Templates

Hookmark offers a very handy command called Hook to New which enables users to instantly create, hook, tag and name a new item. If the new item is a file, it can have a template.

On the Notes Preferences Tab you can:

  1. Choose where new notes are stored by default.
  2. Select the specific templates that are used for new file-type notes (as opposed to object based notes, like OmniFocus tasks).
  3. Open the templates folder in Finder (or you can navigate there directly).
  4. Restore the built-in notes folder.

Template folders

Before Hookmark 3.0, only individual Finder files could be used as templates. By popular demand, as of Hookmark 3.0, Hookmark enables you to Hook to New folders. Hookmark’s built-in folder contains some awesome template folders, as follows:

  • A Composition template folder with plain text files. That is for creative projects like writing documents, or creating presentations or screencasts. It has the major components of any project: an outline file, a planning file, a drafts file, a title file, and subfolders.
  • A Meetings (text) template. That is for contact management. This turns Hookmark into an indispensable tool for contact management!
  • A folder with a single file. This is a starter template folder.
  • An empty folder. This is an even leaner starter template folder.

For more information see Built-in Templates.

We have also published a separate Composition (OmniOutliner) template folder that you can add to your custom templates folder. That is for creative projects like writing documents, or creating presentations or screencasts. It has OmniOutliner versions of the plain text composition folder.

The gist of the Hook to New… > Folder

When, in the context of a particular source you invoke Hook to New... and select a (template) folder, Hookmark does a bunch of magic for you: it replicates the folder, renames it and its contents, hooks the folder to the source-context, mesh hooks the files in the folder, and optionally tags those files. You can then get straight to work in the replicated folder!

The nitty gritty of the Hook to New… > Folder

Hookmark does all the following in one operation:

  1. Replicates the folder and all of its contents (files and subfolders).
  2. Bidirectionally links (“hooks”) the replicated folder to the source (enabling you to navigate back and forth from the source to the entire folder).
  3. Renames the replicated folder in accordance with current Hook to New renaming rules. This means it applies the Notes preferences suffix and prefix, if there are any. The name of the new folder is based on the name of the template (which is part of what you see in the Hook to New... menu, excluding the app name).
  4. Renames each file in the replicated folder as follows: if the file is named foo-bar-baz, it gets renamed to <templateFilename> <Source><templateExtension>. That is, it appends the source name to the replicated file name. Example: if the <Source> is named foo.md, and the template file to replicate is outline-.txt, we say <templateFilename> is outline- and <templateExtension> is outline-.txt. Then, the replicated file will be named: outline-foo-bar-baz.txt.
  5. Bidirectionally links (“hooks”) every replicated non-folder file in the replicated folder to the replicated folder (but not to the source).
  6. Mesh-hooks the replicated folder to its replicated files (this enables the user to quickly navigate between these files. That is the main point of Hook to New Folder).
  7. Applies a Hookmark Finder tag to the replicated folder and to each of the hooked replicated files. If an item is not hooked, it does not get a Hookmark tag.
  8. Opens the replicated folder.

With the replicated folder open, you will be able to get straight to work! You can then navigate back and forth between items in the folder and the source.

Custom template folders

If you want to modify the built-in templates, your best bet is to do so in the “custom templates” folder. (You can move files there from the built-in templates folder).

Blog posts and videos illustrating these features

Even if you do not use software from The Omni Group, the following blog posts and videos will help you understand the potential of template folders.

FAQ: Can I modify built-in templates?

If you want to edit a template, it’s best to move it into the ~/Documents/Hook/custom templates folder.

Some are folders, some are files.

FAQ: Can I reveal the the built-in templates?

Yes. In the Hook to New… menu, you can use ⌘⏎ to reveal the template (whether it is a built-in or custom template).

FAQ: How does Hookmark ‘translate’ template folder/file names when Hook to New... is invoked?

Hookmark presents these files and folders in the Hook to New... window (and the Notes tab) using the following convention:

  • <App Name> - <Template File Name>.extension

For instance, there is a template file called rich text.pages. In the Hook to New... menu, it appears as:

  • Pages - rich text.pages

There are a couple of plain text templates:

  • text.txt
  • Analytical Notes about.txt

How they appear in the Hook to New... menu depends on what software opens .txt files on your Mac. If it’s TextEdit, then you will see:

  • TextEdit: text.txt
  • TextEdit: Analytical Notes about.txt

If it were BBEdit, you would see:

  • BBEdit: text.txt
  • BBEdit: Analytical Notes about.txt

FAQ: How can I revert to Hookmark’s original “built-in templates”?

If you have made some modifications to the “built-in templates” folder and want to revert to the original built-in templates, just delete the built-in templates folder. Hookmark will rebuild it automatically next time you invoke the Hookmark window.