Question
- Why are line breaks not supported in Tana?Sep 26, 2024
Tana's speed is reliant on each node being a small packet of information. Larger nodes are slower to edit, slower to index, slower to update, and so on. Line breaks would encourage longer entries of information, and would break many other situations where the contents of a node needs to be rendered as one line, such as inline references, option values, title expressions just to name a few.
We do recognize that some want to store small pieces of information under one node, like a poem or quote. We are continuing to do research to explore ways to solve this, and also to solve for other issues related to long-form writing. If you would like to contribute your thoughts on this, please visit ideas.tana.inc and submit your thoughts under an existing or new post there.
- When I check a checkbox node, it disappears. Where does it go?Sep 26, 2024
This is likely because you have "Show completed items" unchecked.
Go to your Settings and check the
Show completed items
setting. - How can I save the image from AI-generated banners?Sep 26, 2024
Right-click on the banner >
Move banner image to node
. Then you can download it like you would with any image. - Can you build a wiki in Tana?Sep 26, 2024
Absolutely: The most common place to do this is on the Home node. Here are some examples of top level wiki structures, usually arranged on workspace home nodes:
- How do I delete nodes?Sep 26, 2024
It depends what you are deleting, but almost always the cleanest way to delete nodes is using "hard delete" which clears the entire node at once. You can hard delete using the following methods:
- Keyboard: Cmd/Ctrl+Shift+Backspace
- Mouse: Right-click the node icon >
Delete
- If you delete a node, it goes to the trash.
If you delete a node that is referenced one or more times in the graph, the node goes to the trash and the references will have a little trash icon next to them.
If you want the node and all references deleted, use the command
Hard delete including references
If deleting the node was a mistake, you can click on the trash icon and resurrect the node through one of the references.
If you delete a reference, it goes to the trash and the node it referred to and other references will still exist and not be trashed.
- What is the difference between the Owner and a Parent of a node?Sep 26, 2024
The Owner is the node's home (where it was created). A node has only one owner, but can have many parents.
PARENT / GRANDPARENT search operators are used to refer to one and two levels up in the outline, respectively
Source of FAQ: Tana Community Resource Hub
- Does Tana have backlinks?Sep 26, 2024
Yes, Tana has backlinks.
We call them References, and there is a Reference section at the bottom of every node that shows all backlinks to this node.
It is also possible to create a search node using the operator LINKS TO that captures backlinks, which you can customize to scope and filter in different ways.
- How do I remove the strikethrough on a node whose text is not formatted?Sep 26, 2024
It is likely the legacy implementation of the checkbox node styling. Cycle through the Cmd/Ctrl+Enter checkbox states to see if that removes it.
- What are all the ways I can copy data out of Tana?Sep 26, 2024
Basic copy-paste
Copy-pasting content is the fastest way of getting data out of Tana.
Select the content you want to copy, then hit Cmd/Ctrl+C. To paste, Cmd/Ctrl+V either in Tana (will create references) or elsewhere.
More copy-paste options
Via the command line (Cmd/Ctrl+K) there are various flavors of copy available to you.
Copy full content to clipboard
Copies the selected content in plain text format
Copy as Tana Paste
Copies the selected content in Tana Paste format
Copy as plain markdown
Copies the selected content in plain markdown format
Other ways to get content out
Export plain HTML
Renders a HTML page of the selected content that you can copy the HTML of, or save as a HTML file.
Export JSON
To learn more about this, read here.
Thanks to community member Michael Sklar for the FAQ idea!
- What does it mean when the yellow message "editing in X places" pops up?Sep 26, 2024
The "Editing in X places" usually pops up for a moment when you are editing a node that is referenced in multiple places. It's a reminder that the changes you're making here reflects on X amount of other nodes in the graph.
To see all the other places this node is referenced, zoom into it and go to the Reference section at the bottom of the page. Here you'll find all the places in the graph where a reference of this node appears.
- Can I create aliases in Tana?Sep 26, 2024
Yes: in Tana when you create an inline reference, you can change what is written and still retain the link.
Click the inline reference and a toolbar will pop up that allows you to set the alias.
- How do I get the permalink to a node?Sep 26, 2024
Bookmarking the URL in your browser of the form
https://app.tana.inc?wsid=XXX
(note the wsid) will break as it is a temporary ID for your window state.To grab the permalink to a node, use the following ways:
- Right clicking on a node > Copy link
- using the … options menu on the node > Copy link
- running the command Copy link
The link to a node never changes. They are URLs of the the format
https://app.tana.inc?nodeid=XXX
(note the nodeid) - How can I merge two or more nodes/fields/supertags?Sep 26, 2024
Use the command
Merge node
.It also works on references i.e. it will merge the nodes referenced to and all references will be updated accordingly
To merge nodes
Select nodes, then run the command.
To merge fields
Get the field definitions in one place (copy/paste), select them and run the command:
To merge supertags
Get the supertag definitions in one place (copy/paste or @-mention), select them and run the command:
- Where do deleted/trashed nodes go? Does the trash get emptied?Sep 26, 2024
When you delete something, they go to Trash.
You can access Trash via the command
Open trash
To empty trash, use the command
Empty trash for workspace [current workspace]
It may take a couple of times of running empty trash to get all nodes out.
- How do I set up relationships between nodes?Mar 18, 2024
There are two main ways to create a connection between one node and another:
References/inline references
Use references or inline references to create an unstructured two-way connection between the nodes and the place you mention them in.
The reference section shows you all unstructured mentions under "Referenced in..."
Fields
Fields and their field values create structured two-way connection between nodes. Structured in the sense that the connection is labeled via the name of the field.
- Example: A book node has a field called Author, where you can enter a reference to any person. The relationship between the book and the person is that they are the Author.
Fields offer a variety of ways to create structured connections:
- Create a Plain field and copy/paste or @-mention any node into it
- Create an Options field where you can choose from a list of your choice
- Create a Supertag from Options field where you can choose from a list of all nodes tagged a chosen supertag.
Fields show up in the Reference section as "Appears as [field name] in..."
This screenshot demonstrates how the different connections show up in the Reference section of a node:
- What is a Reference in Tana?Feb 01, 2024
A reference in Tana is a mirror copy of a node. It's a node that lives in many places all at once. If you edit one of them, the change reflects in all copies, everywhere.
References are handy because it makes digital objects work a bit more like reality.
Example:
Spinach doesn't only belong in your pantry, it also belongs as an ingredient in your quiche
#recipe
, an item at a local#vendor
, or as a source of iron#nutrient
.What's really helpful here is that all references to Spinach refer to the same node, so the node Spinach becomes an index for all things spinach in your life, whether it be in recipes, found in shops, or a nutrient source. As you encounter spinach more in your life, and connect it to more things in your graph, your knowledge about spinach will just keep on growing.
Just like knowledge does in real life.
For more on nodes vs. references, go here.