What makes RemNote an ideal tool for Digital Zettelkasten?

Workflows and Education
#1

  1. References ( [[ ) + Backlinks + Tags (##) - Self explanatory and almost necessary in any digital zettelkasten at this point

  2. Hierarchical outliner

    1. The outliner isn’t just visual, it uses the indents to define relations between Rems / blocks / zettels.

    2. These relationships can be visualised in the graph and also in searching

    3. Custom queries are soon to be implemented and that will be the ultimate tool for serendipity generation or resurfacing unknown connections

  3. Alias - this IMO is a must have for any zettelkasten, how else are we supposed to refer to other zettels and still not lose readability of the current zettel. If we can maintain the reference underneath the altered text - VOILA !

  4. Portals - This is a supercharged feature, wherein you can pull a zettel from anywhere and embed it in another related zettel, to maintain context and the best part is you can edit the original through the portal and everything is seamlessly synced throughout the knowledge base.

    • Now you can finally maintain the context of literature notes, fleeting notes and bibliographies underneath every zettel. You never have to search for them to gain inspiration or clarify how a certain zettel came into existence.

  5. Filters - Filter through your slip box easily using the references and tags you have made throughout your zettels. You want to see through only the AI related zettels ? In just one click, you view just those and save this search as a Search Portal, now you can always have an automatically updated space where every zettel that has the reference or tag to AI is pulled for easy perusal.

  6. PDF annotation - This is an unmatched feature, unseen and not in the roadmaps of any other app in the niche. As you go through your research papers, you can simply highlight areas of text, convert them into rems and start using them as references to build your literature notes. The true power of a complete digital zettelkasten is unlocked here :

  7. You can now use this highlight as a reference or alter it and use it as an alias, in any number of zettels and with the click of a button, you will be transported to the exact PDF and wait for it… the EXACT LOCATION of the highlight!

  8. No more searching through reference managers like zotero for the exact spot where you derived your inspirations from

  9. [1] [2] are all so old school, the level of meta data shared there goes only to the level of the publication, the issue, the article, authors and at the max - the page number. That’s the level of transclusion that can be achieved until now.

  10. Using RemNote any reference will take you to the most granular level of transclusion possible and it is user defined !

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See how easy it is to save your bibliography ?

  1. Publish - You can publish anything that you have created and share the link with others who can view it on the browser, they receive all updates that you manually push, when you are ready.

  2. Spaced Repetition - How is this useful for zettelkasten ? Ever had the problem of not able to remember which fleeting note you wrote down and which ones never made it into words ? Never worry about your fleeting notes getting piled up and becoming impossible to traverse through. Using the SRS algorithm, the system automatically reminds you or resurfaces any note that you wish, at defined intervals and prompts you to work on them. Your fleeting notes will finally be pushed into permanent notes !

  3. Thought trails - As you travel through the various zettels and get lost through the rabbit holes offered by the references and the backlinks, leave behind breadcrumbs that you can use to find your way back and also as a compass to explore further other possible forks that you left behind.

  4. GRAPHS :world_map: - This ! What if your slip box could also be visualised and tampered with as a graph ? What if you could filter your way through it ? What if you could see the most important zettels, that have the strongest of connections ? Find your clusters ! Find your orphan zettels ! Even more ?

    1. You can even name the connections between the zettels. Ex. This zettel supports that one, B denies and contradicts C etc. !

    2. Explore and reveal surrounding connections through the graph as you are moving through it - best way to gain insights over the slips you have created over time!

    3. You can create connections and name them straight from the graph !

    4. Best part is ? graphs just got introduced today :wink: There’s so much more to explore and implement !

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This is a local graph that shows nearby connections - Best used to granularly connect zettels

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This is the global graph that shows everything that you have ever written and connected ! - Best used to find cluster points in your slip box

These are all the reasons why I think RemNote is the best tool, right now to develop your zettelkasten system !

Thanks for your patience ! Peace :v:t2:

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#2

I definitely need to see this argument in action :smile:

3 Likes
#3

Damn, he had to challenge :smiley:

Not quite ready for that, but pretty soon, Mark :wink:

1 Like
#4

Although, looking at the graph view - it has some really nice features. Entity categorization is there, even text string context for relationships, very nice.

1 Like
#5

Where I can see my Global Graph?

#6

Curious about the local graph: Along some of the connections, there is text explaining the kind of relationship. How do you add that and what does it look like in the notes?

#7

Thank you so much for this overview - what would I give to see your Zettelkasten in practice as still haven’t found a way to implement it.

1 Like
#8

I am humbled, but TBH I am not someone who has a very impressive or satisfying zettelkasten workflow. Like everyone else I am learning by the day :slight_smile:

What I am more interested in is bringing together the ideas of the community as a whole and figuring out workflows as a cohort. How does that sound?

#9

AFAIK only @erikhaze attempted a thorough course of all features, but it was paid and in German. Hard to say how much demand there is, since most free users don’t have access to most features necessary for zettelkastening (unlike, say, Obsidian) and the overall majority of users are students more interested in the SRS side of things. Would be nice to see any academics who integrated the PDF stuff with zettelkasten (much like the Roam video tours).

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