WHitWoT #6 (Feb 6-12, 2008)

Posted by Deuce on Wednesday, February 20, 2008

WHitWoT #6 (Feb 6-12, 2008)

Welcome to the 6th edition of "What Happened in the World of TiddlyWiki", or WHitWoT for short. WHitWoT summarises what's happened lately on the TiddlyWiki mailing list and elsewhere in the TiddlyWiki world.

This edition includes stories from ocalTW, WHitWoT's first contributing editor! If you want to be a contributor to WHitWoT like ocalTW, please contact Daniel at this email address: whitwot at gmail, then a dot, then com.

News and Stuff

Make your dates prettier!

Simon Baird announced a new plugin, PrettyDatesPlugin. It's basically a wrapup of some JavaScript by John Resig to turn "Jan 3 2008" into "two weeks ago". That's what you really want to know anyway, right?

This would have featured in WHitWoT earlier, but the conversation about alternate names (SmartDates, SexyDates, RelativeDates..) went on for ages :)

[source] http://prettydatesplugin.tiddlyspot.com/
[thread] http://groups.google.com/group/TiddlyWiki/browse_thread/thread/a7e9fa7e9dd8b378

FND joins Osmosoft

Osmosoft is the little branch of BT that cares about TiddlyWiki, and they've just hired on FND, who is responsible for many answers on the TW mailing list and most of the wiki at tiddlywiki.org.

Hopefully some remuneration will let FND keep up the work he puts into the TiddlyWiki community.

[osmosoft] http://osmosoft.com
[thread] http://groups.google.com/group/TiddlyWiki/browse_thread/thread/ae313576850dc365

Gracefully shorten URLs

FND also found time to produce a little plugin that overrides the way TiddlyWiki displays URLs. The ShortURLPlugin snips out the middle of any superlong URLs when they are shown on screen (without changing the URL the link actually goes to). If your nice layout gets ruined by long URLs, check it out.

[source] http://fnd.lewcid.org/tmp/ShortURLPlugin.html
[thread] http://groups.google.com/group/TiddlyWiki/browse_thread/thread/e356a266c2739817

Online Discussions

Saving to tiddlyspot from Prism

Weidner asked if anyone had success uploading to tiddlyspot.com using Prism[1]. No answers for this one.. has anyone saved to an UploadPlugin site from Prism?

[thread] http://groups.google.com/group/TiddlyWiki/browse_thread/thread/bd8e3d883e88dbac
[1] http://wiki.mozilla.org/Prism

Make a link into your bug database with this: <<bug>>

Prompted by a request from Harshad, resident guru Eric Shulman explains how to use the AliasPlugin[2] to easily make links like this:
http://bugzilla.mysite.com/bug_id=100
..by just typing the bug number like this:
<<bug>>

[thread] http://groups.google.com/group/TiddlyWiki/browse_thread/thread/184537f4222b8783
[2] http://www.tiddlytools.com/#AliasPlugin

Scheduling backups of a tiddlyspot site

(by ocalTW)

XENO wanted a free solution on Windows to schedule a backup of his tiddlyspot site. The proposed solution was to use Microsoft Scheduled Tasks[3] and Wget [4].
Nevertheless, a security issue was raised, as the username and password must be written in plain text in the command line that is scheduled.
Simon Baird also suggested downloading the http://USERNAME.tiddlyspot.com/download page.
An open question was how to check that a change had been made on the TiddlyWiki page. As Bob Paige remarked, if it doesn't change often, excessive backups would be causing extra traffic for no reason.

[thread] http://groups.google.com/group/TiddlyWiki/browse_thread/thread/9bcc7ea0c3cc515e/0effad86c3ee9718
[3] http://support.microsoft.com/kb/308569
[4] http://gnuwin32.sourceforge.net/packages/wget.htm

Quick Shots

Postdrivel

Thank you to contributing editor ocalTW, who actually wrote up three articles for this issue of WHitWoT, but thanks to a difference in timezone, two of them actually fall into next issue's date range. For issue #7 I plan to standardise on GMT (currently WHitWoT dates are in my local timezone of GMT+10).

If you'd like to lend a hand preparing WHitWoT, please email me at gmail.com, username whitwot and let me know.

;Daniel

About WHitWoT

WHitWoT is distilled from the social wisdom of the TiddlyWiki Google Group by Daniel Baird and others. Daniel is a long time TiddlyWiki fan, runs tiddlyspot.com along with Simon of MonkeyGTD and MPTW fame, and wonders if his one line contribution to the core code is still there.

