Any quick way of adding many readings from before I got the software?

[steveday]

Hi everyone!

I'm just starting with the Resonance Journal, and I'm wondering if there is a way of adding/importing a bunch of readings at once, without adding them one by one?
I see that it's possible to export all my readings to an excel sheet-- perhaps there's a way to input them all into an excel sheet and then import that into the software?

Apologies if this has been covered elsewhere and I just haven't found it

 

[hilary]

We don't have import from Excel, sorry, though I agree that would be useful. It's possible to import readings contained in the text templates - templates.txt in the Resonance Journal folder. Depending on what format your readings are stored in now, might it be possible to use find and replace (or write a macro) to get them all into these?

 

[steveday]

We don't have import from Excel, sorry, though I agree that would be useful. It's possible to import readings contained in the text templates - templates.txt in the Resonance Journal folder. Depending on what format your readings are stored in now, might it be possible to use find and replace (or write a macro) to get them all into these?

How do I go about doing it the templates.txt route?

The readings are different formats-- some stored online at livingiching.com, some on paper. It'd be quicker to whip them into some sort of file-- excel, or could be this templates.txt thing you're talking about-- than individually entering each one at a time.

 

[hilary]

In templates.txt, you'll find a series of little text templates to use for different entry types. Copy the reading one -

{{DATE:dd/mm/yyyy}}
{{TYPE:Yijing Reading}}
{{TITLE: Question you're asking the Yijing}}
{{BACKGROUND: Background to your reading}}
{{PRIMARY HEXAGRAM: 50}}
{{LINE(S): 1 2 4}}
{{TAG(S): tag 1, tag 2, tag 3}}
{{NOTES: }}

...to a new text file. You can see the text that needs to be replaced - obviously just leave the background and notes sections empty if you don't have anything there. You can make one text file with a whole string of these, as many as you need. Then use 'Import' in the main menu to add them - you get a success message at the end and will see the entries in the list on the left.

The key is to get everything in the right place and format - nothing outside the {{}}, spaces between lines and commas between tags, date format with the day first, no accidentally deleting the ':' after the name of the field.

I wouldn't know how to get readings from Excel to the template without pasting/ writing each field individually, but I expect someone wise in the ways of macros could do better.

 

[hilary]

By the way, I visited livingiching.com out of curiosity, and found you can see a list of questions people have asked with the hexagrams received. Whoever Ryan Hyldreth is, it doesn't seem very advisable to work with him. (15th May this year; 21.6.) I hope everyone whose reading is visible knows that it is.

I like this reading from today, though:
'How can I make my millions in the next few weeks?'
46uc.

 

[steveday]

Oh, wow! Hah!

Yes, I haven't combed that part of the site. There are some very bad questions in there. Not to say I've never asked them, but yes, it's an interesting glimpse for sure. No wonder Yi is sometimes cantankerous.

I have used that site mostly because I very much like the book on which it's based (the full text of which isn't on the site)-- it's usually my go-to for the primary/relating texts.

Great success in using your .txt instructions, thank you.

 

[Liselle]

@hilary Could the templates have time fields now that Resonance Journal has a time field?
(Added: unless this is one of those things that seems simple but really isn't and could break stuff)

Also trying to think if there's some way for the templates to indicate the 10-tag limit without confusing people about the format, since as it is people might think they're only allowed three... would {{tag 1, tag 2, tag 3 ... tag 10}} be confusing? Or {{tag 1, tag 2, tag 3 (maximum 10)}} or {{tag 1, tag 2, tag 3 (up to 10)}} or something?

Great success in using your .txt instructions, thank you.

Any chance you could go into more detail about that?

My confusion (at least the confusion I know about, ha ha) is that you said this -

The readings are different formats-- some stored online at livingiching.com, some on paper. It'd be quicker to whip them into some sort of file-- excel, or could be this templates.txt thing you're talking about-- than individually entering each one at a time.

