Pick title from the first fire words/characters from the file

[sudhirkhanger]

Sorry if this has been asked or discussed earlier. I want to know if it would be possible to have denote pick file name in the following manner.

1. First line of the file
2. Or first few words of the text.

This is what I have seen Apple Notes, Notion, etc. seem to be doing and feels like the right approach for me as I am not pressed on to provide the name upfront.

[lmq-10]

Do you mean when renaming a file? Not out of the box. The following hack works by putting the words in future history (accesed with M-n), but requires using a new command my/denote-rename-file-with-words.

(defvar my/denote-word-limit 10
  "Number of words taken to create file title.")

(defun my/denote-get-words ()
  "Return the first `my/denote-word-limit' words from current note."
  (save-excursion
    (goto-char (point-min))
    (when (denote--file-has-front-matter-p
           buffer-file-name
           (denote-filetype-heuristics buffer-file-name))
      (forward-line 5)) ; change if you changed default front matter!
    (let ((n (line-number-at-pos))
          (p (point))
          string)
      (save-excursion
        (forward-word my/denote-word-limit)
        (if (eq (line-number-at-pos) n)
            (setq string (buffer-substring-no-properties p (point)))
          (goto-char p)
          (buffer-substring-no-properties (point) (line-end-position)))))))

(defun my/denote-rename-file-with-words ()
  "Like `denote-rename-file', but put first words into future history for title."
  (interactive)
  (let ((denote-title-prompt-current-default (my/denote-get-words)))
    (call-interactively #'denote-rename-file)))

[sudhirkhanger]

I meant out of box. I may have to quickly spun up a new note while I am talking to somebody or am in a call. Furthermore, I don't want the inertia or cognitive load of naming a file.

Secondly, in 5 years or so I will end up with 1000s of files and their names wouldn't matter to me. Barring a few, I may not want to remember the name of files. If I have to, I suppose I have tags and ability to rename the file.

I find Apple notes a good example of it.

1. When I open it, the first line ends up becoming the title.
2. If the first line is not provided, then the second line ends up becoming the title of the note.
3. If I skip the first line, and then I come back and enter the title or the first line, then it becomes the filename.

Although the apple notes doesn't expose file name.

[lmq-10]

Hmm... It seems you don't really need titles by default. You can make Denote ask only for keywords by setting:

(setq denote-prompts '(keywords))

You can add a title later with denote-rename-file.

[jeanphilippegg]

You can disable all prompts with (set denote-prompts nil). When you create a new note, you will end up with a note whose name is 20250815T170000.org. Right away, you can start typing the content of your note. However, with this approach, your files effectively do not have a title (not even the first line).

The core of Denote is its file-naming scheme though. If your files do not have meaningful names, then the only advantage left of Denote is the linking.

[sudhirkhanger]

If you have a lot of notes then searching by title isn't always the only reliable way. It is hard to remember names of files.

In my opinion, file name can be decided using one of the following ways.

1. At the time of note creation.
2. Can be added/updated post note creation from the front matter.
3. Can be picked from first line of the note.

[protesilaos]

• At the time of note creation.

• Can be added/updated post note creation from the front matter.

• Can be picked from first line of the note.

Of those three we support the first two. Especially number 2 makes it easy to not be tied to the original title you had selected.

I am not convinced the third option is needed. If this is about automating things, number 2 can be used in tandem with some hook, such as when saving the buffer, when opening the file, before closing down Emacs, et cetera. It first is a matter of setting the requirements of the workflow.

If you have a lot of notes then searching by title isn't always the only reliable way. It is hard to remember names of files.

Other than titles, there are keywords and even dates to use with denote-dired. Then there is the option of denote-grep to search through file contents.