Org Capture has the ability to get specific information using "%:keyword" (e.g., for rmail one can use %:subject to get the specific email subject).
An extension to "%:keyword", would be to allow the extraction of keywords taken from recfiles, which are also text based. You could then have %:Investigation_Type in Org-Capture entry. There needs to be some way to specify the recfile. The specification of recfiles is described by Gnu Recutils. https://www.gnu.org/software/recutils/ ----- file.rec ----- Investigation_Type: Historic Background Research Site Evaluation/Testing ----- file.rec ----- This could make easier capture because instead of %^{prompt|default|completion2|completion3...} you could have %:Site_Type The scheme would work very well if you have hierarchical lists that you can use for specificity. Domestic Structure > Settlement > Hamlet or Village %:Domestic_Structure: %:Settlement\n ----- file.rec ----- Domestic_Structure: Settlement Settlement: Hamlet or Village ----- file.rec ----- rather than using "Site_Type: %^{Site_Type: |default| + Domestic Structure or Architectural Complex| + Resource Extraction or Production| + Transportation Structure or Features| + Funerary and Burial Structures or Features| + Non-Domestic Structures| + Archaeological Feature| + Rock Art| + Water-Related}\n%?" > Sent: Sunday, December 13, 2020 at 5:57 AM > From: pie...@caramail.com > To: "TRS-80" <lists.trs...@isnotmyreal.name> > Cc: emacs-orgmode@gnu.org > Subject: Re: Org Capture Menu cannot be fully viewed > > > If you care to share a slightly bigger picture view, particularly about > > the structure of the data you are trying to capture (and/or, your > > workflow) we could likely come up with something that would work much > > better for you than a capture template, at least in this particular > > case. > > Most agencies, universities, museums and archaeological organizations use > standard forms for recording sites. Generally speaking these are used but > with a couple of caveats. First, there are occasions when a standard form > may not call for recording enough data or the right kinds of data to satisfy > particular needs. Then there are Exclusive Surveys (Incomplete coverage, > portions of the project are excluded) and Unsystematic Surveys (done without > a specific plan, methods at varied level of intensity; coverage random, > opportunistic, or intuitive). In many instances, previous work would have > been done, so people would want to quickly skip entries. > > The plan for Org-Mode Capture is primarily for such Exclusive and > Unsystematic Surveys > where we do not necessarily use standard forms. I'm not sure if you capture > the drift > concerning unsystematic surveys. Most times I cannot tell you exactly what > people in > the field came up with. The pace can be rapid and some could be working in > challenging > conditions. The plan is for the Crew Chief to make a quick template, and > which could > change each day. maintain and review notebooks and records and overseeing > quality > control is done daily. It is customary to split the day. One of the best > ways we > improve survey efficiency is to anticipate bottlenecks and invent creative > logistical > solutions right in the field. > > The long template situation then occurs. You can access better than myself > as you > know what org and org-capture can do and what not. I briefly reported on > what we > found problematic in practice. But we're at the beginning of this, and would > likely report on other things as we progress. Still, most things are likely > to be done by the "Institute for Technologies applied to Cultural Heritage > (itabc)". > > Nevertheless, we see some aspects where your scheme can be improved to cater > for more > serious work. Emacs is quite good software. > > Hope my comments helped somewhat. > > Pietru > > > > > > > Sent: Sunday, December 13, 2020 at 4:16 AM > > From: "TRS-80" <lists.trs...@isnotmyreal.name> > > To: emacs-orgmode@gnu.org > > Subject: Re: Org Capture Menu cannot be fully viewed > > > > On 2020-12-12 21:08, pie...@caramail.com wrote: > > > Here is one version of a template > > > > > > (setq capture-template-investigation-type '( > > > > > > ("a" "Historic Background Research Site Evaluation/Testing" entry > > > (file "~/histr/archaeol.org") > > > "* Site_Type: %?\n %T\n") > > > > > > [...] > > > > > > ("u" "Remote Sensing" entry > > > (file "~/histr/archaeol.org") > > > "* Site_Type: %?\n %T\n") )) > > > > > > > Are there any more to these templates you did not show? > > > > Because, (and unless I am missing something) what I see are essentially > > all the same (and quite simple). You would end up with something like > > the following in your target file (with the cursor ending up at the x): > > > #+begin_example > > > > * Site_Type: x > > [2020-12-12 Sat 21:58] > > > > #+end_example > > > > In fact I don't even see where the type name ends up in the result? > > > > If all my assumptions above are true, I think you would probably be > > better served with a simple completing-read (or similar) function to > > select the "Investigation Type" from a list and then simply insert that > > along with a timestamp. Which it will take you longer to reply to this > > email and confirm than it would take me to write such a function. :) > > > > Benefit of that way also removes possibility of typos in the type name. > > > > In fact, the above could even be done with something as simple as > > Yankpad[0]. > > > > I have no idea what your workflow looks like, or where this data ends > > up. However, thinking further, I would imagine it might even be helpful > > to set one or more Org properties[1] for things like "Investigation > > Type" (along with some other things I could speculate like "Location" > > etc.). But all of that depends on even more things I don't know about. > > > > If you care to share a slightly bigger picture view, particularly about > > the structure of the data you are trying to capture (and/or, your > > workflow) we could likely come up with something that would work much > > better for you than a capture template, at least in this particular > > case. > > > > Cheers, > > TRS-80 > > > > [0] https://github.com/Kungsgeten/yankpad > > [1] https://orgmode.org/manual/Properties-and-Columns.html > > > > > > --------------------- Christopher Dimech General Administrator - Naiad Informatics - GNU Project (Geocomputation) - Geophysical Simulation - Geological Subsurface Mapping - Disaster Preparedness and Mitigation - Natural Resource Exploration and Production - Free Software Advocacy