How to create a link between two notes

Hi,

I try to create a link between two notes via AppleScript. I tried a couple of things, but I was not able to manage to be successful.

When I try

make new link in currentZettel with data {source:currentZettel, destination:theTarget}

I get “Error in the Apple event routine, -10000”

When I try

make new link with data {source:currentZettel, destination:theTarget}

I get “The element can’t be moved to the container or created there, -10024” (both error messages are freely translated from German :wink:)

Did anyone manage to create a link wit AppleScript, or does have some tips for me?

Thanks and best regards,
Sascha

Can you paste the whole script here ?

(Context is often material)

Sure, here you go. Bear with me, it’s not cleaned up yet. Still trying to get everything to work… :wink:

For the context: I have a selected list of records in DevonThink, which are interconnected. I want to convert them into a net in Tinderbox.
A big part is parsing the “metadata” from the source document.

use scripting additions
use framework "Foundation"

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
-- Globale Konstanten
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
set containerName to "Prototypes"
set prototypeAuthor to "pAutor"
set prototypeName to "pZettel"
set prototypeNameExt to "pExternalSource"
set keyAttributesStr to "URL;SourceURL;SourceCreated;ZettelID;DTReferences;Authors;Source"
set keyAttributesStrExt to "URL;SourceURL;SourceCreated"

set mainCategories to {IDXX:"xx Autoren", ID00:"00 Allgemeines", ID01:"01 Technologie", ID02:"02 Spiritualität", ID03:"03 Management"}
set catDictionary to current application's NSDictionary's dictionaryWithDictionary:mainCategories


--================================================================================
--================================================================================
--
-- Hauptprogramm
-- 
--================================================================================
--================================================================================

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
-- Set Up Tinderbox
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
tell application "Tinderbox 8"
	tell front document
		if not (exists) then error "No Tinderbox document open."
		
		-- where to put the ne notes
		--set theNote to selected note
		
		--if theNote is missing value then
		--	set my theNote to first note's parent
		--end if
		
		#  create container for prototypes
		if not (exists note containerName) then
			set newNote to make new note
			tell newNote to set name to containerName
		else
			set newNote to note containerName
		end if
		
		#  list URLs of notes already in Tinderbox container (used to skip duplicates)
		-- set existingURLs to value of attribute "URL" of note containerName's notes
		
		#  create prototype with key attributes imported message notes will inherit
		if not (exists note prototypeName in newNote) then
			set theContainer to note containerName --> a reference
			set newPrototype to make new note at theContainer
			
			set newAttribute1 to make new attribute with properties {name:"ZettelID", type:"string", defaultValue:""}
			set newAttribute2 to make new attribute with properties {name:"DTReferences", type:"list", defaultValue:""}
			set newAttribute4 to make new attribute with properties {name:"Source", type:"string", defaultValue:""}
			
			tell newPrototype
				set value of attribute "Name" to prototypeName
				set value of attribute "KeyAttributes" to keyAttributesStr
				set value of attribute "badge" to "paperclip"
				set value of attribute "IsPrototype" to true
				set value of attribute "Color" to "lightest cool gray"
			end tell
		end if
		
		#  create prototype with key attributes imported message notes will inherit
		if not (exists note prototypeNameExt in newNote) then
			set theContainer to note containerName --> a reference
			set newPrototype to make new note at theContainer
			
			tell newPrototype
				set value of attribute "Name" to prototypeNameExt
				set value of attribute "KeyAttributes" to keyAttributesStrExt
				set value of attribute "badge" to "paperclip"
				set value of attribute "IsPrototype" to true
				set value of attribute "Color" to "lightest cool orange"
			end tell
		end if
		
		#  create prototype with key attributes imported message notes will inherit
		if not (exists note prototypeAuthor in newNote) then
			set theContainer to note containerName --> a reference
			set newPrototype to make new note at theContainer
			
			tell newPrototype
				set value of attribute "Name" to prototypeAuthor
				set value of attribute "KeyAttributes" to "FullName"
				set value of attribute "badge" to "person"
				set value of attribute "IsPrototype" to true
				set value of attribute "Color" to "lightest cool green"
				set value of attribute "Shape" to "oval"
			end tell
		end if
		
