I mailed you privately via Gmail about this but got no reply so I am going to try this route

Long story short – ever since I upgraded to MS Office 2010 Pro (great move) my DROE short cut keys don’t work – the one I most use (the date/time stamp Wn – N) now opens a new section in OneNote and puts the time stamp in a page title.

Has the ever useful DROE tool ever been upgraded for MS Office 2010?

good luck from sunny Ireland

Pablo

Just checking in to see if you’ve created an update to the DROE tool that will allow the keystrokes of Windows+N to properly record a dated note in the designated DROE page – as opposed to the creation of a SideNote in OneNote 2010. Hate this new function after upgrading from ‘07 to ‘10. Miss the DROE tool! Regrets if you’ve already posted a solution … just haven’t seen it.

-B

-Carl

thanks for the quick reply! I am using OneNote 2007 with Windows 7.

Best regards
Filipe

This is strange, I have never heard of this behavior before… Which version of OneNote are you using, 2007 or 2010?

-Carl

great tool – I have just set it up, and it is extremely handy!

I only have a small issue when hitting Win+n. I am using the tool with onenote which opens alright but asks me the following before it actually opens the right page: “Do you want to open the “ORG” notebook in OneNote (recommended) or just open the “Inbox” section from within it?”
When I hit the “Open Section” button, it works alright, but when I hit the “Open Notebook” button, a second link to the same notebook appears on the navigation bar.

Do you have any hints, what I might have setup wrongly?

Best regards
Filipe

-Carl

By the way, I switched from SendPlay to Send a few versions ago (there is probably some discussion on the blog about it). There is still a debug switch to change it back. If you add a “DROE_Debug = 2″ line in the [General_DROE_Settings] section of the ini file it will revert back.

-Carl

Thanks for the tool!
Josh

Original link here: http://it.knightnet.org.uk/2009/04/copy-and-paste-to-onenote-autohotkey.html#disqus_thread

To get this to work on my system (Windows 7, OneNote 2010) I had to make the following changes:

1. Window name match should be ” – Microsoft OneNote”
2. SendPlay should be Send
3. Put Sleep 50 after Send ^C (to wait for the operation to complete, since Send is asynchronous)

-Carl

-Carl

If I have OneNote open and hit the hotkey (I have the CAPSLOCK mapped to the WIN key) WIN+N , it works fine.

Is it that my laptop is too slow, it probably takes 5-8 seconds for ON to load?

Any insight would be appreciated.
Thanks
Brian

I agree, the hotkey assignments need to be configurable. I plan to add this feature in the next version, hopefully in a few months.

In the mean time, you could create a very small AHK script of your own that looks for your prefered hotkey, then transmits WIN+N to trigger the DROE tool. I know it sounds a little awkward, but AHK is pretty efficient and you would likely not see any performance issues.

-Carl

I’ve also found it’s easy to have the tags moved around when editing a document in OneNote. There are some suggestions in Section 2.1 of the README file that might help you avoid some of this.

As far as the Outlook task synchronization, you will have to take that up with Microsoft. I did post an article here that describes how the synchronization works and provides some tips.

-Carl

Is there a place where all the above coments are centrally stored, I did try getting the rss feed but got Manage This instead.

best regards

Paul Larkin

ps
I sent you a mail via gmail

Switching from h: to HH: in the INI time stamp format line will get you the 24-hour clock. For full details on all the possible formatting codes, see this article. Enjoy!

P.S. If you want to send a direct email, the address is on the “About” page of this blog.

-Carl

THANKS

Once I got more confident in editing the INI file, I actually enjoyed playing around with the whole thing. And I must say, my early trials of using this system as a GTD system are very promising. I like the way that you keep everything one page as far as the DROE goes.
I will now go back and review your comments (that I first came across in the lifehacker article to see how I can really make use of what you propose.
fair play to you (as we say in Ireland)
ps
Carl – will you mail privately as there is something I want to run past you (dont worry entirely innocent)

Oh and I forgot
would you give me the time configuration so that I can make it 24 hour clock
(that actually rhymes…..(<;)

;Setting this variable to 1 enables Clip Mode. In clip mode, any selected text is clipped and included in the DROE entry.
Clip_Mode = 1

Change the above line to Clip_Mode = 0

…and it sounds like you’re up and running!

