*protoTyping

Putting it together one Note at a time

A Tinderbox Toolshed

The Front Door

*protoTyping

There's No Place Like Home

The Fridgedoor

The Kenya Challenge

Kenya Website

A Picture's Worth a Thousand Words

*protoPhoto

Recent Construction Projects and Forum Posts

User Attributes

Exporting Notes within Notes

About the Righthand Sidebar

The Workbench

2003

Grammarian Pro X 9/14/03 ::permalink::

I never seem to know where to put my commas. But Grammarian Pro knows! It's quick, and easy and I might even learn something as I use it. But do I really need all these commas? Oh well, better safe than sorry!

Link: Grammarian Pro X

Different ways of sorting the index 9/14/03 ::permalink::

The index page of *protoTyping is created by an agent that collects forty of the most recent entries collected from a container note. The content of the agent is then sorted by Modified (reverse). This allows me bring old items back to the forefront when I revise or modify the note.

I've considered doing this on my personal weblog but it creates timeline discontinuities when I correct something minor like spelling or grammar in an old note. So, I'll stick with sorting on "Created (reverse)" for The Fridgedoor.

Kenya Website 8/9/03 ::permalink::

A fun little website I built for my son's first grade class. They were studying Kenya and I had a whole lot of parent participation hours to make up. It was a great Tinderbox exercise. Be sure to check out the Kenya Challenge!

Link: Kenya Website

Moving to a new domain 9/14/03 ::permalink::

Welcome to *protoTyping's new home! So far, the move to fridgedoor.net has been a lot smoother than our move to Seattle. Thanks to Tinderbox's template flexibility. You build that flexibility in from the beginning by setting the URL for your web server in the documents preference file, then use that reference in your html templates using ^host^.

First, use Document Preferences and the HTML tab with the URL (Web Server) setting to establish the path for the index.html file. Then, use ^host^ to give the root path for all the paths specified in the templates. By building the host path in generically, one can easily change the root path for all the paths by changing the host path in the Document Preferences settings. References will now look something like this one:

href="^host^/trainStyle.css"

Now if you move your site you only have to change the URL in the Document Preferences and all your templates will produce the proper links and references.

VirtualDesktop 8/23/03 ::permalink::

VirtualDesktop gives you multiple desktops where you can keep your important applications active and organized. I have a several different Tinderbox documents open in different "desktops" and can easily switch between them. I also have a desktop devoted to documentation as well as desktops for iPhoto/Photoshop, banking with Quicken and email. To top it off, I use a second monitor to add even more real estate.

Link: VirtualDesktop

Key Attributes 8/16/03 ::permalink::

Here is a list of some of the key attributes I use for *protoTyping and The Fridgedoor.

PictureURL;URL;PictureFile;Year;OnAdd;Prototype;Done

I am actually using this note to transfer the attributes from one document to another. I find that using the note space in Explorer View is a handy way to view, modify and diagnose issues with attributes and queries in Notes and Agents.

The way I made my changes in this case was to 1) paste the Key attributes into this note and modify as needed 2) paste the modified key attributes into the Key attributes section of Window/Attributes and 3) use the Window/Quick Stamp to set the value of Key attributes and Apply it to all the prototypes for the notes of this document.

Now all my notes are nicely attributed in the Explorer view and I can paste in the PictureURL's and others as needed.

Finished the GTD Template 8/16/03 ::permalink::

I finally completed a generalized version of my Getting Things Done Tinderbox document. It's gone through a number of evolutionary changes since I started, but I am pretty satisfied with it now. I've been using it with some success for about two months during a hectic period of transition.

Now I've passed it on to the Tinderbox Development team for their input while I make my move to Seattle. In the meantime, here are some screen shots to give you an idea of how it's put together.

Missing image in published categories 8/11/03 ::permalink::

The sorted category pages, accessed by the sidebar table of contents, has a missing image. Should be a simple fix. Check out export templates.

Add OnAdd Actions to Main Sections to Set Prototypes 8/9/03 ::permalink::

Need to use the OnAdd attribute so that I can just drop notes into the outline and have the prototype set automatically as I do with GettingThingsDone.

Now I won't have to remember what prototypes to assign a particular note -- the system works automatically. I just have to remember to write!