		-- Create Main Categories
		my createMainCategories()
	end tell
end tell

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
-- 1. Iteration: Alle Zettel aus Devon Think anlegen
-- Note: Kann in Zukunft optimiert werden in einem Durchgang (rekursieves abrabeiten der Referenzen)
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
tell application id "DNtp"
	try
		set this_selection to the selection
		if this_selection is {} then error "Please select some contents."
		
		repeat with this_record in this_selection
			set this_title to the name of this_record
			set this_creation_date to the creation date of this_record
			set this_devon_url to the reference URL of this_record
			set this_source_url to the URL of this_record
			set this_type to the type of this_record
			set this_path to the path of this_record
			
			set this_tag to tags of this_record
			set this_tag to item 1 of this_tag
			
			-- Inhalt abhängig vom Format auslesen
			if (this_type is markdown) or (this_type is txt) then
				set this_content to the plain text of this_record
			else if (this_type = formatted note) or (this_type = rtf) or (this_type = rtfd) then
				set this_content to the rich text of this_record
			else
				set this_content to ""
			end if
			
			-- Handle Mails
			try
				set this_mime to the MIME type of this_record
				if this_mime is "message/rfc822" then
					set this_source_url to ""
					set this_content to the rich text of this_record
				end if
			end try
			
			-- Zettel anlegen (Gruppen werden ignoriert)
			if (this_type is not group) and (this_type is not smart group) then
				set nameArray to my getNameComponents(this_title)
				
				my createNote(item 1 of nameArray, item 2 of nameArray, this_content, this_devon_url, this_source_url, this_creation_date as string, this_tag, prototypeName)
			end if
		end repeat
		
	on error error_message number error_number
		if the error_number is not -128 then display alert "DEVONthink" message error_message as warning
	end try
end tell

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
-- 2. Iteration: Links zwischen den Zettel anlegen und weitere Metadaten updaten
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
tell application id "DNtp"
	set theSelection to the selection
	
	repeat with theRecord in theSelection
		set theAuthors to {}
		set theSource to {}
		set theReferences to {}
		
		set currentZettel to {}
		
		set currentBlock to ""
		
		set theContent to the plain text of theRecord
		set theParagraphs to paragraphs of theContent
		
		-- Parse the Metadata
		set inMetadataBlock to false
		repeat with theParagraph in theParagraphs
			if (my trimText(theParagraph, " ", "both") as text) is "---" then
				set inMetadataBlock to true
			end if
			
			if inMetadataBlock is true then
				if (my trimText(theParagraph, " ", "both") as text) is "Referenzen:" then
					set currentBlock to "Referenzen"
				end if
				
				if (my trimText(theParagraph, " ", "both") as text) is "Quelle:" then
					set currentBlock to "Quelle"
				end if
				
				if (my trimText(theParagraph, " ", "both") as text) is "Autoren:" then
					set currentBlock to "Autoren"
				end if
			end if
			
			if theParagraph starts with "*" then
				set theText to (my trimText(theParagraph, "* ", "beginning") as text)
				set theText to (my trimText(theText, " ", "both") as text)
				
				if theText is not "" then
					if currentBlock is "Referenzen" then
						copy theText to the end of theReferences
					else if currentBlock is "Quelle" then
						copy theText to the end of theSource
					else if currentBlock is "Autoren" then
						copy theText to the end of theAuthors
					end if
				end if
			end if
		end repeat
		
		log "$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$"
		log "$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$"
		-- log theReferences
		log theAuthors
		-- log theSource
		
