11 ms·
Personally I find Apple Notes the most convenient for quick jotting down of ideas etc. It’s not the most advanced in terms of features but it loads instantly, i
by tomduncalf 6y ago
Personally I find Apple Notes the most convenient for quick jotting down of ideas etc. It’s not the most advanced in terms of features but it loads instantly, is quick to use and is available on all of my devices. Have tried numerous alternatives but they’ve never stuck e.g. they’re slow to start up or are fussy to use or don’t work well on one platform.
For deeper sketching out of ideas, diagrams etc I really like Concepts on iPad with the Apple Pencil. It has an infinite canvas and is all vector based, which is great for never worrying about whether there’s room to fit your idea on the page or whatever. Previously I used Notability and it was good and a bit more traditionally note based, but I miss the infinite canvas. The text recognition and handwriting features in Apple Notes on iOS 14 are pretty cool though, will be nice to see what third party apps do with them.
- dutch3000 6y agoi like using siri to add to apple notes, while ideas come to me or something during walks etc. works well with airpods pro.
- sitkack 6y agoHow do you backup Apple Notes? The PDF export loses fidelity. I really like AN for the integrated camera, esp the document scanner. Is there another application that allows for writing as well as annotating media, video, photos and sound?
- aj7 6y agoIt’s on iCloud.
- sitkack 6y agoIs iCloud a backup or a coordination mechanism? If someone steals an iDevice and starts nuking notes or deleting videos, are they not gone?
- kevindong 6y agoIt's a tradeoff of convenience vs. security. If someone steals my iPhone they would first have to get into it. Assuming they can do that, I'd have much bigger problems than my notes being tampered with. Additionally, iOS devices can be locked remotely.
- jurmous 6y agoAll deleted notes go to a "recently deleted" folder in which they will stay for 30 days. Although they could be permanently deleted from there and then it is really gone...
- agustif 6y agoI remember I used some notes-cli tool to export notes from Notes.app into txt or markdown files Maybe it was this https://github.com/xwmx/notes-app-cli https://github.com/xwmx/notes-app-cli
- bnj 6y agoI've been playing around with [0] recently, which has been a good way to learn about how apple notes are structured on the back end as well [0]: https://github.com/threeplanetssoftware/apple_cloud_notes_parser https://github.com/threeplanetssoftware/apple_cloud_notes_pa...
- lbotos 6y agoI loved apple notes, and have used it for years. I left (for joplin) because there was no easy way to do an export/backup without scripts or workarounds. I don't use the document scanner tho :(
- lalo2302 6y agoYou can save your notes as emails when you connect your gmail account.
- tomduncalf 6y agoNot something I had thought about actually. I’d always assumed iCloud was “good enough” for my use, though some interesting points raised below which would definitely be important for more important notes. Most of mine are quite throwaway to be honest.
- dewey 6y agoIt's a sqlite database so you could pull it from there: https://www.swiftforensics.com/2018/02/reading-notes-database-on-macos.html https://www.swiftforensics.com/2018/02/reading-notes-databas... I haven't tried it with Notes but with Apple's Podcast app it's a nice sqlite DB you can query.
- jliu70 6y agoThere's an app called "Exporter". http://falcon.star-lord.me/exporter/ http://falcon.star-lord.me/exporter/. I've used it and it works. Software developer also makes Another note taking app Falcon http://falcon.star-lord.me/#features http://falcon.star-lord.me/#features NOTE: Exporter works well, but it does NOT decrypt locked notes, nor does it handle anything outside of text (e.g, tables or images).
- wintermutestwin 6y agoThe best thing about Apple notes is that I can dictate while I am hiking. The problem is that it seems to require >2 bars of service, which is a rarity when I actually need it.
- 8ytecoder 6y agoApple dictation works offline - at least with the latest models. https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT208343 https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT208343
- schuke 6y agoI've heard you can use local voice recognition by long-pressing the dictation button.
- yencabulator 6y agoThat's one of the most ridiculous hidden UX'es I've heard of in a long while. It always surprises me when people think of Apple as somehow "user-friendly".
- jeromegv 6y agoDid you actually check? Just tried on my phone and it’s not there. But if I turn on airplane mode is still works so May be there’s no need for a setting at all.
- FireBeyond 6y agoI think you misunderstand. They are saying that even if it is there, it's a demented example. How on earth is "if you have internet connectivity, short press the dictation button, but if you want to do only local dictation, long press it" even remotely intuitive, or logical?
- sneak 6y agoApple Notes are not end to end encrypted. Thanks to programs like PRISM, US military intelligence has realtime access to the plaintext contents of much of the information you store in iCloud (including notes and photos), without a court order. That, for me, makes it a nonstarter.
- fargo 6y agoGoverning's harder
- criddell 6y agoAre you saying that the connection to Apple servers that hold the backups are not encrypted? That can't be... I'm almost certain they use TLS.
- sneak 6y agoNo, I'm saying that the notes are not encrypted from endpoint to endpoint. They are encrypted with TLS keys known to Apple in transit, and they are encrypted with storage keys known to Apple at rest in your iCloud account. This means that Apple has the ability to decrypt them at all times without your knowledge or involvement, and can and does so via the PRISM program for US military intelligence to access the plaintext data, the same as they do for the CCP in iCloud users in China. End to end encryption is not the same thing as transit encryption. For the record: PRISM is not "sniffing" or any other type of bulk surveillance program that would be thwarted by TLS. It's an API/app-driven program, run by and within large tech companies, that permits the US military intelligence organizations to pull the decrypted contents of the account of anyone on the service, directly from the storage systems of those tech companies. The majority of the data that the IC processes is the result of PRISM. I encourage you to read Bart Gellman's book Dark Mirror for more information and specifics.
- criddell 6y agoOkay, that makes more sense. When I'm backing up to an Apple server, I think of the two ends in the end-to-end encryption scheme as my computer and Apple's computer.
- amelius 6y agoDoes it integrate with Siri?
- cborenstein 6y agoI agree - choosing a tool that makes jotting stuff down most convenient is key. I believe that there hasn't been enough innovation in the jot-down phase of notes. Most people use Apple Notes, Google Keep, or raw text files. They're convenient for jot-down. But painful when it comes to organizing. Notes are easier to organize when they're modular. You can add modularity, without losing convenience or speed, by writing notes like you're messaging yourself. Fast jot-down + easy to organize in small steps = more likely to stick with it. (I'm one of the creators of the modular, messaging-like notes tool bytebase.io)
- arendtio 6y agoIs there a way to use it on a different platform? I like to use Linux systems and even though Microsoft sells Windows, OneNote allows me to use it in a browser. Apple still seems to favor their walled garden so that you have to live with all their downsides in order to enjoy the good parts.
- boskop 6y agoYes, you can use it on iCloud.com
- arendtio 6y agoThanks, I didn't know iCloud includes applications.
- cmroanirgo 6y agoIt's actually saving using imap. So you can configure it to use non iCloud and then use eg. 'imap notes' on Android. The rub is that non iCloud is text only, so you lose functionality.
- clairity 6y agoi liked apple notes on my ipad pro until i got bit badly by the upgrade to ios 13, where all the previous pencil drawings were flattened, and features like zoom and ruler (constant-interval across zoom levels) were removed. i used notes for personal design drawings/sketches, and it was great for that purpose until the upgrade.
- jkelleyrtp 6y agoConcepts is great! It's the best cross between note-taking and drafting, with all sorts of interesting rulers and sketching guides. You can even export as DXF to laser cut vector graphics straight from a sketch or drawing.
- vaxman 6y agoGood for drawing but not the best for taking notes/journals. You can export your drawings as PDFs to Notability or GoodNotes tho.
- tammer 6y agoI would argue that in a number of ways Apple Notes is one of the most advanced in terms of features. Yes, it doesn’t bombard you with its functionality and at first glance is a simple place to jot notes (perhaps its greatest strength). But dig into the feature list, and perhaps help me find a similar application that: 1) can combine tables, rich text formatting, and in-line sketches 2) can store any file type in-line 3) can encrypt protect notes 4) can bulk share Notes + live edit 5) has a built-in complex document scanner I know there are some alternatives that cover most of these but I think Apple Notes is king precisely because of these many layers of functionality.