This automation also makes it easier to add notes by pasting from other sources (like The Fridgedoor). They are automatically assigned the appropriate prototype as soon as they are added to a particular section.

Done!

TinderboxWiki 8/11/03 ::permalink::

A meeting ground for Tinderbox users. I'm still learning how to "wiki". It may have to wait until after the move.

Link: TinderboxWiki

Sort by Category 8/9/03 ::permalink::

Create aliases of the agents representing the various categories for the sidebar. An application of sidebar agent paths.

*Revised*

Instead of using Agents for this, I am adding aliases to a table of contents section in the sidebar. That way, I will have pointers to content that is already published.

Done!

Change Priority attribute to Importance 8/9/03 ::permalink::

Priority just doesn't make as much sense as Importance and I like the consistency that is developing with Fridgedoor, protoTyping and GettingThingsDone.

New ISP, Need to migrate site! 8/7/03 ::permalink::

It finally happened after so much denial (and spam from comcast!) -- attbi.com became comcast.net and I suddenly had a whole 'lot of household IT work to do. That wouldn't have been so bad, had we not decided to move to another state at about the same time! Needless to say, things have been pretty busy around here and *protoTyping has taken a back seat.

Not that I've stopped using Tinderbox! In fact, my newly crafted GettingThingsDone Tinderbox template has already become an indispensable tool for tackling the innumerable moving related action items now on my plate. Hopefully, I'll have time to clean it up a bit and share it with others who have expressed interest on the TinderboxWiki .

I also want to share how I used the power of ^host^ to ease the pain of my *protoTyping site migration. But that will have to wait. Have to clean up the slug farm that the kids made on the back porch. Realtors coming tomorrow -- gotta sell this house!

Created Action for Containers to prototype new notes 5/9/03 ::permalink::

I am using Actions (OnAdd) to simplify and automate the process of assigning prototypes to notes as they are added. It's an approach that works well in GettingThingsDone too.

HTML 4 for the World Wide Web 3/29/03 ::permalink::

I am a total novice when it comes to html. Like many beginners, I've played with some of the wsywig web programs, but could never really make the time or had the context to go deeper. With Tinderbox though, I definitely need some basic html editing skills to do any customization or modification.

So I've been reading "HTML 4 for the World Wide Web" by Elizabeth Castro. It's a good introduction to the basics and serves as a handy reference guide. But even after working through much of the book, I still feel very much like a total novice. Nothing is at my fingertips. I think one has to really live with html for awhile to begin to get the hang of it. Perhaps creating several web sites from scratch and going well beyond the basics. For that, I think I would do better with a programmed approach. A step by step build it "like this" book. I have Eric Meyer's book "Eric Meyer on CSS." But do I have the time?

Link: HTML 4 for the World Wide Web

ImageWell 4/16/03 ::permalink::

ImageWell is a great application that I use to shuttle screen shots between Grab and ImageRodeo.

First I Capture a screenshot with Grab. That opens the grabbed image as a TIFF. Then a copy from Grab and paste to ImageWell, transfers the screenshot. Within ImageWell, I can add borders of various color and shapes. Then I drag and drop the image from the ImageWell window (as a jpeg) directly into ImageRodeo. I like the fact that ImageWell allows me to shuttle from Grab to ImageRodeo without creating a lot of extra files and work along the way.

Finally, I upload from ImageRodeo, paste the filename and the URL into PictureFile and PictureURL in TBX, export and upload. Voila!

Give ImageWell a try. I'm sure that you will find some great uses for this program too!

Link: ImageWell

Safari 3/29/03 ::permalink::

Still beta, still fast. Still my default browser (except for banking).

Link: Safari

PageSpinner 3/29/03 ::permalink::

I am not very html savvy so I like to have a tool that leads me by the hand. However, I have yet to learn much about PageSpinner. I will have to delve in deeper someday.

Link: PageSpinner

Tinderbox 3/29/03 ::permalink::

I continue to get immersed in Tinderbox! Now that I have managed to customize my template, I can resume my exploration of Tinderbox as a jump-start tool for writing.

Link: Tinderbox

Color link by note color 3/31/03 ::permalink::

Here's an idea -- make permalinks in the same color as the color of the category note. That would be cool!

