What is Reddit's opinion of NotePlan?

From 3.5 billion Reddit comments

Yep, the Calendar, Periodic Notes and Timeline plug-ins all make time-based notes really powerful. Knowledge Graph, DataView, Tagging, Random Notes and the Review plug-in all help you visualize and/or get back to previous notes a verity ways.

My only other suggestion along with the previously mentioned Agenda would be NotePlan if Obsidian isn’t your thing.

Hi /u/noghbaudie, this is possible. Both on iOS and macOS. In the new iOS version (get the beta from the website if you don't have it yet https://noteplan.co) see preferences (was added in one of the last updates) and on macOS you can do this in the macOS' system preferences "Language & Region". Reload NotePlan or hit CMD+R inside the calendar to reload it. NotePlan takes the system preferences of macOS.

That's brilliant info, thanks Cassidy.

What was really great to hear was you using Elementary for your volunteer work. I've been building a curriculum and course materials to start teaching coding to juniors, seniors, and underpriveleged in my local community (for free, not a commercial thing), and while I started the plan thinking I would use Debian with XFCE, I really like the OOTB experience for new users that Elementary offers, so I think I'll use that when I start the course.

I spun up Pop!_OS in VirtualBox the other day. I was very impressed with the cohesive look and feel. However Gnome lost me after 3.22. It has just been getting far too heavy and inefficient. If it wasn't for that, I would be really keen to give Pop a go.

The AppCenter has been a really great project too. I also have a few app ideas, and I feel confident as a developer that the build/test/deploy/support cycle will work really nicely with what's been setup in the AppCenter.

I was getting a bit disillusioned with the age of the packages in Elementary (being based on 16.04), but I have started compiling those that I really want/need to be up to date, and it has been a pretty painless experience. Some of them (e.g. Neovim) also offer a PPA, so that's pretty painless too.

Did you see this Note taking app on HackerNews last week? I haven't used it yet, but maybe it will give you some ideas: https://noteplan.co/

Thanks again :)

You may want to give NotePlan a look, as I think it covers all of your requests. I use it for taking notes and capturing things, and use Things for actually managing the tasks that come out of it. NotePlan also has a robust task management system, but I still prefer the elegance of Things for that. The NotePlan dev is also quite active in their Discord and is very responsive to user requests and bug reports

Thanks for reporting this issue! The duplicate files are not created intentionally by NotePlan. I'm still not quite sure where they come from. But I saw it very rarely on in my folder too especially after using the Share Extension. Do you have an idea how they could have been created? Did you use the Share Extension for example?

​

NotePlan itself does not sync the data, it works through iCloud Drive. Either it was synced but NotePlan didn't notice or it wasn't synced at all. I think for you the sync didn't happen at all. The iCloud Drive syncing might hang on some devices. Logging out of iCloud and logging back in helped me usually to resolve syncing issues. It re-downloads everything. Here are some more tips and screenshots how to resolve it: https://noteplan.co/faq/Save%20&%20Sync/How%20to%20fix%20iCloud%20Syncing%20Problems/

​

​

Hey, yes. In the upcoming new version its already there and working. See here: https://noteplan.co/assets/videos/create-event.MP4. Is this what you mean? Is there anything I should add? Will improve it further down the line, but that would be the starting point when the new version comes out soon on TestFlight first.

I made an app where you have a note for every day in your calendar. There you can add notes and todos using markdown, check them off or keep them saved in this day as undone and then review it later. The problem you describe could be solved with this app. See here: https://noteplan.co.

Let me know if it doesn't really solve your problem.

Right, on iOS this is missing yet. But it's coming very soon with the new version. Have gone very deep into the event/reminder feature set this time. See here the current progress: https://noteplan.co/assets/videos/create-event.MP4. It has almost all the features which you also find in other calendar apps. More than the macOS app offers at the moment, will carry this over later.

Additionally regarding notifications, I thought we could have a tag for this or detect it with the time like suggested. What could be the best here? If I do @remind(12:00) for example, then it could give me a notification at this time (not an actual reminder). Or if we add a time @12:00 it could notify at this time. I make this distinction here so that we can avoid having the markdown todo AND the reminder on the same page. Feels somehow wrong to have both.