-Carl

all the best and thanks once again
PL

This may explain your other errors as well. It is probably trying to use the “DROE_Path” under the [TextOnly_DROE_Settings] heading in the INI file. Once you set the DROE_Enable variable to run with OneNote, it will ignore this path and start using the variables under the [OneNote_DROE_Settings] heading. In this section, be sure to set the path to the OneNote program exe as well as the hyperlink to your DROE page.

You can name your DROE page whatever you want, just be sure to update the “Page_Title” variable in that same section.

After saving your INI changes, reload the settings using the instructions in Section 2.5 of the README file.

Hope that helps!

-Carl

regards
Pablo

Yes I’m slowly getting there. I feel like the tortoise in Aesop’s fable!
Next dumb point – I dont want to call my home page DROE – Id rather call it something else. Does this cause a problem?
The reason I ask is that I updated tge following from the tool:

“Update to match your exact path. Spaces are okay, but do not use quotes. Must end in a backslash.

and I am getting a message saying that the path could not be found and and a new DROE file was being started. What exactly is the “path”? I have obviously pasted the wrong file path.

please excuse my ignorance.

PL

-Carl

best

PL

please advise

best
Pablo

best

Pablo

No worries, you’re almost there… No need to create your own INI file because there is one that comes with the DROE Tool installation. It will be named DROE_Tool.ini. Open that file in Notepad and make the appropriate edits (depending on how you want to use the tool) as described in the README file.

Regarding PigPog tasks, see IDEA #6 in this article. This option causes the tool to add some additional text to the task body in order to use the PigPog method mini projects within a task.

-Carl

thanks a million

Paul Larkin
Dublin

ps
Also – what is a pigpog?

Thanks for the feedback… On the first issue, it definitely sounds like it is related to the the “hide when minimized” option. When you trigger the CTRL-SHIFT-K (or M) shortcut, the tool looks for an open Outlook window to confirm that Outlook is running before trying to create a new task. If it can’t find an open Outlook window, it assumes Outlook is shut down and doesn’t try. It does not check the tray for a minimized/hidden application. I did this because I wanted to launch Outlook normally and not have the CTRL-SHIFT-K sequence launch Outlook. I suppose this is an arbitrary limitation, so in a future version I could add an option switch to “allow New Task and New Message shortcuts to launch Outlook if not already running”. This would solve your issue.

On the time stamp issue, the DROE is supposed to be in reverse chronological order, so the new time stamps should appear on top. I assume you are using the DROE with OneNote? If so, check section 2.1 of the README file for some tips. If your OneNote page is not formatted as described in section 2.1 it can cause this behavior.

-Carl

In addition of the above issue, the DROE tool makes a new time stamp (Win+n) below the previous one. I believe the intention was to have the newest time stamp at the top of the page. Only occasionally it behaves in this correct manner.

Regarding the post above, I’ve noticed that this happens if you have selected “hide when minimized” in Outlook. If you uncheck that, then it works okay.

Can you please help me with this? I’ll be very grateful. Thank you.

When I try CTRL-SHIFT-K (or M) I get a pop-up saying “Outlook not running”. Although Outlook is running, and correct path is set in the INI file.

Can you please help? Thank you.

-Carl

A link to the calendar I use is at: http://home.mnet-online.de/horst.muc/win.htm

An additional bonus is that the app is standalone and does not have to be installed. The settings are saved in an INI file. This minimizes the impact of the app on your system.

Regards,

Wayne

Any chance we could have the plain vanilla AutoHotkey code for this, instead of the compiled exe? Would love to incorporate the relevant bits into my AutoHotkey script.

Many thanks,
Tom

Glad to hear everything is working. If synchronizing your lists across multiple computers is important, I would seriously consider the new EverNote 3. There is a free version that gives you a monthly storage limit of 40MB (which goes a long way). In addition to PC and Mac clients, you can also access everything on the web. I am trying it out now, it’s pretty slick.

I have also heard of people using Allway Sync (freeware) to sync OneNote and other application settings. I have not tried it myself, so I can’t really comment on that one.

Also, the discount on ClearContext seems to be working still – I tried it again after I saw your comment. If you enter managethis in the Coupon Code box then click the Recalculate button, it will update the total to show the discount.

Hope that helps!

