accessing and organizing notes and notebooks

Kristin

I have three questions about notes and notebooks.

First, on another thread someone made a notebook full of notes public. I clicked on his link, and the program asked me if I wanted to add it, or download it, or something, but I clicked it, and it said the notebook had been added "to my documents" and I can see the notes on the web version of Logos.

However, I then went to the Logos app on my computer and tried to find them and I can't figure it out. I first went to my documents, but I don't see it there. So I then went to my notes in tools, but I still don't see it. Could someone explain how to view this on the app?

Second, while I was trying to do this, I discovered that I have a bunch of notes, like 500 something notes, which are all in "no notebook." Is there a way to select them all and add them to a notebook?

Third, while I don't remember creating these notes, looking at them, they look like things I had placed in a passage list (they are notes regarding an extra-biblical book). Is there a connection between notes and passage lists? Or had I just been typing somewhere when I thought I had been typing somewhere else?

Thanks for any clarity anyone is able to provide.

Graham Criddle

However, I then went to the Logos app on my computer and tried to find them and I can't figure it out. I first went to my documents, but I don't see it there. So I then went to my notes in tools, but I still don't see it. Could someone explain how to view this on the app?

There is information about accessing shared documents you have added here - I would have expected you to see the Notebook in your Documents area.

Second, while I was trying to do this, I discovered that I have a bunch of notes, like 500 something notes, which are all in "no notebook." Is there a way to select them all and add them to a notebook?

Yes - this is outlined here

 Is there a connection between notes and passage lists?

Not really

Kristin

There is information about accessing shared documents you have added here - I would have expected you to see the Notebook in your Documents area.

Hi @Graham Criddle,

Thanks for the link. Based on the link you provided, I am not sure what is going on. I found it in the public docs, and there is an option to add it to my docs. When I did, it said was adding it, but then it didn't. I then discovered if I right click I can add it also, but likewise, it is still not there. Here is a screenshot of what I have been clicking on.

I tried closing Logos and re-opening it, but it still won't move. In case it helps, here is the link to his notebook.

Second, while I was trying to do this, I discovered that I have a bunch of notes, like 500 something notes, which are all in "no notebook." Is there a way to select them all and add them to a notebook?

Yes - this is outlined here

Thank you for this link also. I will try to follow this. Thank you also for clarifying that there is a distinction between notes and a passage list, I had clearly been typing somewhere when I thought I was typing somewhere else, apparently, in light of my 577 notebookless notes.

Kristin

Hi @Graham Criddle,

I just wanted to give you an update that adding the public notebook is now resolved. I had needed a break from figuring it out, so I decided to stop doing that and go to your link about how I can organize notes in notebooks. As soon as I created a notebook for the first time, I THEN saw the other notebook by James, with 500 notes. So apparently the reason I didn't realize I had been creating notes, is because I hadn't been, and the 500 notes were from that notebook.

I am frankly not sure if the system had to just update or not, but I think it is more likely user error, and when it told me it had saved it to my "Documents" I had taken that pretty seriously, and was thus looking for it in the same place as my created passage lists.

I had in fact also looked in "notes" but I think I hadn't found them since they were buried under some other extrabiblical notes I had. Thank you for your help and for the link. (I had also only seen any notebook at all after I created one, so I think I just wasn't looking in the right place (of docs or the generic notes).

On a side note, as I am organizing this, I am finding a lot of notes that just have one word and that is it. The notes are also different colors. Is that because these colored notes are actually highlights? Assuming so (since I kind of remember that Logos groups highlights and notes), if I make highlights in Revelation and have my Rev notebook open, as an example, then I go to 2Pet, will I see highlights I made in 2Pet? Or will those be not viewable if I am only viewing the Rev notebook?

Thank you again.

Graham Criddle

Is that because these colored notes are actually highlights? 

Probably

Assuming so (since I kind of remember that Logos groups highlights and notes)

Yes, both notes and highlights are stored in the Notes Tool.

 if I make highlights in Revelation and have my Rev notebook open, as an example, then I go to 2Pet, will I see highlights I made in 2Pet? Or will those be not viewable if I am only viewing the Rev notebook?

What determines whether notes / highlights are displayed is not which notebooks you happen to have open but which notebooks are enabled for the book you are reading.

