NWP to keep track of files/folders once moved or renamed

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CrisB
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NWP to keep track of files/folders once moved or renamed

Post by CrisB »

In the Finder I use a conceptual view of my data which uses aliases, and in NWP I make extensive use of links to both folders and files.

When I move or change the name of a file or folder, in the Finder there's no problem, the aliases stay valid. But in NWP, whenever I have moved or changed the name of a file or folder in the Finder, its links stop working and I have to recreate them manually. A pain as well as being extremely time-consuming.

So this improvement suggestion is for NWP to keep track of the name and location of a file or folder in a similar manner to the Finder, and not to get upset and throw up its hands in disgust if it's been renamed or moved. This would reduce irritation and save a lot of time.

Many thanks, Cris
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martin
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Re: NWP to keep track of files/folders once moved or renamed

Post by martin »

Hi Cris, thanks for the suggestion, but can you please clarify what aspect of NWP you're referring to? For example, the Open Recent menu already tracks files using aliases, so renaming a file externally won't disrupt that entry on the Open menu.
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CrisB
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Re: NWP to keep track of files/folders once moved or renamed

Post by CrisB »

Hi Martin,

In the Finder, when I Copy a file or a folder name, and Paste that link into my NWP document, then double clicking on that name opens the file or folder. A very VERY useful cross-referencing facility.

For example. I write articles, usually several on a single topic. Each article is a separate document, as is the notes file for the whole series, and they all need links to the others for ease of access. When I update and publish that article on a different website, I create a different source document which goes in that site's folder, which then needs links to the original source article and folder.

But links in NWP documents stop working if the target file or folder been moved or renamed, so they then need recreating. Fixing this problem would eliminate this time-wasting annoyance and make this very useful facility absolutely brilliant. I really hope Nisus can do this for the upcoming release/version.
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phspaelti
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Re: NWP to keep track of files/folders once moved or renamed

Post by phspaelti »

One option that would work, is to make your link refer to an alias of the file rather than the file itself. (The alias might be located in a special folder called "MyFileAliases".) I first hoped it would be as simple as selecting the alias when making the link, but unfortunately Nisus is "too clever", and so when is makes a link from an alias it uses the path of the original file as the link. However, if you edit the link by hand to point to the alias it works.

Having said all of this, if you plan on making such links more often, the procedure would be a bit tedious:
  1. Make an alias to the file
  2. Make a link
  3. Copy the path of the alias (not the file)
  4. Open the link for editing and paste the path
However I believe it should be possible to make a macro to make this as painless as the current link insertion, though one might need an Applescript component to create the alias. If I can find some time I'll see if I can make such a macro.
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Re: NWP to keep track of files/folders once moved or renamed

Post by martin »

CrisB wrote:In the Finder, when I Copy a file or a folder name, and Paste that link into my NWP document, then double clicking on that name opens the file or folder. A very VERY useful cross-referencing facility.
Ah, that kind of link! Thanks for the clarification. I believe we have this filed as an enhancement already, but I'll make sure and add your vote.
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Re: NWP to keep track of files/folders once moved or renamed

Post by martin »

phspaelti wrote:I first hoped it would be as simple as selecting the alias when making the link, but unfortunately Nisus is "too clever", and so when is makes a link from an alias it uses the path of the original file as the link.
Yes though I believe this isn't NWP being clever, but OSX itself. Most of the time system functions/etc will automatically resolve aliases/links when interacting with the file system.

Well, using an intermediate alias is a clever workaround, though a bit of a hassle. Hopefully we can avoid the work in a future update.
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Re: NWP to keep track of files/folders once moved or renamed

Post by scottwhitlock »

I mentioned this in another post about Nisus for iPad and the limitations of Pages iOS's workflow, but I want to say it again. Production software (and if you're a writer, there's no better production software than NWP) lives or dies by how it facilitates workflow. One of the special things about Nisus Writer (among many) is that its programmers pay special attention to workflow - and genuinely listen to its users when something "breaks" theirs. NWP is the most flexible program out there, and this is what makes it so powerful. It can shape to you, and it rarely (if ever) forces you to shape to it. It's an old idea, which dates back to the original MacOS (oh I never thought I would have nostalgia for OS 6-9). But it's still a refreshing idea in an era of nonflexible, our way or no way programming. Thank you so much!
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Re: NWP to keep track of files/folders once moved or renamed

Post by martin »

Your post about Pages on iOS was a good one and brings up some important points. I especially feel that document fidelity and consistency is very important; users need to be confident that editing a document on either platform (eg: OSX vs iOS) will preserve all existing formatting and content, even if one platform doesn't support all the features (or fonts).

As for paying attention to our users and their workflows: we're very happy to do it! It's a pleasure to have an intelligent and engaged customer base. We're always appreciative of their feedback, and we try our best to listen closely and adapt as we can. So really, a big thank you to all our users for the time and energy they invest in interacting on the forums, reporting bugs, and giving us suggestions for improvement!
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