org-mode capture : dynamic file name

Question

I\'ve seen this:

How to type a dynamic file entry for org capture

but cannot get it to work; I get \"Invalid file location: nil\". Has something changed in

Answer 1

It seems like something has changed between Org-mode 8.2.10 and 9.1.9 specifically in the way Org handles template elements. Whereas in earlier version of Org the second value in the pair (file ...) could be a function that Org would evaluate, now it seems only a string (file path) is valid here.

The fix is to use the backquote list form, and explicitly state that the function needs evaluating using the comma:

(setq org-capture-templates `(
    ;; ...
    ("j" "Journal Note"
         entry (file ,(get-journal-file-today))
         "* Event: %?\n\n  %i\n\n  From: %a"
         :empty-lines 1)
    ;; ..
    ))