Related content

Related content is a way to display content that is related to a node, placed adjacent to its main content.

Overview

Related content is a handy feature for displaying content that is related to a node, placed adjacent to its main content. Like the reference section, it is meant to be a way to provide easy access to contextually-relevant information without taking up space in the main content area of a node.

They show up as floating boxes to the bottom or to the right of the main content. You can simply plug in a reference as static content, or a search node to make it dynamic.

Say for example, you want to start your day by triaging bugs. In your day tag, you could create a related content area that contains a search for all new #bugs filed on that day. This is a search you might have had as part of your supertag template. Now, it can live in the Related content section instead, removing clutter from the main content of the node.

Basics

  • Related content can be configured on any node, and in a supertag so it appears on any tagged node.
  • Related content can contain search nodes and references. Plain nodes will not render in Related content.
  • Related content can appear either to the right of or on the bottom of the node content. Default is to the right.

Detail

On a supertag

Right-click on a tag > Configure tag > Advanced options > Related content

On a node

  • Run the command Configure node on the node
  • Go to the field Related content where you can set it up and add content

To add content

Related content only accepts search nodes and references. Plain nodes will not be rendered.

Content type: Search nodes

Useful for adding content that changes based on search conditions or is specific to the instance.

To add a search node, use any method:

  • slash / -> Search node,
  • ? -> Create search node, or
  • command line Find nodes

Search nodes that live in the node/supertag config are expanded by default.

—Ideas for configuring your search node:

Note on PARENT: When setting up searches, if you want to reference the instance of the supertag you are on (for example, the #day node), you need to add the searches on the top level in the Related content and use PARENT where you want to use the instance as a field value. GRANDPARENT won't work because that means your search node is nested within a plain node, which won't render in Related content.

  • Meetings of the day: This search is on the #day tag. If you're configuring a supertag, use PARENT as a field value to refer to the instance. In the example below, PARENT is used in the Date field to refer to the day node. This will show meetings happening only on that day ("FT" is the workspace node):
  • Alternative Reference section: With related content, you can for instance create a custom reference section that displays references to a page, but with the flexibility offered through searches and view options to tailor it to your needs. Use this to search: LINKS TO:: PARENT (doesn't include unlinked mentions). See the image here for a visual example of the search query.
  • Other search ideas: Bugs related to a feature, thoughts related to a topic, tasks related to a project

Content type: References

Useful for adding dashboard-type content.

To add a reference, use any method:

  • @-mention any reference
  • Copy-paste a reference
  • Write a plain node → move it to Library (or elsewhere) and leave a reference in its place

References are collapsed by default, even if it is a reference to a search node. If you turn on heading on the reference, it should expand by default.

The easy way

When you have added nodes to the related content section, they appear to the right of the node by default. Hover over the related content, and you'll see a button with three dots/ellipsis appear on the top right corner (1). Click it and go to Prefer area to change its default position (2).

The difficult way

The area configuration is a contextual content node with a system field in it ("Preferred related content area") with options to change the position there.

Other changes

If related content is set up on the supertag level and you change it on the instance level, it will save to the supertag level and appear like this on all instances.

If you want to move a related content node from one config to another, copy a reference of it to the new location and use the command Bring referenced node here

Hover over the related content, and you'll see a button with three dots/ellipsis appear on the top right corner (1). Click it and select Remove from <tag>/node to remove it (2).

Alternatively, go to the Supertag advanced options/Configure node and delete the nodes in the configuration.

Brage is here to share some tips on cool stuff you can do with related content:

If you upgraded to Tana Core and synced your calendar, your daily notes will show a related content area called Agenda. This gives you easy access to all the calendar events you have for the day.

If you already had a related content area called Agenda, the existing one will be called "Agenda (old)" with the new one installed underneath. You can choose which one to keep and remove the other.

For more on the calendar sync, see Calendar integration



Related release notes

  • FixedNodes in related content were not showing the correct context menu on right-click. Now they are! ()
  • FixedRelated content can now be resized in Firefox ()

Related FAQs

Examples

  • One command to toggle the related content section on/off
    Nov 12, 2024
    🙏 Thanks to Navigator Theo for sharing how to implement this "focus mode" idea on Related content sections! For more stuff like this, join our community to share and learn about all things Tana 🫶

    Goal

    You want to dial up your focus by hiding the Related content sections.

    Instructions

    Build the single-command toggle

    See this example on how to build it. Build the first section called "In the schema", then come back here.

    To configure the related content sections you want to toggle the visibility on, each section will need a node filter where the checked state of the is visible field determines whether they show up or not:

    • Navigate to the Related content section in the configuration:
      • For supertags, Cmd/Ctrl+Shift click on the tag itself
      • For nodes, run the command Configure node
    • For every related content section
      • Run the command Add contextual content on the related content nodes, and add >Node filter:: >is visible:: true (checked)
    The system field Node filters on related content sections.

    Testing

    Test the command by running the Toggle visibility command on the node. It should make the related content sections appear/disappear.

    Optionally, you can add the Toggle visibility command to the node as a button, and then use that instead.

    🙌 That's it!

  • How can I get the Task list on my daily notes (back again)?
    Sep 26, 2024

    You may have seen a Tana setup that had a task list on the daily notes page, or even had one from early prototypes from us, and it somehow disappeared now.

    There is a simple way to get it back.

    Go to any daily note, and make a search that looks for:

    1. all #task nodes
    2. NOT DONE

    Run it to confirm it's fetching the right things.

    Adjust how you want your tasks to look (Set all view options here, like Display, Group, Sort options)

    Confirm changes to the view options and the query. Right-click on the title of the search, and select Move to Related content.

    Here's a video showing the steps above:

Question

  • I have two Agendas on the daily node. How do I fix this?
    Sep 26, 2024

    This can happen if you go through the calendar sync setup a second time.

    You can remove the extra/old one by clicking the ellipsis menu on the Related content section you want to remove, then selecting Remove from #day