G
Grant Robertson
We can create three different types of links within OneNote 07. However,
everyone just calls them all "Links" which can be confusing. I propose
that we start calling them:
Icon Link - Points to a file. Displays an icon and the file name.
Creating these links copies the file to a special folder created by
OneNote which is a sub-folder of the folder containing the section that
contains the Icon Link. These sub-folders are named after the section
with "_onefiles" appended to the end of the section name. Icon Links are
updated as the section or page is moved around. The special _onefiles
folder also seems to get moved with the section. You can even just cut
and paste the icon itself to a different section in OneNote 07 and
OneNote will move the file to that new section's _onefiles folder
(creating one if necessary). In this way you can effectively forget where
the file is actually stored and think of it as just being "in OneNote."
It is possible to open the actual original file from its original
location by right clicking on this kind of link. However, I always just
delete the original so I only have one copy of the file which I let
OneNote store in the _onefiles folder (not counting the multiple backups
created by a bug which has been fixed). I use this for
reference material that I will usually only want access to from within
OneNote. Things like scans of articles that support the topic I am taking
notes about within OneNote. I don't use it for other documents I create
that I store independently like letters or papers I write. For those I
use the next kind of link. (However, I am probably going to start putting
more and more things directly into OneNote so they will be right with all
my other notes related to that document. Before long my My Documents
folder will be pretty empty.)
Text Link - This is just a specially formatted string of text that one
could type by hand if one had the patience. Before ON 07 I used a program
called ClipName that would load the clipboard with that specially
formatted string so I could insert that into any program I wanted. Any
program that recognizes links in text works with this kind of link.
However, Text Links are static. If you move the page or section the link
stays the same which is good because the original file probably didn't
move. If you had the original file stored in the same folder hierarchy as
your ON notebooks then that file IS NOT moved when you move the section
or folder. (However, I have noticed, if you put a file directly into a
_onefiles folder then that file will be moved with the rest of the files
in that folder if you move the whole section. I don't recommend this
because you may move a page associated with that document but that non-
linked-to-document will not be moved with the page and could get lost.
Also, if you move the section it will move the file but not update any
text links to the file which would break those links.) You should not use
text links to files whose location may change later.
HyperLink - This is the kind of link that is created using the hyperlink
dialog (which you get to by pressing ctrl-k). Technically, this link can
go to either a file or a part of OneNote, or even a regular URL. The
primary visible difference is that you can specify the text that appears
in line and the actual link is hidden behind that text. These links are
static. If you move the file then the link in broken. <Speculation Mode -
On> Some may think they are dynamic because you can move a linked to
paragraph or section and the link won't break. This is likely due to the
way OneNote references the paragraphs. That long code you see when you
paste a link to a paragraph into the hyperlink dialog uniquely identifies
the paragraph. Even if you move the paragraph, that unique code stays the
same. OneNote just looks for this unique code rather than a specific path
within your notebooks. <Speculation Mode - OFF>
everyone just calls them all "Links" which can be confusing. I propose
that we start calling them:
Icon Link - Points to a file. Displays an icon and the file name.
Creating these links copies the file to a special folder created by
OneNote which is a sub-folder of the folder containing the section that
contains the Icon Link. These sub-folders are named after the section
with "_onefiles" appended to the end of the section name. Icon Links are
updated as the section or page is moved around. The special _onefiles
folder also seems to get moved with the section. You can even just cut
and paste the icon itself to a different section in OneNote 07 and
OneNote will move the file to that new section's _onefiles folder
(creating one if necessary). In this way you can effectively forget where
the file is actually stored and think of it as just being "in OneNote."
It is possible to open the actual original file from its original
location by right clicking on this kind of link. However, I always just
delete the original so I only have one copy of the file which I let
OneNote store in the _onefiles folder (not counting the multiple backups
created by a bug which has been fixed). I use this for
reference material that I will usually only want access to from within
OneNote. Things like scans of articles that support the topic I am taking
notes about within OneNote. I don't use it for other documents I create
that I store independently like letters or papers I write. For those I
use the next kind of link. (However, I am probably going to start putting
more and more things directly into OneNote so they will be right with all
my other notes related to that document. Before long my My Documents
folder will be pretty empty.)
Text Link - This is just a specially formatted string of text that one
could type by hand if one had the patience. Before ON 07 I used a program
called ClipName that would load the clipboard with that specially
formatted string so I could insert that into any program I wanted. Any
program that recognizes links in text works with this kind of link.
However, Text Links are static. If you move the page or section the link
stays the same which is good because the original file probably didn't
move. If you had the original file stored in the same folder hierarchy as
your ON notebooks then that file IS NOT moved when you move the section
or folder. (However, I have noticed, if you put a file directly into a
_onefiles folder then that file will be moved with the rest of the files
in that folder if you move the whole section. I don't recommend this
because you may move a page associated with that document but that non-
linked-to-document will not be moved with the page and could get lost.
Also, if you move the section it will move the file but not update any
text links to the file which would break those links.) You should not use
text links to files whose location may change later.
HyperLink - This is the kind of link that is created using the hyperlink
dialog (which you get to by pressing ctrl-k). Technically, this link can
go to either a file or a part of OneNote, or even a regular URL. The
primary visible difference is that you can specify the text that appears
in line and the actual link is hidden behind that text. These links are
static. If you move the file then the link in broken. <Speculation Mode -
On> Some may think they are dynamic because you can move a linked to
paragraph or section and the link won't break. This is likely due to the
way OneNote references the paragraphs. That long code you see when you
paste a link to a paragraph into the hyperlink dialog uniquely identifies
the paragraph. Even if you move the paragraph, that unique code stays the
same. OneNote just looks for this unique code rather than a specific path
within your notebooks. <Speculation Mode - OFF>