Need for Obsidian as well as TBX?

Q & A - getting started with Tinderbox
1

I’m new to TBX and am a little bewildered. In a recent video someone mentioned using Obsidian as well as TBX.
I had used Obsidian in the past but wish to migrate to TBX to be my one and only repository of notes (with links between notes). I had thought that TBX alone could be used as “a second brain”. Is that not the case and there is still the need to use something Obsidian to have links between notes? Any guidance much appreciated!

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As I recall, the use of Obsidian comes up in two contexts:

  • it has methods for on-the-go collection of notes, e.g. phone, tablet etc. Tinderbox is, and always has been a single-user Mac (desktop computer) app
  • Some people like to use Obsidian (Drafts is is another) as a pre-collection method (possibly also covering bullet #1 too) and only adding points of substance to Tinderbox. ‘substance’ here is very subjective so it is difficult to give exact judgement here.

Not related to Obsidian per se, but relevant here, is that Tinderbox works best alongside an ‘everything bucket’. DEVONthink is the most popular but other apps are available. Thus, for instance, you’ve download a paper from a journal as part of seem research. the PDF of the paper goes in the ‘bucket’ app. You make a note in Tinderbox about the paper and link to the ‘external’ resource. Tinderbox is not, by design, intended to ingest pictures, audio, etc. It keeps things cleaner IMO in terms of notes, but it is often not people’s expectation.

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That is, in fact, the case (although I myself dislike the “second brain” metaphor.)

We’re big fans of working well with lots of software, but there’s no need at all for Obsidian. If part of your project needs multi-user input, Obsidian is one of several good approaches.

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Many thanks for a clear and informative response. Yes, I already use DevonThink as a repository for scans, webclippings, pdfs, diverses documents.
I’ll try to learn how to link those documents to notes in TBX (I find linking in TBX a bit complicated but I’l just feeling my way still). Thanks again, your response is most useful and encouraging!

5

Thanks very much! You are encouraging me to persist with TBX. I don’t use multiple input devices and so far have not had need to collaborate with anyone else so TBX suits me fine in that respect.
I only used the term “second brain” as shorthand. I don’t like it much either but it is in fairly common usage. That’s my excuse!
Thanks again!

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If you find something complicated, don’t hesitate to ask!

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Yes, indeed. The nuance here is where you look to find the actual artefact (e.g. a file) rather than notes about it. Though the latter might link to the former and in a more generally helpful and effective way, that isn’t many people’s first guess. We’d prefer the software to guess for us. :slight_smile:

So the terms like ‘second brain’ or ‘everything bucket’ here are—unintentionally—more ambiguous than is our intent.

To me the core purpose of `n ‘everything bucket’ is to store files - or the location and files and to allow the user to preview or open them. Some people also write notes there, others chose to use a noting tool, e.g. the DEVONthink + Tinderbox combo. In the same way some note about reference in their Reference Manager. In contrast I use my Ref Manager— in my case Bookends—to store citation info about references and tend to store notes about them in Tinderbox. But there is no single right way. The ‘right’ individual choice is what suits the individual—choices will differ and no one is necessarily wrong in their choice. Don’t already have a choice? Try a few methods and see which feel right and feel happy at finding something that feels right.

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8

Welcome to the community. :slight_smile:

As was noted above, there is no app to rule them all. I use Tinderbox as the central hub for all of my work, as use a myriad of other apps, including Obsidian to as companions. In fact, I’ve created an entire thinking and contribution (publishing) process through and with Tinderbox that I call the 5Cs Framework.

I use Obsidian as my first line of note taking as it is accessible across all my devices. Also, it has “properties” that can be easily mapped to attributes in Tinderbox with some action code (we can discuss this more later).

As you work your way into Tinderbox, here is a list of resources that you may find helpful.

