Beth
Merged in a post:
Ability to insert more than one template
C
Claudia Schramm
I want to insert more than one template into one note. Sometimes I need a collection of blocks that I previously defined as a template inserted at a later point in working with a note.
I need the ability to choose and insert templates even after the first blocks are inserted. At the moment, this option disappears after starting to write in a note.
Beth
Merged in a post:
"Copy to current object" for linked/embedded objects
J
John Fleischauer
I have a workflow that makes extensive use of embedded objects, but occasionally I'll want to make a minor tweak - changing a word, removing a sentence, etc. Right now, there's no way to only have that change reflected locally - I either have to make it in the embedded object (and so it shows up anywhere that objected is used), or go through a cumbersome copy and paste process to add it to the parent object.
I'd love for there to be a "copy to current object" option that does exactly that: copies the entirety of the embedded object to the parent object, effectively unlinking it from the embedded object so that changes can be made locally. Ideally there'd be some type of "Copied from [link to embedded object]" added to keep up with that usage in backlinks, etc.
Beth
Hi John, please could you share a video/screenrecording/screenshots of what you mean? Feel free to send to beth@capacities.io to preserve privacy.
Anything changes made to an embedded object are synced, so we wouldn't make local only changes as that would give you too many versions of one object.
But if I'm misunderstanding, please share videos/pics as that will help me understand and I can advise from there.
J
John Fleischauer
Beth I figured I wasn't explaining that very well. Hopefully the screenshot illustrates what I have in mind, but I'm essentially thinking of a glorified copy and paste so that the content of an embedded object gets copied over to only live in the parent object. The idea is specifically to not have any remaining link to the original embedded object, other than perhaps a backlink like the "Copied from [Object]" in the screenshot.
If it's helpful, the use case I have where this would be beneficial is one where I have a "Presentation" object type that I frequently embed in a "Meeting" object type. The Presentation type has a generic presentation script, but I generally want to tweak it for a given audience when I'm preparing a Meeting. The cleanest way to do this is to copy and paste the content of the Presentation into the Meeting object, and this would just be a more streamlined way of doing that.
Beth
John Fleischauer: Thanks for following up! I think block templates would be better here (https://capacities.io/feedback/p/block-templates) where you can just reuse the script and tweak from there. I'll merge this ticket into it.
J
John Fleischauer
Beth maybe, though at least in the current usage I don't quite see templates being an effective approach to this problem. Specifically:
- To use my "presentations" example, a "presentation" should absolutely be its own object type, if for no other reason than because I might need to reference it in multiple object types - for instance, I might need to embed it in a meeting object type, or in a conference session object type, or in a project object type. Likewise, I'd need to be able to reference it in a query, which I assume wouldn't be doable with a template approach.
It might change the calculation if the block templates can be used across object types, but this wouldn't work in my case if they are confined to an object type as templates are now.
- The templates workflow (and specifically the template creation/editing workflow) I find to be a bit cumbersome for what I'm needing here. Again with the "presentations" example, it's likely that I'll be actively making changes to the presentation object between uses. In my current workflow I might even just pin the presentation I'm working on to the space for quick access, but I expect that wouldn't be doable with a template.
Beth
John Fleischauer: Hi John, could you send me an email at beth@capacities.io and we'll dig into this a bit further just to make sure we're on the same page?
Beth
Merged in a post:
Reduce friction or new object type
E
Emmanuel Mera
This is the thing: I use to use some patterns on my writing. e.g. If I'm capturing a random idea, i trend to develop that idea by defining "the big idea", then i put an "example", a "personal experience" could be, a "context", a "problem", etc.
So, when I´m writing, i use to need these kind of templates/block close to me. That if i were able to just type "/problem" then there should appear the block i created previously. Do you copy me?
The idea is to reduce friction on template pasting process.
The bug is, that when i apply a template on a page, e.g. I paste a "problem" block on a specific section of my writing, but the bug is that it doesn't appears there where i wanted, it appears on bottom, and that's a friction pain.
[There's an image if you want to see my view point]
Also, if you want to take a better example of what i try to explain, see "Kortex App" from Dan Koe, and see how he developed what he called "elements". That are this kind of template block to guide your writing. But there could be more uses of this.
W
William Bell
I'm still learning / getting used to Capacities.
At this point I've begun working on my implementation of keeping track of my thousands of photo and video files.
Being a software engineer, I really like the Object oriented nature that Capacities uses for creating and organizing Note (and their attributes).
I'm at the point where I'm working on a "FILE TAKE" structure:
Where did I "Take" this file from that I'm using in my project?
A file I downloaded - very common!
A picture OR video from a Camera (a "Memory Card")
A Vector graphic file from a CD / DVD clipart library etc.
A file I download (file Host name, download URL, URL status (Valid, Expired) etc., is very different from a file I grabbed from a memory card (Memory Card ID, _LOCATION_ where its physically stored etc.)
Ideally my "File Take" object would be a >Base Object< containing just the File details (Name, Size in bytes, File Created Date etc.,) and then Capacities "Sub-Class Object(s)" would allow me to fill in the rest of the Take details - Download URL, Host details for downloaded files; Memory Card ID / storage location etc.
Since this isn't supported, I remembered Capacities supports TEMPLATES!!
The base File Take object would just contain the File name, size, dates etc., and I could PICK A TEMPLATE to add in the additional "File Take Details" for the method of how I obtained the file.
But I'm finding if I create a simple File Take Object (Title, Date and a Content block), and then use a Template to add the File Host, URL Status single selects etc., those additional properties then becomes the DEFAULT in my File Take object DEFEATING my use of Templates to add in those additional Take details I need??
I really thought that would work since Subclassing isn't an option with Capacities' objects...
Any suggestion on how I can accomplish this or if I'm doing something wrong with templates is def appreciated!
I'm NOT working from the Calendar which I believe lets you choose a "default template" for a note, I'm just not using the Calendar at all, at this point in time...
Steffen Bleher
Merged in a post:
Customisable inline blocks
T
Tom Symonds
While being able to customise a card is very useful, this could be extended to customise an inline block.
This would allow user-creation of an inline which includes properties. For example an Event object might have the format:
[[Date]] Important date
or a note which belongs to a project might appear as
[[ProjectName]]: The title of the note
A
Alice Moore
This would also be hugely helpful if we get a "this object" parameter for queries, etc.
That way, if I add a bunch of blocks to an object, some of the information can be dynamically related to the object the blocks are added to.
W
Wei Jie Weng
+1. This is a must.
B
Brian Wong
Yes, please! This would be hugely useful, even better than text replacement if it includes the original formatting. I would use this in my one on one object to create weekly entries for my one on ones with each of my people.
J
John Fleischauer
+1 on this. I'm trying to keep a relatively well-maintained collection of object types, and this would go a long way toward that.
A specific example for where this would be helpful: I manage a lot of events, and would much rather have a "projects" object type that can handle both events and non-event projects since it's about a 90% overlap on my workflow for both types. There are just a few specific pieces of information (think dates and venue) for events that could easily be a block template rather than properties in a separate object type.
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