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Create Incremental Rem from PDF Highlights
hugomarins edited this page May 20, 2026
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This feature allows you to extract PDF highlights into standalone Incremental Rems, organizing them under any parent in your knowledge structure.
- Create a highlight in a PDF by selecting text
- Click the highlight to open the popup menu
- Click "Create Incremental Rem" (the funnel icon button)
- Select a parent from the hierarchical tree that appears
- Press Enter to confirm — your new Incremental Rem is created
The Parent Selector shows all Rems associated with the current PDF, sorted with Incremental Rems first (ordered by priority). You can:
- Navigate the tree to find the right location
- Expand/collapse nodes to see children
- Create new child Rems inline without leaving the popup
- Remember Last Input and Smart Auto-scrolling: The widget automatically remembers and perfectly scrolls to the parent you previously selected for that specific Incremental Rem (or, if your are in the Editor instead of the Queue, the last parent you chose for that PDF).
Note: In case you don’t find the desired rem with that PDF as source, make sure you made it incremental, otherwise it will not be cached as necessary. (You can untag it later, and the cache will keep it)
| Key | Action |
|---|---|
↑ / ↓
|
Navigate up/down the tree |
→ or Tab
|
Expand selected node |
← |
Collapse node, or jump to parent |
Enter |
Select as destination |
+ or n
|
Create a new child under selected node |
Escape |
Close popup |
If you need a destination that doesn't exist yet (e.g., "Section D" under "Chapter 9"):
- Navigate to the parent node (Chapter 9)
- Press
+orn(or click the+button) - Type the name of the new Rem
- Press
Enterto create it - The new Rem is now selected — press
Enteragain to use it as destination
- New Rem: Created under your chosen parent with the highlight text + a pinned reference to the source
- Incremental status: The new Rem is tagged as Incremental and scheduled for review
-
Original highlight: Its Incremental tag is removed (if any) and it is tagged with
pdfextract(which handles its visual styling via CSS). In the editor tag bar, the fullpdfextractlabel is replaced by a compact ✂️ badge to save horizontal space — this is purely cosmetic and does not affect functionality. -
Deep Reference Pinning: Any future sub-extracts made from this new Rem (using the
Opt+XorOpt+Shift+Xshortcuts) will automatically inherit the reference pin bridged to the original highlight! - Auto-Bookmark: If you are in the Queue, your current reading position is automatically updated to the location of this highlight, and an entry is added to your reading history.
| Use Case | Benefit |
|---|---|
| Extract key ideas | Move important content from PDF into your main note structure for easier processing (clozing, flashcard creation) |
| Organize by topic | Place extracts under topic-specific parents (e.g., all "Navigation Systems" notes together) |
| Build hierarchy | Child extracts inherit context and can be reviewed alongside their parent |
| Feature | Toggle Incremental Rem | Create Incremental Rem |
|---|---|---|
| Location | Highlight stays in PDF structure | New Rem under parent of your choice |
| Original highlight | Becomes the Incremental Rem | Remains as a reference |
| Use when | Quick marking for later review | Organizing into knowledge structure |

- 1. Getting Started
- 2. The Philosophy: What is Incrementalism?
- 3. The Core Loop
- 4. Mastering the Queue: Prioritization & Sorting
- 5. Advanced Workflows & Use Cases
- 6. Essential References
- 7. FAQ & Troubleshooting
- 8. Changelog
- 9. Contributing to the Wiki