This is controlled here - but, I believe you are using the earlier toolbar. The functionality is the same but you will see the notebooks under the Notes and Highlights section in the visual filter menu (the icon with three dots near the top of the book)

Kristin

Hi @Graham Criddle,

Thank you for clarifying and for the link. I have been experimenting with the notes the past few hours and I love them!! Since Logos doesn't have a pure import function, I had originally thought I wasn't going to mess with them, but now after experimenting they are kind of addicting and I will for sure take the time to add notes. I really love the "anchor" feature so I don't need to write the same note over and over if I need the note multiple places. :)

If you don't mind, I do have two questions.

First, basically all of my notes are tied to verses, not words. Given this, if I have 5 thoughts on Gen 1:1, as an example, do people typically create one note on Gen 1:1 and then write something, and the write another sentence under that, so all the 5 notes or 5 thoughts are on one note, or do people typically write all 5 notes as independent new notes on Gen 1:1? I am inclined to do it the first way since I have 3 or 4 anchor verses which would take a lot of space if I created 5 independent notes with these 4 anchors, but I am worried there might be a flaw in doing that long term.

Second, when I open the note file next to a bible, there is this wide column to the left of the notes which is taking a lot of space. I understand the point of it is to be able to easily click on new notes, but since I am more concerned about space, is there a way to either close it and still see the notes, or to make it more narrow?

This is a screenshot from the link you sent me, but I would like to use it since it is a good example of what I mean.

Graham Criddle

First, basically all of my notes are tied to verses, not words. Given this, if I have 5 thoughts on Gen 1:1, as an example, do people typically create one note on Gen 1:1 and then write something, and the write another sentence under that, so all the 5 notes or 5 thoughts are on one note, or do people typically write all 5 notes as independent new notes on Gen 1:1? I am inclined to do it the first way since I have 3 or 4 anchor verses which would take a lot of space if I created 5 independent notes with these 4 anchors, but I am worried there might be a flaw in doing that long term.

There are probably better people to advise on this as my use of notes is quite extensive but not very organised!

I do tend to have multiple notes on the same verse - often because the reason for creating the notes occurred at different times and for different reasons. Some will have been when I was doing devotional reading, some when I was doing more detailed study, some in sermon prep etc. And I tend to create new notes as opposed to editing existing ones.

One of the benefits of this approach is that I can store different "types" of notes in different notebooks (I have one called John - Devotional which I created when reading through John's Gospel devotionally) and only enable the notebooks I want to see when reading / studying a passage.

Others will have much better thoughts on this.

Second, when I open the note file next to a bible, there is this wide column to the left of the notes which is taking a lot of space. I understand the point of it is to be able to easily click on new notes, but since I am more concerned about space, is there a way to either close it and still see the notes, or to make it more narrow?

If you click the double-arrow icon two lines up and "north east" from the highlighted icon in your screenshot you can toggle the display of that column.

Kristin

One of the benefits of this approach is that I can store different "types" of notes in different notebooks (I have one called John - Devotional which I created when reading through John's Gospel devotionally) and only enable the notebooks I want to see when reading / studying a passage.

Hi @Graham Criddle, thanks for the idea, and that sounds super helpful, since some of my notes I use when I'm teaching, and other notes are just stuff I am researching apart from class. I know you said you aren't super organized about notes, but if you don't mind, I do have two sort of practical questions. The notes are basically refusing to sort by reference, so my notes say Jn 1:1, Jn 3:1, Col 5:8, Jn 1:1, Jn 1:2, and this is obviously confusing. Francis had explained somewhere how I can sort notes by reference if I use a filter, but there just has to be a way to just view notes in book order without a filter as that is so basic.

In case it helps to know, my ultimate goal is to have notes in parallel with a bible, and that doesn't seem to be something which is done here, unless I am missing it. (Instead there are those little post-it looking icons which can be clicked on, but the notes don't scroll in parallel). So then I figured I would just place the notes in a window to the right, but since I can't tie them to the bible, I need to be able to just manually scroll. However, I can't realistically do that if the notes are not in verse reference order. I would appreciate any thoughts you have about this, as while my specific need is teaching, it seems pretty basic for people to need notes in parallel with a text.

