Taking notes on notetaking
I've been using CherryTree for a couple of years to keep some notes/references to myself. But I've been considering switching to something based on Markdown, mostly because I want my notes to be readable even without the software at hand. (CherryTree stores its notes and attachments in a single XML file)
After trying several open source desktop applications, I'm settling for Zettlr (for now).
Here are some things I like about it
- Notes are just Markdown files, and you can use folders to structure your notes however you want
- Like Typora or Mark Text, it shows a more or less formatted Markdown code, in a single panel. It's purely a matter of personal taste, but I prefer this to the approach used in many Markdown-base tools to show raw code & formatted preview side by side (it just feels very redundant to me)
- You can link between notes with drag & drop
- Tags are just #hashtags in your documents
- It supports Mermaid for generating flowcharts & diagrams
- It supports YAML frontmatter
- It has a lot of features to implement a Zettelkasten, which is something I plan to try out
- It does a good job as a Markdown editor
- It has a small pomodoro timer in the toolbar :)
Last time I tried, there were some annoying inconsistencies in linking to external resources (absolute/relative links).
And as an Electron app, memory usage can get a little high sometimes (especially compared to a PyGTK app like CherryTree)
Some notes on the other app I tried, for reference
QOwnNotes
Like Zettlr, it respects existing files hierarchies. In addition to .md files, it does use Sqlite for metadata (like notes tags).
It has a lot of nice features
- A web clipper browser extension
- User scripts
- Git integration (with commits at regular intervals)
- Customisable interface
- A small popup to select existing notes when creating a new link
- Tight connection with NextCloud/OwnCloud notes & todos
As mentioned above, I'm not a huge fan of editors using 2 panels for Markdown, and this is one of them.
VNote
It also reflects existing directory structure. It adds a json file per folder with metadata, something that can be annoying in some cases (like editing an existing folder).
Editing is done in a single panel that switches between Code or View mode. I might like that better than the redundancy of having 2 panels. But I still prefer the Zettlr approach.
Its search is maybe slightly more advanced than most, but beside that, has nothing special in my opinion.
MindForge
Interestingly very idiosyncratic. I think it definitely reflects its author's own way of working, instead of following standardised UX approaches.
I enjoy the vocabulary used: the File menu is “Mind”; you don't “Save”, but “Remember”; “Settings” are “Adapt”, etc.
But beside that, it doesn't really work for me. I find the interface way too convoluted, with simple actions taking a lot of clicks.
It has some interesting features, like suggesting related notes, and a concept of Importance/Urgency.
While most apps create a new Markdown file for each not, MindForge gather all notes of a “Notebook” inside a single file, using Markdown headings and metadata in comment tags to separate the notes.
Boostnote
A very polished app that also has a web version (which, as you can imagine, comes with paid plans to expand storage).
It has some coders-friendly features, like reusable snippets, and something similar to Gists – a note that can store a variable number of sources “files”.
I'm less a fan of the way notes are structured and stored. You can create different “storages”, but from there it's a flat list. While you write notes in Markdown, they are actually stored as CSON files, all in a single folder, with an ID as the filename.
You can switch between a traditional 2-panels mode, or a single panel mode that switches automatically from “Code” to “View” when the focus is out of the text field.
Joplin
Joplin is pleasantly well designed.
Some cool features are
- “Todo” notes : notes with little checkbox next to their name in the notes list
- Built-in support for file synchronisation (including Webdav and local folder)
- E2E encryption
- A web clipper browser extension
Sadly, 2 panels again, although it has an “experimental” WYSIWYG mode.
While it uses the Markdown syntax, your notes are actually all stored in a Sqlite database. So not what I was looking for.
But also
I also briefly tried Simplenote, Notable and PileMd, but for some reasons I forgot, it wasn't suiting me.
While writing this, I also found back Standard Notes from my bookmarks. Leaving this here for whoever is interested, but I'll stick to my Zettlr plan for now ;)