Request: Slightly different structure mode

Request: Slightly different structure mode

[Torsten Wagner]

Hi,
beside of the organising part I use org-mode as a lab-notebook for every 
"project" which involves more thinking and esp. remembering about it.

For that I create a new org-mode file for every project, linked to a 
main-file and I add all this links, infos, mails, deadlines, folder, 
files, data, and all other pieces of infos which I need to access or 
remember when I continue to work on this project (which might be weeks 
or months later). This works really great with org-mode and it help me 
to come quickly inside a particular project even after long time of 
non-processing.

I noticed that I prefer to create outlines like this (stupid example)

+----------------------start----------------------------------+
* Learn org-mode
   I start to read carefully the manual again. Esp. tables are still 
difficult to use for me.
** Just to remember the most important table commands
    Here I will write down all the table stuff commands a long long long 
text and maybe some tables.

  This text should belong again to outline 1. I just like to continue 
writing since I just write in a chronological order. I read the manual 
again and found some nice features I wasn't aware of ..more text.. .
+--------------------stop-------------------------------------+

Thus if I cylcle threw them I like to get the following:

+----------------------start----------------------------------+
* Learn org-mode
   I start to read carefully the manual again. Esp. tables are still 
difficult to use for me.
** Just to remember the most important table commands
   This text should belong again to outline 1. I just like to continue 
writing since I just write in a chronological order. I read the manual 
again and found some nice features I wasn't aware of ..more text.. .
+--------------------stop-------------------------------------+

Thus the last paragraph should belong to the first outline and only 
collapse if with the first outline. At the moment it belongs always to 
the last (in this case second outline) and collapsing result in:

+----------------------start----------------------------------+
Thus if I cylcle threw them I like to get the following"
* Learn org-mode
   I start to read carefully the manual again. Esp. tables are still 
difficult to use for me.
** Just to remember the most important table commands
+--------------------stop-------------------------------------+

So I like to use the outline levels more as a measure of importance or 
of detail. I write a generic text of how the project is going on, most 
likely just adding every day a little bit text like in a diary. If there 
is something very special or very detailed I like to encapsulate it in a 
outline and only open it up if I need to read again about it. Thus, it 
will not distract me by reading fast threw the main file and it is 
available if needed.

Any idea how to achieve that ?


Thanks

Torsten

Re: Request: Slightly different structure mode

[Torsten Wagner]

Dear Eric,

>> I noticed that I prefer to create outlines like this (stupid example)
>>
>> +----------------------start----------------------------------+
>> * Learn org-mode
>>    I start to read carefully the manual again. Esp. tables are still
>> difficult to use for me.
>> ** Just to remember the most important table commands
>>     Here I will write down all the table stuff commands a long long
>> long text and maybe some tables.
>>
>>   This text should belong again to outline 1. I just like to continue
>> writing since I just write in a chronological order. I read the manual
>> again and found some nice features I wasn't aware of ..more text.. .
>> +--------------------stop-------------------------------------+

>> Any idea how to achieve that ?
>
> I do something similar but outlines don't allow for what you want.  I
> use lists instead, particularly description (- XXX :: text) lists.
> However, you would have to use list items for each paragraph as the
> same problem of hiding will happen (the last item, when folded, will
> hide any subsequent paragraphs).

Thanks for sharing the idea to use lists and thanks for using org-mode 
in a similar way like me ... that let me feel not to bad by abusing 
org-mode for my strange needs ;) . However, as you said it is rather the 
same problem with lists. Subsequent paragraphs always belongs to the 
last list or outline.
As far as I understood org-mode I could maybe use drawers to achieve 
something similar to what I want. However, I wonder if there is a more 
easy method esp. in way of typing, rather then wrapping a start and end 
command around the "inline"-paragraph. For my day-to-day use I always 
try to make it as easy as possible otherwise I might be to "lazy" to use it.

Thanks again for sharing your idea.

Torsten

Re: Request: Slightly different structure mode

[Eric S Fraga]

On Tue, 23 Feb 2010 17:24:33 +0900, Torsten Wagner <torsten.wagner@gmail.com> wrote:
> 
> Dear Eric,
> 
> >> I noticed that I prefer to create outlines like this (stupid example)
> >>
> >> +----------------------start----------------------------------+
> >> * Learn org-mode
> >>    I start to read carefully the manual again. Esp. tables are still
> >> difficult to use for me.
> >> ** Just to remember the most important table commands
> >>     Here I will write down all the table stuff commands a long long
> >> long text and maybe some tables.
> >>
> >>   This text should belong again to outline 1. I just like to continue
> >> writing since I just write in a chronological order. I read the manual
> >> again and found some nice features I wasn't aware of ..more text.. .
> >> +--------------------stop-------------------------------------+
> 
> >> Any idea how to achieve that ?
> >
> > I do something similar but outlines don't allow for what you want.  I
> > use lists instead, particularly description (- XXX :: text) lists.
> > However, you would have to use list items for each paragraph as the
> > same problem of hiding will happen (the last item, when folded, will
> > hide any subsequent paragraphs).
> 
> Thanks for sharing the idea to use lists and thanks for using org-mode
> in a similar way like me ... that let me feel not to bad by abusing
> org-mode for my strange needs ;) . However, as you said it is rather
> the same problem with lists. Subsequent paragraphs always belongs to
> the last list or outline.

Yes but if you ensure that *every* paragraph is actually an item, this
problem disappears.

> As far as I understood org-mode I could maybe use drawers to achieve
> something similar to what I want. 

I have no experience with drawers unfortunately.  Hope you find
something that works well with your intended usage!