7 ms·

Manifest: An instant grid-based pinboard for note taking in the browser

77 points by andreypopp 7y ago

gen_greyface 7y ago
Feels great, but is there an option to switch out of the dark theme or is it the only one
- kick 7y ago
  It probably depends on your browser's settings? It's light for me.
- rochacon 7y ago
  Yes, press Alt+T :) https://github.com/jonathontoon/manifest/blob/c51828086d972f4aa1332e7a545b334f11dc2345/src/js/index.js#L441 https://github.com/jonathontoon/manifest/blob/c51828086d972f...
  - keyle 7y ago
    If you're going to have obscure shortcuts, may I suggest that you document them part of a note somewhere maybe accessible via a '(?)' icon at the bottom of the page? Also, your dark mode is way too dark and contrasted. Consider something like this: https://imgur.com/a/8FLdGb5 https://imgur.com/a/8FLdGb5 HTH
    - gremlinsinc 7y ago
      Totally agree w/ all of this.. esp. the dark contrast in the imgur link is way better - imho.
    - jonathontoon 7y ago
      Dark mode was just added over the weekend, so there's probably a better way to address how to find out about features, shortcuts etc as they get built. As for the contrast I think it's just a case of visual style preference. I think the current contrast works for now but it's only been out for a little while, so happy to see more responses down the road.
dang 7y ago
We changed the URL from https://github.com/jonathontoon/manifest https://github.com/jonathontoon/manifest to the project page.
keyle 7y ago
Nice work! Safari is kind of limited with it, it takes a few clicks to create a note, sometimes(?) Also a no-select might be good for certain part of the page, or for the ones not being edited presently, as text selection seem to grab most of the page text at any click and drag.
- jonathontoon 7y ago
  As the original developer on this I was building everything on Windows so didn't have Safari immediately available to test on. I'll take a look though and make sure improvements get made if needed!
benjaminjackman 7y ago
One minor suggestion: just in case you haven't considered it, is to `favor undo over confirmation`. So when the user deletes a note, instead of asking if they are sure with an alert dialog, just delete the note but also have an undo buffer (or trash can) so they can restore it easily.
- jonathontoon 7y ago
  Someone suggested this recently. My personal thought on it is not to try to be too smart and over-engineer things. Relying on a browser's native dialog system simply just works and doesn't really need to be maintained. Doesn't mean it will always remain this way, that's just my current attitude regarding it.
  - BubRoss 7y ago
    It doesn't just work though, because it is a detriment to the user's workflow and is just easier to make.
  - mosselman 7y ago
    Delete with confirm gives you a far worse UX than undo does though.
    - LoveMortuus 7y ago
      Also having the confirm there, kind of disrupts the flow. At least for me, your mileage may vary. Cool website though.
- coolgeek 7y ago
  This makes sense intuitively, from the user psychology perspective. However, if you delete, but allow for the user to undo, you run the risk of a lost connection in between the delete and a potential undo call. It's possible for the back end to still behave as in the confirm workflow (while the front end follows undo). But that's ... complicated.
sfRattan 7y ago
This is a great little tool! The subtle grid reminds me, oddly perhaps, of OneNote. It was my favorite note taking app in college, and there was an implicit/invisible grid at the base of every page with similar click and drag boxes for text and other media. Ever since 2018 when Microsoft began removing features (i.e. local notebook support) and stopped updating the full desktop version, I've been searching for a viable replacement and debating just building one myself. The continued free availability of the depreciated desktop app has stopped me from taking the plunge, but OneNote is no longer something I expect to count on forever. There's definitely a crowd of people who like visual note taking apps with just a little bit of organizing framework. And there's definitely demand for that kind of application.
- kompressor 7y ago
  Hi - I’m on the OneNote team. We’re bringing the full desktop version back into active support and development (announced at Ignite in Nov). We made this decision after hearing strong and consistent feedback from customers like you. Hope to keep you as a fan!
jonathontoon 7y ago
Hi all, I'm Jonathon, the maintainer of the Manifest repo. Thanks to whoever linked it here on Hacker News, I was wondering why it was get more attention that I expected...Appreciate the support and feedback thus far!
tsukurimashou 7y ago
I did something similar a few years ago, I used markdown inside my notes so I could put links / images and format the text easily. The notes were also stored on a mongodb, so they can be accessible from anywhere. The only thing I was a bit stuck on, is when you define a grid size, it is quite hard to make it work anywhere, especially if you have big differences in resolution between your devices.

