Create a notebook from a script

In this tutorial you'll use dnfmt, the open-source command-line tool for DunneNote notebooks, to turn a folder of Markdown notes and a picture into a notebook, then open it in DunneNote. It's a good way to bring notes in from another tool, or to generate a notebook from a script.

You'll need#

• dnfmt on your path, and DunneNote 0.9.
• A few Markdown files, for example day1.md and day2.md, and a picture such as map.png.
• A terminal, opened in the folder that holds them.

Create the notebook#

Add your notes#

If a command can't add something exactly as DunneNote would show it, for example a file that isn't a picture DunneNote supports, it changes nothing and tells you why.

Check it and open it#

A whole folder at once#

Because each command prints an id, a short shell loop can add one page per Markdown file:

NB=Trip.dunnenote
SECTION=$(dnfmt add-section $NB root "Days")
for f in day*.md; do
  PAGE=$(dnfmt add-page $NB $SECTION "${f%.md}" --no-text)
  dnfmt add-canvas $NB $PAGE rich-text "$f"
done

--no-text leaves out the empty text box, since each page gets its own text straight away.

Before you edit an existing notebook#

dnfmt can also add to a notebook you already use. Close it in DunneNote first: dnfmt refuses a notebook that DunneNote has open. Keep a backup, as you would with any tool that changes your files. See Backup and restore.

Next#

• dnfmt and the format library
• Check a notebook with dnfmt
• The open .dunnenote format