Logseq Times 2023-04-09: UX Changes and Architecture Evolution, Whiteboards, Folders, Request, Plugins and Themes

With Easter upon us on this beautiful Sunday, I hope you are making the most out of it and stuffing your faces with chocolate. That is certainly the plan for me and my better half for today. It should, however, also be a time to reflect and take a step back if possible. So if you can, step away from the screen, look up and smile. Who knows whose day you might improve?

Of course, before you do all that, read on :)

If anyone is a numbers nerd like me, after about 3 months, and 8 weekly releases (I missed a few when I was feeling inundated with my day job), we have 421 subscribers and an open rate touching 70%. So all I can say is thank you, and I hope to keep on providing you with useful content.

Logseq News

• Nothing too much to report on this week in terms of the Logseq team news but one comment did stand out for something to look forward to:

"As a team, we use Logseq every day and are aware of the current lack of (real-time) collaboration features. Our focus is on getting the foundations right before going all-in on collaboration and expanding to different user groups.

With upcoming UX changes and architecture evolution, we aim to make Logseq simpler and more intuitive, catering to a wider range of workflows. Many teams and organizations are interested in using Logseq for both individual and collective knowledge bases, and we'll continue to improve core primitives and interactions to better serve these needs."

I cannot wait to see these upcoming evolutions!

Releases

No releases for this week, but the devs are cooking up some fantastic things - read on for more details.

The latest release of Logseq can be downloaded here. For Android (Download the latest .apk) and for IOS, you can download or update Logseq from the AppStore.

Logseq In The Wild

I have seen a lot of posts recently of people moving to other apps, testing other apps out by partially moving notes and taking notes in a multitude of places. Well, here is an analogy that should hopefully resonate of why maybe this is not the best practice.

Take the Chelsea FC team as a prime example. Their system is based on throwing money at overpriced (and quite frankly, sometimes horrendous) players in the hope of buying success.  This brings issues of which player to play - whose ego needs massaging this week, who is feeling like a primadonna, who gets on with you, who couldn't hit a cow's ass with a banjo etc. This leads to constant team changes and a lack of consistency or system. Chelsea are 11th in the EPL. I cannot remember when Chelsea had 9+ players in the same starting lineup from one game to the next.  

Now, let's compare the above to Arsenal (1st) or Newcastle (3rd) - consistency seems to be driving their success. Limited team changes week in, week out and a clear goal of what they want to achieve.

It is not the app but the system you have in place. Stick to one app, develop your system and use it for its purpose - winning at life!

If you are not a fan of the sports analogy, here is a cooking one: A good chef can do almost anything with a good kitchen knife.

It would be cool if Logseq had a pro markdown / text-only mode. It is often quite annoying that I can’t edit a whole document so that everything is just text and that WYSISYG mode is disabled.

See discussion here: https://discuss.logseq.com/t/longform-writing-in-logseq/3527

Been using the Logseq Whiteboards feature but am confused about:

• How to have a plain canvas as opposed to one with a grid?
• How to export?

Konstantinos (Dev member) writes "Shift+G toggles the grid. Exporting is on our roadmap."

There have been a few reports of the Android app being very slow and laggy. If you encounter the same thing, please do post a message in this thread with as much details (version, phone model etc.) so that the devs can look into it.

This is a question I have seen quite often:

I love using digital tools like Logseq & Obsidian, but I also enjoy writing notes with pen & paper. How do you integrate your physical notes into these digital platforms? I'm curious about:

1. Apps/devices to scan/transcribe notes
2. Keeping notes organized during the transfer
3. Linking & tagging strategies for handwritten notes

Any tips or experiences are welcome! Thanks!

Seems to be that either getting a phone or an iPad / ink tablet with a pen is the way forward. What are your thoughts?

Using Logseq on Linux?

Bader created a dedicated thread: Logseq ❤ Linux. This thread is specifically for Logseq users on Linux to discuss any Linux-related issues, topics, and share experiences with the app on this beloved platform.

If you've encountered any challenges or have suggestions for improving Logseq on Linux, this is the perfect place to connect with fellow users.

Feel free to jump in and start a conversation, ask questions, or share your tips and tricks. We're eager to hear your thoughts and collaborate in making Logseq a seamless experience for all Linux users

Do check out Omnivore. Omnivore is a complete, open-source read-it-later solution for people who like text. We built Omnivore because we love reading and we want it to be more social.

They are doing some great work and have good integration with Logseq. I am not affiliated in any way and also recommend checking out Readwise.

Great article by Bas where: "One tool that has revolutionized the way I work is Logseq, a journal-based note-taking app that has transformed the way I organize my thoughts and ideas. In this article, I’ll explain why I find journal-based note-taking with Logseq so effective and how it has improved my personal knowledge management."