77 points by andreypopp 7y ago

gen_greyface 7y ago

Feels great, but is there an option to switch out of the dark theme or is it the only one

kick 7y ago
It probably depends on your browser's settings? It's light for me.
rochacon 7y ago
Yes, press Alt+T :) https://github.com/jonathontoon/manifest/blob/c51828086d972f4aa1332e7a545b334f11dc2345/src/js/index.js#L441 https://github.com/jonathontoon/manifest/blob/c51828086d972f...
- keyle 7y ago
  If you're going to have obscure shortcuts, may I suggest that you document them part of a note somewhere maybe accessible via a '(?)' icon at the bottom of the page? Also, your dark mode is way too dark and contrasted. Consider something like this: https://imgur.com/a/8FLdGb5 https://imgur.com/a/8FLdGb5 HTH
  - gremlinsinc 7y ago
    Totally agree w/ all of this.. esp. the dark contrast in the imgur link is way better - imho.
  - jonathontoon 7y ago
    Dark mode was just added over the weekend, so there's probably a better way to address how to find out about features, shortcuts etc as they get built. As for the contrast I think it's just a case of visual style preference. I think the current contrast works for now but it's only been out for a little while, so happy to see more responses down the road.

dang 7y ago

We changed the URL from https://github.com/jonathontoon/manifest https://github.com/jonathontoon/manifest to the project page.

keyle 7y ago

Nice work! Safari is kind of limited with it, it takes a few clicks to create a note, sometimes(?) Also a no-select might be good for certain part of the page, or for the ones not being edited presently, as text selection seem to grab most of the page text at any click and drag.

jonathontoon 7y ago
As the original developer on this I was building everything on Windows so didn't have Safari immediately available to test on. I'll take a look though and make sure improvements get made if needed!

benjaminjackman 7y ago

One minor suggestion: just in case you haven't considered it, is to `favor undo over confirmation`. So when the user deletes a note, instead of asking if they are sure with an alert dialog, just delete the note but also have an undo buffer (or trash can) so they can restore it easily.

jonathontoon 7y ago
Someone suggested this recently. My personal thought on it is not to try to be too smart and over-engineer things. Relying on a browser's native dialog system simply just works and doesn't really need to be maintained. Doesn't mean it will always remain this way, that's just my current attitude regarding it.
- BubRoss 7y ago
  It doesn't just work though, because it is a detriment to the user's workflow and is just easier to make.
- mosselman 7y ago
  Delete with confirm gives you a far worse UX than undo does though.
  - LoveMortuus 7y ago
    Also having the confirm there, kind of disrupts the flow. At least for me, your mileage may vary. Cool website though.
coolgeek 7y ago
This makes sense intuitively, from the user psychology perspective. However, if you delete, but allow for the user to undo, you run the risk of a lost connection in between the delete and a potential undo call. It's possible for the back end to still behave as in the confirm workflow (while the front end follows undo). But that's ... complicated.

sfRattan 7y ago

This is a great little tool! The subtle grid reminds me, oddly perhaps, of OneNote. It was my favorite note taking app in college, and there was an implicit/invisible grid at the base of every page with similar click and drag boxes for text and other media. Ever since 2018 when Microsoft began removing features (i.e. local notebook support) and stopped updating the full desktop version, I've been searching for a viable replacement and debating just building one myself. The continued free availability of the depreciated desktop app has stopped me from taking the plunge, but OneNote is no longer something I expect to count on forever. There's definitely a crowd of people who like visual note taking apps with just a little bit of organizing framework. And there's definitely demand for that kind of application.

kompressor 7y ago
Hi - I’m on the OneNote team. We’re bringing the full desktop version back into active support and development (announced at Ignite in Nov). We made this decision after hearing strong and consistent feedback from customers like you. Hope to keep you as a fan!

jonathontoon 7y ago

Hi all, I'm Jonathon, the maintainer of the Manifest repo. Thanks to whoever linked it here on Hacker News, I was wondering why it was get more attention that I expected...Appreciate the support and feedback thus far!

tsukurimashou 7y ago

I did something similar a few years ago, I used markdown inside my notes so I could put links / images and format the text easily. The notes were also stored on a mongodb, so they can be accessible from anywhere. The only thing I was a bit stuck on, is when you define a grid size, it is quite hard to make it work anywhere, especially if you have big differences in resolution between your devices.