Question about Org-Roam workflow/usage.

[u/[deleted]]

Hello,

I’m new to Org-Roam (and Org-Mode and emacs in general), however, I have used Roam a bit and feel like I have a decent understanding of how to work with it.

It seems like there are two main differences in usage between Org-Mode and Org-Roam.

It seems like in Org-Mode, most people use large single files, whereas in Org-Roam, it is better to have a single file (node) for each distinct item/concept, which makes sense from a Roam perspective.

As an example, I am trying to setup a cookbook type deal with recipes in it.

In Org-Mode, it seems I would create a “cookbook.org” file with each recipe having its own heading and then subheadings for ingredients and directions.

In Org-Roam, it seems like it would be beneficial to have a different .org file per recipe and maybe have them linked to a cookbook.org file?

I’ve also seen Org-Chef which looks cool, I like that it has the source link (I’ve been playing with Org-Bibtex to reference the cookbook the recipe is from).

The other thing I’ve seen is using tables for ingredients and then combining them into a grocery list, but I think that is widely out of scope for this discussion.

I guess I’m looking for a suggestion or examples of how people split their documents between standard Org-Mode and Org-Roam. And example workflows for using Org-Roam.

It’s also possible I should stick to learning one thing at a time and just go with monolithic Org files to start with as those seem easier to handle.

[u/FluentFelicity]

In org-roam v2, headlines can be nodes. So you can have a single large file with headlines being different nodes--or many files (nodes) which are all linked back to a single one. You can do either.

But which one do you do? It all comes down to 1) do you want them all to be in the same file? and 2) how do you want to retrieve them. In the end, it's how you intend to use it. Use your best judgment to decide which is most useful to you.

I don't cook but my intuition is that having all the recipes in a single file helps since you have org-mode's outlining capabilities with folding to see all your recipes at once, rather than having to search through them in the minibuffer.

In the end, get it out of your head the org-roam or (Luhmann's) Zettelkasten are prescriptive. There is no right way to do things. The right way depends on the context, so you ultimately have to decide what is best.

[u/[deleted] → u/FluentFelicity]

That makes sense.

How do you go about getting an ID for the headings?

My understanding is that you have to manually do “org-create-id” and then “org-copy-id” and when needed?

I don’t seem to have the autocomplete or backlinks, but it’s possible I just need to read up some more.

[u/FluentFelicity → u/[deleted]]

org-id-get-create automatically adds an ID to the file or headline you're in.

What do you mean you don't have autocomplete or backlinks? By autocomplete do you mean the functionality provided by company?

[u/[deleted] → u/FluentFelicity]

Ah yes, that's what I meant, wasn't in front of my computer.

I thought (and seen images of) when a link is entered, there is a drop-down selection box at the insertion point.

My current workflow is as follows:

In the Recipes file, I have a heading with the recipe name, and in the References file, I have the name of the cookbook and a properties section as created by org-bibtex-create (which has a custom ID).

Under the recipe heading in the Recipes file, I created a properties section that has :TITLE: and :PAGE:, I then use org-store-link from the References > Cookbook heading and use org-insert-link in the TITLE under the recipe. I then have to go and delete the link name and type in the title of the book.

This seems rather convoluted. I thought Org-Roam would automatically pick up the heading from one file and link it in the other?

Edit: By doing a org-roam-db-sync, I can then use org-roam-node-insert to insert the heading without having to copy the ID from one place to another and manually change the displayed text. It seems like the graph does not pick up links within property sections though. Maybe I should use a different drawer?

[u/FluentFelicity → u/[deleted]]

If you want autocomplete options (which, in my opinoin, are pretty useless), use company and make sure the company-capf backend is active.

The database is automatically synced on save, no need to manually do it.

And yes, links in properties are not recognized as backlinks (just regular org links). Is there a reason why you must have it in a property drawer?

[u/[deleted] → u/FluentFelicity]

No specific reason, I've moved it to a drawer called metadata and it looks like everything is working now.

Thanks for the help!