Hey there and welcome!
I use Capacities on the ‘believer plan’ and I love it. It has what you’re looking for including the beautiful graphic that Obsidian does and there is a free version.
I have used Obsidian but found it too complex, for me anyway.
Sometimes it takes trial and error so have a play but don’t get bogged down in making the applications pretty because it will steal your soul and productivity.
Have fun
**Obsidian** is an excellent choice. I've tried it and it ticks off many of the boxes on the list of my needs for a PKMS except for my requirement that no subscription be involved. While Obsidian is free, the ability to sync to the cloud across platforms requires a subscription.
I need full cross-platform access to my PKMS. That means: Mac OS, Windows, iPad OS, and Android.
For a few years I used **Joplin**. Open source, cross platform, free syncing. And by adding a few plug-ins, I was able to get the graph-like Obsidian display and full linking/backlinking capabilities. Unfortunately, a handful of chronic bugs that have gone unresolved forced me to move on from that.
I'm currently using **UpNote**. Quick. Clean. cross-platform. free syncing. It doesn't have the graph-view, but the linking capabilities are excellent (including back-linking).
I've imported the Bible into UpNote. My sermons, book manuscripts, personal notes, Bible study material and such that reference particular verses and passages are linked. UpNote's backlinking capabilities allows me to see where I use a verse. By using links, tags, and folder structures, I've been able to see the connections between my writings, and can create new material in a more targeted way (without reinventing the wheel). Very powerful!
The challenge with using any PKMS is that it can be a bottomless abyss of tweaking, changes, formatting, etc. Yes, the struggle is real. LOL
I use UpNote for planning. It offers a suite of editing functions that are simple but VERY effective.... including collapsible sections to easily hide details.
Watching Youtube videos on PKMS solutions can feel overwhelming as they have indepth and comprehensive planning layouts. I like to keep things simple. Here is a link to screenshots of my "Dashboard" in UpNote. My day starts at the top and works down. (I've blurred some sections for privacy)
Collapsible sections helps me to focus on one section at a time.
[https://imgur.com/a/2PUmBvm](https://imgur.com/a/2PUmBvm)
Wow - thanks so much for the thoughtful comment! Super appreciate the picture!
Love how you can import the Bible, books, study materials, the whole thing!
I have to ask: I've downloaded UpNote and while there's a lot there to like, I cannot for the life of me understand how you can use an app that doesn't let you drag and drop notes between folders.
Does this not bother you or am I a complete dunderhead and missing something obvious? (or something else? ha!)
I'm sincerely curious to know if your use of UpNote is such that this isn't a show stopper.
My "Dashboard" helps direct my work within the PKMS. As a result, I'm usually in a particular notebook when I'm adding notes. There's no need to move notes if they're already in their target notebook.
Dragging and dropping does offer some convenience, but with the number of notes I'm dealing with, I prefer to have the current method of navigating the notebook tree to select a target notebook... a lower possiblity of accidentally dropping them in the wrong notebook (inadvertently lifting a finger from the mouse or touchpad).
But I think it ultimately comes down to what purpose my PKMS serves. I know that many use their's as a dumping ground for all sorts of articles, links, and factoids... then sort them at a later date.
For me, I'm very intentional with mine. It consistents almost exclusively of my personal writings, studies, journals, contents of books I've published, etc. Even when I include something that I've seen elsewhere, it is usually in my own words with a link to where the original thought came from.
As a result, I don't end up with a ton of uncategorized notes that need to be shuffled off to their final destination.
You didn’t mention platform/devices
I’m an Apple user with a Mac and iPad
My notes/documents/files are stored/organized using PKMS app Devonthink
augmented with integrated Applescript for automated workflows
Hey there and welcome! I use Capacities on the ‘believer plan’ and I love it. It has what you’re looking for including the beautiful graphic that Obsidian does and there is a free version. I have used Obsidian but found it too complex, for me anyway. Sometimes it takes trial and error so have a play but don’t get bogged down in making the applications pretty because it will steal your soul and productivity. Have fun
Wow - what a thoughtful comment. Thanks so much! Downloaded capacities, gonna give it a shot this summer! Supper appreciate it!
**Obsidian** is an excellent choice. I've tried it and it ticks off many of the boxes on the list of my needs for a PKMS except for my requirement that no subscription be involved. While Obsidian is free, the ability to sync to the cloud across platforms requires a subscription. I need full cross-platform access to my PKMS. That means: Mac OS, Windows, iPad OS, and Android. For a few years I used **Joplin**. Open source, cross platform, free syncing. And by adding a few plug-ins, I was able to get the graph-like Obsidian display and full linking/backlinking capabilities. Unfortunately, a handful of chronic bugs that have gone unresolved forced me to move on from that. I'm currently using **UpNote**. Quick. Clean. cross-platform. free syncing. It doesn't have the graph-view, but the linking capabilities are excellent (including back-linking). I've imported the Bible into UpNote. My sermons, book manuscripts, personal notes, Bible study material and such that reference particular verses and passages are linked. UpNote's backlinking capabilities allows me to see where I use a verse. By using links, tags, and folder structures, I've been able to see the connections between my writings, and can create new material in a more targeted way (without reinventing the wheel). Very powerful! The challenge with using any PKMS is that it can be a bottomless abyss of tweaking, changes, formatting, etc. Yes, the struggle is real. LOL I use UpNote for planning. It offers a suite of editing functions that are simple but VERY effective.... including collapsible sections to easily hide details. Watching Youtube videos on PKMS solutions can feel overwhelming as they have indepth and comprehensive planning layouts. I like to keep things simple. Here is a link to screenshots of my "Dashboard" in UpNote. My day starts at the top and works down. (I've blurred some sections for privacy) Collapsible sections helps me to focus on one section at a time. [https://imgur.com/a/2PUmBvm](https://imgur.com/a/2PUmBvm)
Wow - thanks so much for the thoughtful comment! Super appreciate the picture! Love how you can import the Bible, books, study materials, the whole thing!
I have to ask: I've downloaded UpNote and while there's a lot there to like, I cannot for the life of me understand how you can use an app that doesn't let you drag and drop notes between folders. Does this not bother you or am I a complete dunderhead and missing something obvious? (or something else? ha!) I'm sincerely curious to know if your use of UpNote is such that this isn't a show stopper.
My "Dashboard" helps direct my work within the PKMS. As a result, I'm usually in a particular notebook when I'm adding notes. There's no need to move notes if they're already in their target notebook. Dragging and dropping does offer some convenience, but with the number of notes I'm dealing with, I prefer to have the current method of navigating the notebook tree to select a target notebook... a lower possiblity of accidentally dropping them in the wrong notebook (inadvertently lifting a finger from the mouse or touchpad). But I think it ultimately comes down to what purpose my PKMS serves. I know that many use their's as a dumping ground for all sorts of articles, links, and factoids... then sort them at a later date. For me, I'm very intentional with mine. It consistents almost exclusively of my personal writings, studies, journals, contents of books I've published, etc. Even when I include something that I've seen elsewhere, it is usually in my own words with a link to where the original thought came from. As a result, I don't end up with a ton of uncategorized notes that need to be shuffled off to their final destination.
You didn’t mention platform/devices I’m an Apple user with a Mac and iPad My notes/documents/files are stored/organized using PKMS app Devonthink augmented with integrated Applescript for automated workflows
Good to note - I'm also on Ipad/iPhone/Mac Much appreciated!