- and Hilary talked about find and replace, and/or macros, and you're saying you have had "great success," but I can't manage to wiggle my brain around it. I get the part where once you have a bunch of text templates strung together in one file, Resonance Journal's import feature will import them all at once, but how is it quicker/easier to copy/paste from your other storage places into the text template than just to copy/paste into Resonance Journal directly?

Could you go through in excruciating detail for the slow-minded ? Thanks in advance...

 

[Liselle]

I hope everyone whose reading is visible knows that it is.

Not to mention everyone named in readings, e.g. the poor benighted Mr. Hyldreth.

The site owner does make it pretty clear on the home page, but of course that assumes people read it and don't just jump headlong into the nice big "Ask" box.

 

[hilary]

@hilary Could the templates have time fields now that Resonance Journal has a time field?
(Added: unless this is one of those things that seems simple but really isn't and could break stuff)

I'll enquire!

Also trying to think if there's some way for the templates to indicate the 10-tag limit without confusing people about the format, since as it is people might think they're only allowed three... would {{tag 1, tag 2, tag 3 ... tag 10}} be confusing? Or {{tag 1, tag 2, tag 3 (maximum 10)}} or {{tag 1, tag 2, tag 3 (up to 10)}} or something?

I didn't know there was a maximum of 10! I can't see any reason not to have {{tag 1, tag 2, tag 3 (maximum 10)}}, unless of course the () breaks something. I'll ask about that, too.

 

[Liselle]

I didn't know there was a maximum of 10!

I just double-checked, and yes, when you add the 10th one all the "add tag" buttons are deactivated.

 

[steveday]

@hilary Could the templates have time fields now that Resonance Journal has a time field?
(Added: unless this is one of those things that seems simple but really isn't and could break stuff)

Also trying to think if there's some way for the templates to indicate the 10-tag limit without confusing people about the format, since as it is people might think they're only allowed three... would {{tag 1, tag 2, tag 3 ... tag 10}} be confusing? Or {{tag 1, tag 2, tag 3 (maximum 10)}} or {{tag 1, tag 2, tag 3 (up to 10)}} or something?



Any chance you could go into more detail about that?

My confusion (at least the confusion I know about, ha ha) is that you said this -

- and Hilary talked about find and replace, and/or macros, and you're saying you have had "great success," but I can't manage to wiggle my brain around it. I get the part where once you have a bunch of text templates strung together in one file, Resonance Journal's import feature will import them all at once, but how is it quicker/easier to copy/paste from your other storage places into the text template than just to copy/paste into Resonance Journal directly?

Could you go through in excruciating detail for the slow-minded ? Thanks in advance...

Basically, since I'm working with a loooooot of readings, I find it much easier to copy-paste from the other site into one document. Much less clicking.
Excruciatingly:

here's the text that you copy/paste into a txt file. For a hundred readings, just ctrl+v a hundred times...
{{DATE:26/07/2021}}
{{TYPE:Yijing Reading}}
{{TITLE: test number 2}}
{{BACKGROUND: Background to your reading}}
{{PRIMARY HEXAGRAM: 50}}
{{LINE(S): 1 2 4}}
{{TAG(S): tag 1, tag 2, tag 3}}
{{NOTES: }}

Just pasting text into each of those fields is much easier than creating and then saving a new entry each time.
So for example: all the readings will automatically be "Yijing Readings" by including that in the copy. In the resonance journal instead that would involve clicking each time on a drop-down menu and pointing my mouse at "Yijing Readings". Which is only difficult when you're trying to import a hundred readings from a few years, at once.
And it saved me having to click new entry, save entry, and to click between boxes. In small ways, much more efficient and easy.

 

[Liselle]

Ah, I see. Makes sense, thank you.

So for example: all the readings will automatically be "Yijing Readings" by including that in the copy. In the resonance journal instead that would involve clicking each time on a drop-down menu and pointing my mouse at "Yijing Readings".

This doesn't matter for what you're doing, but have you found the user setting for default entry type? It's in the menu under Tools > Settings, and then the Default Entry Type tab. Caveat: clicking New Entry isn't what triggers it. Put in a title, and then it'll fill.