		-- Create the Links
		if theReferences is not {} then
			set theZettelName to item 2 of my getNameComponents(name of theRecord)
			
			repeat with theReference in theReferences
				set localReference to my getReference(theReference)
				
				if (item 1 of localReference) is "link" then
					set thisTag to tags of theRecord
					set thisTag to item 1 of thisTag -- create missing refs in the same category
					
					tell application "Tinderbox 8"
						tell front document
							-- set theNote to my findNoteByName(item 2 of (item 3 of localReference))
							
							set theTarget to find note in note 1 with path (item 2 of localReference) -- Warum das mit jedem beliebigen "in note" funktioniert ist mir ein Rätsel
							
							if theTarget is missing value then
								set theTarget to my createNote("", (item 2 of localReference), "", "TODO Find Document", "", "", thisTag, prototypeNameExt)
							end if
							
						end tell
					end tell
				end if
				
				tell front document of application "Tinderbox 8"
					set currentZettel to find note in note 1 with path theZettelName -- Warum das mit jedem beliebigen "in note" funktioniert ist mir ein Rätsel
					
					if currentZettel is missing value then -- that should not happen
						error "Could not find the Note for the current Zettel: " & theZettelName
					end if
					
					-- tell currentZettel to make new link in currentZettel with data {destination:theTarget}
					-- tell currentZettel to make new link -- with properties {source:currentZettel, target:theTarget}
				end tell
			end repeat
		end if
		
		-- Set the Authors
		if theAuthors is not {} then
			set theZettelName to item 2 of my getNameComponents(name of theRecord)
			
			tell front document of application "Tinderbox 8"
				repeat with theAuthor in theAuthors
					if not (exists note theAuthor in note prototypeAuthor) then
						set newAuthor to my createNote("", theAuthor, "", "", "", "", "XX", prototypeAuthor)
						tell newAuthor to set attribute "FullName"'s value to theAuthor
						tell newAuthor to set attribute "Width"'s value to 5
						tell newAuthor to set attribute "Height"'s value to 5
					end if
				end repeat
				
				set currentZettel to find note in note 1 with path theZettelName -- Warum das mit jedem beliebigen "in note" funktioniert ist mir ein Rätsel
				
				if currentZettel is missing value then -- that should not happen
					error "Could not find the Note for the current Zettel: " & theZettelName
				end if
				
				set oldDelimiters to AppleScript's text item delimiters
				set AppleScript's text item delimiters to ";"
				
				tell currentZettel to set attribute "Authors"'s value to (theAuthors as string)
				
				set AppleScript's text item delimiters to oldDelimiters
			end tell
		end if
		
		
		-- Set the Source
	end repeat
end tell


on getReference(rawData)
	log rawData
	set theReturnObject to {}
	
	if rawData contains "[[" then
		set theType to "link"
		set theReference to trimText(rawData, "[[", "beginning")
		set theReference to trimText(theReference, "]]", "end")
		set nameArray to my getNameComponents(theReference)
		
		try
			set theReturnObject to {theType, item 2 of nameArray} -- Crashes if it's not a Zettel
		on error
			set theReturnObject to {theType, theReference}
		end try
	end if
	
	return theReturnObject
end getReference


--================================================================================
--================================================================================
--
-- Subroutienen und Funktionen
--
--================================================================================
--================================================================================


-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
-- Text trimmen
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
on trimText(theText, theCharactersToTrim, theTrimDirection)
	set theTrimLength to length of theCharactersToTrim
	if theTrimDirection is in {"beginning", "both"} then
		repeat while theText begins with theCharactersToTrim
			try
				set theText to characters (theTrimLength + 1) thru -1 of theText as string
			on error
				-- text contains nothing but trim characters
				return ""
			end try
		end repeat
	end if
	if theTrimDirection is in {"end", "both"} then
		repeat while theText ends with theCharactersToTrim
			try
				set theText to characters 1 thru -(theTrimLength + 1) of theText as string
			on error
				-- text contains nothing but trim characters
				return ""
			end try
		end repeat
	end if
	return theText
end trimText

