Anchorline Documentation

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Items ​

An item is a single thing you track in a collection log.

Each item has its own identity and details. Items are what you see when you open a collection log—the books, equipment, tasks, or whatever else you are organizing.

Examples: a book in your reading list, a piece of furniture in your home inventory, a task in your project tracker, a contact in your address book

What makes something an item ​

An item is a specific thing with its own identity.

It is not just a number or a count. It is "The Great Gatsby" or "Living Room Couch" or "Fix the leaky faucet."

Each item stays the same item even when its details change. If you update a book's rating or mark a task as complete, it is still the same item—just with updated information.

What items contain ​

Every item can have several types of information:

Built-in fields ​

All items have these standard fields:

  • Name — what the item is called (required)
  • Note — longer text for context, descriptions, or decisions
  • Tags — labels for grouping and filtering items
  • Date — when the item was added to the collection

Custom fields ​

You can add any fields specific to your collection:

  • Text fields (like "Author" or "Serial Number")
  • Numbers (like "Rating" or "Quantity")
  • Dates (like "Due Date" or "Purchased On")
  • Dropdowns (like "Status" or "Category")
  • URLs (like "Product Link" or "Documentation")
  • Anchors (like "Assigned To" or "Stored At")

Custom fields are defined by templates, which help keep your collection consistent.

How you work with items ​

Items are simple to work with:

Add an item ​

When you add an item to a collection log, you fill in whatever fields are relevant. Required fields (like Name) must be filled in. Everything else is optional.

The item gets added to the collection with a timestamp showing when you added it.

Update an item ​

You can edit any item's details at any time.

Just click the item and change whatever needs updating. Changes are saved and tracked, so you can see what was updated and when.

The same item can appear in multiple collection logs.

For example, a book might be in:

  • "Personal Library" (everything you own)
  • "Currently Reading" (books you are reading now)
  • "Science Fiction" (organized by genre)

When you update the book's details in one place, the changes appear everywhere it is linked. You do not need to update it separately in each log.

If an item no longer belongs in a collection, you can unlink it.

The item stays in any other logs where it is linked. It is not deleted—just removed from that particular collection.

Templates ​

Templates define what custom fields your items have.

For a reading list, you might create a template with:

  • Title (text)
  • Author (text)
  • Genre (dropdown: Fiction, Non-fiction, Biography, etc.)
  • Started (date)
  • Finished (date)
  • Rating (number, 1-5)

Once you set up a template, every item in that collection can use those fields. This keeps things organized and makes filtering and searching work better.

Templates are optional. You can use items without templates if you prefer, though templates help when you have many items with similar structure.

See Templates for more details.

Linking items to anchors ​

Items can be connected to anchors to show relationships.

For example:

  • A task item linked to a person anchor (who is responsible)
  • An equipment item linked to a location anchor (where it is stored)
  • A book item linked to a person anchor (who you loaned it to)

Anchors let you track these relationships without cluttering the item's main fields.

Item identity ​

Each item has a unique ID that stays with it forever.

Even if you change the name, move it between logs, or update all its fields, it is still the same item. This identity is what makes linking work—Anchorline knows it is the same book in "Personal Library" and "Currently Reading."

You do not usually see or think about item IDs. They work behind the scenes to keep everything connected.

How items appear in logs ​

When you look at a collection log, you see a table of items.

Each row is one item. Each column shows a field—Name, Tags, and any custom fields you have defined.

You can:

  • Click an item to see its full details
  • Search for items by any field
  • Filter to show only items matching certain criteria
  • Sort by any column
  • Select which columns to show

The table makes it easy to scan through many items and find what you need.

Items vs entries ​

Items are different from entries in balanced logs:

Items (collection logs):

  • Have identity ("The Great Gatsby")
  • Have multiple fields (Author, Genre, Rating)
  • Can be linked to multiple logs
  • Do not add up to a total

Entries (balanced logs):

  • Are transactions with amounts ($50)
  • Record a single action at a point in time
  • Add up to a balance
  • Cannot be in multiple logs

Use items when you are tracking things. Use entries when you are tracking amounts.

Item history ​

Every change to an item is tracked.

You can see:

  • When the item was created
  • When it was added to this log
  • What fields were updated and when
  • When it was linked or unlinked from other logs

This history helps you understand how the item got to its current state. If someone asks "when did we add this?" or "who changed the status?" you can look it up.

When items work well ​

Items work well when:

  • You are tracking specific things (not totals)
  • Each thing has details you care about
  • You want to organize, search, and filter
  • The same thing might appear in multiple collections
  • You want to see what changed over time

If you just need counts or totals, you probably do not need items. Use a balanced log instead.

Where to go next ​

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