Find (and subscribe to) WHitWoT at Daniel's blog:
http://blog.deuceofalltrades.com/search/label/WHitWoT
..and posted ocasionally at the TiddlyWiki Google Group:
http://groups.google.com/group/TiddlyWiki

WHitWoT #5 (Jan 30-Feb 5, 2008)

Posted by Deuce on Tuesday, February 12, 2008

WHitWoT #5 (Jan 30-Feb 5, 2008)

Welcome to the fifth edition of "What Happened in the World of TiddlyWiki", or WHitWoT for short.

WHitWoT summarises what's happened lately on the TiddlyWiki mailing list and elsewhere in the TiddlyWiki world.

News and Stuff

French translation of TiddlyWiki 2.3.0

Our only news of note this week comes from the mysterious ocalTW, who has translated TiddlyWiki into French. The translation is available from www.tiddlywiki.fr, and by the look of that site ocalTW is expecting to maintain his translations for a while to come. I've linked to what I think is the announcement on the French language TiddlyWiki Google Group :)

[source] http://www.tiddlywiki.fr/
[thread] http://groups.google.com/group/TiddlyWikiFR/browse_thread/thread/41a24d3a987bca28

Online Discussions

How good is TiddlyWiki for "regular" websites?

Alex Hough asked if he should use TiddlyWiki for a rewrite of his friend's site. Discussion covered all sorts of stuff about TiddlyWiki's strengths and weaknesses, including nice layout, site statistics and the like. Check this thread out if you are wondering if you should use TW for your own public site.

[thread] http://groups.google.com/group/TiddlyWiki/browse_thread/thread/6fecf9a673f5f140

Please critique Giffmex GTD

Dave Gifford, the man behind giffmex.org and its collection of TiddlyWiki resources[1] including "TiddlyWiki for the rest of us", has produced a TW GTD tool[2] he'd like some feedback on. If you're a GTD user you might like a look, and I know Dave would appreciate any comments you had.

PS: Dave already retroactively named his child after me[3], but if you provide him with good insights he might find some other kids to retro-name.

[thread] http://groups.google.com/group/TiddlyWiki/browse_thread/thread/bc9d625188aa5061
[1] http://giffmex.org/tiddlywikicentral.html
[2] http://www.giffmex.org/giffmexgtd.html
[3] http://groups.google.com/group/TiddlyWiki/browse_thread/thread/1e051928cd72e24b

Deleting tiddlers from a ForEachTiddler list

tigger6333 made a list of tiddlers using ForEachTiddler[1], and wanted to have a "delete" button for each tiddler listed. Suggestions included TiddlerTweakerPlugin[2] instead, or using a little macro FND knocked up for the occasion[3], but tigger ended up working up a solution using DeleteAllTaggedPlugin[4].

[thread] http://groups.google.com/group/TiddlyWiki/browse_thread/thread/5afa85b0a8958b78
[1] http://tiddlywiki.abego-software.de/#ForEachTiddlerPlugin
[2] http://www.TiddlyTools.com/#TiddlerTweakerPlugin
[3] http://fnd.lewcid.org/svn/TiddlyWiki/plugins/DeleteTiddlersMacro.js
[4] http://ido-xp.tiddlyspot.com/#DeleteAllTaggedPlugin

Geocaching with TiddlyWiki

Trey A wanted a neat solution for capturing geocache info into his D-cubed TiddlyWiki. After much discussion Trey figured something out and wrote it up[5].

[thread] http://groups.google.com/group/TiddlyWiki/browse_thread/thread/527e7080998bf3c8
[5] http://trey.arthur.tiddlyspot.com/#WebTripReport_FromFormsToGeocachingTiddlers

Multiple forms in one tiddler

actioncomics asked for a way to have multiple forms in one tiddler. Xavier's solution[6] used Udo's FormTiddlerPlugin[7] and added support for multiple forms. Hopefully Udo will get a chance to look over Xavier's changes soon.

[thread] http://groups.google.com/group/TiddlyWiki/browse_thread/thread/4f9e3ed1783e187f
[6] http://xdexavier.googlepages.com/FormSample.html
[7] http://tiddlywiki.abego-software.de/#FormTiddlerPlugin

A to Z tabs

Mark stores authors in a custom tiddler field, and wanted to sort tiddlers into A to Z tabs based on author's names. FND's suggested solution worked, but the following discussion covered all sorts of tweaks and modifications of the a-z tab theme. Worth a read if you want to do tabs for anything.

[thread] http://groups.google.com/group/TiddlyWiki/browse_thread/thread/6f576fa047a9c1ef

Namespaces for tiddlers

Bob Paige considered the idea of namespaces for tiddlers. This idea comes up every now and then, and it's always interesting to see it through new eyes. Bob sounds like he's made good progress on a namespace support plugin, but no links as yet. Bob, if you're reading, let us know how it's going.

