Other tutorials from the NoodleTools Help Desk:
How to use the Notecard Tabletop and Detail views
How to create and manage notecard piles
How to search notecards
How to export and print notecards
When you click New to create a notecard from the Sources screen, it is automatically associated with the source that you are working with.
If you create a notecard from the Notecards screen, you must select the source from a dropdown list when you are creating the notecard.
When you edit an existing notecard (from either the Sources or Notecards screens), you can change this association by selecting a new source from the Source drop down list on the Edit notecard screen.
To link multiple notecards to a source at once, in the Tabletop View, mouse-over notecards and/or notecard piles and click the checkmarks in the upper-left corner (it will turn green to indicate the selection). The "Notecards selected" bar displays the number of notecards selected. Click "Link" in the "Notecards selected" bar. Select a source citation from the dropdown list in the "Link to source" window to link the selected notecards to the source citation.
Using tags
A tag is a way for you to identify and label concepts within each notecard. Examples include geographic locations, years or time periods, and key concepts. Before you save a notecard, you can add tags that you think may be useful. Later, you can locate groups of notecards by searching on a particular tag/concept.
To associate a tag with a notecard as you create it, simply type the tag into the Tags field (on left) on the Edit notecard screen. To associate an existing tag with the notecard, simply select the tag from the My tags menu (on right).
Add or remove tags from notecards
There are two ways to add or remove tags:
1. In the Tabletop View, mouse-over a notecard to open the toolbar beneath it.
2. To add a tag to your notecard, select the Apply tag ("#") icon. A "Tags" search window appears. Enter a tag for your notecard. If this is a new tag, click "Create <tag>". New tags are automatically added to your tag list. If this is an existing tag, check the box next to the tag to apply it. You can add any number of tags to a notecard.
Notecard colors and visual cues
To add color to your notecard, select the Apply color icon. An assorted color palette appears. Select a color to apply (the currently-applied color will have a checkmark). To remove color from a notecard, click the color that has the checkmark in it.
Unlike tags, only a single color can be applied to a particular notecard. If you apply the color red to a notecard that already has the color green, the notecard will be changed from green to red. The bird’s-eye-view also displays a colored square, rather than the default gray one.
One application for colors is labeling pro and con arguments for a debate (green for pro arguments, red for con arguments). Or if you were comparing three different versions of the same myth in various sources, you might choose to assign one color to notecards pertaining to one version, a second color for the second version, and so forth. Later, you can search your notecards by a color and certain tags, compare common attributes among all three myths, then pile and order notecards with a particular combination of color and tags on the tabletop or insert them into your outline under a new subtopic.
Visual cues are a set of six predefined visual reminders that can also be added to your notecards: Needs further research, Need help, Incomplete, Original thinking, Important, andUsed in paper. To add visual cues to your notecard, select the Apply cue icon. Select a c from the menu of six predefined cues that appears. The cue's icon will display on the notecard. You can add any number of these cues to a notecard.
Renaming and deleting tags
Click "Edit" to change the tag (or fix a spelling mistake). To remove the tag, click "Delete." You will be asked if you are sure you want to remove the tag. Make your choice and return to the "Manage tags" window.
NOTE: Tags are not case-sensitive. For example, the tag “Washington DC” is equivalent to “washington dc”.
