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2026-03-24 v1.6.0

User Manual

English Document

1. Introduction

NoteConnection is a visualization tool that transforms your Markdown notes into a hierarchical knowledge graph. It helps you understand the structure of your knowledge base by identifying prerequisites, learning paths, and clusters.

2. Getting Started

  1. Select Data Source: Upon opening the application, use the dropdown menu in the top-left corner to select a folder from your Knowledge_Base.
  2. Load Graph: Click the "Load" button. For large datasets, the system will use parallel processing to build the graph efficiently.
  3. Explore: The graph will render in the main view. You can pan and zoom using your mouse or touch gestures.

3. Core Features

3.1 Layout Modes

  • Force-Directed: Default mode. Good for seeing clusters and groups.
  • DAG (Directed Acyclic Graph): Hierarchical mode. Arranges notes based on dependencies (Top -> Bottom). Useful for learning paths.

3.2 Focus Mode

  • Enter: Double-click any node to enter Focus Mode.
  • View: The selected node moves to the center.
  • Helping to understand (Left/Bottom): Prerequisites and incoming connections.
  • Further exploration (Right/Top): Next steps and outgoing connections.
  • Controls: Use the sliders at the bottom to adjust Vertical and Horizontal spacing.
  • Open Content: Click the "Specific Content" button to read the node's full text.
  • Exit: Click the "Exit Focus" button or double-click the background.
  • Note: "Freeze Layout" allows you to manually arrange nodes in this mode without them snapping back.

3.3 Node Inspection

  • Hover (PC): Hover over a node to see its connections and details.
  • Click (Mobile/PC): Click a node to "Freeze" it and open the Statistics Popup.
  • Popup: Shows In-degree (Red) and Out-degree (Blue) lists. You can drag and zoom this popup.
  • Actions: Click any neighbor in the list to navigate to it.

3.4 Simulation Controls

  • Panel: Located on the right side.
  • Freeze Layout: Check this to stop all movement. Useful for large graphs or manual arrangement.
  • Quick Button: Use the snowflake icon (❄️) in the toolbar for quick toggling.
  • Speed/Damping: Adjust the slider to control how fast the graph settles.

4. Analysis Panel

  • Access: Scroll down or click "Analysis" to view the data table.
  • Interaction: Clicking a row in the table highlights the corresponding node in the graph.
  • Mobile: The panel supports full-screen mode and pinch-to-zoom for better readability.

5. Settings

  • Access: Click the Gear icon.
  • Options:
  • Language: Switch between English and Chinese.
  • Physics: Tune gravity and repulsion forces.
  • Performance:
    • Enable GPU Acceleration: Toggle GPU usage for accelerated matrix operations (e.g., Cosine Similarity). Recommended for AMD Radeon 7900XT or compatible GPUs.
    • Max Workers: Adjust the number of CPU threads used for parallel processing (Default: CPU Cores - 1). Higher values speed up large builds but use more memory.
    • Memory Saving Mode: (v0.9.63) Enable to optimize backend memory usage for large datasets (10k+ files). Reduces Peak Heap by streaming file content and serializing data efficiently. Default: Enabled.
  • Visuals: Adjust edge opacity.

6. Performance Features (Auto-Optimization)

  • Canvas Auto-Switch: If your graph contains more than 3000 nodes, NoteConnection automatically switches to the Canvas Renderer to ensure smooth performance. You can manually switch back to SVG in the controls if needed.
  • Physics Culling: For extremely dense graphs (>20,000 edges), the physics simulation will only calculate forces for a subset of edges to prevent freezing the interface, while still rendering all connections.

7. Mobile App Build

NoteConnection includes a one-click script to build a native Android APK (v1.1.0+).

  • Prerequisites:
  • Node.js (LTS)
  • Java JDK (17 or higher)
  • Android SDK (configured in environment)
  • How to Build:
  • Open the project folder in a terminal.
  • Run build_apk.bat.
  • Follow the on-screen instructions. The script will check your environment, install dependencies, build the web app, and compile the APK.
  • Output: The APK will be generated at android/app/build/outputs/apk/debug/app-debug.apk.

8. Path Mode (Learning)

  • Access: Click the "Path Mode" button in the top-left toolbar.
  • Features:
  • Domain Learning: Topological ordering of a specific topic cluster (Mastery).
  • Diffusion Learning: Find the shortest path to a target concept (Efficiency).
  • Controls:
  • Strategy: Choose between "Foundational" (Base concepts first) or "Core" (Key concepts first).
  • Layout: Switch between Radial, Vertical Tree, and Horizontal Tree views.
  • Exit: Click "Exit" to return to the main graph.
  • Desktop Mode: In the desktop application (Tauri), Path Mode opens in a high-performance native 3D window (Godot) for rendering up to 50,000 nodes smoothly, automatically syncing via WebSocket.

9. v1.6.0 Runtime and NoteMD Behavior

  • Single-window behavior:
  • In npm run tauri:dev:mini:gpu, Tauri is the default visible window.
  • Entering Path Mode switches visibility to the Godot frontend.
  • At any moment, only one primary frontend window should remain visible.
  • Godot close confirmation:
  • Closing the Godot window should show a confirmation dialog.
  • Users can either return to the main interface or close all windows.
  • NoteMD embedded workflow:
  • NoteMD is integrated as an embedded workflow in both Tauri and Godot flows (not a standalone desktop app window).
  • File/folder/save browse actions in Tauri are expected to trigger native pickers and return selected paths.
  • PDF import rule:
  • PDF files must be converted to Markdown with Mineru before importing into NoteMD.

10. Local Runtime Config (app_config.toml)

  • Purpose:
  • Persist KB root, language, and multi-window policy in one local TOML file.
  • Default location (Windows):
  • %LOCALAPPDATA%/NoteConnection/app_config.toml
  • Path overrides:
  • NOTE_CONNECTION_CONFIG_PATH (absolute file path)
  • NOTE_CONNECTION_CONFIG_DIR (directory containing app_config.toml)
  • Template:
  • docs/examples/app_config.template.toml
  • Detailed guide:
  • docs/en/app_config.toml_guide.md