[thread] http://groups.google.com/group/TiddlyWiki/browse_thread/thread/381ac7bac75098a5

Make Haloscan comments show up properly

Oscar pointed out that when a user visits his TiddlyWiki blog via a "permalink" (eg http://tiddlywiki.com/#GettingStarted ), the haloscan[8] comment button doesn't show up like it should. Oscar's idea for a fix worked with some help from Eric Shulman.

[thread] http://groups.google.com/group/TiddlyWiki/browse_thread/thread/4561c30ec2993bb2
[8] http://haloscan.com/

Showing TW Presentations on a Secondary Screen

Bob Paige asked about showing presentations from TiddlyWiki. He wanted to go full screen, and to show the presentation on a secondary screen. FND pointed out that fullscreen is possible from the browser point of view (often the F11 key does the job), but difficult to write CSS for. Xavier suggested Paulo Soares' slide show plugin[9], which almost answered Bob's question.

However the secondary screen part has largely gone unanswered. Bob thinks having a way to display the same tiddler in two different windows with different CSS applied would be very useful, and I think that's quite possible — this seems like a way to make TiddlyWiki into a great presentation tool.

Maybe Bob should tune up his JavaScript skills and see what he can throw together :)

[thread] http://groups.google.com/group/TiddlyWiki/browse_thread/thread/14ebb85d2a4494f7
[9] http://www.math.ist.utl.pt/~psoares/addons.html#SlideShowExample

Quick Shots

Postdrivel

This week the news sought me out — a pleasant turnaround that I'd like to encourage. So please feel free to email me anything you think the TiddlyWiki community might be interested in. I'm also drafting some editing guidelines for preparing WHitWoT, so all those folk who want to help out can chip in.

Finally, if you're inspired to contribute an article or something, please let me know. General praise of how awesome TiddlyWiki is completely acceptable :)

;Daniel

About WHitWoT

WHitWoT is distilled from the social wisdom of the TiddlyWiki Google Group by Daniel Baird. Daniel is a long time TiddlyWiki fan, runs tiddlyspot.com along with Simon of MonkeyGTD and MPTW fame, and wonders if his one line contribution to the core code is still there.

Find (and subscribe to) WHitWoT at Daniel's blog:
http://blog.deuceofalltrades.com/search/label/WHitWoT
..and posted ocasionally at the TiddlyWiki Google Group:
http://groups.google.com/group/TiddlyWiki

WHitWoT #4 (Jan 23-29, 2008)

Posted by Deuce on Monday, February 04, 2008

WHitWoT #4 (Jan 23-29, 2008)

Welcome to the fourth edition of "What Happened in the World of TiddlyWiki", or WHitWoT for short.

WHitWoT summarises what's happened lately on the TiddlyWiki mailing list and elsewhere in the TiddlyWiki world.

News and Stuff

Addition to QuickEditToolbar

Eric Shulman has added a tag filter to the "link" button of the QuickEditToolbar. This lets you filter by tag first, saving you from having to scroll through a giant list of all tiddlers.

[source] http://www.tiddlytools.com/#QuickEditPackage
[thread] http://groups.google.com/group/TiddlyWiki/browse_thread/thread/d540438f7721f1a4

SelectStylesheetPlugin becomes SelectThemesPlugin

The new SelectThemesPlugin uses functionality added to TiddlyWiki in version 2.3. And at 6K it's 11K lighter than the old one.

I wonder if tiddlythemes.com will adopt this as its standard theme system?

[thread] http://groups.google.com/group/TiddlyWiki/browse_thread/thread/acf252a008267da6
[source] http://www.tiddlytools.com/#SwitchThemePlugin

TableSortingPlugin now works in tabs

cmari discovered that TableSortingPlugin didn't work when tiddlers were displayed in tabs. Saq posted a new copy to pastebin that fixes the problem.

I think the update has made it to Saq's site, but in case it hasn't I'll post both source URLs.

[thread] http://groups.google.com/group/TiddlyWiki/browse_thread/thread/993f08b717214feb
[source] http://pastebin.ca/875619
[source] http://tw.lewcid.org/#TableSortingPlugin

[thread]

Online Discussions

Editing tags en masse

Nicolas Syssoieff asked about easy ways to edit tags across a bunch of tiddlers at once. Several solutions were proposed. MultiTagPlugin[1] might have been a solution but it wouldn't work for Nicolas for unknown reasons.
[thread] http://groups.google.com/group/TiddlyWiki/browse_thread/thread/aa1509a568b140f5
[1] http://ido-xp.tiddlyspot.com/#MultiTagEditorPlugin

Embedded images in Internet Explorer

Roger Ramjet pointed out a nice implementation[2] of the "bunch of tiny block elements" technique for embedding images. This kind of thing is necessary because IE still doesn't (even in IE7) support the "data:" URI scheme that every other browser handles. We are yet to see a robust implementation of this technique for TiddlyWiki, but I suspect that is because most TW developers have moved on to better browsers.

