dotemacs

denote.info (212014B)

---

 This is docvTU8YZ.info, produced by makeinfo version 6.7 from
 denote.texi.
 
 Copyright (C) 2022 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
 
      Permission is granted to copy, distribute and/or modify this
      document under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License,
      Version 1.3 or any later version published by the Free Software
      Foundation; with no Invariant Sections, with the Front-Cover Texts
      being “A GNU Manual,” and with the Back-Cover Texts as in (a)
      below.  A copy of the license is included in the section entitled
      “GNU Free Documentation License.”
 
      (a) The FSF’s Back-Cover Text is: “You have the freedom to copy and
      modify this GNU manual.”
 
 INFO-DIR-SECTION Emacs misc features
 START-INFO-DIR-ENTRY
 * Denote: (denote).     Simple notes with an efficient file-naming scheme.
 END-INFO-DIR-ENTRY
 
 
 File: docvTU8YZ.info,  Node: Top,  Next: Overview,  Up: (dir)
 
 denote: Simple notes with an efficient file-naming scheme
 *********************************************************
 
 Copyright (C) 2022 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
 
      Permission is granted to copy, distribute and/or modify this
      document under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License,
      Version 1.3 or any later version published by the Free Software
      Foundation; with no Invariant Sections, with the Front-Cover Texts
      being “A GNU Manual,” and with the Back-Cover Texts as in (a)
      below.  A copy of the license is included in the section entitled
      “GNU Free Documentation License.”
 
      (a) The FSF’s Back-Cover Text is: “You have the freedom to copy and
      modify this GNU manual.”
 
    This manual, written by Protesilaos Stavrou, describes the
 customization options for the Emacs package called ‘denote’ (or
 ‘denote.el’), and provides every other piece of information pertinent to
 it.
 
    The documentation furnished herein corresponds to stable version
 1.2.0, released on 2022-12-16.  Any reference to a newer feature which
 does not yet form part of the latest tagged commit, is explicitly marked
 as such.
 
    Current development target is 1.3.0-dev.
 
    • Package name (GNU ELPA): ‘denote’
    • Official manual: <https://protesilaos.com/emacs/denote>
    • Change log: <https://protesilaos.com/emacs/denote-changelog>
    • Git repo on SourceHut: <https://git.sr.ht/~protesilaos/denote>
         • Mirrors:
              • GitHub: <https://github.com/protesilaos/denote>
              • GitLab: <https://gitlab.com/protesilaos/denote>
    • Mailing list: <https://lists.sr.ht/~protesilaos/denote>
    • Backronyms: Denote Everything Neatly; Omit The Excesses.  Don’t
      Ever Note Only The Epiphenomenal.
 
    If you are viewing the README.org version of this file, please note
 that the GNU ELPA machinery automatically generates an Info manual out
 of it.
 
 * Menu:
 
 * Overview::
 * Points of entry::
 * Renaming files::
 * The file-naming scheme::
 * Front matter::
 * Linking notes::
 * Fontification in Dired::
 * Use Org dynamic blocks::
 * Minibuffer histories::
 * Extending Denote::
 * Installation::
 * Sample configuration::
 * For developers or advanced users::
 * Contributing::
 * Things to do::
 * Publications about Denote::
 * Alternatives to Denote::
 * Frequently Asked Questions::
 * Acknowledgements::
 * GNU Free Documentation License::
 * Indices::
 
 — The Detailed Node Listing —
 
 Points of entry
 
 * Standard note creation::
 * Create note using Org capture::
 * Maintain separate directory silos for notes::
 * Exclude certain directories from all operations::
 * Exclude certain keywords from being inferred::
 
 Standard note creation
 
 * The denote-prompts option::
 * The denote-templates option::
 * Convenience commands for note creation::
 * The denote-date-prompt-use-org-read-date option::
 * Add or remove keywords interactively::
 
 Renaming files
 
 * Rename a single file::
 * Rename multiple files at once::
 * Rename a single file based on its front matter::
 * Rename multiple files based on their front matter::
 
 The file-naming scheme
 
 * Sluggified title and keywords::
 * Features of the file-naming scheme for searching or filtering::
 
 Front matter
 
 * Change the front matter format::
 * Regenerate front matter::
 
 Linking notes
 
 * Adding a single link::
 * Insert links matching a regexp::
 * Insert links, but only those missing from current buffer: Insert links but only those missing from current buffer.
 * Insert links from marked files in Dired::
 * Link to an existing note or create a new one::
 * The backlinks' buffer::
 * Writing metanotes::
 * Visiting linked files via the minibuffer::
 * Miscellaneous information about links::
 
 Extending Denote
 
 * Keep a journal or diary::
 * Create a note with the region's contents::
 * Split an Org subtree into its own note::
 * Narrow the list of files in Dired::
 * Use dired-virtual-mode for arbitrary file listings::
 * Use Embark to collect minibuffer candidates::
 * Search file contents::
 * Bookmark the directory with the notes::
 * Use the citar-denote package for bibliography notes::
 * Use the consult-notes package::
 * Treat your notes as a project::
 * Variants of denote-open-or-create::
 * Variants of denote-link-or-create::
 
 Installation
 
 * GNU ELPA package::
 * Manual installation::
 
 Alternatives to Denote
 
 * Alternative ideas with Emacs and further reading::
 
 Frequently Asked Questions
 
 * Why develop Denote when PACKAGE already exists?::
 * Why not rely exclusively on Org?::
 * Why care about Unix tools when you use Emacs?::
 * Why many small files instead of few large ones?::
 * Does Denote perform well at scale?::
 * I add TODOs to my notes; will many files slow down the Org agenda?::
 * I want to sort by last modified, why won’t Denote let me?: I want to sort by last modified why won't Denote let me?.
 * How do you handle the last modified case?::
 * Speed up backlinks' buffer creation?::
 * Why do I get ``Search failed with status 1'' when I search for backlinks?::
 
 Indices
 
 * Function index::
 * Variable index::
 * Concept index::
 
 
 
 File: docvTU8YZ.info,  Node: Overview,  Next: Points of entry,  Prev: Top,  Up: Top
 
 1 Overview
 **********
 
 Denote aims to be a simple-to-use, focused-in-scope, and effective
 note-taking tool for Emacs.  It is based on the following core design
 principles:
 
 Predictability
      File names must follow a consistent and descriptive naming
      convention (*note The file-naming scheme::).  The file name alone
      should offer a clear indication of what the contents are, without
      reference to any other metadatum.  This convention is not specific
      to note-taking, as it is pertinent to any form of file that is part
      of the user’s long-term storage (*note Renaming files::).
 
 Composability
      Be a good Emacs citizen, by integrating with other packages or
      built-in functionality instead of re-inventing functions such as
      for filtering or greping.  The author of Denote (Protesilaos, aka
      “Prot”) writes ordinary notes in plain text (‘.txt’), switching on
      demand to an Org file only when its expanded set of functionality
      is required for the task at hand (*note Points of entry::).
 
 Portability
      Notes are plain text and should remain portable.  The way Denote
      writes file names, the front matter it includes in the note’s
      header, and the links it establishes must all be adequately usable
      with standard Unix tools.  No need for a database or some
      specialised software.  As Denote develops and this manual is fully
      fleshed out, there will be concrete examples on how to do the
      Denote-equivalent on the command-line.
 
 Flexibility
      Do not assume the user’s preference for a note-taking methodology.
      Denote is conceptually similar to the Zettelkasten Method, which
      you can learn more about in this detailed introduction:
      <https://zettelkasten.de/introduction/>.  Notes are atomic (one
      file per note) and have a unique identifier.  However, Denote does
      not enforce a particular methodology for knowledge management, such
      as a restricted vocabulary or mutually exclusive sets of keywords.
      Denote also does not check if the user writes thematically atomic
      notes.  It is up to the user to apply the requisite rigor and/or
      creativity in pursuit of their preferred workflow (*note Writing
      metanotes::).
 
 Hackability
      Denote’s code base consists of small and reusable functions.  They
      all have documentation strings.  The idea is to make it easier for
      users of varying levels of expertise to understand what is going on
      and make surgical interventions where necessary (e.g.  to tweak
      some formatting).  In this manual, we provide concrete examples on
      such user-level configurations (*note Keep a journal or diary::).
 
    Now the important part... “Denote” is the familiar word, though it
 also is a play on the “note” concept.  Plus, we can come up with
 acronyms, recursive or otherwise, of increasingly dubious utility like:
 
    • Don’t Ever Note Only The Epiphenomenal
    • Denote Everything Neatly; Omit The Excesses
 
    But we’ll let you get back to work.  Don’t Eschew or Neglect your
 Obligations, Tasks, and Engagements.
 
 
 File: docvTU8YZ.info,  Node: Points of entry,  Next: Renaming files,  Prev: Overview,  Up: Top
 
 2 Points of entry
 *****************
 
 There are five ways to write a note with Denote: invoke the ‘denote’,
 ‘denote-type’, ‘denote-date’, ‘denote-subdirectory’, ‘denote-template’
 commands, or leverage the ‘org-capture-templates’ by setting up a
 template which calls the function ‘denote-org-capture’.  We explain all
 of those in the subsequent sections.
 
 * Menu:
 
 * Standard note creation::
 * Create note using Org capture::
 * Maintain separate directory silos for notes::
 * Exclude certain directories from all operations::
 * Exclude certain keywords from being inferred::
 
 
 File: docvTU8YZ.info,  Node: Standard note creation,  Next: Create note using Org capture,  Up: Points of entry
 
 2.1 Standard note creation
 ==========================
 
 The ‘denote’ command will prompt for a title.  If a region is active,
 the text of the region becomes the default at the minibuffer prompt
 (meaning that typing ‘RET’ without any input will use the default
 value).  Once the title is supplied, the ‘denote’ command will then ask
 for keywords.  The resulting note will have a file name as already
 explained: *note The file naming scheme: The file-naming scheme.
 
    The file type of the new note is determined by the user option
 ‘denote-file-type’ (*note Front matter::).
 
    The keywords’ prompt supports minibuffer completion.  Available
 candidates are those defined in the user option ‘denote-known-keywords’.
 More candidates can be inferred from the names of existing notes, by
 setting ‘denote-infer-keywords’ to non-nil (which is the case by
 default).
 
    Multiple keywords can be inserted by separating them with a comma (or
 whatever the value of the ‘crm-separator’ is—which should be a comma).
 When the user option ‘denote-sort-keywords’ is non-nil (the default),
 keywords are sorted alphabetically (technically, the sorting is done
 with ‘string-lessp’).
 
    The interactive behaviour of the ‘denote’ command is influenced by
 the user option ‘denote-prompts’ (*note The denote-prompts option: The
 denote-prompts option.).
 
    The ‘denote’ command can also be called from Lisp.  Read its doc
 string for the technicalities.
 
    In the interest of discoverability, ‘denote’ is also available under
 the alias ‘denote-create-note’.
 
 * Menu:
 
 * The denote-prompts option::
 * The denote-templates option::
 * Convenience commands for note creation::
 * The denote-date-prompt-use-org-read-date option::
 * Add or remove keywords interactively::
 
 
 File: docvTU8YZ.info,  Node: The denote-prompts option,  Next: The denote-templates option,  Up: Standard note creation
 
 2.1.1 The ‘denote-prompts’ option
 ---------------------------------
 
 The user option ‘denote-prompts’ determines how the ‘denote’ command
 will behave interactively (*note Standard note creation::).
 
    The value is a list of symbols, which includes any of the following:
 
    • ‘title’: Prompt for the title of the new note.
 
    • ‘keywords’: Prompts with completion for the keywords of the new
      note.  Available candidates are those specified in the user option
      ‘denote-known-keywords’.  If the user option
      ‘denote-infer-keywords’ is non-nil, keywords in existing note file
      names are included in the list of candidates.  The ‘keywords’
      prompt uses ‘completing-read-multiple’, meaning that it can accept
      multiple keywords separated by a comma (or whatever the value of
      ‘crm-sepator’ is).
 
    • ‘file-type’: Prompts with completion for the file type of the new
      note.  Available candidates are those specified in the user option
      ‘denote-file-type’.  Without this prompt, ‘denote’ uses the value
      of ‘denote-file-type’.
 
    • ‘subdirectory’: Prompts with completion for a subdirectory in which
      to create the note.  Available candidates are the value of the user
      option ‘denote-directory’ and all of its subdirectories.  Any
      subdirectory must already exist: Denote will not create it.
 
    • ‘date’: Prompts for the date of the new note.  It will expect an
      input like 2022-06-16 or a date plus time: 2022-06-16 14:30.
      Without the ‘date’ prompt, the ‘denote’ command uses the
      ‘current-time’.
 
      *note The denote-date-prompt-use-org-read-date option: The
      denote-date-prompt-use-org-read-date option.
 
    • ‘template’: Prompts for a KEY among the ‘denote-templates’.  The
      value of that KEY is used to populate the new note with content,
      which is added after the front matter (*note The denote-templates
      option: The denote-templates option.).
 
    The prompts occur in the given order.
 
    If the value of this user option is nil, no prompts are used.  The
 resulting file name will consist of an identifier (i.e.  the date and
 time) and a supported file type extension (per ‘denote-file-type’).
 
    Recall that Denote’s standard file-naming scheme is defined as
 follows (*note The file-naming scheme::):
 
      DATE--TITLE__KEYWORDS.EXT
 
    If either or both of the ‘title’ and ‘keywords’ prompts are not
 included in the value of this variable, file names will be any of those
 permutations:
 
      DATE.EXT
      DATE--TITLE.EXT
      DATE__KEYWORDS.EXT
 
    When in doubt, always include the ‘title’ and ‘keywords’ prompts.
 
    Finally, this user option only affects the interactive use of the
 ‘denote’ command (advanced users can call it from Lisp).  For ad-hoc
 interactive actions that do not change the default behaviour of the
 ‘denote’ command, users can invoke these convenience commands:
 ‘denote-type’, ‘denote-subdirectory’, ‘denote-date’.  They are described
 in the subsequent section (*note Convenience commands for note
 creation::).
 
 
 File: docvTU8YZ.info,  Node: The denote-templates option,  Next: Convenience commands for note creation,  Prev: The denote-prompts option,  Up: Standard note creation
 
 2.1.2 The ‘denote-templates’ option
 -----------------------------------
 
 The user option ‘denote-templates’ is an alist of content templates for
 new notes.  A template is arbitrary text that Denote will add to a newly
 created note right below the front matter.
 
    Templates are expressed as a ‘(KEY . STRING)’ association.
 
    • The ‘KEY’ is the name which identifies the template.  It is an
      arbitrary symbol, such as ‘report’, ‘memo’, ‘statement’.
 
    • The ‘STRING’ is ordinary text that Denote will insert as-is.  It
      can contain newline characters to add spacing.  Below we show some
      concrete examples.
 
    The user can choose a template either by invoking the command
 ‘denote-template’ or by changing the user option ‘denote-prompts’ to
 always prompt for a template when calling the ‘denote’ command.
 
    *note The denote-prompts option: The denote-prompts option.
 
    *note Convenience commands for note creation::.
 
    Templates can be written directly as one large string.  For example
 (the ‘\n’ character is read as a newline):
 
      (setq denote-templates
            '((report . "* Some heading\n\n* Another heading")
              (memo . "* Some heading
 
      * Another heading
 
      ")))
 
    Long strings may be easier to type but interpret indentation
 literally.  Also, they do not scale well.  A better way is to use some
 Elisp code to construct the string.  This would typically be the
 ‘concat’ function, which joins multiple strings into one.  The following
 is the same as the previous example:
 
      (setq denote-templates
            `((report . "* Some heading\n\n* Another heading")
              (memo . ,(concat "* Some heading"
                               "\n\n"
                               "* Another heading"
                               "\n\n"))))
 
    Notice that to evaluate a function inside of an alist we use the
 backtick to quote the alist (NOT the straight quote) and then prepend a
 comma to the expression that should be evaluated.  The ‘concat’ form
 here is not sensitive to indentation, so it is easier to adjust for
 legibility.
 
    DEV NOTE: We do not provide more examples at this point, though feel
 welcome to ask for help if the information provided herein is not
 sufficient.  We shall expand the manual accordingly.
 
 
 File: docvTU8YZ.info,  Node: Convenience commands for note creation,  Next: The denote-date-prompt-use-org-read-date option,  Prev: The denote-templates option,  Up: Standard note creation
 
 2.1.3 Convenience commands for note creation
 --------------------------------------------
 
 Sometimes the user needs to create a note that has different
 requirements from those of ‘denote’ (*note Standard note creation::).
 While this can be achieved globally by changing the ‘denote-prompts’
 user option, there are cases where an ad-hoc method is the appropriate
 one (*note The denote-prompts option: The denote-prompts option.).
 
    To this end, Denote provides the following convenience interactive
 commands for note creation:
 
 Create note by specifying file type
      The ‘denote-type’ command creates a note while prompting for a file
      type.
 
      This is the equivalent to calling ‘denote’ when ‘denote-prompts’ is
      set to ‘'(file-type title keywords)’.  In practical terms, this
      lets you produce, say, a note in Markdown even though you normally
      write in Org (*note Standard note creation::).
 
      The ‘denote-create-note-using-type’ is an alias of ‘denote-type’.
 
 Create note using a date
      Normally, Denote reads the current date and time to construct the
      unique identifier of a newly created note (*note Standard note
      creation::).  Sometimes, however, the user needs to set an explicit
      date+time value.
 
      This is where the ‘denote-date’ command comes in.  It creates a
      note while prompting for a date.  The date can be in YEAR-MONTH-DAY
      notation like ‘2022-06-30’ or that plus the time: ‘2022-06-16
      14:30’.
 
      *note The denote-date-prompt-use-org-read-date option: The
      denote-date-prompt-use-org-read-date option.
 
      This is the equivalent to calling ‘denote’ when ‘denote-prompts’ is
      set to ‘'(date title keywords)’.
 
      The ‘denote-create-note-using-date’ is an alias of ‘denote-date’.
 
 Create note in a specific directory
      The ‘denote-subdirectory’ command creates a note while prompting
      for a subdirectory.  Available candidates include the value of the
      variable ‘denote-directory’ and any subdirectory thereof (Denote
      does not create subdirectories).
 
      This is equivalent to calling ‘denote’ when ‘denote-prompts’ is set
      to ‘'(subdirectory title keywords)’.
 
      The ‘denote-create-note-in-subdirectory’ is a more descriptive
      alias of ‘denote-subdirectory’.
 
 Create note and add a template
      The ‘denote-template’ command creates a new note and inserts the
      specified template below the front matter (*note The
      denote-templates option: The denote-templates option.).  Available
      candidates for templates are specified in the user option
      ‘denote-templates’.
 
      This is equivalent to calling ‘denote’ when ‘denote-prompts’ is set
      to ‘'(template title keywords)’.
 
      The ‘denote-create-note-with-template’ is an alias of the command
      ‘denote-template’, meant to help with discoverability.
 
   1. Write your own convenience commands
 
      The convenience commands we provide only cover some basic use-cases
      (*note Convenience commands for note creation::).  The user may
      require combinations that are not covered, such as to prompt for a
      template and for a subdirectory, instead of only one of the two.
      To this end, we show how to follow the code we use in Denote to
      write your own variants of those commands.
 
      First let’s take a look at the definition of one of those commands.
      They all look the same, but we use ‘denote-subdirectory’ for this
      example:
 
           (defun denote-subdirectory ()
             "Create note while prompting for a subdirectory.
 
           Available candidates include the value of the variable
           `denote-directory' and any subdirectory thereof.
 
           This is equivalent to calling `denote' when `denote-prompts' is
           set to '(subdirectory title keywords)."
             (declare (interactive-only t))
             (interactive)
             (let ((denote-prompts '(subdirectory title keywords)))
               (call-interactively #'denote)))
 
      The hyphenated word after ‘defun’ is the name of the function.  It
      has to be unique.  Then we have the documentation string (or “doc
      string”) which is for the user’s convenience.
 
      This function is ‘interactive’, meaning that it can be called via
      ‘M-x’ or be assigned to a key binding.  Then we have the local
      binding of the ‘denote-prompts’ to the desired combination (“local”
      means specific to this function without affecting other contexts).
      Lastly, it calls the standard ‘denote’ command interactively, so it
      uses all the prompts in their specified order.
 
      Now let’s say we want to have a command that (i) asks for a
      template and (ii) for a subdirectory (*note The denote-templates
      option: The denote-templates option.).  All we need to do is tweak
      the ‘let’ bound value of ‘denote-prompts’ and give our command a
      unique name:
 
           ;; Like `denote-subdirectory' but also ask for a template
           (defun denote-subdirectory-with-template ()
             "Create note while also prompting for a template and subdirectory.
 
           This is equivalent to calling `denote' when `denote-prompts' is
           set to '(template subdirectory title keywords)."
             (declare (interactive-only t))
             (interactive)
             (let ((denote-prompts '(template subdirectory title keywords)))
               (call-interactively #'denote)))
 
      The tweaks to ‘denote-prompts’ determine how the command will
      behave (*note The denote-prompts option: The denote-prompts
      option.).  Use this paradigm to write your own variants which you
      can then assign to keys or invoke with ‘M-x’.
 
 
 File: docvTU8YZ.info,  Node: The denote-date-prompt-use-org-read-date option,  Next: Add or remove keywords interactively,  Prev: Convenience commands for note creation,  Up: Standard note creation
 
 2.1.4 The ‘denote-date-prompt-use-org-read-date’ option
 -------------------------------------------------------
 
 By default, Denote uses its own simple prompt for date or date+time
 input (*note The denote-prompts option: The denote-prompts option.).
 This is done when the ‘denote-prompts’ option includes a ‘date’ symbol
 and/or when the user invokes the ‘denote-date’ command.
 
    Users who want to benefit from the more advanced date selection
 method that is common in interactions with Org mode, can set the user
 option ‘denote-date-prompt-use-org-read-date’ to a non-nil value.
 
 
 File: docvTU8YZ.info,  Node: Add or remove keywords interactively,  Prev: The denote-date-prompt-use-org-read-date option,  Up: Standard note creation
 
 2.1.5 Add or remove keywords interactively
 ------------------------------------------
 
 The commands ‘denote-keywords-add’ and ‘denote-keywords-remove’
 streamline the process of interactively updating a file’s keywords in
 the front matter and renaming it accordingly.
 
