Question about org-new-numbered-item

Question about org-new-numbered-item

[Matt Lundin]

Hi Carsten,

I noticed you have added a new function to org.el called
org-new-numbered-item, which inserts items like this:

* TODO Action #1                                :#1:
* TODO Action #2                                :#2:

I'd be curious to learn more about possible uses for this feature. For
instance, if one reorganizes items, will the actions be renumbered? Do
you envision additional functionality beyond inserting an incremental
string and tag when inserting a new item? In my own experience, todos
generated when taking notes often have to be reordered and tagged after
the fact. How might this interact with the functionality already offered
by enumerated lists? For instance, might it be helpful to be able to
convert a list to a set of enumerated todos and vice versa?

Thanks in advance for entertaining these questions born of brainstorming
and curiosity! 

Best,
Matt

Re: Question about org-new-numbered-item

[Carsten Dominik]

Hi Matt,

On Mar 31, 2011, at 3:31 PM, Matt Lundin wrote:

> Hi Carsten,
> 
> I noticed you have added a new function to org.el called
> org-new-numbered-item, which inserts items like this:
> 
> * TODO Action #1                                :#1:
> * TODO Action #2                                :#2:
> 
> I'd be curious to learn more about possible uses for this feature. For
> instance, if one reorganizes items, will the actions be renumbered?

No.  The purpose is exactly to have the old numbers retained
when moving and reorganizing them - a task not well served
by ordered lists.

> Do
> you envision additional functionality beyond inserting an incremental
> string and tag when inserting a new item? In my own experience, todos
> generated when taking notes often have to be reordered and tagged after
> the fact. How might this interact with the functionality already offered
> by enumerated lists? For instance, might it be helpful to be able to
> convert a list to a set of enumerated todos and vice versa?
> 
> Thanks in advance for entertaining these questions born of brainstorming
> and curiosity! 


Maybe you can first look at the tutorial which explains how
I am using this.  The function was added to minimize setup
required for this particular use case.

http://orgmode.org/worg/org-tutorials/org-meeting-tasks.html

When you have read this, I am happy to brainstorm more about this
and see if there are other contexts where this might be useful.

- Carsten

Re: Question about org-new-numbered-item

[Matt Lundin]

Carsten Dominik <carsten.dominik@gmail.com> writes:

> On Mar 31, 2011, at 3:31 PM, Matt Lundin wrote:
>
>> Hi Carsten,
>> 
>> I noticed you have added a new function to org.el called
>> org-new-numbered-item, which inserts items like this:
>> 
>> * TODO Action #1                                :#1:
>> * TODO Action #2                                :#2:
>> 
>> I'd be curious to learn more about possible uses for this feature. For
>> instance, if one reorganizes items, will the actions be renumbered?
>
> No.  The purpose is exactly to have the old numbers retained
> when moving and reorganizing them - a task not well served
> by ordered lists.

Great. That makes sense. Thanks!

>> Thanks in advance for entertaining these questions born of
>> brainstorming and curiosity!

> Maybe you can first look at the tutorial which explains how
> I am using this.  The function was added to minimize setup
> required for this particular use case.
>
> http://orgmode.org/worg/org-tutorials/org-meeting-tasks.html
>
> When you have read this, I am happy to brainstorm more about this
> and see if there are other contexts where this might be useful.

Very informative and thorough. Thanks for sharing your workflow here!

I should have checked Worg first, knowing how efficiently and thoroughly
you get things done. :)

When I saw the new functions I thought they might be the beginnings of a
more generalized syntax for creating enumerated headlines. After reading
the tutorial, I think a better description would be "helper functions
that support a workflow for taking meeting notes." I.e., the incremental
tags are not part of "official" org-mode syntax in the same way that,
say, priority cookies are. I can also see how automatic renumbering
would not be helpful in this context.

Best,
Matt