Creating a Notebook

A notebook is to a note what a dictionary is to a definition

Poetic, isn’t it? Simply put, a notebook is a collection of notes. To learn more about possible uses, we invite you to read this Introduction to Praxis. Also, creating a notebook is much easier than compiling the Merriam-Webster, and we’ll show you how right here.

Getting There

When you're on Praxis, click on “Create,” then “New Notebook.”

You’ll arrive on the notebook creation page.

Title, Image, and Description

Title: Be precise in choosing your title. The more specific the title, the more likely users are to find the notebook via search.

Image: Choose an image for your notebook to give it a coherent look with the notes it will contain and the audience likely to consult it. The image must be uploaded from your computer.

Short Description: There is no character limit for the notebook description, but again, we recommend being concise and precise in your word choice. The content will be indexed in the search engine and can help users find your notebook.

Default Display Mode

There are three possible display modes: list, grid, or map. Here you can choose the default display mode. Users can always switch to another view later.

Here’s what the different modes look like. See captions in the screenshots for details.

List

Grid

Map

Default Note Sorting

Choose how notes in your notebook will be sorted by default—that is, the order in which they will appear when users open the notebook. Users can later change the sort order. The options are:

• Pinned notes: Pinned notes appear at the top of the list.
• Most recent publication: Notes are shown in order of publication, with the newest at the top.
• Most recent modification: Notes are shown in order of last modification.
• Alphanumeric order: Notes are displayed alphabetically by title (0–9 and A–Z).

Writing Guide

Let contributors know what guidelines to follow when writing notes in your notebook. This writing guide is especially useful if you allow logged-in users and members of the linked community to contribute. 

Categories

To make it easier to search and sort through notes in your notebook, you can create categories. You can choose up to 3 category lists, each containing 10 categories. Each note can then be associated with one or more of them.

Example of Categories

Here is what categories look like in a finalized notebook:

Managers

Choose who can edit the notebook you’re creating. Here are the options explained:

• Linked community managers: Only members of the linked community will be able to edit the notebook. To select this option, your notebook must already be linked to a community, or you must be linking it at this time. If the list of community managers is subsequently modified, the rights to the notebook will be automatically adjusted accordingly.
• Following specific users: Only certain people will be able to modify the notebook. If you choose this option, you will need to select users manually. To do this, enter the first few letters of the name of the user you wish to give editing rights to in the search bar, then click on their name in the drop-down menu. This list can be added to the linked community managers.

Contributors

Choose who can add notes to the notebook. Here are the options explained:

• Signed-in users: Anyone connected to En commun will be able to add notes to your notebook.     
• Members of the linked community: Only members of the linked community will be able to add notes to your notebook. To choose this option, your notebook must already be linked to a community, or you must be doing so at this time. These rights will always be synchronized with any adjustments made to the member list.    
• Following specific users: Only certain people will be able to add notes to your notebook. If you choose this option, you will need to select users manually. To do this, enter the first few letters of the name of the user you wish to give contributing rights to in the search bar, then click on their name in the drop-down menu.
• Managers only: Only notebook managers will be able to add notes to the notebook. 

Also, if you allow logged-in users and community members to contribute, don’t forget to define a writing guide for them.

Visibility

Set the notebook’s visibility to determine who can access and view its content. Here are the options explained:

• Public: All people connected to En commun will be able to access your notebook.
• Members of the linked community: Only members of the linked community will be able to access your notebook. To select this option, your notebook must already be linked to a community, or you must be linking it at this time.
• Contributors and managers: Only managers and people added as contributors will be able to access your notebook.
• Managers only: Only managers of the notebook will be able to access it.

Linked Community

If you're creating this notebook to include it in a community, now is the time to link them! Type the first few letters of the community, and it will appear in the search tool. Click on it to select.

And finally...

When your notebook is ready, click on “Create the notebook” at the bottom of the page to save your work! You can always come back to edit it afterwards.