    The ‘denote-keywords-add’ asks for keywords using the familiar
 minibuffer prompt (*note Standard note creation::).  It then renames the
 file (*note Rename a single file based on its front matter::).
 
    Similarly, the ‘denote-keywords-remove’ removes one or more keywords
 from the list of existing keywords and then renames the file
 accordingly.
 
 
 File: docvTU8YZ.info,  Node: Create note using Org capture,  Next: Maintain separate directory silos for notes,  Prev: Standard note creation,  Up: Points of entry
 
 2.2 Create note using Org capture
 =================================
 
 For integration with ‘org-capture’, the user must first add the relevant
 template.  Such as:
 
      (with-eval-after-load 'org-capture
        (add-to-list 'org-capture-templates
                     '("n" "New note (with Denote)" plain
                       (file denote-last-path)
                       #'denote-org-capture
                       :no-save t
                       :immediate-finish nil
                       :kill-buffer t
                       :jump-to-captured t)))
 
    [ In the future, we might develop Denote in ways which do not require
 such manual intervention.  More user feedback is required to identify
 the relevant workflows.  ]
 
    Once the template is added, it is accessed from the specified key.
 If, for instance, ‘org-capture’ is bound to ‘C-c c’, then the note
 creation is initiated with ‘C-c c n’, per the above snippet.  After
 that, the process is the same as with invoking ‘denote’ directly,
 namely: a prompt for a title followed by a prompt for keywords (*note
 Standard note creation::).
 
    Users may prefer to leverage ‘org-capture’ in order to extend file
 creation with the specifiers described in the ‘org-capture-templates’
 documentation (such as to capture the active region and/or create a
 hyperlink pointing to the given context).
 
    IMPORTANT.  Due to the particular file-naming scheme of Denote, which
 is derived dynamically, such specifiers or other arbitrary text cannot
 be written directly in the template.  Instead, they have to be assigned
 to the user option ‘denote-org-capture-specifiers’, which is interpreted
 by the function ‘denote-org-capture’.  Example with our default value:
 
      (setq denote-org-capture-specifiers "%l\n%i\n%?")
 
    Note that ‘denote-org-capture’ ignores the ‘denote-file-type’: it
 always sets the Org file extension for the created note to ensure that
 the capture process works as intended, especially for the desired output
 of the ‘denote-org-capture-specifiers’.
 
 
 File: docvTU8YZ.info,  Node: Maintain separate directory silos for notes,  Next: Exclude certain directories from all operations,  Prev: Create note using Org capture,  Up: Points of entry
 
 2.3 Maintain separate directory silos for notes
 ===============================================
 
 The user option ‘denote-directory’ accepts a value that represents the
 path to a directory, such as ‘~/Documents/notes’.  Normally, the user
 will have one place where they store all their notes, in which case this
 arrangement shall suffice.
 
    There is, however, the possibility to maintain separate directories
 of notes.  By “separate”, we mean that they do not communicate with each
 other: no linking between them, no common keywords, nothing.  Think of
 the scenario where one set of notes is for private use and another is
 for an employer.  We call these separate directories “silos”.
 
    To create silos, the user must specify a local variable at the root
 of the desired directory.  This is done by creating a ‘.dir-locals.el’
 file, with the following contents:
 
      ;;; Directory Local Variables.  For more information evaluate:
      ;;;
      ;;;     (info "(emacs) Directory Variables")
 
      ((nil . ((denote-directory . default-directory))))
 
    When inside the directory that contains this ‘.dir-locals.el’ file,
 all Denote commands/functions for note creation, linking, the inference
 of available keywords, et cetera will use the silo as their point of
 reference.  They will not read the global value of ‘denote-directory’.
 The global value of ‘denote-directory’ is read everywhere else except
 the silos.
 
    In concrete terms, this is a representation of the directory
 structures (notice the ‘.dir-locals.el’ file is needed only for the
 silos):
 
      ;; This is the global value of 'denote-directory' (no need for a .dir-locals.el)
      ~/Documents/notes
      |-- 20210303T120534--this-is-a-test__journal_philosophy.txt
      |-- 20220303T120534--another-sample__journal_testing.md
      `-- 20220620T181255--the-third-test__keyword.org
 
      ;; A silo with notes for the employer
      ~/different/path/to/notes-for-employer
      |-- .dir-locals.el
      |-- 20210303T120534--this-is-a-test__conference.txt
      |-- 20220303T120534--another-sample__meeting.md
      `-- 20220620T181255--the-third-test__keyword.org
 
      ;; Another silo with notes for my volunteering
      ~/different/path/to/notes-for-volunteering
      |-- .dir-locals.el
      |-- 20210303T120534--this-is-a-test__activism.txt
      |-- 20220303T120534--another-sample__teambuilding.md
      `-- 20220620T181255--the-third-test__keyword.org
 
    It is possible to configure other user options of Denote to have a
 silo-specific value.  For example, this one changes the
 ‘denote-known-keywords’ only for this particular silo:
 
      ;;; Directory Local Variables.  For more information evaluate:
      ;;;
      ;;;     (info "(emacs) Directory Variables")
 
      ((nil . ((denote-directory . default-directory)
               (denote-known-keywords . ("food" "drink")))))
 
    This one is like the above, but also disables
 ‘denote-infer-keywords’:
 
      ;;; Directory Local Variables.  For more information evaluate:
      ;;;
      ;;;     (info "(emacs) Directory Variables")
 
      ((nil . ((denote-directory . default-directory)
               (denote-known-keywords . ("food" "drink"))
               (denote-infer-keywords . nil))))
 
    To expand the list of local variables to, say, cover specific major
 modes, we can do something like this:
 
      ;;; Directory Local Variables.  For more information evaluate:
      ;;;
      ;;;     (info "(emacs) Directory Variables")
 
      ((nil . ((denote-directory . default-directory)
               (denote-known-keywords . ("food" "drink"))
               (denote-infer-keywords . nil)))
       (org-mode . ((org-hide-emphasis-markers . t)
                    (org-hide-macro-markers . t)
                    (org-hide-leading-stars . t))))
 
    As not all user options have a “safe” local value, Emacs will ask the
 user to confirm their choice and to store it in the Custom code snippet
 that is normally appended to init file (or added to the file specified
 by the user option ‘custom-file’).
 
    Finally, it is possible to have a ‘.dir-locals.el’ for subdirectories
 of any ‘denote-directory’.  Perhaps to specify a different set of known
 keywords, while not making the subdirectory a silo in its own right.  We
 shall not expand on such an example, as we trust the user to experiment
 with the best setup for their workflow.
 
    Feel welcome to ask for help if the information provided herein is
 not sufficient.  The manual shall be expanded accordingly.
 
 
 File: docvTU8YZ.info,  Node: Exclude certain directories from all operations,  Next: Exclude certain keywords from being inferred,  Prev: Maintain separate directory silos for notes,  Up: Points of entry
 
 2.4 Exclude certain directories from all operations
 ===================================================
 
 The user option ‘denote-excluded-directories-regexp’ instructs all
 Denote functions that read or check file/directory names to omit
 directories that match the given regular expression.  The regexp needs
 to match only the name of the directory, not its full path.
 
    Affected operations include file prompts and functions that return
 the available files in the value of the user option ‘denote-directory’
 (*note Maintain separate directory silos for notes::).
 
    File prompts are used by several commands, such as ‘denote-link’ and
 ‘denote-subdirectory’.
 
    Functions that check for files include ‘denote-directory-files’ and
 ‘denote-directory-subdirectories’.
 
    The match is performed with ‘string-match-p’.
 
    *note For developers or advanced users::.
 
 
 File: docvTU8YZ.info,  Node: Exclude certain keywords from being inferred,  Prev: Exclude certain directories from all operations,  Up: Points of entry
 
 2.5 Exclude certain keywords from being inferred
 ================================================
 
 The user option ‘denote-excluded-keywords-regexp’ omits keywords that
 match a regular expression from the list of inferred keywords.
 
    Keywords are inferred from file names and provided at relevant
 prompts as completion candidates when the user option
 ‘denote-infer-keywords’ is non-nil.
 
    The match is performed with ‘string-match-p’.
 
 
 File: docvTU8YZ.info,  Node: Renaming files,  Next: The file-naming scheme,  Prev: Points of entry,  Up: Top
 
 3 Renaming files
 ****************
 
 Denote provides commands to rename files and update their front matter
 where relevant.  For Denote to work, only the file name needs to be in
 order, by following our naming conventions (*note The file-naming
 scheme::).  The linking mechanism, in particular, needs just the
 identifier in the file name (*note Linking notes::).
 
    We write front matter in notes for the user’s convenience and for
 other tools to make use of that information (e.g.  Org’s export
 mechanism).  The renaming mechanism takes care to keep this data in sync
 with the file name, when the user performs a change.
 
    Renaming is useful for managing existing files created with Denote,
 but also for converting older text files to Denote notes.
 
    Lastly, Denote’s file-naming scheme is not specific to notes or text
 files: it is useful for all sorts of items, such as multimedia and PDFs
 that form part of the user’s longer-term storage.  While Denote does not
 manage such files (e.g.  doesn’t create links to them), it already has
 all the mechanisms to facilitate the task of renaming them.
 
 * Menu:
 
 * Rename a single file::
 * Rename multiple files at once::
 * Rename a single file based on its front matter::
 * Rename multiple files based on their front matter::
 
 
 File: docvTU8YZ.info,  Node: Rename a single file,  Next: Rename multiple files at once,  Up: Renaming files
 
 3.1 Rename a single file
 ========================
 
 The ‘denote-rename-file’ command renames a file and updates existing
 front matter if appropriate.
 
    If in Dired, the ‘FILE’ to be renamed is the one at point, else the
 command prompts with minibuffer completion for a target file.
 
    If ‘FILE’ has a Denote-compliant identifier, retain it while updating
 the ‘TITLE’ and ‘KEYWORDS’ fields of the file name.  Else create an
 identifier based on the following conditions:
 
    • If ‘FILE’ does not have an identifier and optional ‘DATE’ is
      non-nil (such as with a prefix argument), invoke the function
      ‘denote-prompt-for-date-return-id’.  It prompts for a date and uses
      it to derive the identifier.
 
    • If ‘FILE’ does not have an identifier and optional ‘DATE’ is nil
      (this is the case without a prefix argument), use the file
      attributes to determine the last modified date and format it as an
      identifier.
 
    • As a fallback, derive an identifier from the current time.
 
    The default ‘TITLE’ is retrieved from a line starting with a title
 field in the file’s contents, depending on the given file type (*note
 Front matter::).  Else, the file name is used as a default value at the
 minibuffer prompt.
 
    As a final step after the ‘FILE’, ‘TITLE’, and ‘KEYWORDS’ prompts,
 ask for confirmation, showing the difference between old and new file
 names.  For example:
 
      Rename sample.txt to 20220612T052900--my-sample-title__testing.txt? (y or n)
 
    The file type extension (e.g.  ‘.txt’) is read from the underlying
 file and is preserved through the renaming process.  Files that have no
 extension are simply left without one.
 
    Renaming only occurs relative to the current directory.  Files are
 not moved between directories.
 
    If the ‘FILE’ has Denote-style front matter for the ‘TITLE’ and
 ‘KEYWORDS’, this command asks to rewrite their values in order to
 reflect the new input (this step always requires confirmation and the
 underlying buffer is not saved, so consider invoking
 ‘diff-buffer-with-file’ to double-check the effect).  The rewrite of the
 ‘FILE’ and ‘KEYWORDS’ in the front matter should not affect the rest of
 the block.
 
    If the file doesn’t have front matter but is among the supported file
 types (per ‘denote-file-type’), the ‘denote-rename-file’ command adds
 front matter at the top of it and leaves the buffer unsaved for further
 inspection.
 
    This command is intended to (i) rename existing Denote notes while
 updating their title and keywords in the front matter, (ii) convert
 existing supported file types to Denote notes, and (ii) rename non-note
 files (e.g.  PDF) that can benefit from Denote’s file-naming scheme.
 The latter is a convenience we provide, since we already have all the
 requisite mechanisms in place (though Denote does not—and will
 not—manage such files).
 
 
 File: docvTU8YZ.info,  Node: Rename multiple files at once,  Next: Rename a single file based on its front matter,  Prev: Rename a single file,  Up: Renaming files
 
 3.2 Rename multiple files at once
 =================================
 
 The ‘denote-dired-rename-marked-files’ command renames marked files in
 Dired to conform with our file-naming scheme.  The operation does the
 following:
 
    • the file’s existing file name is retained and becomes the ‘TITLE’
      field, per Denote’s file-naming scheme;
 
    • the ‘TITLE’ is sluggified and downcased, per our conventions;
 
    • an identifier is prepended to the ‘TITLE’;
 
    • the file’s extension is retained;
 
    • a prompt is asked once for the ‘KEYWORDS’ field and the input is
      applied to all file names;
 
    • if the file is recognized as a Denote note, this command adds or
      rewrites front matter to include the new keywords.  A confirmation
      to carry out this step is performed once at the outset.  Note that
      the affected buffers are not saved.  The user can thus check them
      to confirm that the new front matter does not cause any problems
      (e.g.  with the command ‘diff-buffer-with-file’).  Multiple buffers
      can be saved with ‘save-some-buffers’ (read its doc string).  The
      addition of front matter takes place only if the given file has the
      appropriate file type extension (per the user option
      ‘denote-file-type’).
 
 
 File: docvTU8YZ.info,  Node: Rename a single file based on its front matter,  Next: Rename multiple files based on their front matter,  Prev: Rename multiple files at once,  Up: Renaming files
 
 3.3 Rename a single file based on its front matter
 ==================================================
 
 In the previous section, we covered the more general mechanism of the
 command ‘denote-rename-file’ (*note Rename a single file::).  There is
 also a way to have the same outcome by making Denote read the data in
 the current file’s front matter and use it to construct/update the file
 name.  The command for this is ‘denote-rename-file-using-front-matter’.
 It is only relevant for files that (i) are among the supported file
 types, per ‘denote-file-type’, and (ii) have the requisite front matter
 in place.
 
    Suppose you have an ‘.org’ file with this front matter (*note Front
 matter::):
 
      #+title:      My sample note file
      #+date:       [2022-08-05 Fri 13:10]
      #+filetags:   :testing:
      #+identifier: 20220805T131044
 
    Its file name reflects this information:
 
      20220805T131044--my-sample-note-file__testing.org
 
    You want to change its title and keywords manually, so you modify it
 thus:
 
      #+title:      My modified sample note file
      #+date:       [2022-08-05 Fri 13:10]
      #+filetags:   :testing:denote:emacs:
      #+identifier: 20220805T131044
 
    The file name still shows the old title and keywords.  So after
 saving the buffer, you invoke ‘denote-rename-file-using-front-matter’
 and it updates the file name to:
 
      20220805T131044--my-modified-sample-note-file__testing_denote_emacs.org
 
    The renaming is subject to a “yes or no” prompt that shows the old
 and new names, just so the user is certain about the change.
 
    If called interactively with a prefix argument ‘C-u’ or from Lisp
 with a non-nil ‘AUTO-CONFIRM’ argument, this “yes or no” prompt is
 skipped.
 
    The identifier of the file, if any, is never modified even if it is
 edited in the front matter: Denote considers the file name to be the
 source of truth in this case, to avoid potential breakage with typos and
 the like.
 
 
 File: docvTU8YZ.info,  Node: Rename multiple files based on their front matter,  Prev: Rename a single file based on its front matter,  Up: Renaming files
 
 3.4 Rename multiple files based on their front matter
 =====================================================
 
 As already noted, Denote can rename a file based on the data in its
 front matter (*note Rename a single file based on its front matter::).
 The command ‘denote-dired-rename-marked-files-using-front-matter’
 extends this principle to a batch operation which applies to all marked
 files in Dired.
 
    Marked files must count as notes for the purposes of Denote, which
 means that they at least have an identifier in their file name and use a
 supported file type, per ‘denote-file-type’.  Files that do not meet
 this criterion are ignored.
 
    The operation does the following:
 
    • the title in the front matter becomes the ‘TITLE’ component of the
      file name (*note The file-naming scheme::);
 
    • the keywords in the front matter are used for the ‘KEYWORDS’
      component of the file name and are processed accordingly, if
      needed;
 
    • the identifier remains unchanged in the file name even if it is
      modified in the front matter (this is done to avoid breakage caused
      by typos and the like).
 
    NOTE that files must be saved, because Denote reads from the
 underlying file, not a modified buffer (this is done to avoid potential
 mistakes).  The return value of a modified buffer is the one prior to
 the modification, i.e.  the one already written on disk.
 
    This command is useful for synchronizing multiple file names with
 their respective front matter.
 
 
 File: docvTU8YZ.info,  Node: The file-naming scheme,  Next: Front matter,  Prev: Renaming files,  Up: Top
 
 4 The file-naming scheme
 ************************
 
 Notes are stored the ‘denote-directory’.  The default path is
 ‘~/Documents/notes’.  The ‘denote-directory’ can be a flat listing,
 meaning that it has no subdirectories, or it can be a directory tree.
 Either way, Denote takes care to only consider “notes” as valid
 candidates in the relevant operations and will omit other files or
 directories.
 
    Every note produced by Denote follows this pattern (*note Points of
 entry::):
 
      DATE--TITLE__KEYWORDS.EXTENSION
 
    The ‘DATE’ field represents the date in year-month-day format
 followed by the capital letter ‘T’ (for “time”) and the current time in
 hour-minute-second notation.  The presentation is compact:
 ‘20220531T091625’.  The ‘DATE’ serves as the unique identifier of each
 note.
 
    The ‘TITLE’ field is the title of the note, as provided by the user.
 It automatically gets downcased and hyphenated.  An entry about
 “Economics in the Euro Area” produces an ‘economics-in-the-euro-area’
 string for the ‘TITLE’ of the file name.
 
    The ‘KEYWORDS’ field consists of one or more entries demarcated by an
 underscore (the separator is inserted automatically).  Each keyword is a
 string provided by the user at the relevant prompt which broadly
 describes the contents of the entry.  Keywords that need to be more than
 one-word-long must be written with hyphens: any other character, such as
 spaces or the plus sign is automatically converted into a hyphen.  So
 when ‘emacs_library’ appears in a file name, it is interpreted as two
 distinct keywords, whereas ‘emacs-library’ is one keyword.  This is
 reflected in how the keywords are recorded in the note (*note Front
 matter::).  While Denote supports multi-word keywords by default, the
 user option ‘denote-allow-multi-word-keywords’ can be set to nil to
 forcibly join all words into one, meaning that an input of ‘word1 word2’
 will be written as ‘word1word2’.
 
    The ‘EXTENSION’ is the file type.  By default, it is ‘.org’
 (‘org-mode’) though the user option ‘denote-file-type’ provides support
 for Markdown with YAML or TOML variants (‘.md’ which runs
 ‘markdown-mode’) and plain text (‘.txt’ via ‘text-mode’).  Consult its
 doc string for the minutiae.  While files end in the ‘.org’ extension by
 default, the Denote code base does not actually depend on org.el and/or
 its accoutrements.
 
    Examples:
 
      20220610T043241--initial-thoughts-on-the-zettelkasten-method__notetaking.org
      20220610T062201--define-custom-org-hyperlink-type__denote_emacs_package.md
      20220610T162327--on-hierarchy-and-taxis__notetaking_philosophy.txt
 
    The different field separators, namely ‘--’ and ‘__’ introduce an
 efficient way to anchor searches (such as with Emacs commands like
 ‘isearch’ or from the command-line with ‘find’ and related).  A query
 for ‘_word’ always matches a keyword, while a regexp in the form of,
 say, ‘"\\([0-9T]+?\\)--\\(.*?\\)_"’ captures the date in group ‘\1’ and
 the title in ‘\2’ (test any regular expression in the current buffer by
 invoking ‘M-x re-builder’).
 
    *note Features of the file-naming scheme for searching or
 filtering::.
 
    While Denote is an Emacs package, notes should work long-term and not
 depend on the functionality of a specific program.  The file-naming
 scheme we apply guarantees that a listing is readable in a variety of
 contexts.
 
 * Menu:
 
 * Sluggified title and keywords::
 * Features of the file-naming scheme for searching or filtering::
 
 
 File: docvTU8YZ.info,  Node: Sluggified title and keywords,  Next: Features of the file-naming scheme for searching or filtering,  Up: The file-naming scheme
 
 4.1 Sluggified title and keywords
 =================================
 
 Denote has to be highly opinionated about which characters can be used
 in file names and the file’s front matter in order to enforce its
 file-naming scheme.  The private variable ‘denote--punctuation-regexp’
 holds the relevant value.  In simple terms:
 
    • What we count as “illegal characters” are converted into hyphens.
 
    • Input for a file title is hyphenated and downcased.  The original
      value is preserved in the note’s contents (*note Front matter::).
 
    • Keywords should not have spaces or other delimiters.  If they do,
      they are converted into hyphens.  Keywords are always downcased.
 
 
 File: docvTU8YZ.info,  Node: Features of the file-naming scheme for searching or filtering,  Prev: Sluggified title and keywords,  Up: The file-naming scheme
 
 4.2 Features of the file-naming scheme for searching or filtering
 =================================================================
 
 File names have three fields and two sets of field delimiters between
 them:
 
      DATE--TITLE__KEYWORDS.EXTENSION
 
    The first field delimiter is the double hyphen, while the second is
 the double underscore.  These practically serve as anchors for easier
 searching.  Consider this example:
 
      20220621T062327--introduction-to-denote__denote_emacs.txt
 
    You will notice that there are two matches for the word ‘denote’: one
 in the title field and another in the keywords’ field.  Because of the
 distinct field delimiters, if we search for ‘-denote’ we only match the
 first instance while ‘_denote’ targets the second one.  When sorting
 through your notes, this kind of specificity is invaluable—and you get
 it for free from the file names alone!
 
    Users can get a lot of value out of this simple arrangement, even if
 they have no knowledge of regular expressions.  One thing to consider,
 for maximum effect, is to avoid using multi-word keywords as those get
 hyphenated like the title and will thus interfere with the above: either
 set the user option ‘denote-allow-multi-word-keywords’ to nil or simply
 insert single words at the relevant prompts.
 
