Re: Feature Request: Time Line in Lab Book

[Nick Dokos <ndokos@gmail.com>]

Dominik Schrempf <dominik.schrempf@gmail.com> writes:


> I want to write a lab book with Org mode.  Thereby my workflow is as
> follows: New stuff is appended to the bottom of the document (with time
> stamps in chronological order).  Sometimes, especially when I discuss
> something in a meeting, tasks pop up that can only be done later.  These
> tasks are filed into TODO entries.  However, new stuff is being appended
> to the end of the document before I can come back to getting these tasks
> done.  When I work on a task, I document it below this task and do not
> append it to the bottom of the document.  This new stuff should belong
> to that task and not to the top level (i.e., the time line).  New stuff
> belonging to the time line should belong to the top level and not to any
> task above it.  I want to fold tasks together with text belonging to
> them while the time line is still visible below them.  I am not sure if
> I make myself clear.
>

As Erik F. points out, a datetree capture is the way to go but...

> A possible example:
>
> * February 2016
> February 10th: Some text and stuff in February 2016.
>
> ** TODO A task to be done. Filed on February 10th.
>    E.g., February 24th: Some text that should belong to the task only.
>    I could not work on this task before February 18th.
>    
> February 18th: Some more text belonging to February 2016 and not to the
> task.
>
> * March 2016
>
> And so on.  Maybe this feature does already exist, but I am not aware of
> it.  I know that especially upon export, this is hard to realize,
> because all text always belongs to the previous headline.  But maybe it
> is worth thinking about it because at least to me this would be highly
> useful (e.g., having different styles in HTML export for the text under
> the task and the text of the top level, the time line).
>

Exactly. If tasks are implemented as second level headlines, then you
cannot do this: an org document is a tree and the second level subtree
is done only when the next headline (at whatever level) is
encountered. So the "Some more text..." will *not* belong to February
2016; it will belong to the task.

Maybe inline tasks can be used (but I have never used them, so I hope
somebody else chimes in).

-- 
Nick