This story made it into WHitWoT so I can say this: if you are using Internet Explorer, please consider updating to a better web browser. Your web browsing will be safer and easier, and you can enjoy some better features in TiddlyWiki.
[thread] http://groups.google.com/group/TiddlyWiki/browse_thread/thread/b085f143328408d6
[2] http://www.bennherrera.com/EmbeddedImage/

What on earth is "RippleRap"?

Phil Whitehouse, who knows the secret Osmosoft[3] handshake, asked the community for some guidance about RippleRap's next steps.

RippleRap is a TiddlyWiki assembly that Osmosoft demoed at "LeWeb3" late last year. It does some cool stuff including a fairly robust way to share conference notes.

Phil asked people who were interested to comment via his blog[4].

[thread] http://groups.google.com/group/TiddlyWiki/browse_thread/thread/ae758d74c0e0b8d6
[3] http://osmosoft.com
[4] http://philwhitehouse.blogspot.com/2008/01/ripplerap-next-phase.html

Tinkering with CSS rules

jk/stephen asked originally about including snippets of CSS from various tiddlers, answered by Eric. The conversation then became a quite informative Q&A about using CSS in TiddlyWiki. Check it out if you want to learn how to style stuff.

[thread] http://groups.google.com/group/TiddlyWiki/browse_thread/thread/f644b880e6353182

Saving TiddlyWiki on an XO

Saq Imtiaz asked how to get TiddlyWiki saving on an XO.

The XO is the first model of the fabled "$100 laptop" from MIT Media Labs[5]. I blogged about these in 2005, when they were just a twinkle in Negroponte's eye: http://danielbaird.com/hopefulcynic/2005/10/i-want-this-megacheap-laptop-for.html
It's cool to see that good ideas sometimes work out.

Anyway there were some answers involving alternate browsers etc, but despite some promise, noone can confirm that TiddlyWiki can save properly on a regular, out-of-the-box XO. This would be a great market for TW, so if you have anything to add, please post on this thread.

[thread] http://groups.google.com/group/TiddlyWiki/browse_thread/thread/fe7c12a93bc24e12
[5] http://olpc.com/

TiddlyDesktop (tiddlers in individual little windows)

Wolfgang has been playing with the slightly aged TiddlyDesktop[6] theme by Jonny LeRoy. This theme gives each tiddler its own window that can be move around the screen just like windows in your regular GUI desktop. Wolfgang points out the little problems he came across and asks for developers to help to iron them out. So if you know any JavaScript and tiddlers-in-windows sounds cool, have a look.

[thread] http://groups.google.com/group/TiddlyWiki/browse_thread/thread/1f26e2293bb820ed
[6] http://www.digitaldimsum.co.uk/tiddlywiki/

Quick Shots

Postdrivel

Wow this takes some time. Any volunteers want to help out?

;Daniel

deuce of all trades

WHitWoT #6 (Feb 6-12, 2008)

News and Stuff

Make your dates prettier!

FND joins Osmosoft

Gracefully shorten URLs

Online Discussions

Saving to tiddlyspot from Prism

Make a link into your bug database with this: <<bug>>

Scheduling backups of a tiddlyspot site

Quick Shots

Postdrivel

About WHitWoT

WHitWoT #5 (Jan 30-Feb 5, 2008)

News and Stuff

French translation of TiddlyWiki 2.3.0

Online Discussions

How good is TiddlyWiki for "regular" websites?

Please critique Giffmex GTD

Deleting tiddlers from a ForEachTiddler list

Geocaching with TiddlyWiki

Multiple forms in one tiddler

A to Z tabs

Namespaces for tiddlers

Make Haloscan comments show up properly

Showing TW Presentations on a Secondary Screen

Quick Shots

Postdrivel

About WHitWoT

WHitWoT #4 (Jan 23-29, 2008)

News and Stuff

Addition to QuickEditToolbar

SelectStylesheetPlugin becomes SelectThemesPlugin

TableSortingPlugin now works in tabs

Online Discussions

Editing tags en masse

Embedded images in Internet Explorer

What on earth is "RippleRap"?

Tinkering with CSS rules

Saving TiddlyWiki on an XO

TiddlyDesktop (tiddlers in individual little windows)

Quick Shots

Postdrivel

About WHitWoT

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