 
 File: docvTU8YZ.info,  Node: Front matter,  Next: Linking notes,  Prev: The file-naming scheme,  Up: Top
 
 5 Front matter
 **************
 
 Notes have their own “front matter”.  This is a block of data at the top
 of the file, with no empty lines between the entries, which is
 automatically generated at the creation of a new note.  The front matter
 includes the title and keywords (aka “tags” or “filetags”, depending on
 the file type) which the user specified at the relevant prompt, as well
 as the date and unique identifier, which are derived automatically.
 
    This is how it looks for Org mode (when ‘denote-file-type’ is nil or
 the ‘org’ symbol):
 
      #+title:      This is a sample note
      #+date:       [2022-06-30 Thu 16:09]
      #+filetags:   :denote:testing:
      #+identifier: 20220630T160934
 
    For Markdown with YAML (‘denote-file-type’ has the ‘markdown-yaml’
 value), the front matter looks like this:
 
      ---
      title:      "This is a sample note"
      date:       2022-06-30T16:09:58+03:00
      tags:       ["denote", "testing"]
      identifier: "20220630T160958"
      ---
 
    For Markdown with TOML (‘denote-file-type’ has the ‘markdown-toml’
 value), it is:
 
      +++
      title      = "This is a sample note"
      date       = 2022-06-30T16:10:13+03:00
      tags       = ["denote", "testing"]
      identifier = "20220630T161013"
      +++
 
    And for plain text (‘denote-file-type’ has the ‘text’ value), we have
 the following:
 
      title:      This is a sample note
      date:       2022-06-30
      tags:       denote  testing
      identifier: 20220630T161028
      ---------------------------
 
    The format of the date in the front matter is controlled by the user
 option ‘denote-date-format’.  When nil, Denote uses a file-type-specific
 format:
 
    • For Org, an inactive timestamp is used, such as ‘[2022-06-30 Wed
      15:31]’.
 
    • For Markdown, the RFC3339 standard is applied:
      ‘2022-06-30T15:48:00+03:00’.
 
    • For plain text, the format is that of ISO 8601: ‘2022-06-30’.
 
    If the value is a string, ignore the above and use it instead.  The
 string must include format specifiers for the date.  These are described
 in the doc string of ‘format-time-string’..
 
 * Menu:
 
 * Change the front matter format::
 * Regenerate front matter::
 
 
 File: docvTU8YZ.info,  Node: Change the front matter format,  Next: Regenerate front matter,  Up: Front matter
 
 5.1 Change the front matter format
 ==================================
 
 Per Denote’s design principles, the code is hackable.  All front matter
 is stored in variables that are intended for public use.  We do not
 declare those as “user options” because (i) they expect the user to have
 some degree of knowledge in Emacs Lisp and (ii) implement custom code.
 
    [ NOTE for tinkerers: code intended for internal use includes double
 hyphens in its symbol.  “Internal use” means that it can be changed
 without warning and with no further reference in the change log.  Do not
 use any of it without understanding the consequences.  ]
 
    The variables which hold the front matter format are:
 
    • ‘denote-org-front-matter’
 
    • ‘denote-text-front-matter’
 
    • ‘denote-toml-front-matter’
 
    • ‘denote-yaml-front-matter’
 
    These variables have a string value with specifiers that are used by
 the ‘format’ function.  The formatting operation passes four arguments
 which include the values of the given entries.  If you are an advanced
 user who wants to edit this variable to affect how front matter is
 produced, consider using something like ‘%2$s’ to control where the Nth
 argument is placed.
 
    When editing the value, make sure to:
 
   1. Not use empty lines inside the front matter block.
 
   2. Insert at least one empty line after the front matter block and do
      not use any empty line before it.
 
    These help with consistency and might prove useful if we ever need to
 operate on the front matter as a whole.
 
    With those granted, below are some examples.  The approach is the
 same for all variables.
 
      ;; Like the default, but upcase the entries
      (setq denote-org-front-matter
        "#+TITLE:      %s
      #+DATE:       %s
      #+FILETAGS:   %s
      #+IDENTIFIER: %s
      \n")
 
      ;; Change the order (notice the %N$s notation)
      (setq denote-org-front-matter
        "#+title:      %1$s
      #+filetags:   %3$s
      #+date:       %2$s
      #+identifier: %4$s
      \n")
 
      ;; Remove the date
      (setq denote-org-front-matter
        "#+title:      %1$s
      #+filetags:   %3$s
      #+identifier: %4$s
      \n")
 
      ;; Remove the date and the identifier
      (setq denote-org-front-matter
        "#+title:      %1$s
      #+filetags:   %3$s
      \n")
 
    Note that ‘setq’ has a global effect: it affects the creation of all
 new notes.  Depending on the workflow, it may be preferrable to have a
 custom command which ‘let’ binds the different format.  We shall not
 provide examples at this point as this is a more advanced feature and we
 are not yet sure what the user’s needs are.  Please provide feedback and
 we shall act accordingly.
 
 
 File: docvTU8YZ.info,  Node: Regenerate front matter,  Prev: Change the front matter format,  Up: Front matter
 
 5.2 Regenerate front matter
 ===========================
 
 Sometimes the user needs to produce new front matter for an existing
 note.  Perhaps because they accidentally deleted a line and could not
 undo the operation.  The command ‘denote-add-front-matter’ can be used
 for this very purpose.
 
    In interactive use, ‘denote-add-front-matter’ must be invoked from a
 buffer that visits a Denote note.  It prompts for a title and then for
 keywords.  These are the standard prompts we already use for note
 creation, so the keywords’ prompt allows minibuffer completion and the
 input of multiple entries, each separated by a comma (*note Points of
 entry::).
 
    The newly created front matter is added to the top of the file.
 
    This command does not rename the file (e.g.  to update the keywords).
 To rename a file by reading its front matter as input, the user can rely
 on ‘denote-rename-file-using-front-matter’ (*note Renaming files::).
 
    Note that ‘denote-add-front-matter’ is useful only for existing
 Denote notes.  If the user needs to convert a generic text file to a
 Denote note, they can use one of the command which first rename the file
 to make it comply with our file-naming scheme and then add the relevant
 front matter.
 
 
 File: docvTU8YZ.info,  Node: Linking notes,  Next: Fontification in Dired,  Prev: Front matter,  Up: Top
 
 6 Linking notes
 ***************
 
 Denote offers several commands for linking between notes.
 
    All links target files which are Denote notes.  This means that they
 have our file-naming scheme, are writable/regular (not directory, named
 pipe, etc.), and use the appropriate file type extension (per
 ‘denote-file-type’).  Furthermore, the files need to be inside the
 ‘denote-directory’ or one of its subdirectories.  No other file is
 recognised.
 
    The following sections delve into the details.
 
 * Menu:
 
 * Adding a single link::
 * Insert links matching a regexp::
 * Insert links, but only those missing from current buffer: Insert links but only those missing from current buffer.
 * Insert links from marked files in Dired::
 * Link to an existing note or create a new one::
 * The backlinks' buffer::
 * Writing metanotes::
 * Visiting linked files via the minibuffer::
 * Miscellaneous information about links::
 
 
 File: docvTU8YZ.info,  Node: Adding a single link,  Next: Insert links matching a regexp,  Up: Linking notes
 
 6.1 Adding a single link
 ========================
 
 The ‘denote-link’ command inserts a link at point to an entry specified
 at the minibuffer prompt.  Links are formatted depending on the file
 type of current note.  In Org and plain text buffers, links are
 formatted thus: ‘[[denote:IDENTIFIER][TITLE]]’.  While in Markdown they
 are expressed as ‘[TITLE](denote:IDENTIFIER)’.
 
    When ‘denote-link’ is called with a prefix argument (‘C-u’ by
 default), it formats links like ‘[[denote:IDENTIFIER]]’.  The user might
 prefer its simplicity.
 
    The description of the link is taken from the target file’s front
 matter or, if that is not available, from the file name.  If the region
 is active, its text is used as the link’s description instead.  If the
 active region has no text, the inserted link used just the identifier,
 as with the ‘C-u’ prefix mentioned above.
 
    Inserted links are automatically buttonized and remain active for as
 long as the buffer is available.  In Org this is handled by the major
 mode: the ‘denote:’ hyperlink type works exactly like the standard
 ‘file:’.  In Markdown and plain text, Denote performs the buttonization
 of those links.  To buttonize links in existing files while visiting
 them, the user must add this snippet to their setup (it already excludes
 Org):
 
      (add-hook 'find-file-hook #'denote-link-buttonize-buffer)
 
    The ‘denote-link-buttonize-buffer’ is also an interactive function in
 case the user needs it.
 
    Links are created only for files which qualify as a “note” for our
 purposes (*note Linking notes::).
 
    Links are styled with the ‘denote-faces-link’ face, which looks
 exactly like an ordinary link by default.  This is just a convenience
 for the user/theme in case they want ‘denote:’ links to remain distinct
 from other links.
 
 
 File: docvTU8YZ.info,  Node: Insert links matching a regexp,  Next: Insert links but only those missing from current buffer,  Prev: Adding a single link,  Up: Linking notes
 
 6.2 Insert links matching a regexp
 ==================================
 
 The command ‘denote-link-add-links’ adds links at point matching a
 regular expression or plain string.  The links are inserted as a
 typographic list, such as:
 
      - link1
      - link2
      - link3
 
    Each link is formatted according to the file type of the current
 note, as explained further above about the ‘denote-link’ command.  The
 current note is excluded from the matching entries (adding a link to
 itself is pointless).
 
    When called with a prefix argument (‘C-u’) ‘denote-link-add-links’
 will format all links as ‘[[denote:IDENTIFIER]]’, hence a typographic
 list:
 
      - [[denote:IDENTIFIER-1]]
      - [[denote:IDENTIFIER-2]]
      - [[denote:IDENTIFIER-3]]
 
    Same examples of a regular expression that can be used with this
 command:
 
    • ‘journal’ match all files which include ‘journal’ anywhere in their
      name.
 
    • ‘_journal’ match all files which include ‘journal’ as a keyword.
 
    • ‘^2022.*_journal’ match all file names starting with ‘2022’ and
      including the keyword ‘journal’.
 
    • ‘\.txt’ match all files including ‘.txt’.  In practical terms, this
      only applies to the file extension, as Denote automatically removes
      dots (and other characters) from the base file name.
 
    If files are created with ‘denote-sort-keywords’ as non-nil (the
 default), then it is easy to write a regexp that includes multiple
 keywords in alphabetic order:
 
    • ‘_denote.*_package’ match all files that include both the ‘denote’
      and ‘package’ keywords, in this order.
 
    • ‘\(.*denote.*package.*\)\|\(.*package.*denote.*\)’ is the same as
      above, but out-of-order.
 
    Remember that regexp constructs only need to be escaped once (like
 ‘\|’) when done interactively but twice when called from Lisp.  What we
 show above is for interactive usage.
 
    Links are created only for files which qualify as a “note” for our
 purposes (*note Linking notes::).
 
 
 File: docvTU8YZ.info,  Node: Insert links but only those missing from current buffer,  Next: Insert links from marked files in Dired,  Prev: Insert links matching a regexp,  Up: Linking notes
 
 6.3 Insert links, but only those missing from current buffer
 ============================================================
 
 As a variation on the ‘denote-link-add-links’ command, one may wish to
 only include ’missing links’, i.e.  links that are not yet present in
 the current file.
 
    This can be achieved with ‘denote-link-add-missing-links’.  The
 command is similar to ‘denote-link-add-links’, but will only include
 links to notes that are not yet linked to (*note Insert links matching a
 regexp::).
 
 
 File: docvTU8YZ.info,  Node: Insert links from marked files in Dired,  Next: Link to an existing note or create a new one,  Prev: Insert links but only those missing from current buffer,  Up: Linking notes
 
 6.4 Insert links from marked files in Dired
 ===========================================
 
 The command ‘denote-link-dired-marked-notes’ is similar to
 ‘denote-link-add-links’ in that it inserts in the buffer a typographic
 list of links to Denote notes (*note Insert links matching a regexp::).
 Though instead of reading a regular expression, it lets the user mark
 files in Dired and link to them.  This should be easier for users of all
 skill levels, instead of having to write a potentially complex regular
 expression.
 
    If there are multiple buffers that visit a Denote note, this command
 will ask to select one among them, using minibuffer completion.  If
 there is only one buffer, it will operate in it outright.  If there are
 no buffers, it will produce an error.
 
    With optional ‘ID-ONLY’ as a prefix argument (‘C-u’ by default), the
 command inserts links with just the identifier, which is the same
 principle as with ‘denote-link’ and others (*note Adding a single
 link::).
 
    The command ‘denote-link-dired-marked-notes’ is meant to be used from
 a Dired buffer.
 
    As always, links are created only for files which qualify as a “note”
 for our purposes (*note Linking notes::).
 
 
 File: docvTU8YZ.info,  Node: Link to an existing note or create a new one,  Next: The backlinks' buffer,  Prev: Insert links from marked files in Dired,  Up: Linking notes
 
 6.5 Link to an existing note or create a new one
 ================================================
 
 In one’s note-taking workflow, there may come a point where they are
 expounding on a certain topic but have an idea about another subject
 they would like to link to (*note Linking notes::).  The user can always
 rely on the other linking facilities we have covered herein to target
 files that already exist.  Though they may not know whether they already
 have notes covering the subject or whether they would need to write new
 ones.  To this end, Denote provides two convenience commands:
 
 ‘denote-link-after-creating’
      Create new note in the background and link to it directly.
 
      Use ‘denote’ interactively to produce the new note.  Its doc string
      or this manual explains which prompts will be used and under what
      conditions (*note Standard note creation::).
 
      With optional ‘ID-ONLY’ as a prefix argument (this is the ‘C-u’
      key, by default) create a link that consists of just the
      identifier.  Else try to also include the file’s title.  This has
      the same meaning as in ‘denote-link’ (*note Adding a single
      link::).
 
      IMPORTANT NOTE: Normally, ‘denote’ does not save the buffer it
      produces for the new note.  This is a safety precaution to not
      write to disk unless the user wants it (e.g.  the user may choose
      to kill the buffer, thus cancelling the creation of the note).
      However, for this command the creation of the note happens in the
      background and the user may miss the step of saving their buffer.
      We thus have to save the buffer in order to (i) establish valid
      links, and (ii) retrieve whatever front matter from the target
      file.
 
 ‘denote-link-or-create’
      Use ‘denote-link’ on ‘TARGET’ file, creating it if necessary.
 
      If ‘TARGET’ file does not exist, call ‘denote-link-after-creating’
      which runs the ‘denote’ command interactively to create the file.
      The established link will then be targeting that new file.
 
      If ‘TARGET’ file does not exist, add the user input that was used
      to search for it to the history of the ‘denote-title-prompt’.  The
      user can then retrieve and possibly further edit their last input,
      using it as the newly created note’s actual title.  At the
      ‘denote-title-prompt’ type ‘M-p’ with the default key bindings,
      which calls ‘previous-history-element’.
 
      With optional ‘ID-ONLY’ as a prefix argument create a link with
      just the file’s identifier.  This has the same meaning as in
      ‘denote-link’.
 
      This command has the alias ‘denote-link-to-existing-or-new-note’,
      which helps with discoverability.
 
 
 File: docvTU8YZ.info,  Node: The backlinks' buffer,  Next: Writing metanotes,  Prev: Link to an existing note or create a new one,  Up: Linking notes
 
 6.6 The backlinks’ buffer
 =========================
 
 The command ‘denote-link-backlinks’ produces a bespoke buffer which
 displays backlinks to the current note.  A “backlink” is a link back to
 the present entry.
 
    By default, the backlinks’ buffer is desinged to display the file
 name of the note linking to the current entry.  Each file name is
 presented on its own line, like this:
 
      Backlinks to "On being honest" (20220614T130812)
      ------------------------------------------------
 
      20220614T145606--let-this-glance-become-a-stare__journal.txt
      20220616T182958--feeling-butterflies-in-your-stomach__journal.txt
 
    When the user option ‘denote-backlinks-show-context’ is non-nil, the
 backlinks’ buffer displays the line on which a link to the current note
 occurs.  It also shows multiple occurances, if present.  It looks like
 this (and has the appropriate fontification):
 
      Backlinks to "On being honest" (20220614T130812)
      ------------------------------------------------
 
      20220614T145606--let-this-glance-become-a-stare__journal.txt
      37: growing into it: [[denote:20220614T130812][On being honest]].
      64: As I said in [[denote:20220614T130812][On being honest]] I have never
      20220616T182958--feeling-butterflies-in-your-stomach__journal.txt
      62: indifference.  In [[denote:20220614T130812][On being honest]] I alluded
 
    Note that the width of the lines in the context depends on the
 underlying file.  In the above example, the lines are split at the
 ‘fill-column’.  Long lines will show up just fine.  Also note that the
 built-in user option ‘xref-truncation-width’ can truncate long lines to
 a given maximum number of characters.
 
    *note Speed up backlinks' buffer creation?::
 
    The backlinks’ buffer runs the major-mode ‘denote-backlinks-mode’.
 It binds keys to move between links with ‘n’ (next) and ‘p’ (previous).
 These are stored in the ‘denote-backlinks-mode-map’ (use ‘M-x
 describe-mode’ (‘C-h m’) in an unfamiliar buffer to learn more about
 it).  When the user option ‘denote-backlinks-show-context’ is non-nil,
 all relevant Xref key bindings are fully functional: again, check
 ‘describe-mode’.
 
    The backlinking facility uses Emacs’ built-in Xref infrastructure.
 On some operating systems, the user may need to add certain executables
 to the relevant environment variable.
 
    *note Why do I get ``Search failed with status 1'' when I search for
 backlinks?::
 
    Backlinks to the current file can also be visited by using the
 minibuffer completion interface with the ‘denote-link-find-backlink’
 command (*note Visiting linked files via the minibuffer::).
 
    The placement of the backlinks’ buffer is subject to the user option
 ‘denote-link-backlinks-display-buffer-action’.  Due to the nature of the
 underlying ‘display-buffer’ mechanism, this inevitably is a relatively
 advanced feature.  By default, the backlinks’ buffer is displayed below
 the current window.  The doc string of our user option includes a sample
 configuration that places the buffer in a left side window instead.
 Reproducing it here for the sake of convenience:
 
      (setq denote-link-backlinks-display-buffer-action
            '((display-buffer-reuse-window
               display-buffer-in-side-window)
              (side . left)
              (slot . 99)
              (window-width . 0.3)))
 
 
 File: docvTU8YZ.info,  Node: Writing metanotes,  Next: Visiting linked files via the minibuffer,  Prev: The backlinks' buffer,  Up: Linking notes
 
 6.7 Writing metanotes
 =====================
 
 A “metanote” is an entry that describes other entries who have something
 in common.  Writing metanotes can be part of a workflow where the user
 periodically reviews their work in search of patterns and deeper
 insights.  For example, you might want to read your journal entries from
 the past year to reflect on your experiences, evolution as a person, and
 the like.
 
    The commands ‘denote-link-add-links’,
 ‘denote-link-dired-marked-notes’ are suited for this task.
 
    *note Insert links matching a regexp::.
 
    *note Insert links from marked files in Dired::.
 
    You will create your metanote the way you use Denote ordinarily
 (metanotes may have the ‘metanote’ keyword, among others), write an
 introduction or however you want to go about it, invoke the command
 which inserts multiple links at once (see the above-cited nodes), and
 continue writing.
 
    Metanotes can serve as entry points to groupings of individual notes.
 They are not the same as a filtered list of files, i.e.  what you would
 do in Dired or the minibuffer where you narrow the list of notes to a
 given query.  Metanotes contain the filtered list plus your thoughts
 about it.  The act of purposefully grouping notes together and
 contemplating on their shared patterns is what adds value.
 
    Your future self will appreciate metanotes for the function they
 serve in encapsulating knowledge, while current you will be equipped
 with the knowledge derived from the deliberate self-reflection.
 
 
 File: docvTU8YZ.info,  Node: Visiting linked files via the minibuffer,  Next: Miscellaneous information about links,  Prev: Writing metanotes,  Up: Linking notes
 
 6.8 Visiting linked files via the minibuffer
 ============================================
 
 Denote has a major-mode-agnostic mechanism to collect all linked file
 references in the current buffer and return them as an appropriately
 formatted list.  This list can then be used in interactive commands.
 The ‘denote-link-find-file’ is such a command.  It uses minibuffer
 completion to visit a file that is linked to from the current note.  The
 candidates have the correct metadata, which is ideal for integration
 with other standards-compliant tools (*note Extending Denote::).  For
 instance, a package such as ‘marginalia’ will display accurate
 annotations, while the ‘embark’ package will be able to work its magic
 such as in exporting the list into a filtered Dired buffer (i.e.  a
 familiar Dired listing with only the files of the current minibuffer
 session).
 
    To visit backlinks to the current note via the minibuffer, use
 ‘denote-link-find-backlink’.  This is an alternative to placing
 backlinks in a dedicated buffer (*note The backlinks' buffer::).
 
 
 File: docvTU8YZ.info,  Node: Miscellaneous information about links,  Prev: Visiting linked files via the minibuffer,  Up: Linking notes
 
 6.9 Miscellaneous information about links
 =========================================
 
 For convenience, the ‘denote-link’ command has an alias called
 ‘denote-link-insert-link’.  The ‘denote-link-backlinks’ can also be used
 as ‘denote-link-show-backlinks-buffer’.  While ‘denote-link-add-links’
 is aliased ‘denote-link-insert-links-matching-regexp’.  The purpose of
 these aliases is to offer alternative, more descriptive names of select
 commands.
 
 
 File: docvTU8YZ.info,  Node: Fontification in Dired,  Next: Use Org dynamic blocks,  Prev: Linking notes,  Up: Top
 
 7 Fontification in Dired
 ************************
 
 One of the upsides of Denote’s file-naming scheme is the predictable
 pattern it establishes, which appears as a near-tabular presentation in
 a listing of notes (i.e.  in Dired).  The ‘denote-dired-mode’ can help
 enhance this impression, by fontifying the components of the file name
 to make the date (identifier) and keywords stand out.
 