Getting Things Done 7/31/03 ::permalink::

David Allen's productivity guide is a practical and common sense guide for enhancing personal efficiency. The simple tricks and basic concepts are already helping me deal with the huge volume of tasks precipitated by our impending move. And Tinderbox is the perfect digital tool for tracking all those actions at home and at work.

Link: Getting Things Done

As I mentioned in Part 1, I started with the Trainblogging template. The two templates I modified for the multi-level story effect are trainTemplate.html and trainItem.html. I've added a lot of additional customization but for now I'll try to keep it simple. So, let's Read More of the Story!

I have developed an export template designed for Multi Level Stories and my weblog. The story begins with a summary. If the reader wishes to continue, they can click on a link and read the entire story. Want to know how I do it? Read More, click here!

Some of the text is looking strange. For instance, A Drag and Drop Sidebar. What's with that?

Too many horizontal lines in the stories too!

Levels deeper than three - problem 5/10/03 ::permalink::

I am finding that levels deeper than three are problematic. I'm sure it could be fixed in my template but it's too late. Besides, two levels is deep enough.

Permalink complication for multilevels 5/10/03 ::permalink::

There is a complication with the permalink when the note is buried deeply. Too tired to invesitgate now.

My permalinks don't really work for the second level read more notes. Should they even have permalinks? I think not.

Removed permalinks on the Read more sublevels with an if statement.

Added root to links 5/9/03 ::permalink::

I plan to move protoTyping to a new server soon and need to make the templates transportable. So, I need to generalize the links. I think root will do it. So,

would become:

Not giving what I expect. Maybe http://fridgedoor.net/prototyping is better. Host certainly targets permalink to the right note better than before.

Trying out new HTML quote attribute 5/9/03 ::permalink::

There's a new attribute called HTMLQuoteHTML.

I think this will let me write about HTML in my weblogs. Let's see:

becomes

Simplify, simplify! 5/4/03 ::permalink::

During the course of working with the another simple website, I realized that my trainitem template could be simplified. There really isn't a need to do a Level check and it should be possible for notes to go many levels deep.

Some one on the TBX Forum asked for a listing of custom attributes. Here are they are for prototyping:

Done, Level, PictureFile, PictureURL, Priority, PublicationDate, Quoted, SlideHeight, SlideName, SlideWidth, Target, WeblogTagline, WeblogTitle, Year, id

For me, protoypes are an even more important construction tool. And that list is even longer!

Slide show test 4/19/03 ::permalink::

Building a slide show capability

I want to be able to include quicktime in the Level 2 pages.

Done!

Exporting Notes within Notes 4/19/03 ::permalink::

Choosing which export template can be tricky, especially for notes within notes. I have found that the export template specified in an include [e.g. ^include(notename, exporttempl.html)], will trump the export template specified by the child notes in their HTMLExportTemplate attribute. Keep this in mind and you can avoid the dreaded page within a page problem.

I have been having some surprising trouble adding an email link. I want to encode it and I have tried using an export template containing the java script but no success yet.

*Solved!*

After much fussing, I found that the web version of Enkoder worked while the desktop app version did not! Anyway, now I have the email link in the sidebar.

Want details?

Done! Read More...

Copyright info not exporting properly 4/11/03 ::permalink::

Something is wrong with the export of the note Copyright. I'm getting this instead:

^include(Copyright,)::

Check templates and check the note.

**Fixed: Althought the main template had the ^include(Copyright), the note itself had no export template specified. Now HTMLExportTemplate = textOnly.html and the Copyright info is properly included at the bottom of the page.

This suggest a solution to my Enkoder email problem. Use an ^include(emailnote) in the sidebar and set emailnote HTMLExportTemplate = emailscrpt.html .

So long as the note is not in another note that overides the export template specification as the sidebar notes do.

Done!

Information about me 4/11/03 ::permalink::

I have a lot of interests. And Tinderbox fits right in.

Rich, beautiful, exhaustive. And made with Tinderbox of course!

Link: Mark Bernstein

Add comments 3/29/03 ::permalink::

I would like to add comments to *protoTyping. It looks like there are a number of different ways to do this. Explore further.

I liked the looks of enetation as it was presented on Hit Those Keys. I think I will set it up this weekend if possible.

