How To Connect Ideas In RemNote (Portals, Universal Descriptors, etc.)

RemNote’s “portals” and “universal descriptors” are presented as a practical system for turning a flat list of notes into a connected knowledge base—so retrieval becomes automatic and relationships between ideas stay visible. The core workflow starts with linking key phrases to dedicated pages (so repeated terms become navigable groupings), then uses search portals to surface all matching instances inside a section, and finally relies on universal descriptors (built-in templates) to standardize common research patterns like “answer,” “example,” “related to,” and “reminds me of.” The payoff is deeper understanding through structure: related concepts cluster naturally, contradictions become easier to spot, and the system reduces the need for manual organization.

The walkthrough begins with a Stoicism notes page that’s essentially a “waterfall” of bullet points—no tags, no references, no portals. The first step is creating explicit links. A phrase like “Roman empire” is highlighted and converted into its own RemNote page, producing backlinks that automatically list where the phrase appears. That same phrase can also be turned into a hashtag page (e.g., “#place” and then a more specific “#empire”), giving another layer of grouping that doesn’t require folders.

Next comes the search portal. A “notable examples” section is built at the top of a page, and a search portal is added so that every instance of a term (like “example”) within that page is pulled into the portal automatically. This is paired with more linking: Zeno’s name becomes its own page, and a portal is embedded inside Zeno’s page to show a specific child rem (copied as “rem as portal”). Hashtags like “#person” and “#philosopher” further create workspace-wide retrieval: clicking the hashtag page or using it in text makes every occurrence appear in one place.

Universal descriptors function like reusable templates for recurring note roles. Instead of repeatedly typing the same labels (e.g., “result,” “abstract,” “answer,” “opinion”), the system uses prebuilt descriptor rems that behave like normal rems: clicking them reveals all instances across the workspace. The transcript emphasizes how this supports connection-building. For example, inside a “knowledge” child rem, the user searches for the universal descriptor “reminds me of” to link to a prior note, then creates a portal that embeds the relevant children. Portals are treated as editable windows into other notes—expandable up the parent chain (e.g., from a specific effect to the Dunning–Kruger effect) and able to show attached media.

Finally, the method extends to faster discovery. Highlighting a word can enable automatic searching so every instance of that term appears in relevant views, and universal descriptors like “answer” and “related to” are used to connect new child rems to existing concepts (including showing full context for definitions). The workflow is intentionally “in the moment”: connections, portals, and descriptors are created as notes are written, because revisiting later is unlikely. A small customization tip closes the loop: custom CSS blocks can remove the default blue highlight on search portal results, making the interface feel less visually noisy. The overall message is that RemNote’s linking, portals, and descriptor templates together create a retrieval-first structure that turns scattered notes into an interconnected system.