Notebook Block
A Notebook Block pulls a note (or a whole group of notes) from your Notebook straight onto a character sheet or a scene. It's a live link, never a copy: think of it as a window onto your Notebook, not a photocopy. Whatever you write in the Notebook shows through here, and any change you make to a note keeps every block showing it in sync. You do your editing in the Notebook itself; the block just displays it. Write your lore once, and it appears wherever you need it.
The Notebook Block works on both character sheets and the Chapters page, so you can show the same reference on a character and on the scenes where it matters. To learn about the Notebook itself, see Notebook.
Three Ways to Link
Each block shows notes from one of three sources. You pick the source, and what shows up:
- A single note: the note's full contents appear right on the page for reference (you make your edits over in the Notebook itself), with an Open in Notebook button to jump to the original. Best for one focused piece of writing you want front and center: a character's backstory, a scene's beat sheet, a passage of worldbuilding lore.
- A folder: a live list of every note in that folder, each one a clickable link. Best when a topic is spread across several notes and you want them gathered in one spot. Point a character's block at a "Character Work" folder and every note you file there shows up automatically, with no re-linking needed.
- One or more tags: a live list of every note carrying any of the tags you choose. Best for pulling together notes that live in different folders but share a theme. Link the "Magic System" and "Prophecy" tags to your wizard, and any note with either tag appears, wherever you filed it.
Tip: Folder and tag links stay current on their own. Add a new note to a linked folder, or put a linked tag on a note, and it shows up in the block the next time you look. You never have to come back and update the list.
Linking a Note, Folder, or Tags
Think of it in two halves. The block's name is part of your page design, shared by every character or scene. But what each one actually shows is personal to them: each character and each scene picks its own note, folder, or tag, right on its own page in Edit Mode. That's how the same block can show a different note for every character.
Open the character or scene, switch to Edit Mode (the Edit button at the top of the page), and find the Notebook Block. See View Mode vs Edit Mode if you need a refresher on switching modes.
- Under Show notes from, choose Folder, Tag, or Note.
- For a folder or note, pick one from the list that drops down. Once chosen, it shows a summary with Click to change underneath if you want to swap it later.
- For tags, click each tag you want from Available Tags to move it up to Selected Tags. Click a selected tag's X to remove it. Choose as many as you like.
- For a folder or tags, Open notes in decides what happens when you click a note in the list. See below.
Your choice saves on its own; there's no Save button to hunt for. Switch back to View Mode to see the notes in place.
Changed your mind entirely? The trash icon beside the selection empties the block, leaving it blank and ready for a fresh choice. Like everything else here, that applies only to the character or scene you're on, and it never touches the note, folder, or tag itself.
Reading a Note Without Leaving the Page
When a block is linked to a folder or tags, it shows a list of notes. Clicking one opens it right there in the block, with the full note to read and a Back button to return to the list. You stay on your character sheet or scene the whole time, so you never lose your place mid-thought. Beside the Back button sits Open in Notebook, for when you'd rather go to the note itself.
The block remembers where you were. Leave a note open, close Penpoint, come back tomorrow, and that note is still open, waiting where you left it. The Minipen sidebar keeps its own place, so reading a note there while you write doesn't move the character page you left behind.
Would you rather a click take you to the Notebook? In Edit Mode, set Open notes in to Notebook and that's what a click does. This is a per-character (and per-scene) choice, the same as the folder or tags a block points at, so changing it on one character leaves the rest alone.
Note: The Notebook is still where you write. A note opened inside a block is there for reading and reference; to edit it, use Open in Notebook.
When a Linked Note Goes Away
Your notes are always safe. A block is only a window onto your Notebook, so emptying the block, removing it, or pointing it somewhere new never deletes the note itself. The note stays right where it lives in the Notebook.
If a note, folder, or tag a block was showing later gets deleted, the block won't show an error or disturb anything else on the page. It simply says the link is gone and offers to let you pick a new one in Edit Mode.
Writing a series of books? Your Notebook is shared across every Book in the series, so a block keeps showing the note you linked no matter which Book you are working in.
Configuration
The Notebook Block's only setting is its title. To change it, go to Settings > Character Sheet Setup (or Settings > Chapter Layout for scenes) and click the block to open its settings. Name it something that fits what you keep there: "Lore", "Research", "Backstory".
Note: The title is the only thing set in Settings. The folder, tag, or note each block shows is chosen per character and per scene, on the page itself, in Edit Mode.
Tip: To add or remove this block from your layout, see Customizing Character Layout for characters, or Customizing Chapter Layout for scenes.
Learn More
- Notebook - Your workspace for notes, folders, and reference material
- Folders and Smart Folders - Organize notes into folders you can link to
- Managing Tags - Create the tags you link to in tag mode
- Tags Block - Attach tags to a character or scene (a different block)