Adding Pictures to a Blog 3/31/03 ::permalink::

It's time to add pictures to *protoTyping. I'll begin with the Picture Template ideas suggested by M.B.. I'll expand on it in by including pictures for the blurb and for each of the Level 2 note in the "Read More" section. **Revised**

***Revised Again***

RBrowserLite 3/29/03 ::permalink::

Free, fast and easy FTP. What more could you ask for?

Link: RBrowserLite

Sidebar glitch 4/14/03 ::permalink::

Oops. When I put an address for a link to protophoto in the URL of "Adding Pictures to a Blog" something goes haywire in the link to this note in the sidebar. Completed!

Done! Read More...

Added *protoGraphic to sidebar 4/15/03 ::permalink::

Added a graphic element to the left sidebar. I am home sick so I really couldn't bring myself to devise a slick attribute approach with template modifications and layered conditionals.

So I just pasted the blasted html into the note. It works.

Here it is:

IMG SRC="/elements/prototypinglogo.jpg" WIDTH="150" HEIGHT="112" ALT="protoTyping"

Clean up key attributes 4/15/03 ::permalink::

The list of attributes is a bit daunting. Each time I had a new troubleshooting issue, I added a new attribute to the key list. Time to shorten the list so that the important stuff will stand out.

Done!

About the Righthand Sidebar 4/13/03 ::permalink::

Jonty asked for more detail on how I created the righthand sidebar in my Trainblogging derived weblog. As I've mentioned before, I know only enough html to be dangerous. My usual approach is to study a template and attempt to emulate it as best I can by copying and pasting. That is what I have done here.

I added a sidebar on the right to hold external links. I made it by copying the existing sidebar table definition and pasting it after the content table. Then I put in the ^include(A Shed with a View) note.

I have just enough knowledge about html to be dangerous, but somehow it works!

Picture template from Bernstein 3/23/03 ::permalink::

Here's a solution to the problem of putting pictures in a blog, suggested by M.B.

It was easy to implement and should be easy to elaborate as needed. Works well with my ImageRodeo workflow.

I want to have the title of the website as a link after the Newly Noted description.

Same for Books except the link will go to amazon.com.

In both, URL exists. Must distinguish between Read More... where children exists and Check out the Link: where URL and children exist as in the sidebar. Use an if else conditional.

Done!

Newly Notes Collects Notes from the Sidebar Too 4/11/03 ::permalink::

When a Bookmark or New Book listing is added in the sidebar, it also appears in Newly Noted and is assigned a category according to it's prototype. This is a great way to comment on recently added links, books, software tools etc.

It works that way because the Newly Noted Agent collects the most recent notes from the All Notes Agent. All Notes collects all the notes in this document that match the Prototypes in the Agent's query. This is a happy consequence of the Agents collecting notes by Prototype, not by specified container.

A very new kind of tool 3/29/03 ::permalink::

...Tinderbox is a very new kind of tool....

--Mark Bernstein

Go step by step 3/29/03 ::permalink::

When in doubt, go step by step. Start with VERY SIMPLE templates.

--Mark Bernstein

The XML gif not showing up 4/11/03 ::permalink::

The graphic for the RSS feed is not properly visible on the page.

Add Bookmark Category 3/31/03 ::permalink::

Add a Bookmark category to list of prototypes to allow for commentary and highlighting of new links.

Also create protoBook to highlight books of interest.

How about protoSoftware? protoHardware? Ok, ok. Stop already!

Done!

Add a URL Conditional for protoBookmark 4/9/03 ::permalink::

Need to add a conditional and html code to provide the link for a new Bookmark entry. I will also create an Agent in the sidebar to collect all Bookmark entries.

Changed my mind. Instead of adding a new category etc, I will just put the note containing the description in the sidebar. They don't have to go into the archive. I will do this for protoBooks, protoBookmarks and protoSoftware and whatever else comes up. I'll reserve the date specific notepad for timely material.

Done!

Leaving a Trace: On Keeping a Journal 3/31/03 ::permalink::

I've been reading a book on Journal writing. It has actually had a significant impact on my ideas about creating and writing a weblog. Although the author is referring to hardcopy journals of the diary type, much of what she discusses can be applied to personal weblogs.