-Carl

Thanks again,

PS. Discount on ClearContext does not work yet …
I’m extremely courious your opinion about coexistance new version of ClearContext and your DROE tools.

Thank you for your comments… Let me see if I can address some of your DROE_Tool issues:

1. With regard to “ALT-RIGHT SHIFT”, do you mean the WIN+Right_Arrow shortcut? There may be some timing issues with that shortcut, I’m looking into it.
2. For the path to Outlook, you must set the real path by editing the INI file. The values in there are only examples. If that’s not the issue then please provide some more details.
3. For the text separator bar, there is a really strange feature of OneNote… When you copy plain text and paste it back into OneNote or into another application, it usually wants to paste it as an image. I’m not sure why OneNote is set up that way. I would recommend using the WIN+V shortcut that is part of the DROE_Tool file to paste it as plain text. That way, the separator bar will be in line with your notes and everything will run smoothly.

Hope that helps!

Carl

I forgot – I installed on polish version of vista+office. So names of catalog structure in your .INI considerably differ.

Thank you for your job,
Jacek

With regards to the CTRL-SHIFT-K/M when the Outlook window is open, it’s a bug in the DROE tool. It causes those hotkeys to be ignored both in Outlook 2003 & 2007. I plan to fix that in the next release. As a temporary work around, just click the desktop before you use the shortcut… I hope to have a new release out in a few days.

-Carl

At the risk of seeming greedy, here are 2 features that you might consider, don’t know how involved they are:

1)a hot key that would take any highlighted text in and open window, open up the DROE onenote page, then paste that text into page underneath the date/time stamp. This would approximate what the evernote clipper tool does so well.

2) the ability to set up two separate hot keys that would go to either of two pages.

But what you’ve done so far is just fantastic and I really appreciate it! Thanks again…

I’ve been using the DROE tool for a week. It’s a good way for me to capture the bits and pieces of the day that would ordinarily sit on a piece of paper. The next step is how to incorporate DROE with a Outlook Add-in called Clear Context (excellent product). I do have one question. I know that the date stamp can be modified to suit one’s needs. Can the color of the stamp be changed as well – it would allow for a quicker note v. datestamp recognition:

-Carl

If you are not getting the “Timed out waiting for OneNote” message, then it may be an issue with the format/layout of your DROE page. Please see the recommendations in Sections 2.1 and 2.2 of the README file (green & red arrows).

If those suggestions don’t help, please email a screenshot of your OneNote DROE page and a copy of your INI file to c-a-r-l a-t Manage-This.com.

Thanks,
Carl

-Carl

-Carl

December 19th, 2007 at 3:55 pm – tripp castell Says:
I like the idea of the tool but unfortunately I am having difficulties with it. When I hit WIN N Onenote will come up to my DROE page I made but will just sit there without inputing the date time stamp. Then a few seconds later I will get an error box stating “Timed out waiting for Onenote”. Any ideas? Thanks in advance!

December 19th, 2007 at 6:04 pm – carl Says:
Thanks Tripp, it’s either a bug in the tool or it’s a problem with your INI file. The good news is that it is still launching OneNote and finding your DROE page. From there, the tool looks for your DROE window to be active before inserting the time stamp at the top of the page. It uses a loose string match on the window title to do this (based on your inputs in the INI). I just sent you an email asking for more info. If there’s an issue with the tool I’ll get a new version posted. Thanks, Carl

December 23rd, 2007 at 5:58 pm – Steve B Says:
Carl, I’m getting the same issue (almost) as Tripp. I’m running Onenote 2007 and Vista 32 bit. I don’t get the time out error, but win n causes my DROE page to open, then the cursor jumps into the title bar of the page, with no date and time stamp I’ve double and triple checked the ini file and followed the steps exactly. If I’ve messed it up, I can’t see where. Any further suggestions? By the way, thanks for some fantastic help and advice on these pages.

December 23rd, 2007 at 10:26 pm – tripp castell Says:
Steve, I had this same issue too. The problem is in onenote. Make sure your new page in onenote isn’t autostamped with the date. Look at your one note page just below the title box. Do you see a date? If so highlight it and delete it. Then rerun the tool and it should work or at least it did for me. Great tool. I will be getting a lot of use out of it! Tripp

December 24th, 2007 at 3:45 am – Steve B Says:
That’s exactly right, Tripp. Thanks for the info and a Merry Christmas to all!