I still have FI3LD’s original concept:

The ideal method for organizing information is based on...

Concept maps: similar to outlines, but with concepts connected to one another. They can exist across different dimensions, but since information can only be represented effectively in two dimensions, a broader concept map is needed, with links to more specific areas. These maps can be based on axioms—multiple concepts connected together to create new, more complex concepts—or on broad common points, where more complex concepts branch out from a single idea.

Most questions can be answered by connecting knowledge that already exists today. That is why the relationship between concepts is essential to understanding things. The problem is that these relationships are difficult to represent.

We often try to explain complex ideas with words, even when they contain multiple important points that are closely connected to one another. To communicate complex ideas, we usually write things out one by one and repeatedly explain how they relate, or we create an outline.

FI3LD has changed significantly since I first wrote down those ideas, but even then, you could already see the concept of the map beginning to take shape.

To organize ideas, you need two things:

1. Nodes that can contain other nodes, which can then contain even more nodes...
2. A visual representation of these connections, all branching from a shared starting point.

To organize files, those nodes must become files. That means files need to be able to contain other files.

To see the map in action, click the “Map” button in the top bar.

FI3LD also has another clear goal...

It is simple: today’s file editors are outdated. Good design can improve the experience for both experts and casual users.

FI3LD currently includes only three file types:

1. Text
2. Folders
3. Code

Each of them can contain child files.