5 ms·

Show HN: DocLayer – A modern document editor

10 points by doclayer 11y ago

sdrothrock 11y ago
Could you tell me what's modern about it? If I click "Learn More," instead of showing me a feature list, it shows me a static image with bad formatting and a hard-to-read font. If the basis of "modern design" for documents is no indentation and a sans-serif font, I'm not too sure I'm interested in it -- I was hoping for something that used layers for versioning or something similarly useful.
- doclayer 11y ago
  If you scroll down, there is some more description (I know, the landing page needs work.) There are a few things that make it better than existing solutions. The UI is much easier to focus in while writing, and is also much faster than existing document editors. In addition, DocLayer works on mobile devices, and allows you to add things like maps, charts, and embeds to documents.
  - sdrothrock 11y ago
    I read the description, but none of it actually matches what the picture shows, so it feels like an app that looks harder to use than plain old Wordpad is asking for permission to use my Dropbox account.
yellowapple 11y ago
Could use a lot more description on what this thing does, how it works, etc. You know, things that would convince me whether or not giving yet another application access to my Dropbox account is worthwhile :)
wodenokoto 11y ago
Is this a web app? And why do the menu buttons sit on top of the text? It's a document editor, as opposed to a text editor, so can I write my thesis in it? Is it wysiwyg like word, or more compiled like latex?
- doclayer 11y ago
  The menu buttons only appear when you hover over the large pink button in the lower-right. I'll try to work on making that more clear from the screenshot. Is is wysiwyg, and is also a web app.
wingerlang 11y ago
This would be the perfect app to actually showcase on the landing page. If possible.
mrmondo 11y ago
I think some more information is needed on the landing page, what makes it new compared to other options? Can it be self hosted? What license is it? Does it require Dropbox? Etc...
- doclayer 11y ago
  License is MPL (see github.com/palmerAL/doclayer for more information). Dropbox is required, because all of your documents are stored in Dropbox. This reduces the costs, security risk, and headache for me. You can self host - information is in the github repository. (however, your documents are still stored in Dropbox. You could probably modify it, though.) I do agree that the splash page needs more information, but the page is also targeted to non-technical users that most likely don't want to know the license or if they can self-host.

10 points by doclayer 11y ago

Could you tell me what's modern about it? If I click "Learn More," instead of showing me a feature list, it shows me a static image with bad formatting and a hard-to-read font. If the basis of "modern design" for documents is no indentation and a sans-serif font, I'm not too sure I'm interested in it -- I was hoping for something that used layers for versioning or something similarly useful.

doclayer 11y ago
If you scroll down, there is some more description (I know, the landing page needs work.) There are a few things that make it better than existing solutions. The UI is much easier to focus in while writing, and is also much faster than existing document editors. In addition, DocLayer works on mobile devices, and allows you to add things like maps, charts, and embeds to documents.
- sdrothrock 11y ago
  I read the description, but none of it actually matches what the picture shows, so it feels like an app that looks harder to use than plain old Wordpad is asking for permission to use my Dropbox account.

yellowapple 11y ago

Could use a lot more description on what this thing does, how it works, etc. You know, things that would convince me whether or not giving yet another application access to my Dropbox account is worthwhile :)

wodenokoto 11y ago

Is this a web app? And why do the menu buttons sit on top of the text? It's a document editor, as opposed to a text editor, so can I write my thesis in it? Is it wysiwyg like word, or more compiled like latex?

doclayer 11y ago
The menu buttons only appear when you hover over the large pink button in the lower-right. I'll try to work on making that more clear from the screenshot. Is is wysiwyg, and is also a web app.

wingerlang 11y ago

This would be the perfect app to actually showcase on the landing page. If possible.

mrmondo 11y ago

I think some more information is needed on the landing page, what makes it new compared to other options? Can it be self hosted? What license is it? Does it require Dropbox? Etc...

doclayer 11y ago
License is MPL (see github.com/palmerAL/doclayer for more information). Dropbox is required, because all of your documents are stored in Dropbox. This reduces the costs, security risk, and headache for me. You can self host - information is in the github repository. (however, your documents are still stored in Dropbox. You could probably modify it, though.) I do agree that the splash page needs more information, but the page is also targeted to non-technical users that most likely don't want to know the license or if they can self-host.