Copyright (C) 2022-2025 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
Permission is granted to copy, distribute and/or modify this document under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1.3 or any later version published by the Free Software Foundation; with no Invariant Sections, with the Front-Cover Texts being “A GNU Manual,” and with the Back-Cover Texts as in (a) below. A copy of the license is included in the section entitled “GNU Free Documentation License.”
(a) The FSF’s Back-Cover Text is: “You have the freedom to copy and modify this GNU manual.”
This manual, written by Protesilaos Stavrou, describes the customization
options for the Emacs package called denote
(or ‘denote.el’), and
provides every other piece of information pertinent to it.
The documentation furnished herein corresponds to stable version 0.0.0, released on N/A. Any reference to a newer feature which does not yet form part of the latest tagged commit, is explicitly marked as such.
Current development target is 0.1.0-dev.
denote-journal
(⚠️ Not available yet)
If you are viewing the README.org version of this file, please note that the GNU ELPA machinery automatically generates an Info manual out of it.
Next: Installation, Previous: denote-journal: Convenience functions for daily journaling with Denote, Up: denote-journal: Convenience functions for daily journaling with Denote [Index]
The denote-journal
package makes it easier to use Denote for
journaling. While it is possible to use the generic denote
command
(and related) to maintain a journal, this package defines extra
functionality to streamline the journaling workflow.
The code of denote-journal
used to be bundled up with the denote
package before version ‘4.0.0’ of the latter and was available in the
file ‘denote-journal-extras.el’. Users of the old code will need to
adapt their setup to use the denote-journal
package. This can be
done by replacing all instances of ‘denote-journal-extras’ with
‘denote-journal’ across their configuration.
denote-journal-directory
denote-journal-hook
The command denote-journal-new-entry
creates a new entry in the
journal. Such a file has the denote-journal-keyword
, which is the
string ‘journal’ by default (read the Denote manual about the
file-naming scheme). The user can set this keyword to an arbitrary
string (single word is preferred) or a list of strings.
New journal entries are stored in the denote-journal-directory
,
while any command that generates a new journal entry calls the
denote-journal-hook
:
The command denote-journal-new-entry
creates a new entry
unconditionally. This means that it will not check if the present day
already has a note for it. Users who wish to only ever have one entry
per day should use denote-journal-new-or-existing-entry
instead
(Create a new journal entry or use an existing one).
Next: Link to a journal entry or create it if missing, Previous: Create new journal entry, Up: Overview [Index]
The command denote-journal-new-or-existing-entry
locates an existing
journal entry and opens it for editing or creates a new one.
A journal entry is an editable file that has denote-journal-keyword
as part of its file name. If there are multiple journal entries for
the current date, denote-journal-new-or-existing-entry
prompts to
select one among them using minibuffer completion. If there is only
one matching file, it visits it outright. If there is no journal
entry, it creates a new one by calling denote-journal-new-entry
(Create new journal entry). Depending on one’s workflow, this can also
be done via org-capture
(Create a journal entry using Org capture).
When called with a prefix argument (‘C-u’ with default key bindings),
the command denote-journal-new-or-existing-entry
prompts for a date.
It then determines whether to visit an existing file or create a new
one, as described above. The date selection interface is controlled by
the user option denote-date-prompt-use-org-read-date
, which is part
of the main denote
package. By default, this is a simple minibuffer
prompt, though users can opt in to the more advanced
minibuffer+calendar date picker that Org uses for its own date
selection operations.
Next: The denote-journal-directory
, Previous: Create a new journal entry or use an existing one, Up: Overview [Index]
The command denote-journal-link-or-create-entry
links to the
journal entry for today or creates it in the background, if missing,
and then links to it from the current file. If there are multiple
journal entries for the same day, it prompts to select one among them
and then links to it. When called with an optional prefix argument
(such as ‘C-u’ with default key bindings), the command prompts for a
date and then performs the aforementioned. With a double prefix
argument (‘C-u C-u’), it also produces a link whose description
includes just the file’s identifier.
Next: Title format of new journal entries, Previous: Link to a journal entry or create it if missing, Up: Overview [Index]
denote-journal-directory
New journal entries are placed in the denote-journal-directory
,
which defaults to a subdirectory of denote-directory
called
‘journal’.
If denote-journal-directory
is nil, the denote-directory
is used.
Journal entries will thus be in a flat listing together with all other
notes. They can still be retrieved easily by searching for the
denote-journal-keyword
(read the Denote manual about “Features of
the file-naming scheme for searching or filtering”).
Next: Create a journal entry using Org capture, Previous: The denote-journal-directory
, Up: Overview [Index]
New journal entries will use the current date as the title of the new
entry. The exact format is controlled by the user option
denote-journal-title-format
. Acceptable values for this user option
and their corresponding styles are:
Symbol | Style |
---|---|
day | Monday |
day-date-month-year | Monday 19 September 2023 |
day-date-month-year-24h | Monday 19 September 2023 20:49 |
day-date-month-year-12h | Monday 19 September 2023 08:49 PM |
For example:
(setq denote-journal-title-format 'day-date-month-year)
If the value of this user option is nil
, then the command
denote-journal-new-entry
will prompt for a title. In terms of
workflow, using the current date as the title is better for
maintaining a daily journal. A prompt for an arbitrary title is more
suitable for those who like to keep a record of something like a
thought or event (though this can also be achieved with the regular
denote
command or a variant thereof like denote-subdirectory
).