    There are two ways to set the mode.  Either use it for all
 directories, which probably is not needed:
 
      (add-hook 'dired-mode-hook #'denote-dired-mode)
 
    Or configure the user option ‘denote-dired-directories’ and then set
 up the function ‘denote-dired-mode-in-directories’:
 
      ;; We use different ways to specify a path for demo purposes.
      (setq denote-dired-directories
            (list denote-directory
                  (thread-last denote-directory (expand-file-name "attachments"))
                  (expand-file-name "~/Documents/vlog")))
 
      (add-hook 'dired-mode-hook #'denote-dired-mode-in-directories)
 
    The faces we define for this purpose are:
 
    • ‘denote-faces-date’
    • ‘denote-faces-delimiter’
    • ‘denote-faces-extension’
    • ‘denote-faces-keywords’
    • ‘denote-faces-subdirectory’
    • ‘denote-faces-time’
    • ‘denote-faces-title’
 
    For the time being, the ‘diredfl’ package is not compatible with this
 facility.
 
    The ‘denote-dired-mode’ does not only fontify note files that were
 created by Denote: it covers every file name that follows our naming
 conventions (*note The file-naming scheme::).  This is particularly
 useful for scenaria where, say, one wants to organise their collection
 of PDFs and multimedia in a systematic way (and, perhaps, use them as
 attachments for the notes Denote produces if you are writing Org notes
 and are using its standand attachments’ facility).
 
 
 File: docvTU8YZ.info,  Node: Use Org dynamic blocks,  Next: Minibuffer histories,  Prev: Fontification in Dired,  Up: Top
 
 8 Use Org dynamic blocks
 ************************
 
 Denote can optionally integrate with Org mode’s “dynamic blocks”
 facility.  Start by loading the relevant library:
 
      ;; Register Denote's Org dynamic blocks
      (require 'denote-org-dblock)
 
    A dynamic block gets its contents by evaluating a given function,
 depending on the type of block.  The type of block and its parameters
 are stated in the opening ‘#+BEGIN’ line of the block.  Typing ‘C-c C-c’
 with point on that line runs the function, with the given arguments, and
 populates the block’s contents accordingly.
 
    Denote leverages Org dynamic blocks to streamline the inclusion of
 (i) links to notes whose name matches a given search query (like
 ‘denote-link-add-links’) and (ii) backlinks to the current note (similar
 to ‘denote-link-find-backlink’).
 
    These two types of blocks are named ‘denote-links’ and
 ‘denote-backlinks’ respectively.  The latter does not accept any
 parameters, while the former does, which we explain below by also
 demonstrating how dynamic blocks are written.
 
    A dynamic block looks like this:
 
      #+BEGIN: denote-links :regexp "_journal"
 
      #+END:
 
    Here we have the ‘denote-links’ type, with the ‘:regexp’ parameter.
 The value of the ‘:regexp’ parameter is the same as that of the command
 ‘denote-link-add-links’ (*note Insert links matching a regexp::).  The
 linked entry provides practical examples of patterns that make good use
 of Denote’s file-naming scheme (*note The file-naming scheme::).
 
    In this example, we instruct Org to produce a list of all notes that
 include the ‘journal’ keyword in their file name (keywords in file names
 are prefixed with the underscore).  So the following:
 
      #+BEGIN: denote-links :regexp "_journal"
 
      #+END:
 
    Becomes something like this once we type ‘C-c C-c’ with point on the
 ‘#+BEGIN’ line (Org makes the links look prettier by default):
 
      #+BEGIN: denote-links :regexp "_journal"
      - [[denote:20220616T182958][Feeling butterflies in your stomach]]
      - [[denote:20220818T221036][Between friend and stranger]]
      #+END:
 
    The dynamic block takes care to keep the list in order and to add any
 missing links when the block is evaluated anew.
 
    Depending on one’s workflow, the dynamic block can be instructed to
 list only those links which are missing from the current buffer (similar
 to ‘denote-link-add-missing-links’).  Adding the ‘:missing-only’
 parameter with a non-‘nil’ value achieves this effect.  The ‘#+BEGIN’
 line looks like this:
 
      #+BEGIN: denote-links :regexp "_journal" :missing-only t
 
    To reverse the order links appear in, add ‘:reverse t’ to the
 ‘#+BEGIN’ line.
 
    The ‘denote-links’ block can also accept a ‘:block-name’ parameter
 with a string value that names the block.  Once the dynamic block is
 evaluated, a ‘#+NAME’ is prepended to the block’s contents.  This can be
 referenced in other source blocks to parse the named block’s contents as
 input of another process.  The details are beyond the scope of Denote.
 
    As for the ‘denote-backlinks’ dynamic block type, it simply produces
 a list of notes that link to the current file.  It accepts no parameters
 and looks like this:
 
      #+BEGIN: denote-backlinks
 
      #+END:
 
    The Org manual describes the technicalities of Dynamic Blocks.
 Evaluate:
 
      (info "(org) Dynamic Blocks")
 
    Dynamic blocks are particularly useful for metanote entries that
 reflect on the status of earlier notes (*note Writing metanotes::).
 
 
 File: docvTU8YZ.info,  Node: Minibuffer histories,  Next: Extending Denote,  Prev: Use Org dynamic blocks,  Up: Top
 
 9 Minibuffer histories
 **********************
 
 Denote has a dedicated minibuffer history for each one of its prompts.
 This practically means that using ‘M-p’ (‘previous-history-element’) and
 ‘M-n’ (‘next-history-element’) will only cycle through the relevant
 record of inputs, such as your latest titles in the ‘TITLE’ prompt, and
 keywords in the ‘KEYWORDS’ prompt.
 
    The built-in ‘savehist’ library saves minibuffer histories.  Sample
 configuration:
 
      (require 'savehist)
      (setq savehist-file (locate-user-emacs-file "savehist"))
      (setq history-length 500)
      (setq history-delete-duplicates t)
      (setq savehist-save-minibuffer-history t)
      (add-hook 'after-init-hook #'savehist-mode)
 
 
 File: docvTU8YZ.info,  Node: Extending Denote,  Next: Installation,  Prev: Minibuffer histories,  Up: Top
 
 10 Extending Denote
 *******************
 
 Denote is a tool with a narrow scope: create notes and link between
 them, based on the aforementioned file-naming scheme.  For other common
 operations the user is advised to rely on standard Emacs facilities or
 specialised third-party packages.  This section covers the details.
 
 * Menu:
 
 * Keep a journal or diary::
 * Create a note with the region's contents::
 * Split an Org subtree into its own note::
 * Narrow the list of files in Dired::
 * Use dired-virtual-mode for arbitrary file listings::
 * Use Embark to collect minibuffer candidates::
 * Search file contents::
 * Bookmark the directory with the notes::
 * Use the citar-denote package for bibliography notes::
 * Use the consult-notes package::
 * Treat your notes as a project::
 * Variants of denote-open-or-create::
 * Variants of denote-link-or-create::
 
 
 File: docvTU8YZ.info,  Node: Keep a journal or diary,  Next: Create a note with the region's contents,  Up: Extending Denote
 
 10.1 Keep a journal or diary
 ============================
 
 While there are subtle technical differences between a journal and a
 diary, we will consider those equivalent in the interest of brevity:
 they both describe a personal space that holds a record of your thoughts
 about your experiences and/or view of events in the world.
 
    Suppose you are committed to writing an entry every day.  Unlike what
 we demonstrated before, your writing will follow a regular naming
 pattern.  You know that the title of the new note must always look like
 ‘Tuesday 14 June 2022’ and the keyword has to be ‘journal’ or ‘diary’.
 As such, you want to automate the task instead of being prompted each
 time, as is the norm with ‘denote’ and the relevant commands (*note
 Points of entry::).  This is easy to accomplish because ‘denote’ can be
 called from Lisp and given the required arguments of ‘TITLE’ and
 ‘KEYWORDS’ directly.  All you need is a simple wrapper function:
 
      (defun my-denote-journal ()
        "Create an entry tagged 'journal' with the date as its title."
        (interactive)
        (denote
         (format-time-string "%A %e %B %Y") ; format like Tuesday 14 June 2022
         '("journal"))) ; multiple keywords are a list of strings: '("one" "two")
 
    By invoking ‘my-denote-journal’ you will go straight into the newly
 created note and commit to your writing outright.
 
    Of course, you can always set up the function so that it asks for a
 ‘TITLE’ but still automatically applies the ‘journal’ tag:
 
      (defun denote-journal-with-title ()
        "Create an entry tagged 'journal', while prompting for a title."
        (interactive)
        (denote
         (denote--title-prompt) ; ask for title, instead of using human-readable date
         '("journal")))
 
    Sometimes journaling is done with the intent to hone one’s writing
 skills.  Perhaps you are learning a new language or wish to communicate
 your ideas with greater clarity and precision.  As with everything that
 requires a degree of sophistication, you have to work for it—write,
 write, write!
 
    One way to test your progress is to set a timer.  It helps you gauge
 your output and its quality.  To use a timer with Emacs, consider the
 ‘tmr’ package:
 
      (defun my-denote-journal-with-tmr ()
        "Like `my-denote-journal', but also set a 10-minute timer.
      The `tmr' command is part of the `tmr' package."
        (interactive)
        (denote
         (format-time-string "%A %e %B %Y")
         '("journal"))
        (tmr "10" "Practice writing in my journal")) ; set 10 minute timer with a description
 
    Once the timer elapses, stop writing and review your performance.
 Practice makes perfect!
 
    [ As Denote matures, we may add hooks to control what happens before
 or after the creation of a new note.  We shall also document more
 examples of tasks that can be accomplished with this package.  ]
 
    Sources for ‘tmr’:
 
    • Package name (GNU ELPA): ‘tmr’
    • Official manual: <https://protesilaos.com/emacs/tmr>
    • Change log: <https://protesilaos.com/emacs/denote-changelog>
    • Git repo on SourceHut: <https://git.sr.ht/~protesilaos/tmr>
         • Mirrors:
              • GitHub: <https://github.com/protesilaos/tmr>
              • GitLab: <https://gitlab.com/protesilaos/tmr>
    • Mailing list: <https://lists.sr.ht/~protesilaos/tmr>
 
 
 File: docvTU8YZ.info,  Node: Create a note with the region's contents,  Next: Split an Org subtree into its own note,  Prev: Keep a journal or diary,  Up: Extending Denote
 
 10.2 Create a note with the region’s contents
 =============================================
 
 Sometimes it makes sense to gather notes in a single file and later
 review it to make multiple notes out of it.  With the following code,
 the user marks a region and then invokes the command
 ‘my-denote-create-new-note-from-region’: it prompts for a title and
 keywords and then uses the region’s contents to fill in the newly
 created note.
 
      (defun my-denote-create-new-note-from-region (beg end)
        "Create note whose contents include the text between BEG and END.
      Prompt for title and keywords of the new note."
        (interactive "r")
        (if-let (((region-active-p))
                 (text (buffer-substring-no-properties beg end)))
            (progn
              (denote (denote--title-prompt) (denote--keywords-prompt))
              (insert text))
          (user-error "No region is available")))
 
    Have a different workflow?  Feel welcome to discuss it in any of our
 official channels (*note Contributing::).
 
 
 File: docvTU8YZ.info,  Node: Split an Org subtree into its own note,  Next: Narrow the list of files in Dired,  Prev: Create a note with the region's contents,  Up: Extending Denote
 
 10.3 Split an Org subtree into its own note
 ===========================================
 
 With Org files in particular, it is common to have nested headings which
 could be split off into their own standalone notes.  In Org parlance, an
 entry with all its subheadings is a “subtree”.  With the following code,
 the user places the point inside the heading they want to split off and
 invokes the command ‘my-denote-org-extract-subtree’.  It will create a
 note using the heading’s text and tags for the new file.  The contents
 of the subtree become the contents of the new note and are removed from
 the old one.
 
      (defun my-denote-org-extract-subtree ()
        "Create new Denote note using current Org subtree.
      Make the new note use the Org file type, regardless of the value
      of `denote-file-type'.
 
      Use the subtree title as the note's title.  If available, use the
      tags of the heading are used as note keywords.
 
      Delete the original subtree."
        (interactive)
        (if-let ((text (org-get-entry))
                 (heading (org-get-heading :no-tags :no-todo :no-priority :no-comment)))
            (progn
              (delete-region (org-entry-beginning-position) (org-entry-end-position))
              (denote heading (org-get-tags) 'org)
              (insert text))
          (user-error "No subtree to extract; aborting")))
 
    Have a different workflow?  Feel welcome to discuss it in any of our
 official channels (*note Contributing::).
 
 
 File: docvTU8YZ.info,  Node: Narrow the list of files in Dired,  Next: Use dired-virtual-mode for arbitrary file listings,  Prev: Split an Org subtree into its own note,  Up: Extending Denote
 
 10.4 Narrow the list of files in Dired
 ======================================
 
 Emacs’ standard file manager (or directory editor) can read a regular
 expression to mark the matching files.  This is the command
 ‘dired-mark-files-regexp’, which is bound to ‘% m’ by default.  For
 example, ‘% m _denote’ will match all files that have the ‘denote’
 keyword (*note Features of the file-naming scheme for searching or
 filtering::).
 
    Once the files are matched, the user has to options: (i) narrow the
 list to the matching items or (ii) exclude the matching items from the
 list.
 
    For the former, we want to toggle the marks by typing ‘t’ (calls the
 command ‘dired-toggle-marks’ by default) and then hit the letter ‘k’
 (for ‘dired-do-kill-lines’).  The remaining files are those that match
 the regexp that was provided earlier.
 
    For the latter approach of filtering out the matching items, simply
 involves the use of the ‘k’ command (‘dired-do-kill-lines’) to omit the
 marked files from the list.
 
    These sequences can be combined to incrementally narrow the list.
 Note that ‘dired-do-kill-lines’ does not delete files: it simply hides
 them from the current view.
 
    Revert to the original listing with ‘g’ (‘revert-buffer’).
 
    For a convenient wrapper, consider this example:
 
      (defvar prot-dired--limit-hist '()
        "Minibuffer history for `prot-dired-limit-regexp'.")
 
      ;;;###autoload
      (defun prot-dired-limit-regexp (regexp omit)
        "Limit Dired to keep files matching REGEXP.
 
      With optional OMIT argument as a prefix (\\[universal-argument]),
      exclude files matching REGEXP.
 
      Restore the buffer with \\<dired-mode-map>`\\[revert-buffer]'."
        (interactive
         (list
          (read-regexp
           (concat "Files "
                   (when current-prefix-arg
                     (propertize "NOT " 'face 'warning))
                   "matching PATTERN: ")
           nil 'prot-dired--limit-hist)
          current-prefix-arg))
        (dired-mark-files-regexp regexp)
        (unless omit (dired-toggle-marks))
        (dired-do-kill-lines))
 
 
 File: docvTU8YZ.info,  Node: Use dired-virtual-mode for arbitrary file listings,  Next: Use Embark to collect minibuffer candidates,  Prev: Narrow the list of files in Dired,  Up: Extending Denote
 
 10.5 Use ‘dired-virtual-mode’ for arbitrary file listings
 =========================================================
 
 Emacs’ Dired is a powerful file manager that builds its functionality on
 top of the Unix ‘ls’ command.  As noted elsewhere in this manual, the
 user can update the ‘ls’ flags that Dired uses to display its contents
 (*note I want to sort by last modified, why won’t Denote let me?: I want
 to sort by last modified why won't Denote let me?.).
 
    What Dired cannot do is parse the output of a result that is produced
 by piped commands, such as ‘ls -l | sort -t _ -k2’.  This specific
 example targets the second underscore-separated field of the file name,
 per our conventions (*note The file-naming scheme::).  Conceretely, it
 matches the “alpha” as the sorting key in something like this:
 
      20220929T200432--testing-file-one__alpha.txt
 
    Consider then, how Dired will sort those files by their identifier:
 
      20220929T200432--testing-file-one__alpha.txt
      20220929T200532--testing-file-two__beta.txt
      20220929T200632--testing-file-three__alpha.txt
      20220929T200732--testing-file-four__beta.txt
 
    Whereas on the command line, we can get the following:
 
      $ ls | sort -t _ -k 2
      20220929T200432--testing-file-one__alpha.txt
      20220929T200632--testing-file-three__alpha.txt
      20220929T200532--testing-file-two__beta.txt
      20220929T200732--testing-file-four__beta.txt
 
    This is where ‘dired-virtual-mode’ shows its utility.  If we tweak
 our command-line invocation to include ‘ls -l’, this mode can behave
 like Dired on the listed files.  (We omit the output of the ‘-l’ flag
 from this tutorial, as it is too verbose.)
 
    What we now need is to capture the output of ‘ls -l | sort -t _ -k 2’
 in an Emacs buffer and then enable ‘dired-virtual-mode’.  To do that, we
 can rely on either ‘M-x shell’ or ‘M-x eshell’ and then manually copy
 the relevant contents.
 
    For the user’s convenience, I share what I have for Eshell to quickly
 capture the last command’s output in a dedicated buffer:
 
      (defcustom prot-eshell-output-buffer "*Exported Eshell output*"
        "Name of buffer with the last output of Eshell command.
      Used by `prot-eshell-export'."
        :type 'string
        :group 'prot-eshell)
 
      (defcustom prot-eshell-output-delimiter "* * *"
        "Delimiter for successive `prot-eshell-export' outputs.
      This is formatted internally to have newline characters before
      and after it."
        :type 'string
        :group 'prot-eshell)
 
      (defun prot-eshell--command-prompt-output ()
        "Capture last command prompt and its output."
        (let ((beg (save-excursion
                     (goto-char (eshell-beginning-of-input))
                     (goto-char (point-at-bol)))))
          (when (derived-mode-p 'eshell-mode)
            (buffer-substring-no-properties beg (eshell-end-of-output)))))
 
      ;;;###autoload
      (defun prot-eshell-export ()
        "Produce a buffer with output of the last Eshell command.
      If `prot-eshell-output-buffer' does not exist, create it.  Else
      append to it, while separating multiple outputs with
      `prot-eshell-output-delimiter'."
        (interactive)
        (let ((eshell-output (prot-eshell--command-prompt-output)))
          (with-current-buffer (get-buffer-create prot-eshell-output-buffer)
            (let ((inhibit-read-only t))
              (goto-char (point-max))
              (unless (eq (point-min) (point-max))
                (insert (format "\n%s\n\n" prot-eshell-output-delimiter)))
              (goto-char (point-at-bol))
              (insert eshell-output)
              (switch-to-buffer-other-window (current-buffer))))))
 
    Bind ‘prot-eshell-export’ to a key in the ‘eshell-mode-map’ and give
 it a try (I use ‘C-c C-e’).  In the produced buffer, activate the
 ‘dired-virtual-mode’.
 
 
 File: docvTU8YZ.info,  Node: Use Embark to collect minibuffer candidates,  Next: Search file contents,  Prev: Use dired-virtual-mode for arbitrary file listings,  Up: Extending Denote
 
 10.6 Use Embark to collect minibuffer candidates
 ================================================
 
 ‘embark’ is a remarkable package that lets you perform relevant,
 context-dependent actions using a prefix key (simplifying in the
 interest of brevity).
 
    For our purposes, Embark can be used to produce a Dired listing
 directly from the minibuffer.  Suppose the current note has links to
 three other notes.  You might use the ‘denote-link-find-file’ command to
 pick one via the minibuffer.  But why not turn those three links into
 their own Dired listing?  While in the minibuffer, invoke ‘embark-act’
 which you may have already bound to ‘C-.’ and then follow it up with ‘E’
 (for the ‘embark-export’ command).
 
    This pattern can be repeated with any list of candidates, meaning
 that you can narrow the list by providing some input before eventually
 exporting the results with Embark.
 
    Overall, this is very powerful and you might prefer it over doing the
 same thing directly in Dired, since you also benefit from all the power
 of the minibuffer (*note Narrow the list of files in Dired::).
 
 
 File: docvTU8YZ.info,  Node: Search file contents,  Next: Bookmark the directory with the notes,  Prev: Use Embark to collect minibuffer candidates,  Up: Extending Denote
 
 10.7 Search file contents
 =========================
 
 Emacs provides built-in commands which are wrappers of standard Unix
 tools: ‘M-x grep’ lets the user input the flags of a ‘grep’ call and
 pass a regular expression to the ‘-e’ flag.
 
    The author of Denote uses this thin wrapper instead:
 
      (defvar prot-search--grep-hist '()
        "Input history of grep searches.")
 
      ;;;###autoload
      (defun prot-search-grep (regexp &optional recursive)
        "Run grep for REGEXP.
 
      Search in the current directory using `lgrep'.  With optional
      prefix argument (\\[universal-argument]) for RECURSIVE, run a
      search starting from the current directory with `rgrep'."
        (interactive
         (list
          (read-from-minibuffer (concat (if current-prefix-arg
                                            (propertize "Recursive" 'face 'warning)
                                          "Local")
                                        " grep for PATTERN: ")
                                nil nil nil 'prot-search--grep-hist)
          current-prefix-arg))
        (unless grep-command
          (grep-compute-defaults))
        (if recursive
            (rgrep regexp "*" default-directory)
          (lgrep regexp "*" default-directory)))
 
    Rather than maintain custom code, consider using the excellent
 ‘consult’ package: it provides commands such as ‘consult-grep’ and
 ‘consult-find’ which provide live results and are generally easier to
 use than the built-in commands.
 
 
 File: docvTU8YZ.info,  Node: Bookmark the directory with the notes,  Next: Use the citar-denote package for bibliography notes,  Prev: Search file contents,  Up: Extending Denote
 
 10.8 Bookmark the directory with the notes
 ==========================================
 
 Part of the reason Denote does not reinvent existing functionality is to
 encourage you to learn more about Emacs.  You do not need a bespoke
 “jump to my notes” directory because such commands do not scale well.
 Will you have a “jump to my downloads” then another for multimedia and
 so on?  No.
 
    Emacs has a built-in framework for recording persistent markers to
 locations.  Visit the ‘denote-directory’ (or any dir/file for that
 matter) and invoke the ‘bookmark-set’ command (bound to ‘C-x r m’ by
 default).  It lets you create a bookmark.
 
    The list of bookmarks can be reviewed with the ‘bookmark-bmenu-list’
 command (bound to ‘C-x r l’ by default).  A minibuffer interface is
 available with ‘bookmark-jump’ (‘C-x r b’).
 
    If you use the ‘consult’ package, its default ‘consult-buffer’
 command has the means to group together buffers, recent files, and
 bookmarks.  Each of those types can be narrowed to with a prefix key.
 The package ‘consult-dir’ is an extension to ‘consult’ which provides
 useful extras for working with directories, including bookmarks.
 
 
 File: docvTU8YZ.info,  Node: Use the citar-denote package for bibliography notes,  Next: Use the consult-notes package,  Prev: Bookmark the directory with the notes,  Up: Extending Denote
 
 10.9 Use the ‘citar-denote’ package for bibliography notes
 ==========================================================
 
 Peter Prevos has produced the ‘citar-denote’ package which makes it
 possible to write notes on BibTeX entries with the help of the ‘citar’
 package.  These notes have the citation’s unique key associated with
 them in the file’s front matter.  They also get a configurable keyword
 in their file name, making it easy to find them in Dired and/or retrieve
 them with the various Denote methods.
 
    With ‘citar-denote’, the user leverages standard minibuffer
 completion mechanisms (e.g.  with the help of the ‘vertico’ and ‘embark’
 packages) to manage bibliographic notes and access those notes with
 ease.  The package’s documentation covers the details:
 <https://github.com/pprevos/citar-denote/>.
 
 
 File: docvTU8YZ.info,  Node: Use the consult-notes package,  Next: Treat your notes as a project,  Prev: Use the citar-denote package for bibliography notes,  Up: Extending Denote
 
 10.10 Use the ‘consult-notes’ package
 =====================================
 
 If you are already using ‘consult’ (which is a brilliant package), you
 will probably like its ‘consult-notes’ extension.  It uses the familiar
 mechanisms of Consult to filter searches via a prefix key.  For example:
 
      (setq consult-notes-sources
            `(("Notes"  ?n ,denote-directory)
              ("Books"  ?b "~/Documents/books")))
 
    With the above, ‘M-x consult-notes’ will list the files in those two
 directories.  If you type ‘n’ and space, it narrows the list to just the
 notes, while ‘b’ does the same for books.
 
    To search all your notes with grep (or ripgrep if installed – see
 ‘consult-notes-use-rg’ variable) use the command
 ‘consult-notes-search-in-all-notes’.  This will employ grep/ripgrep for
 searching terms in all the directories set in ‘consult-notes-sources’.
 
    Note that ‘consult-notes’ is in its early stages of development.
 Expect improvements in the near future (written on 2022-06-22 16:48
 +0300).
 
 
 File: docvTU8YZ.info,  Node: Treat your notes as a project,  Next: Variants of denote-open-or-create,  Prev: Use the consult-notes package,  Up: Extending Denote
 
 10.11 Treat your notes as a project
 ===================================
 
 Emacs has a built-in library for treating a directory tree as a
 “project”.  This means that the contents of this tree are seen as part
 of the same set, so commands like ‘project-switch-to-buffer’ (‘C-x p b’
 by default) will only consider buffers in the current project (e.g.
 three notes that are currently being visited).
 
    Normally, a “project” is a directory tree whose root is under version
 control.  For our purposes, all you need is to navigate to the
 ‘denote-directory’ (for the shell or via Dired) and use the command-line
 to run this (requires the ‘git’ executable):
 
      git init
 
    From Dired, you can type ‘M-!’ which invokes
 ‘dired-smart-shell-command’ and then run the git call there.
 
    The project can then be registered by invoking any project-related
 command inside of it, such as ‘project-find-file’ (‘C-x p f’).
 
    It is a good idea to keep your notes under version control, as that
 gives you a history of changes for each file.  We shall not delve into
 the technicalities here, though suffice to note that Emacs’ built-in
 version control framework or the exceptionally well-crafted ‘magit’
 package will get the job done (VC can work with other backends besides
 Git).
 
 
 File: docvTU8YZ.info,  Node: Variants of denote-open-or-create,  Next: Variants of denote-link-or-create,  Prev: Treat your notes as a project,  Up: Extending Denote
 
 10.12 Variants of ‘denote-open-or-create’
 =========================================
 
 The command ‘denote-open-or-create’ prompts to visit a file in the
 ‘denote-directory’.  If the user input does not have any matches,
 ‘denote-open-or-create’ will call the ‘denote’ command interactively.
 It will then use whatever prompts ‘denote’ normally has, per the user
 option ‘denote-prompts’ (*note Standard note creation::).
 
    To speed up the process or to maintain variants that suit one’s
 workflow, we provide these ready-to-use commands that one can add to
 their Emacs init file.  They can be assigned to key bindings or be used
 via ‘M-x’ after they have been evaluated.
 
      ;;;###autoload
      (defun denote-open-or-create-with-date ()
        "Invoke `denote-open-or-create' but also prompt for date.
 
      The date can be in YEAR-MONTH-DAY notation like 2022-06-30 or
      that plus the time: 2022-06-16 14:30.  When the user option
      `denote-date-prompt-use-org-read-date' is non-nil, the date
      prompt uses the more powerful Org+calendar system.
 
      This is the equivalent to calling `denote-open-or-create' when
      `denote-prompts' is set to \\='(date title keywords)."
        (declare (interactive-only t))
        (interactive)
        (let ((denote-prompts '(date title keywords)))
          (call-interactively #'denote-open-or-create)))
 
      ;;;###autoload
      (defun denote-open-or-create-with-type ()
        "Invoke `denote-open-or-create' but also prompt for file type.
      This is the equivalent to calling `denote-open-or-create' when
      `denote-prompts' is set to \\='(type title keywords)."
        (declare (interactive-only t))
        (interactive)
        (let ((denote-prompts '(type title keywords)))
          (call-interactively #'denote-open-or-create)))
 
      ;;;###autoload
      (defun denote-open-or-create-with-subdirectory ()
        "Invoke `denote-open-or-create' but also prompt for subdirectory.
      This is the equivalent to calling `denote-open-or-create' when
      `denote-prompts' is set to \\='(subdirectory title keywords)."
        (declare (interactive-only t))
        (interactive)
        (let ((denote-prompts '(subdirectory title keywords)))
          (call-interactively #'denote-open-or-create)))
 
      ;;;###autoload
      (defun denote-open-or-create-with-template ()
        "Invoke `denote-open-or-create' but also prompt for template.
      This is the equivalent to calling `denote-open-or-create' when
      `denote-prompts' is set to \\='(template title keywords).
 
      For templates, refer to `denote-templates'."
        (declare (interactive-only t))
        (interactive)
        (let ((denote-prompts '(template title keywords)))
          (call-interactively #'denote-open-or-create)))
 
 
 File: docvTU8YZ.info,  Node: Variants of denote-link-or-create,  Prev: Variants of denote-open-or-create,  Up: Extending Denote
 
 10.13 Variants of ‘denote-link-or-create’
 =========================================
 
 The command ‘denote-link-or-create’ uses ‘denote-link’ on a ‘TARGET’
 file, creating it if necessary.  The ‘TARGET’ matches the user input at
 a minibuffer prompt: it is a file in the ‘denote-directory’.
 
    If ‘TARGET’ file does not exist, The ‘denote-link-or-create’ calls
 ‘denote-link-after-creating’ which runs the standard ‘denote’ command
 interactively to create the file (*note Standard note creation::).  The
 established link will then be targeting that new file.
 
    When called with an optional prefix argument (‘C-u’ by default)
 ‘denote-link-or-create’ creates a link that consists of just the
 identifier.  Else it tries to also include the file’s title.  This has
 the same meaning as in ‘denote-link’ (*note Linking notes::).
 
    To speed up the process or to maintain variants that suit one’s
 workflow, we provide these ready-to-use commands that one can add to
 their Emacs init file.  They can be assigned to key bindings or be used
 via ‘M-x’ after they have been evaluated.
 
      ;;;###autoload
      (defun denote-link-or-create-with-date ()
        "Invoke `denote-link-or-create' but also prompt for date.
 
      The date can be in YEAR-MONTH-DAY notation like 2022-06-30 or
      that plus the time: 2022-06-16 14:30.  When the user option
      `denote-date-prompt-use-org-read-date' is non-nil, the date
      prompt uses the more powerful Org+calendar system.
 
      This is the equivalent to calling `denote-link-or-create' when
      `denote-prompts' is set to \\='(date title keywords)."
        (declare (interactive-only t))
        (interactive)
        (let ((denote-prompts '(date title keywords)))
          (call-interactively #'denote-link-or-create)))
 
      ;;;###autoload
      (defun denote-link-or-create-with-type ()
        "Invoke `denote-link-or-create' but also prompt for file type.
      This is the equivalent to calling `denote-link-or-create' when
      `denote-prompts' is set to \\='(type title keywords)."
        (declare (interactive-only t))
        (interactive)
        (let ((denote-prompts '(type title keywords)))
          (call-interactively #'denote-link-or-create)))
 
      ;;;###autoload
      (defun denote-link-or-create-with-subdirectory ()
        "Invoke `denote-link-or-create' but also prompt for subdirectory.
      This is the equivalent to calling `denote-link-or-create' when
      `denote-prompts' is set to \\='(subdirectory title keywords)."
        (declare (interactive-only t))
        (interactive)
        (let ((denote-prompts '(subdirectory title keywords)))
          (call-interactively #'denote-link-or-create)))
 
      ;;;###autoload
      (defun denote-link-or-create-with-template ()
        "Invoke `denote-link-or-create' but also prompt for template.
      This is the equivalent to calling `denote-link-or-create' when
      `denote-prompts' is set to \\='(template title keywords).
 
      For templates, refer to `denote-templates'."
        (declare (interactive-only t))
        (interactive)
        (let ((denote-prompts '(template title keywords)))
          (call-interactively #'denote-link-or-create)))
 
 
 File: docvTU8YZ.info,  Node: Installation,  Next: Sample configuration,  Prev: Extending Denote,  Up: Top
 
 11 Installation
 ***************
 
 * Menu:
 
 * GNU ELPA package::
 * Manual installation::
 
 
 File: docvTU8YZ.info,  Node: GNU ELPA package,  Next: Manual installation,  Up: Installation
 
 11.1 GNU ELPA package
 =====================
 
 The package is available as ‘denote’.  Simply do:
 
      M-x package-refresh-contents
      M-x package-install
 
    And search for it.
 
    GNU ELPA provides the latest stable release.  Those who prefer to
 follow the development process in order to report bugs or suggest
 changes, can use the version of the package from the GNU-devel ELPA
 archive.  Read:
 <https://protesilaos.com/codelog/2022-05-13-emacs-elpa-devel/>.
 
 
 File: docvTU8YZ.info,  Node: Manual installation,  Prev: GNU ELPA package,  Up: Installation
 
 11.2 Manual installation
 ========================
 
 Assuming your Emacs files are found in ‘~/.emacs.d/’, execute the
 following commands in a shell prompt:
 
      cd ~/.emacs.d
 
      # Create a directory for manually-installed packages
      mkdir manual-packages
 
      # Go to the new directory
      cd manual-packages
 
      # Clone this repo, naming it "denote"
      git clone https://git.sr.ht/~protesilaos/denote denote
 
    Finally, in your ‘init.el’ (or equivalent) evaluate this:
 
      ;; Make Elisp files in that directory available to the user.
      (add-to-list 'load-path "~/.emacs.d/manual-packages/denote")
 
    Everything is in place to set up the package.
 
 
 File: docvTU8YZ.info,  Node: Sample configuration,  Next: For developers or advanced users,  Prev: Installation,  Up: Top
 
 12 Sample configuration
 ***********************
 
      (require 'denote)
 
      ;; Remember to check the doc strings of those variables.
      (setq denote-directory (expand-file-name "~/Documents/notes/"))
      (setq denote-known-keywords '("emacs" "philosophy" "politics" "economics"))
      (setq denote-infer-keywords t)
      (setq denote-sort-keywords t)
      (setq denote-file-type nil) ; Org is the default, set others here
      (setq denote-prompts '(title keywords))
      (setq denote-excluded-directories-regexp nil)
      (setq denote-excluded-keywords-regexp nil)
 
      ;; Pick dates, where relevant, with Org's advanced interface:
      (setq denote-date-prompt-use-org-read-date t)
 
 
      ;; Read this manual for how to specify `denote-templates'.  We do not
      ;; include an example here to avoid potential confusion.
 
 
      ;; We allow multi-word keywords by default.  The author's personal
      ;; preference is for single-word keywords for a more rigid workflow.
      (setq denote-allow-multi-word-keywords t)
 
      (setq denote-date-format nil) ; read doc string
 
      ;; By default, we do not show the context of links.  We just display
      ;; file names.  This provides a more informative view.
      (setq denote-backlinks-show-context t)
 
      ;; Also see `denote-link-backlinks-display-buffer-action' which is a bit
      ;; advanced.
 
      ;; If you use Markdown or plain text files (Org renders links as buttons
      ;; right away)
      (add-hook 'find-file-hook #'denote-link-buttonize-buffer)
 
      ;; We use different ways to specify a path for demo purposes.
      (setq denote-dired-directories
            (list denote-directory
                  (thread-last denote-directory (expand-file-name "attachments"))
                  (expand-file-name "~/Documents/books")))
 
      ;; Generic (great if you rename files Denote-style in lots of places):
      ;; (add-hook 'dired-mode-hook #'denote-dired-mode)
      ;;
      ;; OR if only want it in `denote-dired-directories':
      (add-hook 'dired-mode-hook #'denote-dired-mode-in-directories)
 
      ;; Here is a custom, user-level command from one of the examples we
      ;; showed in this manual.  We define it here and add it to a key binding
      ;; below.
      (defun my-denote-journal ()
        "Create an entry tagged 'journal', while prompting for a title."
        (interactive)
        (denote
         (denote--title-prompt)
         '("journal")))
 
      ;; Denote DOES NOT define any key bindings.  This is for the user to
      ;; decide.  For example:
      (let ((map global-map))
        (define-key map (kbd "C-c n j") #'my-denote-journal) ; our custom command
        (define-key map (kbd "C-c n n") #'denote)
        (define-key map (kbd "C-c n N") #'denote-type)
        (define-key map (kbd "C-c n d") #'denote-date)
        (define-key map (kbd "C-c n s") #'denote-subdirectory)
        (define-key map (kbd "C-c n t") #'denote-template)
        ;; If you intend to use Denote with a variety of file types, it is
        ;; easier to bind the link-related commands to the `global-map', as
        ;; shown here.  Otherwise follow the same pattern for `org-mode-map',
        ;; `markdown-mode-map', and/or `text-mode-map'.
        (define-key map (kbd "C-c n i") #'denote-link) ; "insert" mnemonic
        (define-key map (kbd "C-c n I") #'denote-link-add-links)
        (define-key map (kbd "C-c n b") #'denote-link-backlinks)
        (define-key map (kbd "C-c n f f") #'denote-link-find-file)
        (define-key map (kbd "C-c n f b") #'denote-link-find-backlink)
        ;; Note that `denote-rename-file' can work from any context, not just
        ;; Dired bufffers.  That is why we bind it here to the `global-map'.
        (define-key map (kbd "C-c n r") #'denote-rename-file)
        (define-key map (kbd "C-c n R") #'denote-rename-file-using-front-matter))
 
      ;; Key bindings specifically for Dired.
      (let ((map dired-mode-map))
        (define-key map (kbd "C-c C-d C-i") #'denote-link-dired-marked-notes)
        (define-key map (kbd "C-c C-d C-r") #'denote-dired-rename-marked-files)
        (define-key map (kbd "C-c C-d C-R") #'denote-dired-rename-marked-files-using-front-matter))
 
      (with-eval-after-load 'org-capture
        (setq denote-org-capture-specifiers "%l\n%i\n%?")
        (add-to-list 'org-capture-templates
                     '("n" "New note (with denote.el)" plain
                       (file denote-last-path)
                       #'denote-org-capture
                       :no-save t
                       :immediate-finish nil
                       :kill-buffer t
                       :jump-to-captured t)))
 
      ;; Also check the commands `denote-link-after-creating',
      ;; `denote-link-or-create'.  You may want to bind them to keys as well.
 
 
 File: docvTU8YZ.info,  Node: For developers or advanced users,  Next: Contributing,  Prev: Sample configuration,  Up: Top
 
 13 For developers or advanced users
 ***********************************
 
 Denote is in a stable state and can be relied upon as the basis for
 custom extensions.  Further below is a list with the functions or
 variables we provide for public usage.  Those are in addition to all
 user options and commands that are already documented in the various
 sections of this manual.
 
    In this context “public” is any form with single hyphens in its
 symbol, such as ‘denote-directory-files’.  We expressly support those,
 meaning that we consider them reliable and commit to documenting any
 changes in their particularities (such as through ‘make-obsolete’, a
 record in the change log, a blog post on the maintainer’s website, and
 the like).
 
    By contradistinction, a “private” form is declared with two hyphens
 in its symbol such as ‘denote--file-extension’.  Do not use those as we
 might change them without further notice.
 
 Variable ‘denote-id-format’
      Format of ID prefix of a note’s filename.  The note’s ID is derived
      from the date and time of its creation (*note The file-naming
      scheme::).
 
 Variable ‘denote-id-regexp’
      Regular expression to match ‘denote-id-format’.
 
 Variable ‘denote-title-regexp’
      Regular expression to match the TITLE field in a file name (*note
      The file-naming scheme::).
 
 Variable ‘denote-keywords-regexp’
      Regular expression to match the KEYWORDS field in a file name
      (*note The file-naming scheme::).
 
 Variable ‘denote-excluded-punctuation-regexp’
      Punctionation that is removed from file names.  We consider those
      characters illegal for our purposes.
 
 Variable ‘denote-excluded-punctuation-extra-regexp’
      Additional punctuation that is removed from file names.  This
      variable is for advanced users who need to extend the
      ‘denote-excluded-punctuation-regexp’.  Once we have a better
      understanding of what we should be omitting, we will update things
      accordingly.
 
 Function ‘denote-file-is-note-p’
      Return non-nil if ‘FILE’ is an actual Denote note.  For our
      purposes, a note must not be a directory, must satisfy
      ‘file-regular-p’, its path must be part of the variable
      ‘denote-directory’, it must have a Denote identifier in its name,
      and use one of the extensions implied by ‘denote-file-type’.
 
 Function ‘denote-file-has-identifier-p’
      Return non-nil if ‘FILE’ has a Denote identifier.
 
 Function ‘denote-file-has-supported-extension-p’
      Return non-nil if ‘FILE’ has supported extension.  Also account for
      the possibility of an added ‘.gpg’ suffix.  Supported extensions
      are those implied by ‘denote-file-type’.
 
 Function ‘denote-file-is-writable-and-supported-p’
      Return non-nil if ‘FILE’ is writable and has supported extension.
 
 Function ‘denote-keywords’
      Return appropriate list of keyword candidates.  If
      ‘denote-infer-keywords’ is non-nil, infer keywords from existing
      notes and combine them into a list with ‘denote-known-keywords’.
      Else use only the latter set of keywords (*note Standard note
      creation::).
 
 Function ‘denote-keywords-sort’
      Sort ‘KEYWORDS’ if ‘denote-sort-keywords’ is non-nil.  ‘KEYWORDS’
      is a list of strings, per ‘denote-keywords-prompt’.
 
 Function ‘denote-directory’
      Return path of the variable ‘denote-directory’ as a proper
      directory, also because it accepts a directory-local value for what
      we internally refer to as “silos” (*note Maintain separate
      directories for notes: Maintain separate directory silos for
      notes.).
 
 Function ‘denote-directory-files’
      Return list of absolute file paths in variable ‘denote-directory’.
      Files only need to have an identifier.  The return value may thus
      include file types that are not implied by ‘denote-file-type’.  To
      limit the return value to text files, use the function
      ‘denote-directory-text-only-files’.  Remember that the
      ‘denote-directory’ accepts a directory-local value (*note Maintain
      separate directories for notes: Maintain separate directory silos
      for notes.).
 
 Function ‘denote-directory-text-only-files’
      Return list of text files in variable ‘denote-directory’.  Filter
      ‘denote-directory-files’ using ‘denote-file-is-note-p’.
 
 Function ‘denote-directory-subdirectories’
      Return list of subdirectories in variable ‘denote-directory’.  Omit
      dotfiles (such as .git) unconditionally.  Also exclude whatever
      matches ‘denote-excluded-directories-regexp’.  Note that the
      ‘denote-directory’ accepts a directory-local value for what we call
      “silos” (*note Maintain separate directories for notes: Maintain
      separate directory silos for notes.).
 
 Function ‘denote-directory-files-matching-regexp’
      Return list of files matching ‘REGEXP’ in ‘denote-directory-files’.
 
 Function ‘denote-file-name-relative-to-denote-directory’
      Return name of ‘FILE’ relative to the variable ‘denote-directory’.
      ‘FILE’ must be an absolute path.
 
 Function ‘denote-get-path-by-id’
      Return absolute path of ‘ID’ string in ‘denote-directory-files’.
 
 Function ‘denote-barf-duplicate-id’
      Throw a ‘user-error’ if ‘IDENTIFIER’ already exists.
 
 Function ‘denote-sluggify’
      Make ‘STR’ an appropriate slug for file names and related (*note
      Sluggified title and keywords::).
 
 Function ‘denote-sluggify-and-join’
      Sluggify ‘STR’ while joining separate words.
 
 Function ‘denote-desluggify’
      Upcase first char in ‘STR’ and dehyphenate ‘STR’, inverting
      ‘denote-sluggify’.  Basically, convert ‘this-is-a-test’ to ‘This is
      a test’.
 
 Function ‘denote-sluggify-keywords’
      Sluggify ‘KEYWORDS’, which is a list of strings (*note Sluggified
      title and keywords::).
 
 Function ‘denote-filetype-heuristics’
      Return likely file type of ‘FILE’.  Use the file extension to
      detect the file type of the file.
 
      If more than one file type correspond to this file extension, use
      the first file type for which the key-title-kegexp matches in the
      file or, if none matches, use the first type with this file
      extension in ‘denote-file-type’.
 
      If no file types in ‘denote-file-types’ has the file extension, the
      file type is assumed to be the first of ‘denote-file-types’.
 
 Function ‘denote-format-file-name’
      Format file name.  ‘PATH’, ‘ID’, ‘KEYWORDS’, ‘TITLE-SLUG’ are
      expected to be supplied by ‘denote’ or equivalent: they will all be
      converted into a single string.  ‘EXTENSION’ is the file type
      extension, as a string.
 
