In our last posts, we looked at Devonthink and the idea of building notes. But how can you start? Devonthink is such a vast application that you might find yourself intimidated before you even start.

One place to start is with where I got into it, namely the WikiLink.

To get there,

• Open DEVONthink
• Open Menu > DEVONthink 3 > Preferences… (Command-,)
• Go to the WikiLinks tab:

You’ll see a whole set of options to play around with. Pay particular attention to the top area:

If you:

• Set WikiLinks to “Automatic”
• Choose “Names and Aliases”
• Choose either “All Items” or “Only Documents”

You’ll make connecting your notes a breeze.

For example, let’s say I have a note that I’ve started called “Character”:

Anytime I type the word “Character” from another card, DEVONthink will automatically create a link:

This might seem like a small matter, but when you’ve got a whole set of note cards (I’m pushing 800 at the moment, and I know of others in the forums who are well in the 1,000’s), then having such a neat way to readily connect notes can be super neat.

Sometimes, though, you might want to connect to the same card using different links. For example, I might want to use the words “characters” and “characterization” to also link to the “Character” note.

To do so,

• Go to the “Character” note.
• Open the Generic Inspector (Control-1)
• In the Alias section, enter the other terms separated by semi-colons:

Now, anytime I write those words, they’ll link to the same note as well.

 

Interested in learning how to organize your ideas, spark creative inspiration, and find your stuff easily? Check out Taking Smart Notes with DEVONthink: