an introduction to tiddlywiki, revised
DESCRIPTION
Dave Gifford ("giffmex") gives a brief overview of TiddlyWiki and what it is used for.TRANSCRIPT
Introducing... TiddlyWiki!
Here are some of the struggles I had
before I discovered TiddlyWiki…
How should I organize my information
so that I can find it quickly?
How can I get rid of the endless post-it notes, 3x5 cards and
random scraps of paper?
And how should I organize the information on my computer?
Should I create loooong documents…
…then have to scroll up and down to find one piece of
information?
Or is it easier to create many smaller files…
…then wade through folders and sub-folders
for my information?
And how should I organize my ever-changing
to-do list?
By urgency/ priority?
By date?
By types of tasks?
By project?
What about tasks that are waiting for someone
else’s input?
Why can’t there be an easy way to organize my tasks and projects…
to see and sort them in various ways,
add my contactsand
my important information,
yet make iteasy and lightning fast
to find what I need?
Enter TiddlyWiki…
TiddlyWiki is a free program that helps you easily
create and index notes, to-do lists and any kind of information
that you need to organize and have at hand quickly.
Think of TiddlyWiki as a collection of note cards,
called “tiddlers”, all in one computer file.
These tiddlers can be linked to each other
by hyperlinks, the links found in web pages
They can also be linked by tags, words attached to tiddlers to indicate their topic or content
Just create a tiddler by clicking a button, give it a title, then add your content.
Add a tag in the tag window to indicate its topic, if you wish.
Then click ‘Done’.
Voila! Your new tiddler is complete!
You can easily edit it at any time. Click ‘close’ to tuck it away.
But wait! How do I find my new tiddler again?
Is it buried in a file folder somewhere?
Not to worry. Your tiddler is right there in the same file.
There are several quick and easy ways to find tiddlers with your
notes and information:
A table of contents called MainMenu
that you can personalize
A fast and easy search window
Convenient indexes of all tiddlers
by title, by date and by tags
There are macros and various extensions (called plugins) you
can use to customize your TiddlyWiki.
You can create tabbed folders…
…calendars…
…tables…
…drop down lists and other sliding
menus…
form fields for modest databases…
…pretty much anything that can be done on a web page!
With a little knowledge you can change the colors and
layout of your TiddlyWiki
People use TiddlyWiki for sharing recipes…
…organizing thesis notes…
…for business uses…
…for online blogs, and much more.
The TiddlySnip extension for Firefox browsers
pastes selected web content
directly to your TiddlyWiki
with tags and proper citations
TiddlyWiki is also available in a variety of languages
You can even get a TiddlyWiki hosted online for free at http://tiddlyspot.com/
Now let’s see how TiddlyWiki can be used to organize your life.
Here is a free TiddlyWiki adaptation I created, which can
be found at
www.giffmex.org/tiddlydu2.html
Here is the whole page:
See tasks tagged as priority at the top of your list, with stars
See current-but-not-priority tasks, too
See tasks waiting for others’ input at the bottom, with a “(w)”
Assign your tasks to projects, and your projects to life goals, and see them
indexed automatically
Life goal
Automatic list of projects tagged with that life goal
Want to see your tasks by task type? No problem!
Send finished tasks to be added to your next work report,
then delete them after your report.
Save your important information in a convenient place.
You can even password-protect your
sensitive information
There are calendars for this month, next month, this year and next year
Tasks tagged as ‘dated’ go automatically into the ‘My reminders’ tiddler
Dated tasks specially formatted are automatically added to a visual timeline
Add your contacts, too…
So there you have it.
No more scrolling through long documents.
No more wading through folders.
No more scraps of paper.
Just create tiddlers, tag them, tuck them away, then call them up quickly when you need them.
Only as many as you want.
In the order that you want.
It’s that simple.
TiddlyWiki is basically an HTML file
(a web page file) that you open with nothing more
than your Internet browser.
Any recent browser on any computer will work,
though Mozilla Firefox works best.
You do not need to be online to use TiddlyWiki.
The idea is that you save your free TiddlyWiki file
to your computer. Then it’s completely yours.
Put your TiddlyWiki on a USB drive, and you have a
“Wiki on a stick” that can be edited on
virtually any computer!
2. Click on ‘Download software’ in the left menu
3. Right-click “this link to empty.html”then select “Save link as” or “Save target
as” to save the file to your computer.
4. Close your Internet browser and open your very own
new TiddlyWiki file to begin using it!
Our ownTiddlyWiki
resources have similar links
for free downloading.
“Wow!” you say. “This sounds great! But what if I need help?”
Not to worry. There are several sources of help:
You can see our very own tutorial for beginners at
www.giffmex.org/twfortherestofus.html
There is a more advanced tutorial athttp://tiddlyspot.com/twhelp/
There is a developing official help site athttp://www.tiddlywiki.org/wiki/Main_Page
There is also an online community eager to help you at Google Groups:
http://groups.google.com/group/TiddlyWiki
TiddlyWiki is copyrighted by UnaMesa under an Open Source license.
TiddlyWiki was first created by Jeremy Ruston in 2004.
TiddlyDu2 and this PowerPoint introduction were created by Dave Gifford in 2007.
I hope you enjoy TiddlyWiki!
For more about my family and me, and the free TiddlyWikis I have to offer,
see our website, www.giffmex.org