Next: The denote-journal-hook
, Previous: Title format of new journal entries, Up: Overview [Index]
Users who prefer to consolidate all their note-creating or todo-making
commands in the org-capture
interface will want to use a variant of
denote-journal-new-or-existing-entry
(Create a new journal entry or use an existing one):
(with-eval-after-load 'org-capture (add-to-list 'org-capture-templates '("j" "Journal" entry (file denote-journal-path-to-new-or-existing-entry) "* %U %?\n%i\n%a" :kill-buffer t :empty-lines 1)))
Using the above, is the same as calling the command
denote-journal-new-or-existing-entry
and then manually appending a
heading with a timestamp after the file’s front matter. The template
shown above can be modified accordingly, in accordance with the
documentation of org-capture-templates
.
Next: Journaling with a timer, Previous: Create a journal entry using Org capture, Up: Overview [Index]
denote-journal-hook
All commands that create a new journal entry call the normal hook
denote-journal-hook
as a final step. The user can leverage this to
produce consequences therefrom, such as to set a timer with the tmr
package from GNU ELPA (Journaling with a timer).
Previous: The denote-journal-hook
, Up: Overview [Index]
Sometimes journaling is done with the intent to hone one’s writing skills. Perhaps you are learning a new language or wish to communicate your ideas with greater clarity and precision. As with everything that requires a degree of sophistication, you have to work for it—write, write, write!
One way to test your progress is to set a timer. It helps you gauge
your output and its quality. To use a timer with Emacs, consider the
tmr
package (Protesilaos is the original author and maintainer). A
new timer can be set with something like this:
;; Set 10 minute timer with the given description (tmr "10" "Practice writing in my journal")
To make this timer start as soon as a new journal entry is created add
a function to the denote-journal-hook
(The denote-journal-hook
).
For example:
;; Add an anonymous function, which is more difficult to modify after ;; the fact: (add-hook 'denote-journal-hook (lambda () (tmr "10" "Practice writing in my journal"))) ;; Or write a small function that you can then modify without ;; revaluating the hook: (defun my-denote-tmr () (tmr "10" "Practice writing in my journal")) ;; Now add your named function to the hook: (add-hook 'denote-journal-hook #'my-denote-tmr) ;; Or to make it fully featured! Define variables for the duration ;; and the description and set it up so that you only need to modify ;; those instead of the function: (defvar my-denote-tmr-duration "10") (defvar my-denote-tmr-description "Practice writing in my journal") (defun my-denote-tmr () (tmr my-denote-tmr-duration my-denote-tmr-description)) (add-hook 'denote-journal-hook #'my-denote-tmr)
Once the timer elapses, stop writing and review your performance. Practice makes perfect!
Sources for tmr
:
tmr
Next: Sample configuration, Previous: Overview, Up: denote-journal: Convenience functions for daily journaling with Denote [Index]
Next: Manual installation, Up: Installation [Index]
The package is available as ‘denote-journal’. Simply do:
M-x package-refresh-contents M-x package-install
And search for it.
GNU ELPA provides the latest stable release. Those who prefer to follow the development process in order to report bugs or suggest changes, can use the version of the package from the GNU-devel ELPA archive. Read: https://protesilaos.com/codelog/2022-05-13-emacs-elpa-devel/.
Previous: GNU ELPA package, Up: Installation [Index]
Assuming your Emacs files are found in ‘~/.emacs.d/’, execute the following commands in a shell prompt:
cd ~/.emacs.d # Create a directory for manually-installed packages mkdir manual-packages # Go to the new directory cd manual-packages # Clone this repo, naming it "denote-journal" git clone https://github.com/protesilaos/denote-journal denote-journal
Finally, in your ‘init.el’ (or equivalent) evaluate this:
;; Make Elisp files in that directory available to the user. (add-to-list 'load-path "~/.emacs.d/manual-packages/denote-journal")
Everything is in place to set up the package.
Next: Acknowledgements, Previous: Installation, Up: denote-journal: Convenience functions for daily journaling with Denote [Index]
(use-package denote-journal :ensure t ;; Bind those to some key for your convenience. :commands ( denote-journal-new-entry denote-journal-new-or-existing-entry denote-journal-link-or-create-entry ) :config ;; Use the "journal" subdirectory of the `denote-directory'. Set this ;; to nil to use the `denote-directory' instead. (setq denote-journal-directory (expand-file-name "journal" denote-directory)) ;; Default keyword for new journal entries. It can also be a list of ;; strings. (setq denote-journal-keyword "journal") ;; Read the doc string of `denote-journal-title-format'. (setq denote-journal-title-format 'day-date-month-year))
Next: GNU Free Documentation License, Previous: Sample configuration, Up: denote-journal: Convenience functions for daily journaling with Denote [Index]
Denote Journal is meant to be a collective effort. Every bit of help matters.
Protesilaos Stavrou.
Next: Indices, Previous: Acknowledgements, Up: denote-journal: Convenience functions for daily journaling with Denote [Index]
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Next: Variable index, Up: Indices [Index]
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