If you use Apple products, I highly recommend NotePlan. It uses markdown, and has kind of a bullet journal vibe. It’s about as simple as you can get, but also has capabilities to add complexity if needed. There isn’t anything to ‘fiddle with’ like some of the more complex apps. Just keep up with your stuff, then go do your stuff. The day view shows a list of calendar events at the top. Below that is a blank page where you can make notes, todos, whatever text you want. You can schedule todos, mark them completed, etc. There is also a separate area for notes. These notes can have scheduled tasks that will show up in the day view. NotePlan

NotePlan is the best native Mac app replacement I’ve found that does what you want and stores everything in plaintext files in a simple folder directory on your computer.

Craft has been mentioned in this thread, but their file format is still proprietary (they state on their website that their goal is to change this to plaintext in the future, but I’ll believe it when I see it).

I really like the simple "WYSIWYG markdown editor" part

Any chance of adding a calendar sidebar for journaling ?

I'm looking for something like noteplan (but I'm on windows...) or DailyNotes (but file based...)

Not yet but a beta (make backups of your notes!) and follow updates via TestFlight or Discord:

@everyone v3.3 BETA (Build 678 Mac / 672 Setapp / 679 iOS) available

NEW - Publish Notes Share a note simply by uploading it to the web and copying a web link. The web note will also be updated if you change it locally in NotePlan. And it will be automatically unpublished, if you move it or delete it locally.

IMPROVEMENTS / FIXES - >date is working between daily notes now (including >today) - Open notes in new windows using CMD+Click in the sidebar and command bar results. - Improved merging of conflicting notes while the notes is open and being edited. - Backups are automatically created now if you attempt to re-upload notes to the database, or resync. - Fixed a lot of false-positives for timeblocking. - Logs are being flushed before you share them automatically (upon clicking "open log folder" or on iOS when hitting the share button) - Fixed conflict resolution didn't work when you selected the current version (bug from the first alpha) - AppleScript command added to add a new note (addNote with title <title> and content <content>) - Survey added which shows after 30 days (needs still some polishing)

Plugins - Fixed text not being rendered after replacing selected text. - Fixed on iOS: calling CommandBar.hide() and then showing it again didn't reopen the command bar and it looked like the plugin silently crashed. Now it will ignore hide() if you show the command bar again.

Downloads: ➡️ TestFlight for iOS & Mac (Monterey): https://testflight.apple.com/join/fm9q4OjE ➡️ Mac AppStore: https://noteplan.co/download/NotePlan-3-Beta-678-AppStore.zip ➡️ Mac Setapp: https://noteplan.co/download/NotePlan-3-Beta-672-Setapp.zip

Did you see the page about Nested Tags

> Structure your notes and tasks into a folder-like structure just using tags. Combined with a search spanning your calendar and project notes you don't have to worry about where to keep everything.

You can have #Marketing/ideas for example

I have a script that runs daily right before midnight that exports (append) my completed task of the day to NotePlan daily notes for the day.

This way, next morning I have a list of completed todos along my other daily notes, etc.

I use [NotePlan](https://noteplan.co), and my scrap notes go on the Calendar notes, while my long term ideas and notes go in proper notes. The beauty of this system is can keep track of tasks and stuff in progress while simultaneously having access (and linking to) my valuable notes, without mixing them (NotePlan has backlink support, which makes it really easy to go from one type to another)

Thanks for this summary! Awesome points. I added whatever was missing in my notes.

Some questions and comments:

> TextExpander support in the iOS app

What do you mean by this, how would TextExpander be supported? Can you elaborate? Like do I need to add something to specifically support TextExpander (sorry, never tried it on iOS)?

> A fuller markdown implementation

Custom themes are added now where you can add your favorite markdown flavour now manually by customizing a theme. For a start see the Custom Theme Documentation. If you are not a coder, there are copy-paste ready snippets and at the bottom you'll find a link to a GitHub repo where we have already a few themes supporting strikethrough and highlighting. This keeps growing and I'll add also more examples to the documentation. Simple things are possible with this, anything which looks like **bold** can be user added this way.

I believe on the website? I'm not sure where I learned about time blocking feature, but I think I did later notice it in the official docs. I just can't find it to link it for you

I’m using Zettelkasten for this. First, while reading a book, article or watching a video, I take a note which goes into my inbox folder first (GTD style, so that you can concentrate on the content and don’t worry about filing things just yet).