 Function ‘denote-extract-keywords-from-path’
      Extract keywords from ‘PATH’ and return them as a list of strings.
      ‘PATH’ must be a Denote-style file name where keywords are prefixed
      with an underscore.  If ‘PATH’ has no such keywords, which is
      possible, return nil (*note The file-naming scheme::).
 
 Function ‘denote-extract-id-from-string’
      Return existing Denote identifier in ‘STRING’, else nil.
 
 Function ‘denote-retrieve-filename-identifier’
      Extract identifier from ‘FILE’ name.  To return an existing
      identifier or create a new one, refer to the
      ‘denote-retrieve-or-create-file-identifier’ function.
 
 Function ‘denote-retrieve-or-create-file-identifier’
      Return ‘FILE’ identifier, generating one if appropriate.  The
      conditions are as follows:
 
         • If ‘FILE’ has an identifier, return it.
 
         • If ‘FILE’ does not have an identifier and optional ‘DATE’ is
           non-nil, invoke ‘denote-prompt-for-date-return-id’.
 
         • If ‘FILE’ does not have an identifier and DATE is nil, use the
           file attributes to determine the last modified date and format
           it as an identifier.
 
         • As a fallback, derive an identifier from the current time.
 
      To only return an existing identifier, refer to the function
      ‘denote-retrieve-filename-identifier’.
 
 Function ‘denote-retrieve-filename-title’
      Extract title from ‘FILE’ name, else return ‘file-name-base’.  Run
      ‘denote-desluggify’ on the title if the extraction is successful.
 
 Function ‘denote-retrieve-title-value’
      Return title value from ‘FILE’ front matter per ‘FILE-TYPE’.
 
 Function ‘denote-retrieve-title-line’
      Return title line from ‘FILE’ front matter per ‘FILE-TYPE’.
 
 Function ‘denote-retrieve-keywords-value’
      Return keywords value from ‘FILE’ front matter per ‘FILE-TYPE’.
 
 Function ‘denote-retrieve-keywords-line’
      Return keywords line from ‘FILE’ front matter per ‘FILE-TYPE’.
 
 Function ‘denote-file-prompt’
      Prompt for file with identifier in variable ‘denote-directory’.
      With optional ‘INITIAL-TEXT’, use it to prepopulate the minibuffer.
 
 Function ‘denote-keywords-prompt’
      Prompt for one or more keywords.  In the case of multiple entries,
      those are separated by the ‘crm-sepator’, which typically is a
      comma.  In such a scenario, the output is sorted with
      ‘string-lessp’.  To sort the return value, use
      ‘denote-keywords-sort’.
 
 Function ‘denote-title-prompt’
      Read file title for ‘denote’.  With optional ‘DEFAULT-TITLE’ use it
      as the default value.
 
 Function ‘denote-file-type-prompt’
      Prompt for ‘denote-file-type’.  Note that a non-nil value other
      than ‘text’, ‘markdown-yaml’, and ‘markdown-toml’ falls back to an
      Org file type.  We use ‘org’ here for clarity.
 
 Function ‘denote-date-prompt’
      Prompt for date, expecting ‘YYYY-MM-DD’ or that plus ‘HH:MM’ (or
      even ‘HH:MM:SS’).  Use Org’s more advanced date selection utility
      if the user option ‘denote-date-prompt-use-org-read-date’ is
      non-nil.  It requires Org (*note The
      denote-date-prompt-use-org-read-date option: The
      denote-date-prompt-use-org-read-date option.).
 
 Function ‘denote-prompt-for-date-return-id’
      Use ‘denote-date-prompt’ and return it as ‘denote-id-format’.
 
 Function ‘denote-template-prompt’
      Prompt for template key in ‘denote-templates’ and return its value.
 
 Function ‘denote-subdirectory-prompt’
      Prompt for subdirectory of the variable ‘denote-directory’.  The
      table uses the ‘file’ completion category (so it works with
      packages such as ‘marginalia’ and ‘embark’).
 
 Function ‘denote-rename-file-prompt’
      Prompt to rename file named ‘OLD-NAME’ to ‘NEW-NAME’.
 
 Function ‘denote-rename-file-and-buffer’
      Rename file named ‘OLD-NAME’ to ‘NEW-NAME’, updating buffer name.
 
 Function ‘denote-update-dired-buffers’
      Update Dired buffers of variable ‘denote-directory’.  Note that the
      ‘denote-directory’ accepts a directory-local value for what we
      internally refer to as “silos” (*note Maintain separate directories
      for notes: Maintain separate directory silos for notes.).
 
 Variable ‘denote-file-types’
      Alist of ‘denote-file-type’ and their format properties.
 
      Each element is of the form ‘(SYMBOL PROPERTY-LIST)’.  ‘SYMBOL’ is
      one of those specified in ‘denote-file-type’ or an arbitrary symbol
      that defines a new file type.
 
      ‘PROPERTY-LIST’ is a plist that consists of eight elements:
 
        1. ‘:extension’ is a string with the file extension including the
           period.
 
        2. ‘:date-function’ is a function that can format a date.  See
           the functions ‘denote--date-iso-8601’, ‘denote--date-rfc3339’,
           and ‘denote--date-org-timestamp’.
 
        3. ‘:front-matter’ is either a string passed to ‘format’ or a
           variable holding such a string.  The ‘format’ function accepts
           four arguments, which come from ‘denote’ in this order:
           ‘TITLE’, ‘DATE’, ‘KEYWORDS’, ‘IDENTIFIER’.  Read the doc
           string of ‘format’ on how to reorder arguments.
 
        4. ‘:title-key-regexp’ is a regular expression that is used to
           retrieve the title line in a file.  The first line matching
           this regexp is considered the title line.
 
        5. ‘:title-value-function’ is the function used to format the raw
           title string for inclusion in the front matter (e.g.  to
           surround it with quotes).  Use the ‘identity’ function if no
           further processing is required.
 
        6. ‘:title-value-reverse-function’ is the function used to
           retrieve the raw title string from the front matter.  It
           performs the reverse of ‘:title-value-function’.
 
        7. ‘:keywords-key-regexp’ is a regular expression used to
           retrieve the keywords’ line in the file.  The first line
           matching this regexp is considered the keywords’ line.
 
        8. ‘:keywords-value-function’ is the function used to format the
           keywords’ list of strings as a single string, with appropriate
           delimiters, for inclusion in the front matter.
 
        9. ‘:keywords-value-reverse-function’ is the function used to
           retrieve the keywords’ value from the front matter.  It
           performs the reverse of the ‘:keywords-value-function’.
 
        10. ‘:link’ is a string, or variable holding a string, that
           specifies the format of a link.  See the variables
           ‘denote-org-link-format’, ‘denote-md-link-format’.
 
        11. ‘:link-in-context-regexp’ is a regular expression that is
           used to match the aforementioned link format.  See the
           variables ‘denote-org-link-in-context-regexp’,
           ‘denote-md-link-in-context-regexp’.
 
      If ‘denote-file-type’ is nil, use the first element of this list
      for new note creation.  The default is ‘org’.
 
 Variable ‘denote-org-front-matter’
      Specifies the Org front matter.  It is passed to ‘format’ with
      arguments ‘TITLE’, ‘DATE’, ‘KEYWORDS’, ‘ID’ (*note Change the front
      matter format::)
 
 Variable ‘denote-yaml-front-matter’
      Specifies the YAML (Markdown) front matter.  It is passed to
      ‘format’ with arguments ‘TITLE’, ‘DATE’, ‘KEYWORDS’, ‘ID’ (*note
      Change the front matter format::)
 
 Variable ‘denote-toml-front-matter’
      Specifies the TOML (Markdown) front matter.  It is passed to
      ‘format’ with arguments ‘TITLE’, ‘DATE’, ‘KEYWORDS’, ‘ID’ (*note
      Change the front matter format::)
 
 Variable ‘denote-text-front-matter’
      Specifies the plain text front matter.  It is passed to ‘format’
      with arguments ‘TITLE’, ‘DATE’, ‘KEYWORDS’, ‘ID’ (*note Change the
      front matter format::)
 
 Variable ‘denote-org-link-format’
      Format of Org link to note.  The value is passed to ‘format’ with
      ‘IDENTIFIER’ and ‘TITLE’ arguments, in this order.  Also see
      ‘denote-org-link-in-context-regexp’.
 
 Variable ‘denote-md-link-format’
      Format of Markdown link to note.  The ‘%N$s’ notation used in the
      default value is for ‘format’ as the supplied arguments are
      ‘IDENTIFIER’ and ‘TITLE’, in this order.  Also see
      ‘denote-md-link-in-context-regexp’.
 
 Variable ‘denote-id-only-link-format’
      Format of identifier-only link to note.  The value is passed to
      ‘format’ with ‘IDENTIFIER’ as its sole argument.  Also see
      ‘denote-id-only-link-in-context-regexp’.
 
 Variable ‘denote-org-link-in-context-regexp’
      Regexp to match an Org link in its context.  The format of such
      links is ‘denote-org-link-format’.
 
 Variable ‘denote-md-link-in-context-regexp’
      Regexp to match an Markdown link in its context.  The format of
      such links is ‘denote-md-link-format’.
 
 Variable ‘denote-id-only-link-in-context-regexp’
      Regexp to match an identifier-only link in its context.  The format
      of such links is ‘denote-id-only-link-format’.
 
 Function ‘denote-surround-with-quotes’
      Surround string ‘S’ with quotes.  This can be used in
      ‘denote-file-types’ to format front mattter.
 
 Function ‘denote-date-org-timestamp’
      Format ‘DATE’ using the Org inactive timestamp notation.
 
 Function ‘denote-date-rfc3339’
      Format ‘DATE’ using the RFC3339 specification.
 
 Function ‘denote-date-iso-8601’
      Format ‘DATE’ according to ISO 8601 standard.
 
 Function ‘denote-trim-whitespace’
      Trim whitespace around string ‘S’.  This can be used in
      ‘denote-file-types’ to format front mattter.
 
 Function ‘denote-trim-whitespace-then-quotes’
      Trim whitespace then quotes around string ‘S’.  This can be used in
      ‘denote-file-types’ to format front mattter.
 
 Function ‘denote-format-keywords-for-md-front-matter’
      Format front matter ‘KEYWORDS’ for markdown file type.  ‘KEYWORDS’
      is a list of strings.  Consult the ‘denote-file-types’ for how this
      is used.
 
 Function ‘denote-format-keywords-for-text-front-matter’
      Format front matter ‘KEYWORDS’ for text file type.  ‘KEYWORDS’ is a
      list of strings.  Consult the ‘denote-file-types’ for how this is
      used.
 
 Function ‘denote-format-keywords-for-org-front-matter’
      Format front matter ‘KEYWORDS’ for org file type.  ‘KEYWORDS’ is a
      list of strings.  Consult the ‘denote-file-types’ for how this is
      used.
 
 Function ‘denote-extract-keywords-from-front-matter’
      Format front matter ‘KEYWORDS’ for org file type.  ‘KEYWORDS’ is a
      list of strings.  Consult the ‘denote-file-types’ for how this is
      used.
 
 
 File: docvTU8YZ.info,  Node: Contributing,  Next: Things to do,  Prev: For developers or advanced users,  Up: Top
 
 14 Contributing
 ***************
 
 Denote is a GNU ELPA package.  As such, any significant change to the
 code requires copyright assignment to the Free Software Foundation (more
 below).
 
    You do not need to be a programmer to contribute to this package.
 Sharing an idea or describing a workflow is equally helpful, as it
 teaches us something we may not know and might be able to cover either
 by extending Denote or expanding this manual (*note Things to do::).  If
 you prefer to write a blog post, make sure you share it with us: we can
 add a section herein referencing all such articles.  Everyone gets
 acknowledged (*note Acknowledgements::).  There is no such thing as an
 “insignificant contribution”—they all matter.
 
    • Package name (GNU ELPA): ‘denote’
    • Official manual: <https://protesilaos.com/emacs/denote>
    • Change log: <https://protesilaos.com/emacs/denote-changelog>
    • Git repo on SourceHut: <https://git.sr.ht/~protesilaos/denote>
         • Mirrors:
              • GitHub: <https://github.com/protesilaos/denote>
              • GitLab: <https://gitlab.com/protesilaos/denote>
    • Mailing list: <https://lists.sr.ht/~protesilaos/denote>
 
    If our public media are not suitable, you are welcome to contact me
 (Protesilaos) in private: <https://protesilaos.com/contact>.
 
    Copyright assignment is a prerequisite to sharing code.  It is a
 simple process.  Check the request form below (please adapt it
 accordingly).  You must write an email to the address mentioned in the
 form and then wait for the FSF to send you a legal agreement.  Sign the
 document and file it back to them.  This could all happen via email and
 take about a week.  You are encouraged to go through this process.  You
 only need to do it once.  It will allow you to make contributions to
 Emacs in general.
 
      Please email the following information to assign@gnu.org, and we
      will send you the assignment form for your past and future changes.
 
      Please use your full legal name (in ASCII characters) as the subject
      line of the message.
 
      REQUEST: SEND FORM FOR PAST AND FUTURE CHANGES
 
      [What is the name of the program or package you're contributing to?]
 
      GNU Emacs
 
      [Did you copy any files or text written by someone else in these changes?
      Even if that material is free software, we need to know about it.]
 
      Copied a few snippets from the same files I edited.  Their author,
      Protesilaos Stavrou, has already assigned copyright to the Free Software
      Foundation.
 
      [Do you have an employer who might have a basis to claim to own
      your changes?  Do you attend a school which might make such a claim?]
 
 
      [For the copyright registration, what country are you a citizen of?]
 
 
      [What year were you born?]
 
 
      [Please write your email address here.]
 
 
      [Please write your postal address here.]
 
 
 
 
 
      [Which files have you changed so far, and which new files have you written
      so far?]
 
 
 
 File: docvTU8YZ.info,  Node: Things to do,  Next: Publications about Denote,  Prev: Contributing,  Up: Top
 
 15 Things to do
 ***************
 
 Denote should work well for what is described in this manual.  Though we
 can always do better.  This is a non-exhaustive list with some
 low-priority ideas you may want to help with (*note Contributing::).
 
    • Support mutually-exclusive sets of tags.  For example, a ‘home’
      keyword would preclude ‘work’.  Personally, I am not a fan of such
      arrangements as there may be a case where something applies to both
      ends of this prefigured binary.  Though we can think about it.
 
    • Add command that expands the identifier in links to a full file
      name.  This would be useful for some sort of “export” operation
      where the absolute file path is necessary and where the Denote
      linking mechanism is not available.  Though this could be handled
      by the exporter, by doing something like what
      ‘denote-link-find-file’ does.
 
    • Add command that rewrites full names in links, if they are invalid.
      This would complement the renaming mechanism.  Personally, I think
      old titles in links are not a problem, because they show you what
      was true at the time and are usually relevant to their context.
      Again though, it is an option worth exploring.
 
    • Ensure integration between ‘denote:’ links and the ‘embark’
      package.  The idea is to allow Embark to understand the Denote
      buttons are links to files and correctly infer the absolute path.
      I am not sure what a user would want to do with this, but maybe
      there are some interesting possibilities.
 
    You are welcome to suggest more ideas.  If they do not broaden the
 scope of Denote, they can be added to denote.el.  Otherwise we might
 think of extensions to the core package.
 
 
 File: docvTU8YZ.info,  Node: Publications about Denote,  Next: Alternatives to Denote,  Prev: Things to do,  Up: Top
 
 16 Publications about Denote
 ****************************
 
 The Emacs community is putting Denote to great use.  This section
 includes publications that show how people configure their note-taking
 setup.  If you have a blog post, video, or configuration file about
 Denote, feel welcome to tell us about it (*note Contributing::).
 
    • David Wilson (SystemCrafters): _Generating a Blog Site from Denote
      Entries_, 2022-09-09,
      <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5R7ad5xz5wo>.
 
    • David Wilson (SystemCrafters): _Trying Out Prot’s Denote, an Org
      Roam Alternative?_, 2022-07-15,
      <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QcRY_rsX0yY>.
 
    • Jack Baty: _Keeping my Org Agenda updated based on Denote
      keywords_, 2022-11-30,
      <https://baty.net/2022/keeping-my-org-agenda-updated>.
 
    • Jeremy Friesen: _Denote Emacs Configuration_, 2022-10-02,
      <https://takeonrules.com/2022/10/09/denote-emacs-configuration/>
 
    • Jeremy Friesen: _Exploring the Denote Emacs Package_, 2022-10-01,
      <https://takeonrules.com/2022/10/01/exploring-the-denote-emacs-package/>
 
    • Jeremy Friesen: _Migration Plan for Org-Roam Notes to Denote_,
      2022-10-02,
      <https://takeonrules.com/2022/10/02/migration-plan-for-org-roam-notes-to-denote/>
 
    • Jeremy Friesen: _Project Dispatch Menu with Org Mode Metadata,
      Denote, and Transient_, 2022-11-19,
      <https://takeonrules.com/2022/11/19/project-dispatch-menu-with-org-mode-metadata-denote-and-transient/>
 
    • Peter Prevos: _Simulating Text Files with R to Test the Emacs
      Denote Package_, 2022-07-28,
      <https://lucidmanager.org/productivity/testing-denote-package/>.
 
 
 File: docvTU8YZ.info,  Node: Alternatives to Denote,  Next: Frequently Asked Questions,  Prev: Publications about Denote,  Up: Top
 
 17 Alternatives to Denote
 *************************
 
 What follows is a list of Emacs packages for note-taking.  I
 (Protesilaos) have not used any of them, as I was manually applying my
 file-naming scheme beforehand and by the time those packages were
 available I was already hacking on the predecessor of Denote as a means
 of learning Emacs Lisp (a package which I called “Unassuming Sidenotes
 of Little Significance”, aka “USLS” which is pronounced as “U-S-L-S” or
 “useless”).  As such, I cannot comment at length on the differences
 between Denote and each of those packages, beside what I gather from
 their documentation.
 
 org-roam (https://github.com/org-roam/org-roam)
      The de facto standard in the Emacs milieu—and rightly so!  It has a
      massive community, is featureful, and should be an excellent
      companion to anyone who is invested in the Org ecosystem and/or
      knows what “Roam” is (I don’t).  It has been explained to me that
      Org Roam uses a database to store a cache about your notes.  It
      otherwise uses standard Org files.  The cache helps refer to the
      same node through aliases which can provide lots of options.
      Personally, I follow a single-topic-per-note approach, so anything
      beyond that is overkill.  If the database is only for a cache, then
      maybe that has no downside, though I am careful with any kind of
      specialised program as it creates a dependency.  If you ask me
      about database software in particular, I have no idea how to use
      one, let alone debug it or retrieve data from it if something goes
      awry (I could learn, but that is beside the point).
 
 zk (or zk.el) (https://github.com/localauthor/zk)
      Reading its documentation makes me think that this is Denote’s
      sibling—the two projects have a lot of things in common, including
      the preference to rely on plain files and standard tools.  The core
      difference is that Denote has a strict file-naming scheme.  Other
      differences in available features are, in principle, matters of
      style or circumstance: both packages can have them.  As its
      initials imply, ZK enables a zettelkasten-like workflow.  It does
      not enforce it though, letting the user adapt the method to their
      needs and requirements.
 
 zettelkasten (https://github.com/ymherklotz/emacs-zettelkasten)
      This is another one of Denote’s relatives, at least insofar as the
      goal of simplicity is concerned.  The major difference is that
      according to its documentation “the name of the file that is
      created is just a unique ID”.  This is not consistent with our
      file-naming scheme which is all about making sense of your files by
      their name alone and being able to visually parse a listing of them
      without any kind of specialised tool (e.g.  ‘ls -l’ or ‘ls -C’ on
      the command-line from inside the ‘denote-directory’ give you a
      human-readable set of files names, while ‘find * -maxdepth 0 -type
      f’ is another approach).
 
 zetteldeft (https://github.com/EFLS/zetteldeft)
      This is a zettelkasten note-taking system built on top of the
      ‘deft’ package.  Deft provides a search interface to a directory,
      in this case the one holding the user’s ‘zetteldeft’ notes.  Denote
      has no such dependency and is not opinionated about how the user
      prefers to search/access their notes: use Dired, Grep, the
      ‘consult’ package, or whatever else you already have set up for all
      things Emacs, not just your notes.
 
    Searching through ‘M-x list-packages’ for “zettel” brings up more
 matches.  ‘zetteldesk’ is an extension to Org Roam and, as such, I
 cannot possibly know what Org Roam truly misses and what the added-value
 of this package is.  ‘neuron-mode’ builds on top of an external program
 called ‘neuron’, which I have never used.
 
    Searching for “note” gives us a few more results.  ‘notes-mode’ has
 precious little documentation and I cannot tell what it actually does
 (as I said in my presentation for LibrePlanet 2022, inadequate docs are
 a bug).  ‘side-notes’ differs from what we try to do with Denote, as it
 basically gives you the means to record your thoughts about some other
 project you are working on and keep them on the side: so it and Denote
 should not be mutually exclusive.
 
    If I missed something, please let me know.
 
 * Menu:
 
 * Alternative ideas with Emacs and further reading::
 
 
 File: docvTU8YZ.info,  Node: Alternative ideas with Emacs and further reading,  Up: Alternatives to Denote
 
 17.1 Alternative ideas with Emacs and further reading
 =====================================================
 
 This section covers blog posts from the Emacs community on the matter of
 note-taking.  They may reference some of the packages covered in the
 previous section or provide their custom code (*note Alternatives to
 Denote::).  The list is unsorted.
 
    • José Antonio Ortega Ruiz (aka “jao”) explains a note-taking method
      that is simple like Denote but differs in other ways.  An
      interesting approach overall:
      <https://jao.io/blog/2022-06-19-simple-note-taking.html>.
 
    • Jethro Kuan (the main ‘org-roam’ developer) explains their
      note-taking techniques:
      <https://jethrokuan.github.io/org-roam-guide/>.  Good ideas all
      round, regardless of the package/code you choose to use.
 
