Use visual thinking tools to improve the writing process with Obsidian notes and maps.
Technology
WarrenWeb Workflow
WarrenWeb Workflow
Please visit today’s blog post about my WarrenWeb Workflow at my Ghost website at:
https://blog.warrenweb.net/warrenweb-workflow
It would be wonderful to have my current visitors and followers become subscribers as I publish new content on Ghost. Thank you!
Arc – Browse for me
NOTE: See an enhanced version of this original post on my new Ghost website for WarrenWeb: Arc – Browse for Me. It has now been split into pages for Tidy Tabs, Instant Links, and Arc Sync.
I have migrated and enhanced much of my content from WordPress to Ghost, with links to remaining pages and posts that have not been processed yet.
Please visit my new WarrenWeb website and consider subscribing to receive my newsletter.
The Browser Company released this week’s update to Arc browser with several interesting features: Arc Sync, Tidy Tabs, and Instant Links. With these automatic tab groups, you can easily save them in Pinned Tabs, move selected folders to another Arc space, or copy all its tabs as Markdown links for an Obsidian note or map.
Arc Sync
The new Arc Sync feature provides end-to-end encryption for your sidebar across your devices that is fast and doesn’t depend on iCloud. This cross-platform capability is a step towards Arc, anywhere (iCloud sync to be phased out soon).
Click “Turn On” in the Arc Max tab of Arc > Settings (Cmd + comma), just below the Sync Sidebar with iCloud setting.
Tidy Tabs
Now you have a browser that tidies for you. It automatically makes sense of all those links that you collected while reading your email, feeds, or social media; or maybe you were just browsing interesting stuff for your efforts, or researching a topic that you’re working on. This is especially handy during the Add phase of your PKM workflow.
Previously, you would have clustered related tabs together and then selected multiple related tabs into a tab group and assigned a folder name. Now your browser helps you get this done with Arc Max AI. Then you might drag selected folders into your Pinned Tabs, maybe under a dated folder within Calendar, or perhaps move them to another space for further Relate work, perhaps for Efforts.
Press the broomstick 🧹 icon at the top of your Today Tabs in the sidebar, and let your Sidebar organize itself whenever you have over six Today tabs. Tidy Tabs only organizes Today Tabs, which appears below the + New Tab button. Your other tabs will not be affected. You can turn on Today Tabs by CMD + T > Settings > Max.
In my Web space I use for browsing, I had 33 Today tabs in my sidebar; Arc analyzed them with AI and grouped them into the following 6 folders.
- Javascript
- Cooking
- Obsidian
- Apple
- Diabetes
- Other
For example, I had clicked some email links on Medium about Apple Vision Pro and Apple Watch, as well as another one on Pickle (pkl) that Apple introduced as a new open source programming language for configuration. Arc automatically grouped them together in a tab folder named Apple.
Instant Links
What if you could just tell your browser exactly what you wanted, and it understood you? Well, today you get a glimpse into the future of what browsing the web might look like.
Turn on the new Instant Links feature with Arc > Settings > Arc Max > Instant Links, and let Arc browse for you.
- Press Shift + Enter after entering a web search into Command-T, which instantly opens the top result.
- You can also search multiple queries – try experimenting with your searches.
- To create a folder of tabs, use “Folder of” before your search query; for example, “Folder of the cutest cat breeds”
Try this:
- Press CMD +
- Enter this search: Folder of the cutest cat breeds
- Press Shift + Enter
- Arc will search the web and immediately open the top results with the web page from the SprucePets site.
- But it also automatically creates a tab folder in your sidebar with the name “Cutest Cat Breeds” that will contain these 5 tabs:
- 23 Cutest Cat Breeds Anyone Will Love
- 20 Cutest Cat Breeds of 2024 | Picture…
- Cutest Cat Breeds | Petfinder
- What are the cutest and rarest breeds…
- The Cutest Cat Breeds: 14 Cats You’ll…
You might enjoy last week’s announcement that shows “A browser that browses for you”: Meet Act II of Arc Browser – YouTube video (15 min).
Obsidian Integration
NOTE: See an enhanced version of this original post on my new Ghost website for WarrenWeb: Obsidian Integration.
I have migrated and enhanced much of my content from WordPress to Ghost, with links to remaining pages and posts that have not been processed yet.
Please visit my new WarrenWeb website and consider subscribing to receive my newsletter.