Once I’m done with collecting some information in a note, I create ‘permanent’ Zettelkasten notes and file them. These notes are relatively short, atomic, connected and written in your own words. This means each note contains one idea on which you elaborate a bit without copying or quoting and you connect it to a related note by linking them.

In this process you might add more ideas and connect them like a chain of thoughts which you develop over time. While filing (at a different time than creating the initial inbox note), you discover other notes you wrote about other books and create new connections. At one point you will get to a critical mass of notes so that the Zettelkasten will ‘surprise’ you with connections and notes you didn’t think of or totally forgot.

Here is a video, explaining my process and how the notes look like: https://youtu.be/A4BVwialsc0. I’m using NotePlan. I can recommend the book “How to take smart notes” by Sönke Ahrens.

It’s not free but I’m currently using something called NotePlan2 https://noteplan.co/noteplan-2/ It’s basically like a digital bullet journal. It Combines your calendar with your reminder and daily tasks / notes.

You can try NotePlan, if you in the Apple ecosystem. It saves your notes as plain text markdown and syncs them with CloudKit (whatever you choose) across your devices. It has backlinking and daily notes integrated with your calendar and reminders.

I'm the dev, ask me anything (and I'm using it for my own Zettelkasten) :)

Try NotePlan, you have a blank page for every day on your calendar. This way tasks are not dragged over to the next day and you don’t build up a bucket list. You need to move things manually or put them out of view on another list. This little friction helps prioritizing.

Since you're all Apple, you may also want to check out NotePlan. It also has the advantage of making all of your tasks and notes available as Markdown files as actual external files, so if you ever want to switch to something else it's pretty simple to move everything somewhere else. They also have a subreddit at r/noteplanapp

I run a small app business (https://noteplan.co) and track my sales numbers in Excel for every day, do some journaling in a paper notebook by recalling what I have achieved yesterday and writing down what I want to achieve today + any problems which are bothering me. I'm thinking by writing. Then I do the "serious" bullet journaling in my app "NotePlan" where I write down the main task of the day and review what is left from yesterday to transfer it to today.

I'm using https://noteplan.co. It's compatible with Obsidian and runs on Markdown plain text files, so you never get locked out of your data. Since I'm the developer, I'm making it even better for Zettelkasten.

Well...

iA Writer can only do a clean and full folders sync with iCloud, not with Dropbox (I guess it's due to API limitations).

My question was about why not change your workflow. IMO, for wikis a better solution is something like Notion, since it allows you, among other things, work with Markdown, tables, equations, files, images, internal links. I find it the most efficient way to work with wikis.

Although, you could give a try to NotePlan, which has synchronization with Dropbox and uses Markdown as file format (haven't tested it myself, though). It has a trial version if you'd like to test it.

PS: English is not my mother tongue, sorry for my grammar mistakes.

Hi, you downloaded NotePlan 2? Then you are syncing with iCloud Drive, please check it. Here is a guide with steps you can follow: https://noteplan.co/faq/Save%20&%20Sync/How%20to%20fix%20iCloud%20Syncing%20Problems/

I won’t recommend Day One cos it’s just a boring default but feel free to give it a try still.

Depending on the format of your journal, you should try Notion, which does much more than writing because it’s a note-taking app mainly.

The other one that’s similar to Notion with rich editing experience is Noto. It’s fully native compared to Notion so it feels smoother but with less organizational features.

If you’d like to tie your journal entry to a date, NotePlan is a good option with both mobile and desktop options. Agenda is another app from similar angle but feels less straightforward as NotePlan.

There are also apps that don’t expect you to use text and simply answer a few mood tracking questions, some of these even allow you to define question of your own. These are usually designed for mobile only. Stoic, Jour, Reflectly are among the most popular.

Another style that I personally use is timestamped logs, it’s like chatting or tweeting, but private. My goal was making the entry really stress-free and search and organization quick and fluid using hashtags and inline search. I created this app called ZenJournal. It’s also mobile only and text only currently, so you have to manually import/export your logs for desktop.

Good luck finding the best one for you!

Hi and thanks for sharing this!