  • Tinderbox Community
    • Tinderbox Weekly Meetups and Courses Calendar, A calendar for all the weekly Tinderbox meetups and courses. [Calendar] (FREE) :fire:
    • A Tinderbox Reference File (aTbRef), aTbRef is an online reference guide for Tinderbox that has been developed by Mark Anderson since 2004—Please help me in supporting his efforts: Donate to Mark. [Online Reference Guide] (FREE) :pushpin:
    • Tinderbox Forum, The Tinderbox Forum Community Forum. [Community Forum] (FREE)
    • Tinderbox Backstage Program, A behind-the-scenes Tinderbox community were we work with the Developer to work through bugs, edge cases, new concepts, and test incremental Tinderbox releases. It is absolutely worth every penny!!! [Community Forum] ($$$) :pushpin:
  • 5Cs of Knowledge Management School, Offers on-demand and recorded 5Cs and mastering Tinderbox courses, templates, and resources. Use discount code “BeckerGratitude10%” for any courses or templates. [School] (Freemium) :fire:
    • Tinderbox 101: 6-Week Live + On-Demand Courses., The 5Cs of Knowledge Management and Tinderbox 101 Course(s), are your entry to saving time, developing skills, and getting the most out of our Tinderbox. You’ll gain the skills, tools, frameworks, and community to revolutionize how you manage, optimize, and apply your knowledge and insights. These courses are not just about using Tinderbox—they are all about mastering transferable personal knowledge management (PKM) knowledge, skills, and practices across all your platforms and disciplines. Use discount code “BeckerGratitude10%” for any courses or templates. [Course(s)] ($$$) :fire:
    • 5Cs Tinderbox Thinking and Contribution (Publishing) System Library and Templates
      • 5Cs TBX Comprehensive Tinderbox Views Overview, This file contains synthetic data of 20 companies and a handful of employees as the basis to illustrate how all 10 standard views (Outline, Map, Table, Chart, Treemap, Attribue, Guadi, Timeline, Hyperbolic, and Crosstab) built into Tinderbox can be used to view notes and their attribute values. [Template] (FREE) :dart:
      • 5Cs TBX Internal Anchors Template File, This Tinderbox file includes a template that enables you to export a standalone (a.k.a. single) Tinderbox file with internal anchor links. [Template] (FREE) :dart:
      • 5Cs TBX Foundational Tinderbox File: Dynamic Outline and 1st Level Lists Template and Example, This Tinderbox file is a ready-to-use foundational Tinderbox template. You can use it to write (e.g., posts, articles, whitepapers, reports, books, dissertations, etc.). Use discount code: BeckerGratitude10%. [Template] ($$) :dart:
      • 5Cs Tinderbox Dynamic Dynamic Note Creation, Linking, and Unlinking Library, The “5Cs Tinderbox Dynamic Dynamic Note Creation, Linking, and Unlinking Library” empowers you to create dynamically, link dynamically, and automatically unlink notes from Tinderbox attribute values. It helps you save time, gain focus, incrementally formulate your thinking, build assets, and more. Included: an overview, installer, manual, and examples. [Template] ($$) :dart:
      • 5Cs TBX Media Library and Templates, This 5Cs TBX Media, Libraries, and Templates file is a key component of the 5Cs School Mastering Tinderbox publishing system. This Tinderbox file empowers you to work with all kinds of embedded, locally hosted, and server-hosted media (images, video, audio, and PDFs in Tinderbox. You can curate them as standalone assets (a.k.a., resource notes, settles, atomic notes), leverage them for your thinking, and incorporate them into your projects (e.g., posts, articles, whitepapers, reports, dissertations, books, etc.). [Template] ($$) :dart:
      • 5Cs TBX Table View Libraries and Templates, This Tinderbox file empowers you to generate tables (standard, row span, and transposed) from the child notes of a selected note. It is a compliment to the built-in Table View in Tinderbox. [Template] ($$) :dart:
      • 5Cs TBX Advanced List View, The 5Cs Tinderbox Advanced List View empowers you to build a nest list from a hierarchy of notes in Tinderbox. It includes 1) customizable accent controls, e.g., categories, citations keys, priority flags, or cost ranks, 2) appearance controls—e.g., list types (bullets or numbers), colors, etc.— with CSS, 3) an advanced list macro to surgically embedded a list into any note within your document, an 4) an installer to integrate it into any of your project, and more. [Template] ($$) :dart:
      • 5Cs TBX Advanced Internal Text Anchors Template, This Tinderbox file empowers you to generate tables (standard, row span, and transposed) from the child notes of a selected note. It is a compliment to the built-in Table View in Tinderbox. [Template] ($$) :dart:

Michael
5Cs School (next 5Cs Mastering Tinderbox 6-Week Cohort kicks off April 11th).