Topicscape Orphans

From Topicscape
Jump to navigation Jump to search
Previous: Deleting topics and occurrences

(Go to:Topicscape Pro User Guide - contents list)



OrphansIslands.jpg

If you have some reference material (for example) that you used once and feel that you've finished with, but you don't want to destroy, you can move it to Topicscape Orphans. The topic and its occurrences will then be ignored in searches, unless you check the option box to show such results. This checkbox appears in the Search control bar, across the foot of the Map or 'Scape window, in the "Hit List shows" menu as "Orphans included".

Topicscape Orphans is a topic that exists in every Topicscape, however it may not be visible, if switched off in the Options panel (which will be the case if you are working in Limited Mode as Topicscape does when first installed). It appears as a gray topic to the left of the main Map or 'Scape. The one in the images here can be seen to have 48 immediate children.

You can make it current (right-click pop-up menu) to see all the orphan topics. Orphan topics can be associated to form structures like any others, but you can't link an orphan topic to one that is not an orphan. You will see from the all-gray skin that you are viewing orphan topics.

Orphan topics

These are topics that appear under Topicscape Orphans.

There are two ways of sending topics to Topicscape Orphans:

1. Drag a topic's green dot to the Orphans box in the toolbar's Out Tray.

Drop it on the left side ('single') to move that one topic and its occurrences, or drop it on the right side ('group') to move that topic, all its descendants and all their occurrences.

2. Use the right-click pop-up menu and select one of the "Move this topic ... to Orphans" items.

This is fully undoable.

If you drop a folder, file, topic or occurrence on the Out Tray itself, nothing will happen.

Orphan occurrences

If you have individual occurrences that you want to treat in the same way as orphan topics (i.e. get them out of the mainstream of a Topicscape, but not destroy them) you can send them to the "Topicscape Orphans" topic itself. Mostly, though, we prefer to flag them as "Finished with" using the Details Panel checkbox.

Restoring orphans

To restore an orphaned occurrence, just drag it to the pending tray (see [[]]), find the topic where you want to put it, and drag it to that topic from the pending tray

Restoring orphaned topics needs two steps: Right-click and from the pop-up menu select 'Restore' -- a red floating topic will appear; then find the topic that you want to use as its parent, drag the red topic and drop it onto that topic.


Next: Topicscape Islands

For an exciting free guide to all things visual, visit the
Visual Thinking Center