Regarding syncing, you can check this site: https://noteplan.co/faq/Save%20&%20Sync/How%20to%20fix%20iCloud%20Syncing%20Problems/

It covers most issues. For a permanent solution, I'm currently working on integrating CloudKit in NotePlan 3. This circumvents the whole iCloud Drive problematic while keeping a folder of local files as database locally.

Regarding the markdown, you can turn off rendering in the preferences under "Markdown". But I guess you want to turn it off only temporarily while editing?

Custom tag icons: I know you can change the icons, but you can use them inside the tags, like #👨‍💻/projectname with nested tags.

And finally, PC. Once CloudKit is done, we can have a simple web version. Already tested it and it works quite well.

I'm currently using NotePlan, which ticks all the right boxes for me (plain text storage, macOS and iOS, does not impose any kind of workflow, fully supports WikiLinks, is scriptable).

As a bonus, it's also an excellent task manager / planner / calendar (I know that sounds ludicrous, but the dev really nailed the feature set and implementation, IMHO).

Definitely worth trying if you're looking for a Zettel editor with some extra bits.

One feature that's missing is Backlinks, which the dev is working on. Meanwhile, I made my own implementation: https://github.com/bomberstudios/noteplan-backlinks

Hope it helps!

u/EduardMet, the link to the beta version doesnt work. I think the folder system would be a huge win and cant wait to try it out. could you help me with the download link to the beta version? https://noteplan.co/beta doesn't work for me

Hey, you can try to remove NotePlan from your connected apps in your dropbox settings maybe? I found a tab in the settings called "connected settings" and at the bottom was NotePlan. Or if you try to switch back using an old version of NotePlan, that might do the trick: https://noteplan.co/download/NotePlan-512.zip.

Let me know if that worked!

After using 20+ different tools over 10 years, I had settled on Evernote (store of information), Omnifocus (goals/tasks), and Google Suite (meetings, email, docs).

Recently I've switched over to NotePlan.co to consolidate Evernote and Omnifocus into one app. Still use Google Suite, especially docs for team stuff.

I'm actually working with Eduard at NotePlan on version 3 of the apps (Mac and iOS) - if you'd like to check out our upcoming beta let me know!

Hi, thanks for your reply.

I removed any tags that used a colon in order to try to use the @time tags like the FAQ showed. However, it’s still not working like the link, so I was wondering what to do. I wanted to see my todos scheduled so I can plan my day better.

Hey! Did you download NotePlan 2 from the website or AppStore? Try https://noteplan.co/download. This view should appear by default. You can also share a screenshot (here) or email me

New Beta for Mojave and lower users: https://noteplan.co/download/NotePlan-483.zip

Changes: Rendering wasn't working for completed, scheduled and canceled tasks.

Hey, disclaimer, I made this app: NotePlan. Boiled down to its essentials you have a note for every day in your calendar and can track things with tags. It's a calendar married to a digital notebook. So you can dd something like #hiking and write a comment behind it. Like:

Calendar event: Hiking 5pm - 7pm

Note: - Loved this hiking trail #hiking

Then use the tag system to find all your #hiking related comments.

Updated: https://noteplan.co/download/NotePlan-473.zip

Changes: Fixed issues with the filter being active even when you selected a tag or just searched. Renaming implemented and editing existing filters (still one issue with editing).

NotePlan for Mac, iPhone and iPad. It's text based and you can freely jot down your tasks for every day in your calendar without worrying about where exactly you should tug away all your tasks and projects.

I want to throw in another solution, disclaimer: I'm the creator. Try NotePlan for macOS and iOS. Its - as you mentioned - combining tasks, notes and reminders. Additionally it's hooked up to your calendar for daily planning. It's not free, but I'm developing it with regular updates every 2-3 weeks and give super quick support. But be careful, if you use it you might not have anything left to-do for the day ;)

Hi, thanks for sharing this! Actually the feature wasn't implemented. The option in the menubar is somewhat standard. But it comes in the next update!

See here a beta: https://noteplan.co/assets/NotePlan-444.zip

Let me know what you think and what should be improved!

Hey, thanks for sharing, I have collected the usual fixed in this article: https://noteplan.co/faq/Save%20&%20Sync/How%20to%20fix%20iCloud%20Syncing%20Problems/

​

You are running Mojave, Sierra or High Sierra? I saw there are quite some problems using Catalina (10.15 Beta).