    [ Development note: help expand this list.  ]
 
 
 File: docvTU8YZ.info,  Node: Frequently Asked Questions,  Next: Acknowledgements,  Prev: Alternatives to Denote,  Up: Top
 
 18 Frequently Asked Questions
 *****************************
 
 I (Protesilaos) answer some questions I have received or might get.  It
 is assumed that you have read the rest of this manual: I will not go
 into the specifics of how Denote works.
 
 * Menu:
 
 * Why develop Denote when PACKAGE already exists?::
 * Why not rely exclusively on Org?::
 * Why care about Unix tools when you use Emacs?::
 * Why many small files instead of few large ones?::
 * Does Denote perform well at scale?::
 * I add TODOs to my notes; will many files slow down the Org agenda?::
 * I want to sort by last modified, why won’t Denote let me?: I want to sort by last modified why won't Denote let me?.
 * How do you handle the last modified case?::
 * Speed up backlinks' buffer creation?::
 * Why do I get ``Search failed with status 1'' when I search for backlinks?::
 
 
 File: docvTU8YZ.info,  Node: Why develop Denote when PACKAGE already exists?,  Next: Why not rely exclusively on Org?,  Up: Frequently Asked Questions
 
 18.1 Why develop Denote when PACKAGE already exists?
 ====================================================
 
 I wrote Denote because I was using a variant of Denote’s file-naming
 scheme before I was even an Emacs user (I switched to Emacs from
 Tmux+Vim+CLI in the summer of 2019).  I was originally inspired by
 Jekyll, the static site generator, which I started using for my website
 in 2016 (was on WordPress before).  Jekyll’s files follow the
 ‘YYYY-MM-DD-TITLE.md’ pattern.  I liked its efficiency relative to the
 unstructured mess I had before.  Eventually, I started using that scheme
 outside the confines of my website’s source code.  Over time I refined
 it and here we are.
 
    Note-taking is something I take very seriously, as I am a prolific
 writer (just check my website, which only reveals the tip of the
 iceberg).  As such, I need a program that does exactly what I want and
 which I know how to extend.  I originally tried to use Org capture
 templates to create new files with a Denote-style file-naming scheme but
 never managed to achieve it.  Maybe because ‘org-capture’ has some
 hard-coded assumptions or I simply am not competent enough to hack on
 core Org facilities.  Whatever the case, an alternative was in order.
 
    The existence of PACKAGE is never a good reason for me not to conduct
 my own experiments for recreational, educational, or practical purposes.
 When the question arises of “why not contribute to PACKAGE instead?” the
 answer is that without me experimenting in the first place, I would lack
 the skills for such a task.  Furthermore, contributing to another
 package does not guarantee I get what I want in terms of workflow.
 
    Whether you should use Denote or not is another matter altogether:
 choose whatever you want.
 
 
 File: docvTU8YZ.info,  Node: Why not rely exclusively on Org?,  Next: Why care about Unix tools when you use Emacs?,  Prev: Why develop Denote when PACKAGE already exists?,  Up: Frequently Asked Questions
 
 18.2 Why not rely exclusively on Org?
 =====================================
 
 I think Org is one of Emacs’ killer apps.  I also believe it is not the
 right tool for every job.  When I write notes, I want to focus on
 writing.  Nothing more.  I thus have no need for stuff like org-babel,
 scheduling to-do items, clocking time, and so on.  The more “mental
 dependencies” you add to your workflow, the heavier the burden you carry
 and the less focused you are on the task at hand: there is always that
 temptation to tweak the markup, tinker with some syntactic construct,
 obsess about what ought to be irrelevant to writing as such.
 
    In technical terms, I also am not fond of Org’s code base (I
 understand why it is the way it is—just commenting on the fact).  Ever
 tried to read it?  You will routinely find functions that are
 tens-to-hundreds of lines long and have all sorts of special casing.  As
 I am not a programmer and only learnt to write Elisp through trial and
 error, I have no confidence in my ability to make Org do what I want at
 that level, hence ‘denote’ instead of ‘org-denote’ or something.
 
    Perhaps the master programmer is one who can deal with complexity and
 keep adding to it.  I am of the opposite view, as language—code
 included—is at its communicative best when it is clear and accessible.
 
    Make no mistake: I use Org for the agenda and also to write technical
 documentation that needs to be exported to various formats, including
 this very manual.
 
 
 File: docvTU8YZ.info,  Node: Why care about Unix tools when you use Emacs?,  Next: Why many small files instead of few large ones?,  Prev: Why not rely exclusively on Org?,  Up: Frequently Asked Questions
 
 18.3 Why care about Unix tools when you use Emacs?
 ==================================================
 
 My notes form part of my longer-term storage.  I do not want to have to
 rely on a special program to be able to read them or filter them.  Unix
 is universal, at least as far as I am concerned.
 
    Denote streamlines some tasks and makes things easier in general,
 which is consistent with how Emacs provides a layer of interactivity on
 top of Unix.  Still, Denote’s utilities can, in principle, be
 implemented as POSIX shell scripts (minus the Emacs-specific parts like
 fontification in Dired or the buttonization of links).
 
    Portability matters.  For example, in the future I might own a
 smartphone, so I prefer not to require Emacs, Org, or some other
 executable to access my files on the go.
 
    Furthermore, I might want to share those files with someone.  If I
 make Emacs a requirement, I am limiting my circle to a handful of
 relatively advanced users.
 
    Please don’t misinterpret this: I am using Emacs full-time for my
 computing and maintain a growing list of packages for it.  This is just
 me thinking long-term.
 
 
 File: docvTU8YZ.info,  Node: Why many small files instead of few large ones?,  Next: Does Denote perform well at scale?,  Prev: Why care about Unix tools when you use Emacs?,  Up: Frequently Asked Questions
 
 18.4 Why many small files instead of few large ones?
 ====================================================
 
 I have read that Org favours the latter method.  If true, I strongly
 disagree with it because of the implicit dependency it introduces and
 the way it favours machine-friendliness over human-readability in terms
 of accessing information.  Notes are long-term storage.  I might want to
 access them on (i) some device with limited features, (ii) print on
 paper, (iii) share with another person who is not a tech wizard.
 
    There are good arguments for few large files, but all either
 prioritize machine-friendliness or presuppose the use of sophisticated
 tools like Emacs+Org.
 
    Good luck using ‘less’ on a generic TTY to read a file with a zillion
 words, headings, sub-headings, sub-sub-headings, property drawers, and
 other constructs!  You will not get the otherwise wonderful folding of
 headings the way you do in Emacs—do not take such features for granted.
 
    My point is that notes should be atomic to help the user—and
 potentially the user’s family, friends, acquaintances—make sense of them
 in a wide range of scenaria.  The more program-agnostic your file is,
 the better for you and/or everyone else you might share your writings
 with.
 
    Human-readability means that we optimize for what matters to us.  If
 (a) you are the only one who will ever read your notes, (b) always have
 access to good software like Emacs+Org, (c) do not care about printing
 on paper, then Denote’s model is not for you.  Maybe you need to tweak
 some ‘org-capture’ template to append a new entry to one mega file (I do
 that for my Org agenda, by the way, as I explained before about using
 the right tool for the job).
 
 
 File: docvTU8YZ.info,  Node: Does Denote perform well at scale?,  Next: I add TODOs to my notes; will many files slow down the Org agenda?,  Prev: Why many small files instead of few large ones?,  Up: Frequently Asked Questions
 
 18.5 Does Denote perform well at scale?
 =======================================
 
 Denote does not do anything fancy and has no special requirements: it
 uses standard tools to accomplish ordinary tasks.  If Emacs can cope
 with lots of files, then that is all you need to know: Denote will work.
 
    To put this to the test, Peter Prevos is running simulations with R
 that generate large volumes of notes.  You can read the technicalities
 here: <https://lucidmanager.org/productivity/testing-denote-package/>.
 Excerpt:
 
      Using this code I generated ten thousands notes and used this to
      test the Denote package to see it if works at a large scale.  This
      tests shows that Prot’s approach is perfectly capable of working
      with thousands of notes.
 
    Of course, we are always prepared to make refinements to the code,
 where necessary, without compromising on the project’s principles.
 
 
 File: docvTU8YZ.info,  Node: I add TODOs to my notes; will many files slow down the Org agenda?,  Next: I want to sort by last modified why won't Denote let me?,  Prev: Does Denote perform well at scale?,  Up: Frequently Asked Questions
 
 18.6 I add TODOs to my notes; will many files slow down the Org agenda?
 =======================================================================
 
 Yes, many files will slow down the agenda due to how that works.  Org
 collects all files specified in the ‘org-agenda-files’, searches through
 their contents for timestamped entries, and then loops through all days
 to determine where each entry belongs.  The more days and more files,
 the longer it takes to build the agenda.  Doing this with potentially
 hundreds of files will have a noticeable impact on performance.
 
    This is not a deficiency of Denote.  It happens with generic Org
 files.  The way the agenda is built is heavily favoring the use of a
 single file that holds all your timestamped entries (or at least a few
 such files).  Tens or hundreds of files are inefficient for this job.
 Plus doing so has the side-effect of making Emacs open all those files,
 which you probably do not need.
 
    If you want my opinion though, be more forceful with the separation
 of concerns.  Decouple your knowledge base from your ephemeral to-do
 list: Denote (and others) can be used for the former, while you let
 standard Org work splendidly for the latter—that is what I do, anyway.
 
    Org has a powerful linking facility, whether you use ‘org-store-link’
 or do it via an ‘org-capture’ template.  If you want a certain note to
 be associated with a task, just store the task in a single ‘tasks.org’
 (or however you name it) and link to the relevant context.
 
    Do not mix your knowledge base with your to-do items.  If you need
 help figuring out the specifics of this workflow, you are welcome to ask
 for help in our relevant channels (*note Contributing::).
 
 
 File: docvTU8YZ.info,  Node: I want to sort by last modified why won't Denote let me?,  Next: How do you handle the last modified case?,  Prev: I add TODOs to my notes; will many files slow down the Org agenda?,  Up: Frequently Asked Questions
 
 18.7 I want to sort by last modified, why won’t Denote let me?
 ==============================================================
 
 Denote does not sort files and will not reinvent tools that handle such
 functionality.  This is the job of the file manager or command-line
 executable that lists files.
 
    I encourage you to read the manpage of the ‘ls’ executable.  It will
 help you in general, while it applies to Emacs as well via Dired.  The
 gist is that you can update the ‘ls’ flags that Dired uses on-the-fly:
 type ‘C-u M-x dired-sort-toggle-or-edit’ (‘C-u s’ by default) and append
 ‘--sort=time’ at the prompt.  To reverse the order, add the ‘-r’ flag.
 The user option ‘dired-listing-switches’ sets your default preference.
 
    There is also “virtual Dired” if you need something that cannot be
 done with Dired (*note Use dired-virtual-mode for arbitrary file
 listings: Use dired-virtual-mode for arbitrary file listings.).
 
 
 File: docvTU8YZ.info,  Node: How do you handle the last modified case?,  Next: Speed up backlinks' buffer creation?,  Prev: I want to sort by last modified why won't Denote let me?,  Up: Frequently Asked Questions
 
 18.8 How do you handle the last modified case?
 ==============================================
 
 Denote does not insert any meta data or heading pertaining to edits in
 the file.  I am of the view that these either do not scale well or are
 not descriptive enough.  Suppose you use a “lastmod” heading with a
 timestamp: which lines where edited and what did the change amount to?
 
    This is where an external program can be helpful.  Use a Version
 Control System, such as Git, to keep track of all your notes.  Every
 time you add a new file, record the addition.  Same for post-creation
 edits.  Your VCS will let you review the history of those changes.  For
 instance, Emacs’ built-in version control framework has a command that
 produces a log of changes for the current file: ‘M-x vc-print-log’,
 bound to ‘C-x v l’ by default.  From there one can access the
 corresponding diff output (use ‘M-x describe-mode’ (‘C-h m’) in an
 unfamiliar buffer to learn more about it).  With Git in particular,
 Emacs users have the option of the all-round excellent ‘magit’ package.
 
    In short: let Denote (or equivalent) create notes and link between
 them, the file manager organise and provide access to files, search
 programs deal with searching and narrowing, and version control software
 handle the tracking of changes.
 
 
 File: docvTU8YZ.info,  Node: Speed up backlinks' buffer creation?,  Next: Why do I get ``Search failed with status 1'' when I search for backlinks?,  Prev: How do you handle the last modified case?,  Up: Frequently Asked Questions
 
 18.9 Speed up backlinks’ buffer creation?
 =========================================
 
 Denotes leverages the built-in ‘xref’ library to search for the
 identifier of the current file and return any links to it.  For users of
 Emacs version 28 or higher, there exists a user option to specify the
 program that performs this search: ‘xref-search-program’.  The default
 is ‘grep’, which can be slow, though one may opt for ‘ugrep’, ‘ripgrep’,
 or even specify something else (read the doc string of that user option
 for the details).
 
    Try either for these for better results:
 
      (setq xref-search-program 'ripgrep)
 
      ;; OR
 
      (setq xref-search-program 'ugrep)
 
    To use whatever executable is available on your system, use something
 like this:
 
      ;; Prefer ripgrep, then ugrep, and fall back to regular grep.
      (setq xref-search-program
            (cond
             ((or (executable-find "ripgrep")
                  (executable-find "rg"))
              'ripgrep)
             ((executable-find "ugrep")
              'ugrep)
             (t
              'grep)))
 
 
 File: docvTU8YZ.info,  Node: Why do I get ``Search failed with status 1'' when I search for backlinks?,  Prev: Speed up backlinks' buffer creation?,  Up: Frequently Asked Questions
 
 18.10 Why do I get “Search failed with status 1” when I search for backlinks?
 =============================================================================
 
 Denote uses *note Emacs’ Xref: (emacs)Xref. to find backlinks.  Xref
 requires ‘xargs’ and one of ‘grep’ or ‘ripgrep’, depending on your
 configuration.
 
    This is usually not an issue on *nix systems, but the necessary
 executables are not available on Windows Emacs distributions.  Please
 ensure that you have both ‘xargs’ and either ‘grep’ or ‘ripgrep’
 available within your ‘PATH’ environment variable.
 
    If you have ‘git’ on Windows installed, then you may use the
 following code (adjust the git’s installation path if necessary):
      (setenv "PATH" (concat (getenv "PATH") ";" "C:\\Program Files\\Git\\usr\\bin"))
 
 
 File: docvTU8YZ.info,  Node: Acknowledgements,  Next: GNU Free Documentation License,  Prev: Frequently Asked Questions,  Up: Top
 
 19 Acknowledgements
 *******************
 
 Denote is meant to be a collective effort.  Every bit of help matters.
 
 Author/maintainer
      Protesilaos Stavrou.
 
 Contributions to code or the manual
      Abin Simon, Alan Schmitt, Benjamin Kästner, Charanjit Singh,
      Clemens Radermacher, Colin McLear, Damien Cassou, Elias Storms,
      Eshel Yaron, Florian, Graham Marlow, Hilde Rhyne, Jack Baty,
      Jean-Philippe Gagné Guay, Jürgen Hötzel, Kaushal Modi, Kyle Meyer,
      Marc Fargas, Noboru Ota (nobiot), Peter Prevos, Philip Kaludercic,
      Quiliro Ordóñez, Stefan Monnier, Thibaut Benjamin.
 
 Ideas and/or user feedback
      Abin Simon, Alan Schmitt, Alfredo Borrás, Benjamin Kästner, Colin
      McLear, Damien Cassou, Elias Storms, Federico Stilman, Florian,
      Frank Ehmsen, Guo Yong, Hanspeter Gisler, Jack Baty, Jeremy
      Friesen, Juanjo Presa, Johan Bolmsjö, Kaushal Modi, M.  Hadi
      Timachi, Paul van Gelder, Peter Prevos, Shreyas Ragavan, Stefan
      Thesing, Summer Emacs, Sven Seebeck, Taoufik, Viktor Haag, Yi Liu,
      Ypot, atanasj, hpgisler, pRot0ta1p, sienic, sundar bp.
 
    Special thanks to Peter Povinec who helped refine the file-naming
 scheme, which is the cornerstone of this project.
 
    Special thanks to Jean-Philippe Gagné Guay for the numerous
 contributions to the code base.
 
 
 File: docvTU8YZ.info,  Node: GNU Free Documentation License,  Next: Indices,  Prev: Acknowledgements,  Up: Top
 
 Appendix A GNU Free Documentation License
 *****************************************
 
                      Version 1.3, 3 November 2008
 
      Copyright © 2000, 2001, 2002, 2007, 2008 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
      <https://fsf.org/>
 
      Everyone is permitted to copy and distribute verbatim copies
      of this license document, but changing it is not allowed.
 
   0. PREAMBLE
 
      The purpose of this License is to make a manual, textbook, or other
      functional and useful document “free” in the sense of freedom: to
      assure everyone the effective freedom to copy and redistribute it,
      with or without modifying it, either commercially or
      noncommercially.  Secondarily, this License preserves for the
      author and publisher a way to get credit for their work, while not
      being considered responsible for modifications made by others.
 
      This License is a kind of “copyleft”, which means that derivative
      works of the document must themselves be free in the same sense.
      It complements the GNU General Public License, which is a copyleft
      license designed for free software.
 
      We have designed this License in order to use it for manuals for
      free software, because free software needs free documentation: a
      free program should come with manuals providing the same freedoms
      that the software does.  But this License is not limited to
      software manuals; it can be used for any textual work, regardless
      of subject matter or whether it is published as a printed book.  We
      recommend this License principally for works whose purpose is
      instruction or reference.
 
   1. APPLICABILITY AND DEFINITIONS
 
      This License applies to any manual or other work, in any medium,
      that contains a notice placed by the copyright holder saying it can
      be distributed under the terms of this License.  Such a notice
      grants a world-wide, royalty-free license, unlimited in duration,
      to use that work under the conditions stated herein.  The
      “Document”, below, refers to any such manual or work.  Any member
      of the public is a licensee, and is addressed as “you”.  You accept
      the license if you copy, modify or distribute the work in a way
      requiring permission under copyright law.
 
      A “Modified Version” of the Document means any work containing the
      Document or a portion of it, either copied verbatim, or with
      modifications and/or translated into another language.
 
      A “Secondary Section” is a named appendix or a front-matter section
      of the Document that deals exclusively with the relationship of the
      publishers or authors of the Document to the Document’s overall
      subject (or to related matters) and contains nothing that could
      fall directly within that overall subject.  (Thus, if the Document
      is in part a textbook of mathematics, a Secondary Section may not
      explain any mathematics.)  The relationship could be a matter of
      historical connection with the subject or with related matters, or
      of legal, commercial, philosophical, ethical or political position
      regarding them.
 
      The “Invariant Sections” are certain Secondary Sections whose
      titles are designated, as being those of Invariant Sections, in the
      notice that says that the Document is released under this License.
      If a section does not fit the above definition of Secondary then it
      is not allowed to be designated as Invariant.  The Document may
      contain zero Invariant Sections.  If the Document does not identify
      any Invariant Sections then there are none.
 
      The “Cover Texts” are certain short passages of text that are
      listed, as Front-Cover Texts or Back-Cover Texts, in the notice
      that says that the Document is released under this License.  A
      Front-Cover Text may be at most 5 words, and a Back-Cover Text may
      be at most 25 words.
 
      A “Transparent” copy of the Document means a machine-readable copy,
      represented in a format whose specification is available to the
      general public, that is suitable for revising the document
      straightforwardly with generic text editors or (for images composed
      of pixels) generic paint programs or (for drawings) some widely
      available drawing editor, and that is suitable for input to text
      formatters or for automatic translation to a variety of formats
      suitable for input to text formatters.  A copy made in an otherwise
      Transparent file format whose markup, or absence of markup, has
      been arranged to thwart or discourage subsequent modification by
      readers is not Transparent.  An image format is not Transparent if
      used for any substantial amount of text.  A copy that is not
      “Transparent” is called “Opaque”.
 
      Examples of suitable formats for Transparent copies include plain
      ASCII without markup, Texinfo input format, LaTeX input format,
      SGML or XML using a publicly available DTD, and standard-conforming
      simple HTML, PostScript or PDF designed for human modification.
      Examples of transparent image formats include PNG, XCF and JPG.
      Opaque formats include proprietary formats that can be read and
      edited only by proprietary word processors, SGML or XML for which
      the DTD and/or processing tools are not generally available, and
      the machine-generated HTML, PostScript or PDF produced by some word
      processors for output purposes only.
 
      The “Title Page” means, for a printed book, the title page itself,
      plus such following pages as are needed to hold, legibly, the
      material this License requires to appear in the title page.  For
      works in formats which do not have any title page as such, “Title
      Page” means the text near the most prominent appearance of the
      work’s title, preceding the beginning of the body of the text.
 
      The “publisher” means any person or entity that distributes copies
      of the Document to the public.
 
      A section “Entitled XYZ” means a named subunit of the Document
      whose title either is precisely XYZ or contains XYZ in parentheses
      following text that translates XYZ in another language.  (Here XYZ
      stands for a specific section name mentioned below, such as
      “Acknowledgements”, “Dedications”, “Endorsements”, or “History”.)
      To “Preserve the Title” of such a section when you modify the
      Document means that it remains a section “Entitled XYZ” according
      to this definition.
 
      The Document may include Warranty Disclaimers next to the notice
      which states that this License applies to the Document.  These
      Warranty Disclaimers are considered to be included by reference in
      this License, but only as regards disclaiming warranties: any other
      implication that these Warranty Disclaimers may have is void and
      has no effect on the meaning of this License.
 
   2. VERBATIM COPYING
 
      You may copy and distribute the Document in any medium, either
      commercially or noncommercially, provided that this License, the
      copyright notices, and the license notice saying this License
      applies to the Document are reproduced in all copies, and that you
      add no other conditions whatsoever to those of this License.  You
      may not use technical measures to obstruct or control the reading
      or further copying of the copies you make or distribute.  However,
      you may accept compensation in exchange for copies.  If you
      distribute a large enough number of copies you must also follow the
      conditions in section 3.
 
      You may also lend copies, under the same conditions stated above,
      and you may publicly display copies.
 