The second question I have is understanding the point of an "anchor." I had thought that a note would show up everywhere there is an anchor (so for example, a note written on Jn 1:1 that has an anchor of Ex 1:1 would show up in both places, but if a verse is just mentioned, , it would not show up unless it is an anchor. However, I made a note where I just referenced a verse, but I made a point to not make it an anchor since it was too unrelated, but it showed up anyway at the verse reference, despite it not being an anchor. So why is there the ability to add other verses as anchors if they will show up either way?

On a side note, I have been playing with the notes the past few hours and I really love them!

If you click the double-arrow icon two lines up and "north east" from the highlighted icon in your screenshot you can toggle the display of that column.

Ok, great, thank you. :) I always have too many things open, so I really can't afford two inches of white space.

Graham Criddle

Francis had explained somewhere how I can sort notes by reference if I use a filter, but there just has to be a way to just view notes in book order without a filter as that is so basic.

I saw Francis’ comments in the other thread and he is correct. You need to select the Reference option in the faceted toolbar in the Notes Tool to enable you to sort your notes by reference. I think the reason behind this is to ensure that the notes are “sortable” and so all have the same type of anchor before trying to sort them.

The second question I have is understanding the point of an "anchor." I had thought that a note would show up everywhere there is an anchor (so for example, a note written on Jn 1:1 that has an anchor of Ex 1:1 would show up in both places, but if a verse is just mentioned, , it would not show up unless it is an anchor. However, I made a note where I just referenced a verse, but I made a point to not make it an anchor since it was too unrelated, but it showed up anyway at the verse reference, despite it not being an anchor. So why is there the ability to add other verses as anchors if they will show up either way?

Are you saying that when you simply added a verse to a note, an icon appeared at that verse relating to that note? If so, that seems very strange and it shouldn’t work that way. If that is what you are describing, please post a screenshot of the note and the icon appearing against the verse you added to it.

Kristin

I saw Francis’ comments in the other thread and he is correct. You need to select the Reference option in the faceted toolbar in the Notes Tool to enable you to sort your notes by reference. I think the reason behind this is to ensure that the notes are “sortable” and so all have the same type of anchor before trying to sort them.

Hi @Graham Criddle,

Thank you for clarifying this. Regarding the sort function, I suppose that makes sense. However, on the other hand, I still don't think it is particularly logical. For example, if I have a notebook called "John" which contains nothing but notes about John, it seems weird that that the ONLY option viewing that notebook is by date?? So thus my notes say Jn 1:1, Jn 1:3, Jn 1:1. That is kind of ridiculous. I can understand having a date sort as an option, but how is by reference not one of the options?

Then if I go to the filter section, the filter is seriously confusing. If I am supposed to sort by "reference" for example, it is not clear which "reference" I am supposed to click, as the word occurs more than once. I also find the filtering system unclear. It is obvious that it is a powerful search, but since the headings aren't clearly defined, it is just literally not clear what I am looking at half the time. In case it helps, I can create a screenshot.

Are you saying that when you simply added a verse to a note, an icon appeared at that verse relating to that note? If so, that seems very strange and it shouldn’t work that way. If that is what you are describing, please post a screenshot of the note and the icon appearing against the verse you added to it.

No, I don't think I described this correctly. The icon is just in the text. What I mean is that there is just this post-it note looking thing. I am able to hover over it and see something, but I am looking for the notes to just simply be in parallel next to the text. I understand that I can click the note and then it appears to the side…. but now it is not in verse ref order.

I am basically just looking for the concept of a wide margin Bible, where you are reading in your text and then the notes are in parallel. This seems super basic, but it seems like there is no way to have notes scroll with the text? So then I thought to just have it to the side, but then I run into this nonsense of Jn 1:1, Jn 1:3, Ex 2:5, Col 2:1, Jn 1:1, Jn 1:1. Is there any way to fix this or accomplish parallel notes? I can attach a screenshot of that too.

Graham Criddle

For example, if I have a notebook called "John" which contains nothing but notes about John, it seems weird that that the ONLY option viewing that notebook is by date?? So thus my notes say Jn 1:1,  Jn 1:3, Jn 1:1 . 

In this scenario, you can either click John under Bible Book or Bible under Reference and you will be able to sort the notebook by reference.

This is outlined here

What I mean is that there is just this post-it note looking thing.

The postit note is the icon I was referring to - it indicates the presence of a note anchor.

I am basically just looking for the concept of a wide margin Bible, where you are reading in your text and then the notes are in parallel.

This is not something currently supported by the software.

