I'd like to launch multiple instances of Joplin and sync them in separate folders on OneDrive but I'm ok locally if it's the only option.
Why do I want to do this?
My purpose is to have separate instance for each notebook.
For example, I want a notebook for gym, so only tags about gym appears to me (biceps, triceps etc...)
Then I want a notebook for programming for example, so, only tags for programming appears to me, and not tags from gym+programming in the same Joplin instance since there is no way to create a tree tags structure
You can also use the --profile switch to point to a new location but that isn't an officially supported method and could lead to issues.
Worth noting that if you use that or @joeldebruijn's joplin portable suggestion you can still only run one instance of the application at once.
One other potential solution is one I have been using until nested/hierarchical tags are introduced is to prefix your tags with the "section" they are in then render the first character invisible with CSS.
I should also note that I use a bit of a hack to organise my tags in lieu of having a proper hierarchy so that the various categories aren't just jumbled up together.
I basically have an extra letter at the start of each tag to "categorise" them, e.g. book related tags might be called something like bCookbooks and bComicbook whereas I might have some recipe related data that is stored under rChicken or rAubergine . I then use the CSS hack I posted about here - Share your CSS - #296 by Daeraxa - to hide the first letter of the tag.
Does JoplinPortable save notes and all configuration files everything in the same folder as the portable exe? Or does it save in AppData and things like that?
Because if it saves everything in the portable exe folder directory I can download them and put each separate folder in a OneDrive folder, so I don't even use local space (yeah I know onedrive sync locally, but I mean, I'll use OneDrive directory as main save data)
I like this solution a lot, really nice but tbh I use so much tags that I prefer have different instance, because to scroll between different "tag block" is time consuming.
So if I have cookboks tag at the top with the letter "A", to reach comicbook with letter "H" I should scroll for a while, if you know what I mean
I have a problem. Whenever I launch the new JoplinPortable.exe from a subfolder in OneDrive folder, it gives me the data of my main non portable Joplin.
How can I delete everything from AppData and ONLY use the OneDrive folder for joplin? I mean, only that folder, no single file on AppData or other folder of Windows?
Maybe I should do a new post for this?
Yep.
Btw, you are right but for now it's the best solution I can imagine. It's sad because I won't be able to have my notes on Android but I gotta live with that. Maybe one day Joplin will get updated for nested tags or multiple instances
Ok, I checked and Joplin was still running, I disabled "Show tray icon" and "Start application minimized in the tray icon".
After this, whenever I click on the X, joplin closes completely. So all good for now thanks.
At the end I decided this way:
different instances/profiles (as you said can't run at the same time) whit different folders (each one with a joplinportable.exe) in the OneDrive folder. Sync disabled because with Portable version sync works anyway saving files locally and online.
Another downside besides the fact I can't run them at the same time? Joplin takes so much to open, it's a little bit frustrating when I want to switch between arguments but I can live with it
Suggestion for people who will do things like me: when you have to update, download the .exe and upload it once in only one folder replacing old .exe (call every .exe with the same name)
After this, go in OneDrive web app and copy from there, or you will have to upload each .exe (I do this because I have high download and slow upload speeds)
People who want nested tags: you can for sure use other apps, but the deep tree structure that Joplin offers you won't find anywhere, only in OneNote but it's not user friendly and simple as Joplin, EverNote has a limitation of notebooks/sub-notebooks, also Notion, Joplin is the only one despite its downsides.
Conclusion: there is no perfect notebook software, choose based on your needs
The reason why the portable version is slow to open is because it has to unpack itself on each start before executing the actual binary. I've seen it take as much as 30+ seconds on slow hardware (e.g. slow CPU and/or slow storage).
Again, if you know what you're doing, you can unpack the contents of JoplinPortable.exe and then start the program manually using joplin.exe --profile <path-to-profile>. With the multi-instance patch from above, you can run multiple profiles this way simultaneously. I do this personally, because I need to have two instances open - one for personal use, and one for sharing with another person.
Just in case you do decide to try out doing anything I've written above, please create a full backup of your current data beforehand.
Yes, e.g. with 7-Zip. If you're asking this question though, I wouldn't really suggest following my suggestions, unless you simply enjoy tinkering and learning new things in general. The whole process needs to be repeated on each update, so you'd better write some kind of a script to automate the whole process, or you'll have to repeat the steps manually over and over.
I don't mind repeating the steps tbh. I've already tried with WinRAR, but there's a problem. It doesn't create the folder "JoplinProfile" in the same folder of the extracted files of the portable .exe
I think he creates those in the AppData folder.
The not extracted .exe instead, creates "JoplinProfile" in the same folder where it resides, so I don't have this problem.
Do you know a way to force Joplin extracted to save everything in the same folder?