   3. COPYING IN QUANTITY
 
      If you publish printed copies (or copies in media that commonly
      have printed covers) of the Document, numbering more than 100, and
      the Document’s license notice requires Cover Texts, you must
      enclose the copies in covers that carry, clearly and legibly, all
      these Cover Texts: Front-Cover Texts on the front cover, and
      Back-Cover Texts on the back cover.  Both covers must also clearly
      and legibly identify you as the publisher of these copies.  The
      front cover must present the full title with all words of the title
      equally prominent and visible.  You may add other material on the
      covers in addition.  Copying with changes limited to the covers, as
      long as they preserve the title of the Document and satisfy these
      conditions, can be treated as verbatim copying in other respects.
 
      If the required texts for either cover are too voluminous to fit
      legibly, you should put the first ones listed (as many as fit
      reasonably) on the actual cover, and continue the rest onto
      adjacent pages.
 
      If you publish or distribute Opaque copies of the Document
      numbering more than 100, you must either include a machine-readable
      Transparent copy along with each Opaque copy, or state in or with
      each Opaque copy a computer-network location from which the general
      network-using public has access to download using public-standard
      network protocols a complete Transparent copy of the Document, free
      of added material.  If you use the latter option, you must take
      reasonably prudent steps, when you begin distribution of Opaque
      copies in quantity, to ensure that this Transparent copy will
      remain thus accessible at the stated location until at least one
      year after the last time you distribute an Opaque copy (directly or
      through your agents or retailers) of that edition to the public.
 
      It is requested, but not required, that you contact the authors of
      the Document well before redistributing any large number of copies,
      to give them a chance to provide you with an updated version of the
      Document.
 
   4. MODIFICATIONS
 
      You may copy and distribute a Modified Version of the Document
      under the conditions of sections 2 and 3 above, provided that you
      release the Modified Version under precisely this License, with the
      Modified Version filling the role of the Document, thus licensing
      distribution and modification of the Modified Version to whoever
      possesses a copy of it.  In addition, you must do these things in
      the Modified Version:
 
        A. Use in the Title Page (and on the covers, if any) a title
           distinct from that of the Document, and from those of previous
           versions (which should, if there were any, be listed in the
           History section of the Document).  You may use the same title
           as a previous version if the original publisher of that
           version gives permission.
 
        B. List on the Title Page, as authors, one or more persons or
           entities responsible for authorship of the modifications in
           the Modified Version, together with at least five of the
           principal authors of the Document (all of its principal
           authors, if it has fewer than five), unless they release you
           from this requirement.
 
        C. State on the Title page the name of the publisher of the
           Modified Version, as the publisher.
 
        D. Preserve all the copyright notices of the Document.
 
        E. Add an appropriate copyright notice for your modifications
           adjacent to the other copyright notices.
 
        F. Include, immediately after the copyright notices, a license
           notice giving the public permission to use the Modified
           Version under the terms of this License, in the form shown in
           the Addendum below.
 
        G. Preserve in that license notice the full lists of Invariant
           Sections and required Cover Texts given in the Document’s
           license notice.
 
        H. Include an unaltered copy of this License.
 
        I. Preserve the section Entitled “History”, Preserve its Title,
           and add to it an item stating at least the title, year, new
           authors, and publisher of the Modified Version as given on the
           Title Page.  If there is no section Entitled “History” in the
           Document, create one stating the title, year, authors, and
           publisher of the Document as given on its Title Page, then add
           an item describing the Modified Version as stated in the
           previous sentence.
 
        J. Preserve the network location, if any, given in the Document
           for public access to a Transparent copy of the Document, and
           likewise the network locations given in the Document for
           previous versions it was based on.  These may be placed in the
           “History” section.  You may omit a network location for a work
           that was published at least four years before the Document
           itself, or if the original publisher of the version it refers
           to gives permission.
 
        K. For any section Entitled “Acknowledgements” or “Dedications”,
           Preserve the Title of the section, and preserve in the section
           all the substance and tone of each of the contributor
           acknowledgements and/or dedications given therein.
 
        L. Preserve all the Invariant Sections of the Document, unaltered
           in their text and in their titles.  Section numbers or the
           equivalent are not considered part of the section titles.
 
        M. Delete any section Entitled “Endorsements”.  Such a section
           may not be included in the Modified Version.
 
        N. Do not retitle any existing section to be Entitled
           “Endorsements” or to conflict in title with any Invariant
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        O. Preserve any Warranty Disclaimers.
 
      If the Modified Version includes new front-matter sections or
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      You may add a passage of up to five words as a Front-Cover Text,
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      The author(s) and publisher(s) of the Document do not by this
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   5. COMBINING DOCUMENTS
 
      You may combine the Document with other documents released under
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      of the Invariant Sections of all of the original documents,
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      The combined work need only contain one copy of this License, and
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      In the combination, you must combine any sections Entitled
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   6. COLLECTIONS OF DOCUMENTS
 
      You may make a collection consisting of the Document and other
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   7. AGGREGATION WITH INDEPENDENT WORKS
 
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   8. TRANSLATION
 
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      If a section in the Document is Entitled “Acknowledgements”,
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      Preserve its Title (section 1) will typically require changing the
      actual title.
 
   9. TERMINATION
 
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      except as expressly provided under this License.  Any attempt
      otherwise to copy, modify, sublicense, or distribute it is void,
      and will automatically terminate your rights under this License.
 
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      same material does not give you any rights to use it.
 
   10. FUTURE REVISIONS OF THIS LICENSE
 
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      versions will be similar in spirit to the present version, but may
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      authorizes you to choose that version for the Document.
 
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      license published by Creative Commons Corporation, a not-for-profit
      corporation with a principal place of business in San Francisco,
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      incorporated in whole or in part into the MMC, (1) had no cover
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      site under CC-BY-SA on the same site at any time before August 1,
      2009, provided the MMC is eligible for relicensing.
 
 ADDENDUM: How to use this License for your documents
 ====================================================
 
 To use this License in a document you have written, include a copy of
 the License in the document and put the following copyright and license
 notices just after the title page:
 
        Copyright (C)  YEAR  YOUR NAME.
        Permission is granted to copy, distribute and/or modify this document
        under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1.3
        or any later version published by the Free Software Foundation;
        with no Invariant Sections, no Front-Cover Texts, and no Back-Cover
        Texts.  A copy of the license is included in the section entitled ``GNU
        Free Documentation License''.
 
    If you have Invariant Sections, Front-Cover Texts and Back-Cover
 Texts, replace the “with...Texts.” line with this:
 
          with the Invariant Sections being LIST THEIR TITLES, with
          the Front-Cover Texts being LIST, and with the Back-Cover Texts
          being LIST.
 
    If you have Invariant Sections without Cover Texts, or some other
 combination of the three, merge those two alternatives to suit the
 situation.
 
    If your document contains nontrivial examples of program code, we
 recommend releasing these examples in parallel under your choice of free
 software license, such as the GNU General Public License, to permit
 their use in free software.
 
 
 File: docvTU8YZ.info,  Node: Indices,  Prev: GNU Free Documentation License,  Up: Top
 
 B Indices
 *********
 
 * Menu:
 
 * Function index::
 * Variable index::
 * Concept index::
 
 
 File: docvTU8YZ.info,  Node: Function index,  Next: Variable index,  Up: Indices
 
 B.1 Function index
 ==================
 
 
 * Menu:
 
 * denote:                                Points of entry.     (line   6)
 * denote-add-front-matter:               Regenerate front matter.
                                                               (line   6)
 * denote-backlinks-mode:                 The backlinks' buffer.
                                                               (line  42)
 * denote-barf-duplicate-id:              For developers or advanced users.
                                                               (line 118)
 * denote-create-note:                    Standard note creation.
                                                               (line  35)
 * denote-create-note-in-subdirectory:    Convenience commands for note creation.
                                                               (line  54)
 * denote-create-note-using-date:         Convenience commands for note creation.
                                                               (line  43)
 * denote-create-note-using-type:         Convenience commands for note creation.
                                                               (line  24)
 * denote-create-note-with-template:      Convenience commands for note creation.
                                                               (line  67)
 * denote-date:                           Points of entry.     (line   6)
 * denote-date-iso-8601:                  For developers or advanced users.
                                                               (line 371)
 * denote-date-org-timestamp:             For developers or advanced users.
                                                               (line 365)
 * denote-date-prompt:                    For developers or advanced users.
                                                               (line 223)
 * denote-date-rfc3339:                   For developers or advanced users.
                                                               (line 368)
 * denote-desluggify:                     For developers or advanced users.
                                                               (line 128)
 * denote-directory:                      For developers or advanced users.
                                                               (line  79)
 * denote-directory-files:                For developers or advanced users.
                                                               (line  86)
 * denote-directory-files-matching-regexp: For developers or advanced users.
                                                               (line 108)
 * denote-directory-subdirectories:       For developers or advanced users.
                                                               (line 100)
 * denote-directory-text-only-files:      For developers or advanced users.
                                                               (line  96)
 * denote-dired-mode:                     Fontification in Dired.
                                                               (line   6)
 * denote-dired-mode-in-directories:      Fontification in Dired.
                                                               (line  17)
 * denote-dired-rename-marked-files:      Rename multiple files at once.
                                                               (line   6)
 * denote-dired-rename-marked-files-using-front-matter: Rename multiple files based on their front matter.
                                                               (line   6)
 * denote-extract-id-from-string:         For developers or advanced users.
                                                               (line 161)
 * denote-extract-keywords-from-front-matter: For developers or advanced users.
                                                               (line 397)
 * denote-extract-keywords-from-path:     For developers or advanced users.
                                                               (line 155)
 * denote-file-has-identifier-p:          For developers or advanced users.
                                                               (line  57)
 * denote-file-has-supported-extension-p: For developers or advanced users.
                                                               (line  60)
 * denote-file-is-note-p:                 For developers or advanced users.
                                                               (line  50)
 * denote-file-is-writable-and-supported-p: For developers or advanced users.
                                                               (line  65)
 * denote-file-name-relative-to-denote-directory: For developers or advanced users.
                                                               (line 111)
 * denote-file-prompt:                    For developers or advanced users.
                                                               (line 203)
 * denote-file-type-prompt:               For developers or advanced users.
                                                               (line 218)
 * denote-filetype-heuristics:            For developers or advanced users.
                                                               (line 137)
 * denote-format-file-name:               For developers or advanced users.
                                                               (line 149)
 * denote-format-keywords-for-md-front-matter: For developers or advanced users.
                                                               (line 382)
 * denote-format-keywords-for-org-front-matter: For developers or advanced users.
                                                               (line 392)
 * denote-format-keywords-for-text-front-matter: For developers or advanced users.
                                                               (line 387)
 * denote-get-path-by-id:                 For developers or advanced users.
                                                               (line 115)
 * denote-keywords:                       For developers or advanced users.
                                                               (line  68)
 * denote-keywords-add:                   Add or remove keywords interactively.
                                                               (line   6)
 * denote-keywords-prompt:                For developers or advanced users.
                                                               (line 207)
 * denote-keywords-remove:                Add or remove keywords interactively.
                                                               (line   6)
 * denote-keywords-sort:                  For developers or advanced users.
                                                               (line  75)
 * denote-link:                           Adding a single link.
                                                               (line   6)
 * denote-link-add-links:                 Insert links matching a regexp.
                                                               (line   6)
 * denote-link-add-missing-links:         Insert links but only those missing from current buffer.
                                                               (line   6)
 * denote-link-after-creating:            Link to an existing note or create a new one.
                                                               (line  14)
 * denote-link-after-creating <1>:        Variants of denote-link-or-create.
                                                               (line  10)
 * denote-link-backlinks:                 The backlinks' buffer.
                                                               (line   6)
 * denote-link-buttonize-buffer:          Adding a single link.
                                                               (line  30)
 * denote-link-dired-marked-notes:        Insert links from marked files in Dired.
                                                               (line   6)
 * denote-link-find-backlink:             Visiting linked files via the minibuffer.
                                                               (line  19)
 * denote-link-find-file:                 Visiting linked files via the minibuffer.
                                                               (line   6)
 * denote-link-insert-link:               Miscellaneous information about links.
                                                               (line   6)
 * denote-link-insert-links-matching-regexp: Miscellaneous information about links.
                                                               (line   6)
 * denote-link-or-create:                 Link to an existing note or create a new one.
                                                               (line  37)
 * denote-link-or-create <1>:             Variants of denote-link-or-create.
                                                               (line   6)
 * denote-link-show-backlinks-buffer:     Miscellaneous information about links.
                                                               (line   6)
 * denote-open-or-create:                 Variants of denote-open-or-create.
                                                               (line   6)
 * denote-org-capture:                    Points of entry.     (line   6)
 * denote-prompt-for-date-return-id:      For developers or advanced users.
                                                               (line 231)
 * denote-rename-file:                    Rename a single file.
                                                               (line   6)
 * denote-rename-file-and-buffer:         For developers or advanced users.
                                                               (line 245)
 * denote-rename-file-prompt:             For developers or advanced users.
                                                               (line 242)
 * denote-rename-file-using-front-matter: Rename a single file based on its front matter.
                                                               (line   6)
 * denote-retrieve-filename-identifier:   For developers or advanced users.
                                                               (line 164)
 * denote-retrieve-filename-title:        For developers or advanced users.
                                                               (line 187)
 * denote-retrieve-keywords-line:         For developers or advanced users.
                                                               (line 200)
 * denote-retrieve-keywords-value:        For developers or advanced users.
                                                               (line 197)
 * denote-retrieve-or-create-file-identifier: For developers or advanced users.
                                                               (line 169)
 * denote-retrieve-title-line:            For developers or advanced users.
                                                               (line 194)
 * denote-retrieve-title-value:           For developers or advanced users.
                                                               (line 191)
 * denote-sluggify:                       For developers or advanced users.
                                                               (line 121)
 * denote-sluggify-and-join:              For developers or advanced users.
                                                               (line 125)
 * denote-sluggify-keywords:              For developers or advanced users.
                                                               (line 133)
 * denote-subdirectory:                   Points of entry.     (line   6)
 * denote-subdirectory-prompt:            For developers or advanced users.
                                                               (line 237)
 * denote-surround-with-quotes:           For developers or advanced users.
                                                               (line 361)
 * denote-template:                       Points of entry.     (line   6)
 * denote-template-prompt:                For developers or advanced users.
                                                               (line 234)
 * denote-title-prompt:                   For developers or advanced users.
                                                               (line 214)
 * denote-trim-whitespace:                For developers or advanced users.
                                                               (line 374)
 * denote-trim-whitespace-then-quotes:    For developers or advanced users.
                                                               (line 378)
 * denote-type:                           Points of entry.     (line   6)
 * denote-update-dired-buffers:           For developers or advanced users.
                                                               (line 248)
 
 
 File: docvTU8YZ.info,  Node: Variable index,  Next: Concept index,  Prev: Function index,  Up: Indices
 
 B.2 Variable index
 ==================
 
 
 * Menu:
 
 * denote-allow-multi-word-keywords:      The file-naming scheme.
                                                               (line  29)
 * denote-backlinks-mode-map:             The backlinks' buffer.
                                                               (line  42)
 * denote-backlinks-show-context:         The backlinks' buffer.
                                                               (line  20)
 * denote-date-format:                    Front matter.        (line  50)
 * denote-date-prompt-use-org-read-date:  The denote-date-prompt-use-org-read-date option.
                                                               (line  11)
 * denote-directory:                      The file-naming scheme.
                                                               (line   6)
 * denote-dired-directories:              Fontification in Dired.
                                                               (line  17)
 * denote-excluded-directories-regexp:    Exclude certain directories from all operations.
                                                               (line   6)
 * denote-excluded-keywords-regexp:       Exclude certain keywords from being inferred.
                                                               (line   6)
 * denote-excluded-punctuation-extra-regexp: For developers or advanced users.
                                                               (line  43)
 * denote-excluded-punctuation-regexp:    For developers or advanced users.
                                                               (line  39)
 * denote-faces-date:                     Fontification in Dired.
                                                               (line  30)
 * denote-faces-delimiter:                Fontification in Dired.
                                                               (line  30)
 * denote-faces-extension:                Fontification in Dired.
                                                               (line  30)
 * denote-faces-keywords:                 Fontification in Dired.
                                                               (line  30)
 * denote-faces-link:                     Adding a single link.
                                                               (line  38)
 * denote-faces-subdirectory:             Fontification in Dired.
                                                               (line  30)
 * denote-faces-time:                     Fontification in Dired.
                                                               (line  30)
 * denote-faces-title:                    Fontification in Dired.
                                                               (line  30)
 * denote-file-type:                      The file-naming scheme.
                                                               (line  43)
 * denote-file-types:                     For developers or advanced users.
                                                               (line 254)
 * denote-id-format:                      For developers or advanced users.
                                                               (line  23)
 * denote-id-only-link-format:            For developers or advanced users.
                                                               (line 344)
 * denote-id-only-link-in-context-regexp: For developers or advanced users.
                                                               (line 357)
 * denote-id-regexp:                      For developers or advanced users.
                                                               (line  28)
 * denote-infer-keywords:                 Standard note creation.
                                                               (line  16)
 * denote-keywords-regexp:                For developers or advanced users.
                                                               (line  35)
 * denote-known-keywords:                 Standard note creation.
                                                               (line  16)
 * denote-link-backlinks-display-buffer-action: The backlinks' buffer.
                                                               (line  61)
 * denote-md-link-format:                 For developers or advanced users.
                                                               (line 338)
 * denote-md-link-in-context-regexp:      For developers or advanced users.
                                                               (line 353)
 * denote-org-capture-specifiers:         Create note using Org capture.
                                                               (line  30)
 * denote-org-front-matter:               Change the front matter format.
                                                               (line  18)
 * denote-org-front-matter <1>:           For developers or advanced users.
                                                               (line 313)
 * denote-org-link-format:                For developers or advanced users.
                                                               (line 333)
 * denote-org-link-in-context-regexp:     For developers or advanced users.
                                                               (line 349)
 * denote-prompts:                        The denote-prompts option.
                                                               (line   6)
 * denote-sort-keywords:                  Standard note creation.
                                                               (line  22)
 * denote-templates:                      The denote-templates option.
                                                               (line   6)
 * denote-text-front-matter:              Change the front matter format.
                                                               (line  20)
 * denote-text-front-matter <1>:          For developers or advanced users.
                                                               (line 328)
 * denote-title-regexp:                   For developers or advanced users.
                                                               (line  31)
 * denote-toml-front-matter:              Change the front matter format.
                                                               (line  22)
 * denote-toml-front-matter <1>:          For developers or advanced users.
                                                               (line 323)
 * denote-yaml-front-matter:              Change the front matter format.
                                                               (line  24)
 * denote-yaml-front-matter <1>:          For developers or advanced users.
                                                               (line 318)
 
 
 File: docvTU8YZ.info,  Node: Concept index,  Prev: Variable index,  Up: Indices
 
 B.3 Concept index
 =================
 
 
 * Menu:
 
 * Contributors:                          Acknowledgements.      (line 6)
 * Installation instructions:             Installation.          (line 6)
 * Note silos:                            Maintain separate directory silos for notes.
                                                                 (line 6)
 * Package configuration:                 Sample configuration.  (line 6)
 
 
 
 Tag Table:
 Node: Top852
 Node: Overview6007
 Node: Points of entry9214
 Node: Standard note creation9914
 Node: The denote-prompts option11834
 Node: The denote-templates option15129
 Node: Convenience commands for note creation17634
 Node: The denote-date-prompt-use-org-read-date option23664
 Node: Add or remove keywords interactively24467
 Node: Create note using Org capture25257
 Node: Maintain separate directory silos for notes27486
 Node: Exclude certain directories from all operations32195
 Node: Exclude certain keywords from being inferred33295
 Node: Renaming files33902
 Node: Rename a single file35299
 Node: Rename multiple files at once38360
 Node: Rename a single file based on its front matter39833
 Node: Rename multiple files based on their front matter42004
 Node: The file-naming scheme43671
 Node: Sluggified title and keywords47377
 Node: Features of the file-naming scheme for searching or filtering48235
 Node: Front matter49706
 Node: Change the front matter format52053
 Node: Regenerate front matter54881
 Node: Linking notes56245
 Node: Adding a single link57272
 Node: Insert links matching a regexp59229
 Node: Insert links but only those missing from current buffer61461
 Node: Insert links from marked files in Dired62176
 Node: Link to an existing note or create a new one63602
 Node: The backlinks' buffer66551
 Node: Writing metanotes70121
 Node: Visiting linked files via the minibuffer71796
 Node: Miscellaneous information about links73033
 Node: Fontification in Dired73642
 Node: Use Org dynamic blocks75645
 Node: Minibuffer histories79359
 Node: Extending Denote80215
 Node: Keep a journal or diary81179
 Node: Create a note with the region's contents84698
 Node: Split an Org subtree into its own note85908
 Node: Narrow the list of files in Dired87575
 Node: Use dired-virtual-mode for arbitrary file listings89911
 Node: Use Embark to collect minibuffer candidates94017
 Node: Search file contents95324
 Node: Bookmark the directory with the notes97008
 Node: Use the citar-denote package for bibliography notes98397
 Node: Use the consult-notes package99432
 Node: Treat your notes as a project100674
 Node: Variants of denote-open-or-create102152
 Node: Variants of denote-link-or-create105101
 Node: Installation108443
 Node: GNU ELPA package108640
 Node: Manual installation109203
 Node: Sample configuration109974
 Node: For developers or advanced users114851
 Node: Contributing133136
 Node: Things to do136240
 Node: Publications about Denote138108
 Node: Alternatives to Denote139888
 Node: Alternative ideas with Emacs and further reading144527
 Node: Frequently Asked Questions145514
 Node: Why develop Denote when PACKAGE already exists?146479
 Node: Why not rely exclusively on Org?148406
 Node: Why care about Unix tools when you use Emacs?150116
 Node: Why many small files instead of few large ones?151458
 Node: Does Denote perform well at scale?153400
 Node: I add TODOs to my notes; will many files slow down the Org agenda?154533
 Node: I want to sort by last modified why won't Denote let me?156496
 Node: How do you handle the last modified case?157704
 Node: Speed up backlinks' buffer creation?159256
 Node: Why do I get ``Search failed with status 1'' when I search for backlinks?160585
 Node: Acknowledgements161588
 Node: GNU Free Documentation License163043
 Node: Indices188404
 Node: Function index188580
 Node: Variable index201254
 Node: Concept index207997
 
 End Tag Table
 
 
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 coding: utf-8
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