Why Journal-Based Note-Taking with Logseq is My Go-To Productivity Tool - Tools on Tech

Talking about note taking and Logseq

Tools on TechBas Grolleman

Create lists within a block? You aren't allowed to use - because its a reserved symbol that indicates the start of a new block. Use either * or +

- this is a block with a checklist
  + [ ] A
  + [x] B

YouTube Premium Accounts?

I have a YouTube Premium account but when I embed a video in Logseq is from a free account. Is there any way to embed a video already logged into a premium account in order to avoid advertisements?

Does anyone know of a solution?

A user didn't think they would find any value in whiteboards as they are not typically a visually oriented person..."but this kinda slaps for my project work flow. Each block is a ref to a query that only goes back 14 days, the idea being that it should encourage "sprints" and incentivize breaking down projects into smaller actionable blocks."

Let's say we have a [[page 1]] with a page property of DOB:: 1/1/2000. I’d love for a template to insert the DOB as needed.

So, for example, the syntax could look like: I was born on <%PROPERTY: [[page 1]] DOB%>. And it would resolve to I was born on 1/1/2000. So the reference would require the page name and a specific property of the page.

I think you already have the start of this functionality with the syntax <$CURRENTPAGENAME%>, but being able to reference a page's properties would allow the creation of very sophisticated templates for things like emails, letters, and other repetitive information.

This is available in the latest update of this plugin. For your example, separate your page with a comma, e.g. I was born on <%GETPROPERTY:[[page 1]],DOB%>

Folder option - "I have a librarian note archetype and my pc subfolder structure is very important to me and Logseq doesn't support it at all, I don't want anything fancy, just a way to see my subfolders and put files in them throw Logseq, like obsidian, Evernote, Notion etc."

I see this more and more, and yes, there are arguments against using folders, I think it takes time for people's mindset to shift and the main way of doing it is by given them the chance to test the way they are accustomed to, and a new and different way - the only you can achieve this is by having folders in Logseq I think.

For a bit of fun. A user inadvertently shared this on Reddit when they meant to put it in their Discord (I hope next time they inadvertently email me their bank details).

If you have some time to spare, it is a good listen. And as a reminder, you can integrate Snipd with Logseq.

The Power of Keeping Your Mouth Shut in a World That Won’t Stop Talking

The Power of Keeping Your Mouth Shut in a World That Won’t Stop Talking

Snipd

Logseq Feature Requests

You can check out the full list of Feature Requests here.

• Feedback for the right side panel UI/UX - Comments on improving the right sidebar
• Syncing only certain files  - Hi, I would like to sync to other device only some pages, not all of them. Is the only solution to create a second graph? Or can a single graph save pages in two different directories?
• Query builder: Provide option to disable auto-run of query - Please provide a toggle option to disable auto-run of queries, either globally or per query. This will benefit app performance for complex queries.
• Allow custom separator for multi-value properties to be specified in config.edn - It would be very helpful, it seems to me, if for properties users could specify a multi-value separator other than a comma. For instance, it will solve problems that most users will encounter if they have author:: properties on their notes pages and want to specify multiple authors for the work to which a given set of notes pertain. To handle the case of multiple authors, you would typically add “:author” in the :property/separate-by-commas list in config.edn, and then, in any given notes page, list the various authors in an author:: property, separating them with commas.
• Check update does not warn that theme was deleted from github - I want to see the warning message in case I update theme/plugin, but it was deleted from GitHub So that I would be aware that this theme/plugin is no longer supported.

Logseq Plugins

• logseq-plugin-some-menu-extender - A Logseq plugin that adds new functions to context menus and others, allowing for more efficient and convenient operations.
• @logseq-osmmaps-plugin can now add coordinates by searching for the location!
• Days added a new year view: /Days (Year View), just give it a page or block reference and a year.

• Logseq ChatGPT Plugin New Major Version Released - V1.0.0. What's New?: 1. Block Refs, Block Embeds support 2. Prompt Support 3. GPT4 Support (BETA) 4. Sliding Message Window

• Full House Templates 2.3.0 HUGE update! You can now create views — an auto-refreshing templates which acts similarly to Logseq :macros (but more powerful). While I've done a big work — it's better to see all magic with your own eyes than to read: look at the video demo.
• Logseq Alfred Workflow- updated with a couple of features - quick capture of tasks and fleeting notes in the journal and quick capture page - Keyword search on pages

• Kanban Board added automatic coloring for tags. You can also manually configure the colors using the configs property of the board block. Also, Automatic archiving of cards. Find and restore previously archived cards and lists
• https://github.com/Bad3r/Logseq-Nord-Theme A arctic, north-bluish color palette

Until Next Time

I hope you found this blog post helpful. If you have any comments or questions, please let me know.

Thanks again for reading.