Alias Bug - Unfound Aliases in Search

[23727]

Bug: there are aliases which do not appear in [[ reference search as intended

Expected: typing alias name in omni-bar or reference search should locate alias and parent

Note: this behavior appears to be post 1.4; did not experience this bug in previous RemNote version

Video:

Mechanics has an alias, PHYS 250, which is not found in reference search when using alias name (also not found in omni-bar when using alias name)

worth noting that this occurred in the browser; alias worked as expected in the desktop version of the application

update: this appears to affect desktop application also 10/05/21

[Kristoffer_Wall]

Still seem to be a valid problem. I experience the same problem. I can’t find my aliases for references. The same is true for browser, phone, and desktop version.

I have to type in and use the original reference and then right-click and select the preferred alias I want to use for it afterward, which is quite annoying and somewhat time-consuming.

Hopefully, this will be noted and fixed soon if this is a global problem. If not maybe someone can provide a solution to the problem.

Cheers and have a great day.

[nukesean]

Same here. I’ve been experiencing this bug since way before 1.4, but it’s definitely gotten significantly worse since the redesign. Previously, I could usually fix the issue by quitting and restarting RemNote; now, nothing I do makes a difference. Moreover, it’s 100% replicable, because the aliases it finds are always the same, and the aliases it fails to find are also always the same.

[Dante_Gaxiola]

This is very annoying indeed. Hope the team fix it soon. CC @Karthikk

[ThatOneOutlier]

I really need this to be fixed as well.

I’ve been writing biochemistry notes and when I use the aliases, they can’t be found anymore which sucks because having to write the full names of chemicals gets tiring just so I could reference it then change it to its alias

It’s bogging down my note take and it has been very frustrating

I like all the other features of 1.4 but I don’t like what they did with the references in general

[Dante_Gaxiola]

Still very annoying, but I believe I found a temporal fix in the user end. In cases where the alias doesn’t appear in the search or reference search, you can put the alias after :: and it will then appear, then you can eliminate all that. I don’t know if this will work simply changing the title of the rem (not the alias) because I haven’t had more chances to do so, but it seems this method works. Let me know if worked for you.

[Danny]

Hi guys! I’m the RemNote dev working on search. I can understand that this is very frustrating, and I want to get to the bottom of it! A couple of questions:

1. How are you primarily creating aliases (ie either using the “\alias” command or by clicking a reference to a parent and using the popup flow to create an alias)? I recently discovered a bug in the popup flow that was preventing aliases from showing up in search, so hopefully that will help some of you out.

2. For any of you that are experiencing this in the browser, does the issue persist after you’ve refreshed the page? Have any of you tried hard reloading the page? (Hold down CTRL and click the refresh bottom)

Please lmk! As I said, I’d love to get this resolved

[nukesean]

@Danny I always create aliases by either clicking a Rem reference and selecting the menu option or by using my keyboard to select the Rem reference with the cursor and then hitting Enter to open the same menu option. Having to go to the Rem in question and then manually use the /alias command is such a pain in the butt.

PLEASE tell me this is going to be fixed in the next update. The fact that aliases are still so broken despite several months of user complaints about their low reliability is really frustrating. I’ve basically given up on using them as a result

[Danny]

Hi @nukesean, thanks for the feedback! I was checking about which flow you use because I recently fixed a bug that was preventing aliases from working properly when being added via the popup flow (totally understand you’d prefer the menu over manually adding the aliases). This fix will be a part of an upcoming update

[Dante_Gaxiola]

Hi, @Danny. It seems to have gotten worse with the new update!! I used to be able to “refresh” the aliases (so they would appear in the search) by adding :: after a rem and deleting it afterwards. It doesn’t work anymore. It seem the “fix” you were referring backfired!

[Dante_Gaxiola]

Well, actually I don’t understand what’s happening anymore. It seems to be not only a problem with aliases, but with some random rems, that simply don’t appear in the search:

It also doesn’t appear in regular search. If I change the name (p. ex. to “amemoria”, it appears again, but is obviously not a solution.

Any idea what can be happening?

[UMNiK]

Probably this (a known bug)

Existing Rem not found, but later found

Using the browser-based version of RemNote, there are Rem that I have already created, and exist in document list, yet when I use [[ to add them in another area, they are not found. I can create them as new REM, but then they are duplicated. Interestingly, they registered fine on another computer (in the browser version) and once I opened that version, the REMs showed up, finally on the first computer. I have had this happen before.

[Danny]

Hi @Dante_Gaxiola, I’m trying to understand the example you provided. What do you expect to see here? Is “Memoria” the alias?

[Danny]

@Dante_Gaxiola @UMNiK, I think this issue may be related to some search prioritization problems that we’re currently working on, and should be pushed in an upcoming update.

[Dante_Gaxiola]

Hi, @Danny ! Well, is the name and the alias (the document name is “Memoria”, and “memoria” is an alias). I’ve found that if I change the name it reappears in the search but only if it stays different to the original name. If I go back to “Memoria” it (and it’s alias) disappear from the search. Hope that helps.

[Dante_Gaxiola]

Man, it’s occurring in a lot of my rems, it’s just breaking my workflow so bad. Is there a way to go back to the previous version of Remnote? Any idea when is that upcoming update going to happen? This is really frustrating me.

[Alex_Roberson]

Hit me pretty hard recently too, don’t know if it helps track this down but I noticed adding a word from the definition or a parent rem seems to be a workaround.

So for example I have an alias ‘concepts’ which shows up if I search for ‘concepts rem’, but isn’t in the list if I search for just ‘concepts’. Not clear at a surface level why, some search terms work and others don’t.

[UMNiK]

Well, the bug I linked to is quite old, and applies to any and all rems, not just aliases. I expect it’s a larger problem that’s been exacerbated by the update. See also other search/sync issues in the appropriate thread.