So, I'm still working on this. And will continue to work on it. The following are features I've added since the announcement.

  • TODO searching now extends to TBD, with added highlighting, better searching, and contextually-relevant search output ("Not only did I match the line, but I matched this part in the line...")
  • Considerable cleanup with textual outputs causing tabular row output to wrap lines, over-extend boundaries, etc.
  • Listing a directory now shows the latest commit that occurred to, or within a given directory (useful for showing changes in aggregate, rather than one-by-one).
  • Introduced the concept of tagging, whereby an author can tag a document with one or more tags (character names, setting names, scene types, etc.), and search on them. Tag searches can be combined to list things like "All scenes with both characters X and Y."
  • Introduced the concept of templates, whereby an author can create a new page based on the contents of another. Useful for quickly creating new pages with pre-populated structures.
  • Modified the concept of collections. Previously, they served only to collect multiple pages and render them sequentially. Collections can now be rendered as either collections or "lists," which are just ordered lists of matching pages. Collections can also filter on tags, making it possible to form collections based not only on directory structures, but also by tags. Additionally, it is possible to render a list or collection as the other, as they share the same file formats and programmatic underpinnings.
  • For each of the previous features, "function links" (or macros, in other words) exist, such that one can create customized links or widgets that make use of the above functionality. For instance, one can create "launcher" pages that consist of forms to create new scenes, new journal entries, link to pre-programmed tag searches, or list matching pages in a dynamically generated ordered list.
  • Jotting (the act of creating an arbitrary, timestamped file somewhere within the repository) is now exposed to the users as a function link, allowing for the creation of custom-formatted, timestamped file structures anywhere (not just within the user's personal directory).
  • Tables now benefit from function links, with the ability to include external CSV table files elsewhere in the repository, keeping table data separate from writing/page structure.
  • Users can now add their own custom styling to pages, allowing them to change any stylistic element on the site. Additionally, a user can style certain file structures differently, for example, being able to change color backgrounds when working in a particular directory.

I'm admittedly peeking over the shoulders of a few other writing and wiki products (MoinMoin (moinmo.in)and Liquid Story Binder (www.blackobelisksoftware.com), specifically, with a brief glance at Hiveword (hiveword.com)). However, the features above are ones that I've wanted for a while, and simply didn't have case to spend time to implement them. Seeing how those products treat certain concepts, and how they falter at some points, gives me inspiration in where to take this project.

#5135, posted at 2013-05-24 12:53:14 in Indiscernible from Magic