DynaList is like a bench? What bench needs regular cleaning? What bench āfunctionsā?
Yes, so clearly this outline works in text but you donāt get reliable internal linking
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What would be really need though is if you could do something like
{{inline-document}}(xyz.md)
I donāt know what markdown syntax would be appropriate.
And be able to edit the content right there. It would look kind of like Quote does here, but only in View mode. If Markdown editor showed the content that would be radical, or if Wysiwyg supported that.
This page should help:
Yes, thatās something weāre considering.
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The bench is a metaphor. Itās about having a space during the working day where you can focus on the many tasks to be done, which you gradually complete, before replacing them with new tasks. Itās different to the space where you abstract what youāve learnt for future reference. Of course, you can have separate documents for this in Dynalist, but the function of backlinks in Obsidian lends itself to a web of knowledge.
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Oof thatās dense text, Kevin. I have never heard such a definition of bench. Let me expand to see if I understood you.
So you set out a bunch of tasks to do, you do them, mark them off, and then set out a bunch more. You set aside a block of time in your day strictly for processing such tasks. You believe this needs regular cleaning. Does this refer to leftover tasks youāve decided not to do and should be deleted? So the bench is this place (your list) where you park tasks and this needs to be pruned to keep the list from being clunky.
So then in saying itās different from this other space, you mean you donāt keep tasks in the same documents as notes about what you learned. What you like to do then is have links between your knowledge and your tasks so itās all coordinated but the knowledge isnāt kept just in the task list.
I think I understand now.
Now somehow DynaList is like a bench?
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Agreed. I ran into the same thing on Linux (running on a Asus Chromebook)
That seems a good summary. I work in the crafts, so have borrowed methods from a physical workshop into knowledge work. Iām also usually at a standing desk during the day when working on Dynalist and sitting in the evening and weekend when using Roam as I distill whatās been learnt.
I can include links between Dynalist and Roam so there is a working connection. Obsidian could potentially replace Roam, but it would need to have a URL for each note. Thatās possible if the markdown files are stored in the cloud, but it would need some facility in Obsidian to extract that URL.
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I would absolutely be interested in this! The less dependent I can make my Obsidian system on a single computer, the better.
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My current hypothesis is that Dynalist is a great thinking support tool that I use both as a diary and a sketchpad for ideas. However, I canāt seem to be able to use Dynalist effectively for task/project tracking or for long-term memory. I find that I tend to treat Dynalist as a write-only/mostly medium and I need a different tool for building up a personal knowledgebase.
Back in grad school I had a literal zettelkasten in the form of index cards and file folders of academic papers. I think that Obsidian / Roam has potential in this area but itās early days for me still, so not sure how right I am. Your very succinct and insightful bench metaphor really resonates with my hypothesis, so thank-you for that!
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Yes, Iām still finding that Dynalist is essential for bench-like activities such as knowledge work and text snippets. Functions such as unchecking lists and item notes cannot be replicated elsewhere. In time they could be incorporated into nodal platforms, but I wonder whether we still need a separate space for two different kinds of activity - doing and thinking.
For long-term memory, Iād like to suggest trying RemNote, it has a very easy way to build flash cards with space repetition function.
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For me RemNote is a mess. I just find it unintuitive and confusing. But I might just be easily confused.
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Youāre right, it is not very intuitive. But in my opinion, there is no other program as powerful as RemNote to help you remember your notes. In a recent update it even added the image occlusion feature like Anki (thatās why I remove Anki from my computer). Iād like to suggest a small, simple start, like I have 103 acronyms I want to remember from work, so I start by just importing it, and only takes me a few minutes to convert all of them into flashcards. Once you learn more and more about the program, you can import more things that seem fit to you.
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Yes Kevin, Iāve come round to that way of thinking and working. I was using Dynalist as my ācatch allāā¦ acting as an outliner, brainstormer, todo, project management and data repository. As you say, you run the risk that your todo/project management tool is swamped with misc data that youāre saving ājust in caseā.
Now Obsidian is my knowledge bank and Dynalist is for active todo and project use. I use DropBox to sync my Obsidian data, so can hyperlink between Dynalist items and Obsidian md files if necessary.
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Mmmm, I am seriously thinking of switching to Obsidian for my knowledge bank also ā¦ that is the stuff where I really want to be able to make many to many connections AND what I want to be future proof (project management doesnāt need either of these things, itās transient and more static in structure) ā itās almost like they thought about this 
I also find RemNote to be a mess. I went back to Anki for working on long term knowledge retention.
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I would also definitely be interested in this. By allowing Dynalist and Obsidian to easily link together, it creates this all encompassing ecosystem that you can access from anywhere. That would add SO much value to both Obsidian and Dynalist!! Also, it makes duplication unnecessary. Would be really cool to create a search that searched between both as well ā wow thereās endless potential there!!!
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@Erica I would really love it of Dynalist got som cross polination from Obsidian. There are many features in Obsidian now that would be very welcome in Dynalist.
Also: Any word on the december update? Or will you start updating only every quarter now?
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I use both Dynalist and Obsidian for much of the same reasons as discussed here. I didnāt see it mentioned that you can integrate the two quite interestingly by embedding Dynalist right in Obsidian using iFrame.
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embedding Dynalist right in Obsidian using iFrame
Can you tell me how? Obsidian is an intimidating beast I cannot even begin to figure out.
edit: found it
<iframe src="https://dynalist.io/d/blah" width=500 height=1000></iframe>
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