Writing in tree structure - The solution to long form writing (Gingko)

Maybe someone can take a look at the app Transno which does this turning the headings of the outline and its children into separate cards in a flow chart of mind map.

Then you can edit in the mind map. Transno is on web and phone but they still are not letting people get to pay for the pro yet but the concept is still there.

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Now I’m thinking what the end markdown structure could look like in order to work backwards.

Since it’s a tree structure I imagine something like this (with a tree.md file name):

---
tree-structure: true
tree-view: columns
---

## Level  0
### Note 1 ^ref1
Note content
#### Properties
- parent: 
- children: [[tree#^ref2]]

## Level 1
### Note 2 ^ref2
Note content
#### Properties
- parent: [[tree#^ref1]]
- children: [[tree#^ref3]] [[tree#^ref4]]

## Level 2
### Note 3 ^ref3
Note content
#### Properties
- parent: [[tree#^ref2]]
- children:

### Note 4 ^ref4
Note content
#### Properties
- parent: [[tree#^ref2]]
- children:

  • H2s: the levels or degrees of separation from the start of the tree (trunk).
  • H3s: the notes or nodes of the tree structure
  • H4s: the notes’ properties, in this case only two, parent and children nodes. There can be other properties too, like connector descriptions (a la, that → generates → this, generates would be the connector, not sure yet though)
  • refs: this would be the major point in order to make the tree structure work, I’m not sure how these work behind the scenes though

Maybe there’s a better way to map out dependencies but this could even be an improvement versus the current mind map too, as the structure is the same of a tree.

I’m not sure if the refs are enough but I think that if they do work, they would offer the most compatibility with Obsidian and it’s block-level references.

I’m also thinking the strategy used by the Kanban plugin to have editabilty without interfacing with the .md text itself directly, would be preferable.

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Make it so it uses parent, sibling and childfields and you get full compatbility with other plugins.

Plus, you don’t really need to define all three to get it working, just the parent!

This is a must!

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Which other plugins? I’d like to know more. Are they using the structure I mentioned?

Take a closer look to how Breadrcumbs works and the discussions. Its gold.

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I’ve also found longform, which seems to fit s similar niche and operates similarly. Maybe it’s time for a cooperation/fork?

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Longform is definitely for a similar type of user, however I do believe the tree style of gingko is a lot more advanced.
@feva’s great take on it, shows how much more of an advanced system it is!

I don’t see it as the same type of thing at all. I’ve trialled Gingko in its various incarnations over a number of years (7 iirc), so I’m fairly familiar with it. It suits some people very well and appears to enhance their productivity. It’s visual. But it’s not the same thing as Longform.

afaics, Longform adds a sequential structure to scenes (it would be enhanced if chapters and sections were added) like the file pane in traditional outliners such as Scrivener, Atomic Scribbler etc.
(fwiw, I think the kanban plugin can stand in for some of the corkboard functions.)

Another very visual option would be to write scenes in Google Keep using extensions to compile into Docs; can be reasonably powerful.

Gingko combines this style of visual appearance with a hierarchical/sequential structure. So I see it in the same use space, but being an entirely different concept, and likely appealing to different users.

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Hi, how is it going?

I would looove to see this happen. I’m a writer, and this plugin would be very helpful

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Maybe GitHub - artem-barmin/obsidian-tree-edit: Ginko-style text editing is this your github address?

I wonder if development is going on…

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that seems like the correct one. As far as I know the project is still in progress!
I’m also super excited about this project coming to life. I just contacted @artem and either him or myself will definitely keep you guys updated on the progress!

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Looking forward to seeing the project completed. What is the status as on date?

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Is the kanban plugin not a nice starting point for such a plugin?
Let’s define 6 levels (columns) to start with with each using a H1 … H6 heading as a column definition. So the first column shows all H1 levels, second all H2 levels, and so on.

Maybe deeper structures are needed but it might be a nice start.

The columns should be generated automatically and showing all relevant lower headings. Like Ginko the other levels might be subdued.

Not sure how the drag-and-drop would work and how difficult it would be to select the underlying headers.

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Hey @santi

what’s the status on this? Just checking in… :slight_smile:

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+1 on checking the status :slight_smile:

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@artem let us know if you need any help with beta testing, would love to hear of any updated on development of this epic plugin.

I’m so happy to see so many of us are anxious to try this out :grinning:

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Obsidian MarkMind now supports showing the embedded note content in mind map view, which might be of interest to have a look at.
MarkMindCkm/obsidian-markmind: A mind map, outline and pdf annotate tool for obsidian,It support mobile and desktop

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