My PKM environment comprises many apps, including Obsidian (notes), Arc (browser/internet), Airmail (mail), Drafts (text), OmniFocus (tasks), Fantastical (calendar), DEVONthink (reference/support), and Finder (folders/files). I focus on Apple technologies on macOS, iOS, and watchOS, as well as open source technologies like JavaScript, Swift, and Java.
Also, I use support apps that help me link and integrate actions from the other apps, such as Markdown (headings, lists, links), URL Schemes (deep links), Hookmark (mail / file links), Shortcuts (workflows / actions), Actions for Obsidian (Shortcut actions), Actions URI (Obsidian actions), Hazel (automation), Alfred (workflows), and Keyboard Maestro (automation).
I think that Obsidian is the best app for notes in my PKM system. Sometimes, there is a tendency to make it do more, like manage your tasks and calendars. There are some features available in Markdown, such as bullet, numbered, or even checkbox items that can mark items completed. Also, there are many plugins that add calendar features like daily notes and some that even incorporate tasks into your Obsidian notes, and they are quite sophisticated, such as Periodic Notes and Obsidian Tasks.
However, I don’t like the idea of making my note system into a task manager or calendar. I believe it’s better to use multiple apps that are each great in their area, rather than trying to making Obsidian do everything. I know it can be tempting, but I think it leads to unnecessary complications as you try to extend this further. I think the better solution is to integrate these other apps with Obsidian, so you have the best of them all together without diluting each one by making it something else.
I’m actively working on several efforts that help me integrate Obsidian with these apps:
- Arc
- Airmail
- Drafts
- Shortcuts
- URL Schemes
- Actions URI
- Actions for Obsidian
- OmniFocus
- Fantastical
- DEVONthink
- Hookmark
- Hazel
As I make progress, I will share my discoveries, tips & techniques, suggestions, and guidelines to help you with your own systems. This will be an incremental process, but I plan to focus on it quite a bit during LYT Workshop 13 throughout February 2024.
Creating Obsidian Notes with Drafts
I developed more than 40 pages with all you need to know about Drafts.
Add to Obsidian
It’s easy to capture (or dictate) your ideas, thoughts, and notes you want to Add to Obsidian using Drafts with these simple steps.
- Download Drafts from the Mac or iOS App Store, if you don’t already have it.
- Download Obsidian for your platform, if you need it.
- Install my Add to Obsidian action from a private unlisted link in the Drafts Directory.
- Create a new note in Drafts and tap Add to Obsidian.
Folder Bookmark
If you have not already defined a folder bookmark in Drafts Settings when you first run the action, you will be prompted to assign the folder in your Obsidian vault to the Add bookmark, where you want to save your draft notes. For example, this might be your + folder if using a vault based on the Ideaverse for Obsidian starter kit.
Windows or Android
If you have Windows PC or Android devices, you can use Web Capture for Drafts users to add content to their iCloud library from any web browser.
Shortcuts
Shortcuts provide workflows that integrate multiple actions from several apps. An automatic Daily Startup shortcut can create an Obsidian daily note with a template, and include weather forecast, upcoming calendar events, and today’s to-do tasks; other shortcuts can capture ideas, thoughts, or health logs throughout the day.
See Shortcuts for more…
Enhanced Pages
I simplified my Home and About pages, as well as each section’s main pages for PKM, Blog, Music, Photos, Travel, Writing, Health, Genealogy, and Technology about my primary efforts. Hopefully, this will make it easier to access my website since it had grown into a structure that became too complex.
Of course, I would like to know if you think these changes are moving in the right direction. Does this help you use my website any better? What else would you like to see? Also, it would be nice to know if anything slipped through the cracks during this overhaul.
I appreciate any Likes or Comments directly on a page, or Contact me with other feedback, questions, or other thoughts. Thanks for your patience.
Arc Browser
Recently, I added a series of pages to the Arc Browser section of my website under Technology > Apps. These cover tabs (links), notes, Easels. split views, folders, spaces, profiles, sidebar, extensions, and Arc Max (AI). These are currently available on macOS, which has a Mobile Companion that syncs with the desktop app via iCloud for use on the iPhone. They are also actively working on a Windows version.
There is a lot here, but I have tried to organize it for easy access, reading, and reference using smaller linked pages with embedded navigation. Once I started developing these notes, they kept growing and wanted to share what I learned while I continue further exploration in this direction.
Previously, I posted this stuff for the LYT Community using the Circle platform for members of the current LYT Workshop 12. I received positive and valuable feedback that encouraged me to share this more broadly. I’m also presenting a live Showcase session via Zoom for them to show them my current status with this effort.