A composite is a group of Tinderbox notes that work together to describe something larger than themselves. For example, when taking notes (in Map view) in a conference, an individual talk might be a composite of notes for the title, the speaker, the content of the talk, and action items requiring follow-up action. Each note has its own text and attributes, but it may sometimes be useful to treat the composite as an object – for example, to move all the notes in the composite to a new map location. Further examples of usage, as envisaged by Eastgate, include the following (giving in parentheses the items the composite might contain):
- shopping lists (a store, followed by one or more things you want to buy)
- books (author, title, reading notes, editorial notes on the review we will write)
- lesson plans (date, topic, assignment, homework, special requirements)
- restaurant visits for a reviewer (name, phone, hours, credit card info, who dined with you, what you ate, when the review is due)
Composites are a feature primarily intended for map view use and Tinderbox notes form a composite when their map icon touches another note. Composites make it possible to make compound notes which have individual identities but also are linked to their collaborators in a new (visual) way.
Some built-in composites can be created from the File menu. This creates a root level 'Composites' container. User-created blank composites can be added to the container. Any composite in this container can be used to create a new copy by choosing Create Composite from the Note menu or the map background's contextual menu.
When selected, composites are outlined with a darker and thicker bounding box. The composite name and edit widget are also displayed when the composite is selected.
Clicking on any note within a composite selects the composite; clicking on non-note space within the composite's bounding box does not select the composite. Cmd+click to select individual note(s) within a composite. To edit an individual note, or to see only its text and Displayed Attributes, the note must be individually selected. When a composite is selected the resize handles are not drawn on the individual constituent notes.
Edit ▸ Break Composite can be used to break up a composite into individual components. Individual notes can be removed from a composite by (Cmd+click) selecting it and dragging it away from the other notes. When using ⌘-drag to remove a note from a composite, the note is removed from the composite immediately. (Previously, it was removed from the composite at mouse-up. The new approach makes the effect of ⌘-drag more clear.)
When a composite is selected, the text pane displays the text from each member of the composite, as for multiple selections. Composites may have a name. When any item in a composite is selected, the name of the composite is shown above the composite, along with a control widget that allows you to rename the composite.
When a note joins a composite, its moves in the outline to become the younger sibling of the last member of the composite. Thus, all members of a composite are adjacent in outline order. The relative order of items within a composite should remain unchanged.
Further composite features: