- 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)
1. You can link between Notes. On a note, click collaborate icon, click add people, in share options tap icon for Copy Link, and then dismiss the To: dialog with the “Copy Link” text top right. Paste that link in another note. Now they’re cross-linked like a wiki. Instead of doing all this, create/use a shortcut.
2. Use Exporter: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/exporter/id1099120373?mt=12
3. Protect any given note with a key. The note data is encrypted, and stored encrypted anywhere it is stored.
4. Surely changing the background is an optional feature, not a limitation? There are a ton of features Notes doesn’t have, but not having them may not be in the “limitation” category.
// FWIW, I mostly use Ulysses.
2. Thanks.
3. Per note encryption is useful, but it would be nicer to have the entire notebook stored off line on an encrypted disk. E.g. If I share my computer with people its easy to see what sets of files/notes are "open" by looking at Finders mounted disks list. If the data does not get transferred over the network it adds another layer of security - I do not have to rely on Apples implementation.
4. It is a limitation to me as reading/writing is the primary feature and its a personal preference to have a solid background. Same category as font size adjustment. Minor inconvenience.
...
4. In the latest MacOS/iOS betas this has been updated to a solid background!
https://www.macstories.net/stories/everything-changing-in-ap...
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.
https://medium.com/macoclock/exporting-your-apple-notes-to-m...
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.
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.
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.
On Firefox on Ubuntu 18.04 hitting Enter once will not go to the next line. Hit Enter again and it will go down two lines.
Works fine in Chromium but there's no reason I shouldn't be able to use Firefox, especially when Apple pretends to champion privacy...
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.
I get the markdown thing but it just seems to add a layer of complexity to a market crowded with productivity porn.
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.
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.
That, for me, makes it a nonstarter.
I'm a gigantic privacy advocate and probably senselessly cautious about tons of technologies, but that's the result of a conscious choice. Set and forget encryption, or programs that advertise they can skip the first step, are dangerous in my opinion/experience. It can give the wrong impression about security and lead to dangerous decisions/actions or lack thereof.
The concept behind thoughtless encryption is noble, but for all encryption models/schemes I know of, it has to be a concentrated and intentional decision else you end up with:
- Lost data due to key mismanagement (not a bad thing, but extremely inconvenient)
- Incomplete or ineffective encryption
- Vehicles for intentional deception that allow bad actors to get you to share sensitive/personal data under the impression that it's protected
and much much more.
Steve Yegge said it best when he said that Security and Usability are constantly at odds, and from my perspective, this is a good thing to some degree. With so many FUD apps that promise security, for the time being is a very convenient litmus test for laypersons to know "how much should I trust this app?"
I know that it's popular on HN to shit on Telegram, but in my current country of residence, Telegram is the most popular messenger program...for normal non-secretive messaging. It is extremely well known not to trust TG for secret conversations, illegal purchases or any other illegal activities, and so on. Not even on the basis of the security model of secret chats, but the discoverability of them. Basically the thought is "If you could find it without being a member of some ring of trust, so can the police". It's one reason why the conversations that frequently happen on HN about Telegram feel so misguided to me -- those who have conversations that may put themselves at risk __aren't using the app for such conversations__. They're not using any such apps, and either doing disposable communications (burner phones, pen and paper convos, etc), or they're arranging meetings in other ways.
Encryption/security has been commoditized by app and platform creators and packaged into a marketing tool. I wouldn't trust Telegram or Signal any more than I'd trust WhatsApp, Messenger, Messages, or whatever Google's monthly name for their chat app is to have such conversations in most countries.
To wrap it back to the GP's comment, I get the complaint about Apple Notes not being E2E encrypted -- but, if you've got sensitive data that needs to be recorded, why are you cloud-syncing it in the first place with a company that has frequently been investigated/prodded by the US Government, and even more frequently probed/violated by data exfiltration companies that work directly with the aforementioned government?
Unless you have a really short memory, I think you mean POTUS 39→45.
And while by a lot of measures POTUS 45 has been a disaster, POTUS 44 did far more damage to privacy than 45 has (yet).
So singling out Trump isn't really relevant or even useful.
"NSA offering 'billions' for Skype eavesdrop solution" (2009) — https://www.theregister.com/2009/02/12/nsa_offers_billions_f...
"Microsoft Buys Skype for $8.5 Billion. Why, Exactly?" (2011) — https://www.wired.com/2011/05/microsoft-buys-skype-2/
I'm very conscious of this now when I'm talking on the phone. Not that I really have anything to hide, but I'm always wondering how something would be perceived by someone who is listening in.
It's not a nice feeling at all. This is one of the reasons I hate mass-surveillance so much. Just that feeling that everything I do or say is on the record.
Sure, we're normal citizens with "nothing to hide" - but I've become wary of any possible channel of data collection, regardless of whether the end consumers are private parties or state agencies.
It's dystopian, that I'm having to consciously censor my speech in case anyone is listening. Same with HN - I doubt my comments are of any value to outsiders, but it's possible that someone will associate my real-life identity with this online account, and dig through (i.e., put the data through some extractive process) to assign various values, for unknown consumers - probably advertisers, but maybe even some "good citizen index".
Thankfully I live in the EU (oops, another data point leaked), where there's at least some level of privacy protected by law.
Sometimes I send a postcard where anybody that handles the card can read the message. If I want a little more privacy, I'll send the note in an envelope.
For the last part: Standard Notes, Joplin, jrnl, FS Notes (possibly), nvAlt (not actively developed) etc.
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.
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.
When done properly, the places the data sits/transits in-between have no ability to read or decrypt the information; it's indistinguishable from random data to those intermediate storage/relay services or nodes, because they never have access to the keys to decrypt it.
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.
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.
Apple Notes works fine on any platform that supports a modern web browser at icloud.com.
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.
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.
Edits also sometimes result in a bunch of duplicated notes.
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.
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.
The rub is that non iCloud is text only, so you lose functionality.
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)
i used notes for personal design drawings/sketches, and it was great for that purpose until the upgrade.
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?
Although it sucks that other developers do not get to offer their shortcuts.
I don't use the document scanner tho :(
I haven't tried it with Notes but with Apple's Podcast app it's a nice sqlite DB you can query.
Maybe it was this https://github.com/xwmx/notes-app-cli
[0]: https://github.com/threeplanetssoftware/apple_cloud_notes_pa...
I've used it and it works. Software developer also makes Another note taking app Falcon 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).
Additionally, iOS devices can be locked remotely.
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.steadfasti...
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.