The importance of Note Sequences and how to use them

[Der-Alte-Fritz]

Note sequences baffled me for a long time, so I made a concerted effort to understand them and have tried to document this below as a workflow. Please let me know if I have made any mistakes or if any changes are needed.

Adapting the Zkn3 Workflow to Luhmann's working practice

The temptation is to leap straight in and start adding Notes and Keywords to your brand new Zettelkasten, however first it might be best to understand Luhmann's original ideas which you can do here:

https://strengejacke.wordpress.com/2015/10/07/introduction-to-luhmanns-zettelkasten-thinking-and-its-technical-implementation/

It is clear from this essay (see slide 34 onwards) that the real driver behind Luhmann's Zettelkasten was Note Sequences (Folgezettel) where Notes were linked as Themes which branched and divided as the Theme developed. This connection was much more powerful than simple Keywords or Manual Links. In your Zettelkasten you should aim for the majority of Notes to be formed into Note Sequences along any number of Themes.
When reading a source, it might be obvious which Notes form a common Theme from any given source or even multiple sources, however this is not always the case, so it would pay dividends to be able to go back and construct these themes later on. I have given instructions for both methods below:

Note Sequences - Constructing a Theme as you read a source

As you read your source, you come across references that you want to add into the Zettelkasten as a new Theme. To do this:
1. Create the first Note of your new Theme using Ctrl+N or the button on the Toolbar. This is the Parent Note.
2. To add the first Child Note, select the Parent Note so that it appears in the Text Box and then use Ctrl+I to create the next Note in the Sequence
3. To add another Child Note AT THE SAME LEVEL select the Parent Note and use Ctrl+I (I find it useful to do this in the Note Sequence Tab of the Data window)
4. To add another Child Note AT A LOWER LEVEL (i.e. branch off) select the Child Note where you want the branch and use Ctrl+I
5. Keep adding Child Notes at the appropriate levels using the methods above.

Note Sequences - Constructing a Theme from existing Notes

1. You might select a Note to be the Parent Note or you might make a new Note as a Register Note, and put into the Text box the outline of the Theme.
2. The next step is most important as you need to focus Zkn3 on the new Parent Note. In order to do this, go to the Data window, select the Titles Tab and select the Note which you want to use as the parent, so that appears in the Text window. Next move to the Note Sequence Tab and right click on the Note. Select 'Insert Note Sequence' (Ctrl+Alt+I) and input the next few Child Note numbers, separated by a comma and a space. Click OK. The Child Notes should appear underneath the parent.
3. The focus of Zkn3 is now on this new Note Sequence, so now you can use the Note Sequence button on the Toolbar to add further Child Notes which will appear in the Note Sequence Tab underneath the existing Child Notes.
4. To change the order of Child Notes, view the Parent Note in the Note Sequence Tab in the Data window. In here you can click and drag Notes to change their order. You cannot move between Levels using this method, so instead right click on the Note, select 'Remove' and the Note is removed from the Note Sequence. Now select the Parent of Branch Note for the Level you require and insert the Note again using the Note Sequence Button on the Toolbar.
5. If you want to create a branch, in the Note Sequence Tab, select the Child Note to be the head of the Branch, right click and select 'Insert Note Sequence' or use Ctrl+I. Add in the Note Numbers required. To add in further Child Notes on this Level,  use the Note Sequence Button with the Branch Head Note selected. Using 'Insert Note Sequence' or Ctrl+I a second time will add in another branch to a lower level.
6. If you not ensure that the Zkn3 'focus' is established before inserting your Child Notes (see step 2) you will find that using the Note Sequence Button will insert Notes in odd places, usually the last Note you were working on. Even selecting the Note in the Title Tab of the Data Window and double clicking on it, so that it appears in the Text window is not sufficient to shift the focus.
7. To remove Parent status from a Note, go into the Note Sequence Tab in the Data window, right click on each Child Note until they are all removed. A Note with no Children will lose its Parent status. If you remove a Higher level Child Note it will also remove all the Lower Level Child Notes as well, unless you specify otherwise in the pop-up menu. You cannot remove Parent Notes in this way as the menu item is greyed out.
8. In the Title view in the Data window, Note Sequences are shown as blue bars to the right of the title. Parent Notes have dark blue to light blue bars while Child Notes on lower levels have light blue to dark blue bars.
9. Remember at the start of each new Note Sequence and Theme run through the process from step 1 ro establish the focus onto your new Theme.

The idea behind the Note Sequence is to replicate Luhmann's branching Note structure however I find that it needs to be used with care, otherwise much time is lost in repairing the mistakes.

[sOER-Frank]

Seems like you got it! 😊
A nice explanation of taking notes like Luhmann (with a slight variation) can you find here

[CaptainBasil]

I don't fully understand your explanation of different types of notes. Do they co-exist in your Zettelkasten or do you use different ones?

[Der-Alte-Fritz]

There is only one kind of Note.

You can have them unlinked to other Notes (created by Crtl+N) or you can have them linked to other Notes in a Note Sequence (Ctrl+I).

If you have Notes linked to one another Notes then the top Note would be the Parent and the following linked Notes the Child ones.
You can start a new branch with a Child note and then continue that sequence separately.

Doing this you build up a tree like structure of connected Notes that all have a relationship with one another, some distant.

The best analogy is that of the tree like structure of the connection between species. Domestic Cats are closely related to Lynx and Pumas but they are less closely related to Panthers, Leopards and Lions. They all stem from the (Parent) Family "Felidae" and are so all related but the various branches are (Child) branches.

So starting with the Parent Note (Felidae) you would create a Note and then create two Note Sequences linked to that one, Child Notes for (Felinae) and (Pantherinae). The Pantherinae Note would have two Child Note Sequences started from it, (Panthera) and (Neofelis).

Using the technique of Note Sequences and branches off those Note Sequences allows you to follow Luhmans ideas of collating information.

[CaptainBasil]

Oh sorry, I meant @FrankZter 's distinction between "fleeting notes" and "literature notes". I now realize that the linked article is not by FrankZter, however, but by Martin Adams.