Link: Leaving a Trace: On Keeping a Journal

Exploring the Nakakoji View 4/8/03 ::permalink::

I am looking for a way to view a complete Story within Tinderbox. A Story is made of many. It's difficult to edit the story by looking only at individual notes in Explorer View.

But it looks like the Nakakoji View will allow me to to see the entire Story with all the notes flowing together.

I select the parent of the notes (or individual notes separately) and choose View: Nakakoji View. Here I pick the appropriate radio button or go with the default which is to view the selected note and it's children and choose a template.

If I choose one of the text export templates included with Tinderbox, I can view just a text version of my story. I can also edit this template to modify the view by clicking on the Edit button. I just want title and text.

Great, now I have the whole Story in one window! The only problem is that the text is so small I can barely read it. Must make appointment to see eye doctor -- eyes failing.

Style issue 3/31/03 ::permalink::

Lost the style for the 2003 page. Need to investigate later. Have to go to sleep now...

Solved: had a single very long line (the Agent query definition for that generates the page) that extended the margins. Broke it up into smaller fragments.

Done!

Add a priority sort to ToDo's 3/31/03 ::permalink::

Should be easy to sort the remaining things to do list in the sidebar according to a Priority Attribute.

Created the new Attribute called Priority (number) with 3 as default (a low priority). Changed protoToDo to include Priority in list of key visible attributes.

Rewrote agents in Category Archive All Agent and added new ToDo List agent to Sidebar -- sorted by Priority.

Done!

A prototype change 3/31/03 ::permalink::

Went through and changed all the prototype names. Removed the asterisk in preparation for my planned trainItem.html template consolidation project.

*protoNote becomes protoNote

Next I will convert the individual category img labels to a generalized label that inserts the appropriate img based on ^Get(Prototype). All preceded by an appropriate conditional that I am still pondering over.

Perhaps this one:

^if(^exists(^ childLinks))

some code to format a list of links to the child notes

^ endif

if this note has any children,

the end of the if construction^

But what will that do to the sidebar? Have to think about what distinguishes a multilevel project.

Done!

Add links to Toolbox 3/29/03 ::permalink::

Add a few links to Toolbox in sidebar.

** Change sorting of index to Modified (reverse). I would like to be able to elaborate or satisfy an old note and have it refreshed at the Top of the blog index. Will this work?

Puzzled! Playing with the sort of All items. Can't seem to sort on Modified. Perhaps upon reopening the document?

Yes! That's the ticket. Close, then reopen and All items gets sorted on Modified date. Newly Noted (the index) picks off the first 40 (#first(All items, 40)),

Curious! Newly Noted doesn't just pick off the first 40 and keep the sort. Have to sort Newly Noted as well. Used Modified (reverse) and id(reverse) to get the right sort as before.

Done!

Following the permalinks 3/29/03 ::permalink::

I notice that following the permalinks in the Sidebar doesn't take you to the exact note location anchor. Perhaps it is a browser issue or maybe it has to do with how I have sorted the archive.

Trial and Error 3/29/03 ::permalink::

Most of the work here is through trial and error. Tinderbox is a very flexible tool but it can also be elusive and confounding. And for me, it's always engaging.

A Drag and Drop Sidebar 3/29/03 ::permalink::

I have a novel drag-and-drop approach to introduce Links into my sidebar. I link to a particular Note by dragging it's alias to the sidebar and I create www links by dragging Notes, where URL exists, into the sidebar.

Here is how I do it...

General suggestions from M.B. regarding the construction of templates

I have a number of projects, hobbies and chores that I am working on at any given time, each with it's own set of requirements. Instead of having many tinderbox documents, I now use a combination of notes and agents to create a single document with an outline format that is well suited to the requirements of a wide range of different projects.

Need to figure out what "key attributes" does and how to get only selected attributes to show up for specific note types.

Done!

Duplicate *protoTyping to create Fridgedoor 3/29/03 ::permalink::

Have to do the duplication and renaming for the Fridgedoor. Maybe after a week of testing.

Done!

Add category graphics 3/27/03 ::permalink::

Finish editing and add to export template.

Done!

Set up -complete- test in sidebar 3/27/03 ::permalink::

Show in a sidebar list until complete.

Agent test for complete = true and *protoIdea

Added Done! attribute and used it in export template and for sidebar agent.