David Somers
09-14-2015, 11:18 PM
Hey gang,
Since I got back on the forum again I have noticed a number of people, mostly newcomers, talk about the wealth of info available on the forum and how they were writing all these ideas down in a notebook for future reference?
A quick idea for you. Since most of us are using PC's and Windows remember if you are using Windows 8.x or higher you are getting a copy of Microsoft OneNote with your Operating System. It is a very good and versatile tool for keeping all kinds of stuff (URL's Screen shots, etc) you pick up off the web, as well as for typing notes into. It is a fairly free form system and most everything is searchable which is a wonderful tool for random notes like this.
Another thought that actually is my preference given the way I work, is a free web based product called Workflowy.com. Since it is web based it is independent of Operating System or platform. Windows or Linux or Apple is fine so long as you have a browser and web access. It is a simple note taking system in which everything is searchable. It makes heavy use of an outline format with indenting and outdenting. What you type in is saved right then so you dont have to remember to save. It is powerful but also very simple so it doesnt interfere with you as you make notes. I have used it for years now and have come to really appreciate it. For use with Sawmill Creek I generally either copy and paste from an individual post into workflowy, or if there is a lot in a thread that interests me, which is often the case, I will copy the URL from my browsers address bar and first type in a topic in Workflowy, then drop down and make an indent and paste in the URL. Now I have access to the entire thread rather than just the one post. My collection of entries on the laser is big now and covers a ton of topics. But I can find things in it very quickly. I do have all laser things under the heading Laser since I have many other types of notes in it as well. Under laser I have tighter topics like Acrylics and Wood and Lenses and Tubes etc etc. And within each of those is an indented sub topic and the information I typed or copied in.
There are other things out there that you may like as well. Play with them and see if they work better for you than a handwritten notebook. They may not....but always worth a try.
Dave
Since I got back on the forum again I have noticed a number of people, mostly newcomers, talk about the wealth of info available on the forum and how they were writing all these ideas down in a notebook for future reference?
A quick idea for you. Since most of us are using PC's and Windows remember if you are using Windows 8.x or higher you are getting a copy of Microsoft OneNote with your Operating System. It is a very good and versatile tool for keeping all kinds of stuff (URL's Screen shots, etc) you pick up off the web, as well as for typing notes into. It is a fairly free form system and most everything is searchable which is a wonderful tool for random notes like this.
Another thought that actually is my preference given the way I work, is a free web based product called Workflowy.com. Since it is web based it is independent of Operating System or platform. Windows or Linux or Apple is fine so long as you have a browser and web access. It is a simple note taking system in which everything is searchable. It makes heavy use of an outline format with indenting and outdenting. What you type in is saved right then so you dont have to remember to save. It is powerful but also very simple so it doesnt interfere with you as you make notes. I have used it for years now and have come to really appreciate it. For use with Sawmill Creek I generally either copy and paste from an individual post into workflowy, or if there is a lot in a thread that interests me, which is often the case, I will copy the URL from my browsers address bar and first type in a topic in Workflowy, then drop down and make an indent and paste in the URL. Now I have access to the entire thread rather than just the one post. My collection of entries on the laser is big now and covers a ton of topics. But I can find things in it very quickly. I do have all laser things under the heading Laser since I have many other types of notes in it as well. Under laser I have tighter topics like Acrylics and Wood and Lenses and Tubes etc etc. And within each of those is an indented sub topic and the information I typed or copied in.
There are other things out there that you may like as well. Play with them and see if they work better for you than a handwritten notebook. They may not....but always worth a try.
Dave