- GekkePrutser 6y agoBig minus: Only works on Apple platforms :( I use macOS and iOS all the time but I also use Windows, Android and Linux. So sadly most of Apple's services don't work for me. Even though I know they're really good. I really wish they'd expand their horizons a bit. Microsoft stuff works on pretty much everything so why not theirs? I had no idea it was that good though, because of the above reason I never really used it.
- m3kw9 6y agoYou could still access it from web. The interface isnt bad, but it’s web, so no native UI.
- als0 6y agoSounds like it's a stone throw away from being packaged by someone as an Electron app :)
- refracture 6y agohttps://github.com/jiahaog/nativefier https://github.com/jiahaog/nativefier I used this to create an Electron app for my entire iCloud account. It's the only way I can stand to use it from my Linux machines due to the aforementioned Firefox bug. I don't mind using Chromium as an Electron app for this purpose though. Combined with Alltray I got a nice little Apple logo in my system tray that I leave open.
- balladeer 6y agoOther than a combination of fiddling inside ~/Library and some more SQLite circus there's really no way to make Apple Notes notes portable (across platforms) and even such circuitous hacks might break in any update or upgrade. That's a big enough no for me. This is one of those instances when the perceived Apple's walled garden convenience just falls flat. I personally prefer FSNotes (it has a long way to go but it's FOSS) and Bear. I am moving from Simplenote.
- deleted 6y ago[deleted]
- reaperducer 6y agothere's really no way to make Apple Notes notes portable (across platforms) Apple Notes works fine on any platform that supports a modern web browser at icloud.com.
- Spooky23 6y agoEscaping a walled garden into a subscription based text editor seems like a pot/kettle scenario.
- _the_inflator 6y agoYes, same here. I found out, that oftentimes I just need to vent something in a slightly structured way without any distraction. Apple Notes opens in an instant in an expected way, syncs and works across devices. It is not so much a great workflow I need, it is simply frictionless noting down immediately. After that I can go to further elaborate on the idea with a mightier tool. In my case it is GoodNotes. After lots of attempts and frustration (Which features should I use now to get this idea out?) I now use only Apple Notes and GoodNotes.
- divbzero 6y ago> loads instantly This is a key feature for note-taking apps — quick to load wherever you are — and is one reason why I also gravitate toward Apple Notes for jotting down ideas. I can then reorganize into documents or spreadsheets as needed when I’m back at a desk.
- justsomeuser 6y agoI like Apple Notes and would use it if it did not have the following limitations: - You cannot link between notes like a wiki (like Evernotes evernote://$note-guid) - You cannot export all your notes in a standardised format. - You cannot store notebooks in specific offline only encrypted disk images for privacy. - Cannot change background (must use paper emulation)
- submeta 6y ago> You cannot export all your notes in a standardised format. This! When I tried to export my notes I realized how hard to impossible it was to get them out. An absolute no-go for me. So I gave up on accumulating notes in this otherwise beautiful and practical app.
- Terretta 6y agoExporting your Apple Notes to Markdown-style at ease: https://medium.com/macoclock/exporting-your-apple-notes-to-markdown-style-at-ease-2359a3acb6a9 https://medium.com/macoclock/exporting-your-apple-notes-to-m...
- alex_free 6y agoYou can export to plain text by saving notes to the files app.
- hajimemash 6y agoDoes this work if you have 1000 notes?
- dunham 6y agoYeah, being able to get my data back out is a hard requirement for me too. It's one of the things that put me off of OneNote. A few years ago I wrote a few python scripts to export the Notes.app database to html and bear formats. I haven't really maintained them (although I still run it in a cronjob for backups), but I put them up on github in case it was useful to someone. https://github.com/dunhamsteve/notesutils https://github.com/dunhamsteve/notesutils
- austinl 6y agoI have to agree with this. I was on Notion for a while, and I've tried every other app out there, but found I was wasting too much time thinking about the structure and features instead of the content. I've gone back back to Apple's Notes and other native apps (Mail, Calendar). Yes, these apps are not perfect. Undoubtedly there are things other apps do better. But they fade into the background, they're simple and unassuming. They integrate into the OS well, are private, and will be around as long as Apple.