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
-- Zettel anlegen
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
to createNote(theID, theName, theText, theURL, theSource, createdAt, theTag, thePrototype)
	tell application "Tinderbox 8"
		tell front document
			set parentNote to note (my getCategoryNoteNameByTag(theTag))
			set newNote to make new note at parentNote
			tell newNote
				set name to theName
				set attribute "Text"'s value to theText
				set attribute "URL"'s value to theURL
				set attribute "SourceURL"'s value to theSource
				set attribute "SourceCreated"'s value to createdAt
				set attribute "Prototype"'s value to thePrototype as string
				set attribute "Width"'s value to 6
				set attribute "Height"'s value to 3
				set attribute "ZettelID"'s value to theID
			end tell
		end tell
	end tell
	
	return newNote
end createNote

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
-- Kategorie Hauptgruppen ID aus dem Tag ableiten
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
to getCategoryNoteNameByTag(theTag)
	-- save delimiters to restore old settings
	set oldDelimiters to AppleScript's text item delimiters
	
	-- set delimiters to delimiter to be used
	set AppleScript's text item delimiters to ","
	
	-- create the array
	set theArray to every text item of theTag
	log theArray
	
	-- restore the old setting
	set AppleScript's text item delimiters to oldDelimiters
	
	set theID to "ID" & (item 1 of theArray as text)
	
	return (my (catDictionary's valueForKey:theID)) as text
end getCategoryNoteNameByTag

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
-- Hauptkategorien anlegen (basierend auf dem Array)
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
to createMainCategories()
	set allKeys to my catDictionary's allKeys()
	
	repeat with theKey in allKeys
		set catName to getCatByID(theKey as text)
		tell front document of application "Tinderbox 8"
			if not (exists note catName) then
				set newNote to make new note
				tell newNote to set name to catName
				tell newNote to set attribute "Width"'s value to 6
			end if
		end tell
	end repeat
end createMainCategories

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
-- Kategorie Name aus der ID auslesen
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
to getCatByID(id)
	return (my (catDictionary's valueForKey:id)) as text
end getCatByID

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
-- Titel von Devon Think in Namen und Zettel ID aufsplitten 
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
to getNameComponents(title)
	-- save delimiters to restore old settings
	set oldDelimiters to AppleScript's text item delimiters
	
	-- set delimiters to delimiter to be used
	set AppleScript's text item delimiters to " - "
	
	-- create the array
	set theArray to every text item of title
	
	-- restore the old setting
	set AppleScript's text item delimiters to oldDelimiters
	
	-- return the result
	return theArray
end getNameComponents

Thanks, I think I understand the context now.

The link element of the osascript API turns out to be read-only.

You can use the evaluate method with a ‘linkTo(id)’ string.

https://www.acrobatfaq.com/atbref8/index/ActionsRules/Operators/FullOperatorList/linkToitemgrouplinkType.html

For example:

set theZettelName to "alpha"
set theTargetName to "beta"

on linkFromNoteToNote(typeName, fromNote, toNote)
    tell application "Tinderbox 8"
        if typeName ≠ "" then
            set strType to typeName
        else
            set strType to "*untitled"
        end if
        set strID to value of (attribute "ID" of toNote)
        evaluate fromNote with "linkTo(" & strID & "," & strType & ")"
    end tell
end linkFromNoteToNote

tell application "Tinderbox 8"
    tell front document
        set noteA to (find note in it with path theZettelName)
        set noteB to (find note in it with path theTargetName)
        my linkFromNoteToNote("", noteA, noteB)
    end tell
end tell

However, in the version of Tinderbox 8 which I am running today (8.1.2), I notice an instability related to script-created links.

If I:

  • create a link between two notes with a script as above,
  • and then delete that link in the GUI, clicking on the cross icon of a link emerging from a selected note,

This build of the app seems to crash.

UPDATE

Tinderbox 8 ver 8.22 seems to fix that problem.

(No crashes seen now after GUI deletions of script-created links)

1 Like

Awesome, thank you so much. That worked like a charm. I din’t even consider, that the evaluate statement could help here. You made my day :+1:

1 Like