Kristin

In this scenario, you can either click John under Bible Book or Bible under Reference and you will be able to sort the notebook by reference.This is outlined here

Hi @Graham Criddle,

Thank you for the link. That was helpful to understand.

The postit note is the icon I was referring to - it indicates the presence of a note anchor.

Thank you for clarifying. All of my anchors are yellow squares since that is the default, and I still find the anchors confusing. However, I think I need to just mess with it a little before I could even formulate why I find it confusing. Thank you for clarifying that the symbols are anchors and not just "there is a note here" icons.

This is not something currently supported by the software.

Ok, thank you for clarifying this. It sounds like Logos people just use commentaries when they are reading the bible. On the other hand though, that seems impractical enough that I feel like there must be a way to do this in some fashion. In order to clarify this, I will describe the setup of a class I took in seminary.

(ps - After going through these steps I see "how" to do it, but since it appears to be unnecessarily complicated, I decided to leave what I wrote in case it is helpful to anyone reviewing how to sort notes.)

On Monday the student goes to a Greek class where the professor reviews and discusses Jn 1:1-3. Some students use a pen and paper and take notes on a physical notebook, some students use a pencil and take notes in the paper Bible, some students open their laptop to Accordance, and some students open Logos.

Anyway, so then Monday afternoon the student goes to a class about the Epistles and they make notes on Gal 1:6-9, and likewise, some people use physical notebooks, some people use a pen and mark the Bible, and some use Accordance or Logos.

Then Monday night everyone goes to a Bible study at the church and reads the entirety of 2Pet 1.

Then Tuesday morning they go back to their Greek class and the professor discusses Jn 1:4-13, and in the afternoon they go back to their Epistles class, and everyone takes notes on Gal 4:1.

Then Wednesday the Greek professor says, "Today I want us to review Jn 1:1-13. Everyone get out your Bible and open the class notes we took on Monday and Tuesday."

The people who took notes in a physical notebook open their 1) Bible and 2) notes and 3) see notes on Jn 1:1-13.

The people who took notes in Accordance open their 1) Accordance Bible and 2) notes and 3) see notes on Jn 1:1-13.

The people who took notes in Logos open their 1) Logos Bible and 2) notes and 3) see notes on Jn 1:1-3, Gal 1:6-9, 2Pet 1, Jn 1:4-13, Gal 4:1, 4) they click on the John notebook 5) click on filter 6) click on "Bible" under Reference 7) click on the John notebook, 8) see notes on Jn 1:1-13.

So part of my concern is that it appears to be pretty complicated just to few the notes at all, but also, apart from the fact that they aren't running in parallel, it was frankly unnecessarily complicated, as in, for sure not straightforward to a random person who just downloaded Logos.

Before I wrote the above, I had to try it a few times, and here is a list of my failed attempts to sort them:
- Reference under Anchor didn't sort them
- Reference under Bible didn't sort them
- John under Bible book didn't sort them

So like I mentioned above, I appreciate your clarification, but I wanted to explain the concern I have in case it is helpful to anyone reviewing this to understand the need.

Thank you again for the clarification.

Doc B

« do people typically create one note on Gen 1:1 and then write something, and the write another sentence under that, so all the 5 notes or 5 thoughts are on one note, or do people typically write all 5 notes as independent new notes on Gen 1:1? »

@Kristin my preference is to create multiple, shorter notes anchored to a verse. This is because (a) you'll see different note indicators at the verse which then can be hovered over, and (2) the popup upon hovering is fully visible. If I put all the notes into one note, the popup would extend off the screen and I'd have to click through to see all of it.

HTH.

Kristin

@Kristin my preference is to create multiple, shorter notes anchored to a verse. This is because (a) you'll see different note indicators at the verse which then can be hovered over, and (2) the popup upon hovering is fully visible. If I put all the notes into one note, the popup would extend off the screen and I'd have to click through to see all of it.

Hi @Doc B,

Thank you for clarifying this. So if I understand correctly, as an example, if you took a class you might write 5 notes and all set them to a specific anchor image, then you would go to a Bible study and write 3 notes and set them all as a different anchor image.

So then when you go to the text you see 8 icons, with 5 of one color which you can hover over for class notes, and 3 of a different color for your Bible study notes. Is this correct?

I know that certain notesbooks can be turned off as viewable or turned on as viewable, is this connected to the color of the icon somehow?