I recommend OmniFocus for Mac and iOS or plain text using Markdown, TaskPaper, or Todo.txt.

When it comes to tasks related to dates and times, you'll want a user-friendly database like OmniFocus (or whatever app you decide to use). I've been an OmniFocus user for almost 10 years. I loved how it's evovled, and I believe it will continue to get better. A web version is on the way. After trying other cloud competitors and local apps such as Things, I'll pick The Omni Group due to focusing and polishing one platform, the large community, back end database, archiving, syncing, and customer support. They are a consistent company with frequent updates. You'll be surprised how task managers will become almost like a journal, so you'll want a robust app and routine to archive, export, and reference for the future. Omni is pricey, but worth every penny if you're using it daily.

If I was not using OmniFocus, I would use plain text for cross-platform use and easy archiving. This approach is limited and requires a lot of discipline to maintain. A LOT! Especially if you're dealing with dates and times. I use a bit of plain text for task management with Sublime Text, and I may use even more in the future. However, database apps like OmniFocus take away a lot of daily organizational stress (unless you create your own stress by organizing versus doing). If you're not careful, any approach or app will become a dumping ground, and you'll wind up not using anything.

A new plain text task manager is NotePlan for the Apple ecosystem. Version 2 was just released.

Discipline is needed no matter what you decide. Tasks managers are tools becoming your external brain. You still have to do the work. And there is not a one-size-fits all approach. There's just a lot of good ideas out there.

Hi! Thanks for sharing this! I have just an hour ago replied to your email. Basically all known fixes for this are summarised here: https://noteplan.co/faq/Save%20&%20Sync/How%20to%20fix%20iCloud%20Syncing%20Problems/.

There is a week view in the 2.0 for iOS. Will port this back to macOS once we have released it. Did you have a chance to check it out yet? Just go to the website https://noteplan.co and you'll see how to join the beta right away.

If you are using iOS and macOS, I made an app where you have a note with todos for every day in your calendar instead of events. There you check them off like you say -> Check out NotePlan.

In my work environment keeping a journal helps me to document my decisions, reasons and why/how I did things. This way I can go back and review my thoughts if I come across something similar again. This makes me more productive because I don't have to come to the same conclusions again. I can build on my past thoughts (since I forget most of the details months down the line). This also helps a lot if you review your day. You got everything documented so its easier to mentally walk through your day at the end of the day and stay on top of everything.

I was experimenting with a physical notebook. Not very expensive but big (A4 size) and nice looking. I enjoy writing in it and I put a date for every new "entry". But its really bad for reviewing and reading. I can flip through it and read something random like to find out what I did last month. It's obviously not searchable so I will never find my past thoughts on a re-occuring topic so easily.

I also wrote a planning app (https://noteplan.co). Originally for my todos and not necessarily for journaling. But now I also record anything I come across in a specific day. It gives you a note for every day in the calendar and it's searchable. So you can go back on a topic and review.

Ok, I got some idea here. Something like this, but also from inside the note: noteplan.co/assets/img/swipe-menu.png

Means, a menu which opens on pull down (or by clicking the menu button top right) and in this menu you would have all the required view options. From inside the note you could have an option to jump into the notes overview or directly into a note by showing a list.

What do you think?

Some update to see how events and reminders look like now and a more complete form to create them:

https://noteplan.co/assets/videos/create-event.MP4

Hi! The app is saving it locally into the iCloud Drive folder from where iCloud does it's magic and syncs it. Your issue sounds like something else. Can you check your iCloud Drive folder once? Might be iCloud renamed your note files and it just looks like they are disappearing. You can check this using the "Folders" app on iOS or on macOS go directly to the folder: https://noteplan.co/faq/Save%20&%20Sync/Cant%20find%20the%20iCloud%20Drive%20folder%20on%20Mac/.

If you see in the calendars folder something like "20180531 2.txt" it means the content is in there, but NotePlan doesn't read it because it doesn't look for renamed notes. iCloud somehow does this sometimes, but I couldn't figure out why and how to reproduce it.

Let me know if this is the issue for you!

I don't use sync, so I didn't realize this, but to have them sync with reminders, it works in a completely different way: https://noteplan.co/faq/Save%20&%20Sync/Create%20calendar%20events%20and%20reminders/