tkpim.tcl is a database driven,
client/server personal information manager. Another way of looking
at it is that tkpim.tcl is an auto-hyper-linking sticky note program with
a client/server architecture.
The basic idea is that you add notes to
the database, and as you see fit you select text strings to be topics.
When a topic is created, all notes are indexed and any note having the
selected text is now available under that topic. A note can be a
member of any number of topics, and the number of topics is also practically
unlimited.
All of the notes are stored in a central
server that can be accessed by any number of remote clients.
The first thing you need to do
to use tkpim.tcl is run the server. Then you launch the client and
connect to the server. The server and client are actually the same
app (tkpim.tcl), they are just run with different modes.
The
Server |
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To run the server:
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Launch tkpim.tcl.
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In the Options Dialog, select "run as server".
The other options are not too important right now. Select "ok".
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Enter the login and password that clients
must provide to connect to the server in the Login Dialog.
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If a tkpimdb.txt file is present in the current
working directory, the server will load this file to seed its note database.
The server saves this file out periodically (once an hour) or when the
"save" button is clicked.
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Now run the client.
The
Client |
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To run the client:
-
Launch tkpim.tcl. Make sure a server
is running somewhere.
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In the Options Dialog, enter the hostname
of the machine the server is running on. If you are behind a pain-in-the-ass
firewall like I am at work, select a keepalive time that will keep your
connection open. Select "ok"
-
In the Login Dialog, enter the same login
and password info you did when you launched the server. You will
only be allowed to connect if the login/password match the server's login/password.
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Boom! You're connected. Now you
can add notes and topics to your heart's content.
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There will always be one topic, "no topic",
for all notes that are not indexed by a real topic.
The
Main Window |
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Now that the client is running you can
do the following from the Main Window:
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Create a new note by clicking on the "new
note" button in the Main Window. If you can't tell which button is
the right button let the popup help show you the way.
-
Double-click on a topic and view all notes
indexed by the topic.
-
If you lose your connection you can login
again by clicking on the "login" button.
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You can exit the program by clicking the "exit"
button.
-
You can refresh the topic list by clicking
on the "refresh" button.
The
Topic Window |
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When a topic is double clicked in the main
view, or a topic link is selected in a note a Topic Window will be displayed.
This window displays the first line of every note indexed by the topic.
You can do the following in this window:
-
Refresh the topic's list of notes by selecting
the "refresh" button.
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Delete the topic (permanently) by selecting
the "delete topic" button.
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Display a note by double clicking on an item
in the note list or selecting the "get note" button.
The
Note Window |
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When a note is displayed you can do the
following:
-
Refresh the note by selecting the "refresh"
button.
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Add a topic by selecting the "add topic" button.
In order to add a topic, a piece of text must be selected in the text widget.
This text will become the topic name and the search criterea for reindexing
the notes in the database.
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Delete a note (permanently) by selecting the
"delete note" button.
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Save the note by selecting the "save note"
button. Note: if you do not save changes to a note before closing
it the changes will be lost. That's the nasty default.
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And of course, you can edit the note by typing
in the text area. Remember to save any changes you have made to
the note before closing the note window.