- foobiekr 6y agoI agree with this and notes is what I use - apple notes with cloud sync, especially on the phone. Every now and then, I move it all out of notes into standalone text files in a directory tree in Dropbox. Why? Because several times now I've lost notes due to Apple's cloud "sync." On a few occasions, the note turned up in the trash (with no action on my part) or simply disappeared. Putting aside the spontaneous deletes, one thing that seems to more frequently push things into the trash is editing the same note on more than once device - the handling of this on the icloud backend appears to be "hell, just delete it." edit: I should note that this spontaneous delete thing was more common a year ago, but then again, I've dramatically reduced the number of notes I maintain, now down to like 30 or so as opposed to the hundred+ I used to keep.
- Chirael 6y agoI too have occasionally lost Apple notes due to what I've imagined must be cloud sync issues. Whatever the cause, sometimes notes disappear and that is unforgivable. If I cannot trust that something I store in a note won't ever disappear, unless I explicitly delete it, then I cannot trust the system period, and thus cannot use it. I can't tell you how many times or how often it's happened. I think I must be on the third or fourth re-creation of my "Restaurants" list in the last couple of years, and that's just the one that comes to mind easiest. Really disappointing that they couldn't get that right.
- hajimemash 6y agoThis delete issue happened to me as recently as 2 months back and I lost a year-long running note. Edits also sometimes result in a bunch of duplicated notes.
- samwunders 6y agotruer words never spoken. but what does this have to say about technology in general?
- jhund 6y agoI have been using Notability with great success for the last year. Having a fixed page like canvas doesn't strike me as a problem as I can move my diagrams around and scale them if I run out of space (huge advantage compared to drawing on paper). Before Notability I was using mostly markdown files in git. However, using handwriting instead of typing has improved my cognition and creativity significantly. When I'm faced with a challenging task, I start doodling in Notability and keep being surprised at the creative solutions that emerge as I'm writing and sketching. There seems to be a richer thought process to be happending when I use my hands for thinking (rather than pressing keys on a keyboard). Some additional spontaneous thoughts: - Searchability of my handwritten notes is great, even after I export my notes to PDF. - Exporting to PDF stores my notes in a long lasting standard format, preserving the character of my handwriting and diagrams. - Being able to move/scale diagrams as I develop them has allowed me to start sketching more easily without any idea of where the diagram will go (e.g., ERD). - Synching: I have Notability running on my desktop Mac, iPad, and iPhone. iPad Pro 12.9" is my primary device, together with Apple Pencil. Mac is for copying in screenshots from web pages, or large amounts of text. And I use it on iPhone on the go to capture ideas, access shopping lists, etc. - Some document structure is useful: I have monthly work notes, yearly personal notes, "Inbox" on the go, and long running project notes that I keep adding to and tweak.
- Feolkin 6y agoI'm constantly annoyed that there are no decent stylus apps on Android. The only one with an infinite canvas has more annoyances and issues than I can count (beginning with how scheduled backups can only be pointed at cloud storage, and manual local backups can only be made to a proprietary format) and I just absolutely hate it.
- suhlash 6y agoI use Squid on Android. I learned to adjust the options to suit me well. I use my stylus for writing or drawing and use my fingers to lasso objects to move them or resize them. My stylus has an eraser function when I use the back end of the stylus. https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.steadfastinnovation.android.projectpapyrus&hl=en https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.steadfasti...
- Feolkin 6y agoI also use Squid. It's the app I'm talking about it. It effectively holds your data hostage and if there were any other alternative, I'd use it. The UI is also quite bad and the functionality just isn't there compared to the best iOS stylus notetaking apps.
- maremp 6y agoAlso, the 1st party support and integration is something that makes me go back. For example, being able to create a new note directly from the control center on iOS. And paired with faceID it’s seamless even when doing it from a locked screen. Although it sucks that other developers do not get to offer their shortcuts.