Basically, this is a brain dump. Please offer any advices you think of.
In efforts to learn to use capture, I decided to try to understand the defaults. I will mention the location defaults, and the default template. At this time, all of my org-files are in one folder, so I decided to start with a tester file for captures in the same folder, with name: org-default-notes-file "./capturetest.org" (for total newbs, the dot slash refers to the current folder). I also went with the common suggestion for the key binding of (define-key global-map "\C-cc" 'org-capture) (added directly to .emacs file). I then attempted to understand how the default template worked, and how to recreate it in the Customize interface buffer. - key: t - description: Task - type: entry - target location: File & Headline - File: <empty> - Headline: Tasks - Template: here was the tricky part. First I had to realize that the * was necessary (skimming for examples in the documentation). Then, I struggled to figure out how to get the newline in there. I could go to the .emacs file and add \n manually, but how to add it in the customize buffer. My current solution is to use M-x newline <RET> (not sure if there is a default key binding for this). Thus, I believe the default template can be arrived at via: * TODO M-x newline <RET> %t M-x newline <RET> %a I now feel more ready to start making my own templates, for instance, my first templates might be entries with certain headlines, prompt for tags, the date added, but for now still heading to the capturetest file. That is, for instance, - Headline: tech-related - Template: * %^G\n%t Brady