A wiki for your desktop

I have recently been exploring alternative software to OneNote. OneNote works really well for me and it is my main note-taking app. I like how I can easily organise my thoughts into a hierarchical structure that synchronises across all my devices. In fact OneNote has for a long time replaced my own memory. I mainly use it as a 'rough work book' for my own ideas, as well as a collaborative space to work with colleagues. I really like how I can make a new quick note from the taskbar in Windows 10, or from my Windows phone or Android tablet when I am on the move. I can start with a quick idea when I am on my Lumia 950 and then finish the task as a 365 document later on. On my Surface device, the OneNote notebook works very well with the surface pen and feels almost exactly like a fine line pen on paper.

In fact, although this articles will deal with some interesting note-taking applications, I do think that OneNote is the king.

There is Evernote, of course, however I have always thought of this as a poor-man's alternative to OneNote. The free version currently only allows me to use the application on a maximum of two devices at once. This limitation has instantly turned me away from using Evernote and I am very unlikely to ever go back to it.

I have used TreePad a few times. The free version allows you to organise a set of notes as a hierarchical tree structure. Your notes can be exported as HTML for sharing with others. The free version has a look and feel similar to your default text editor albeit with a tree structure for organisation. The paid for versions have more advanced features including a full word-processor style of interface and custom styles amongst many other features.

TreePad Lite (free version) running in Windows 10 showing the tree structure.

TreePad document structure of TreePad PLUS (paid for version) showing custom icons/font and other goodness. 

Treepad files (including the node structures) are plain text files, and so it is fairly easy to generate treepad files programmatically in the language of your choice.

Action Note - note taking in your action center

Another note taking app I use is Action Note for Windows. This is a note taking app that sits in your action center. I use this for taking quick notes on my phone and synchronising with my PC. I have already written a blog post covering Action Note last year.

Zim

Zim is a 'wiki for your desktop'. Just like in OneNote and TreePad you maintain your notes as a hierarchical tree structure. Each page can include text and images, with a bunch of plug-ins available including task manager and equation editor.

Zim pages are formatted in a wiki structure that allow links to other pages in the document. Creating a new node is as simple as linking to a non-existent page. Links are maintained in a simple mark-up syntax, such as :Notes:page1 or +newpage.

Zim notebooks can be exported as HTML pages with various pre-set templates. Indeed the Zim website itself was written in Zim.

I have only just discovered Zim, and as such have not got much to show for it, however I can already see that it has many advantages over TreePad most notably the fact that it is a free download; can run across Linux and Windows, not to mention the simple node creation and exporting features. Until discovering Zim, I was considering paying for the full version of TreePad PLUS, however now I don't think I will bother.

The Zim manual, written using Zim.

Video Time

Noteworthy note apps for #Windows

When it comes to taking notes on Windows, OneNote is the king, however I have come across a couple of apps recently that are well worth looking at if you find yourself regularly using your devices to jot down memos or ideas.

The first is Microsoft's own OneNote competitor - Plumbago, and the second is Action Note.

Plumbago

With Plumbago (let's ignore the stupid name for now) Microsoft declare that it 'is time to retire pen and paper'.  I wholly agree with the sentiment, however OneNote is still the winner.

Making notes on my Surface Book

Plumbago features hand-writing smoothing which admittedly does little for my horrendous scrawl.  You can create limitless notebooks and each features 25 sheets of paper.  I am not as yet sure how you create more sheets of paper should you need them.  It does however allow your notes and drawings to span several pages.

A little ditty I wrote.

There are several different types of paper, unfortunately, only one type may be applied to one notebook at a time.  You get several different types of lined paper, squared paper, musical notation and even some for fashion designers.  I probably wont need this.  There is at present no isometric paper - hexagonal paper would be a real bonus.  You also can not rotate the paper as you write as you can with real paper and some good drawing apps such as Autodesk Sketchbook.

Syncing across devices is rather strange.  My notebooks sync happily between my surface and my desktop, however my Samgsung slate tablet seems to have its own local notebooks and wont sync with the others.  There seems to be no settings to decide where your saved notebooks are stored.

Furthermore, there is no support for Windows phone.

At present, despite some nice features, Plumbago is not as good OneNote when it comes to being a reliable note-taking app, nor does it beat a huge number of drawing apps available for Windows.

Action Note

For taking quick notes, there seems to be no better app than Action Note.  Action Note integrates with your action center allowing for fast access to your notes.  In this respect it simply does beat OneNote, which can take some time to load up and then you need to navigate through your tree of OneNote folders.

Action Note on my awesome Lumia 950 running in my action center allowing for very fast note taking.

Action Note on my Surface Book.

Action Note (Pro version) does everything you would expect or a modern Windows app.  It syncs between your Windows devices.  There is the option to add files or screenshots from other apps.  You can pin notes to your desktop as live tiles.  The interface has three themes - the 'dark theme' shown in these images.  One my Lumia 950 there is support for voice-to-text and read aloud your notes. You can also scan QR codes and keep their contents or links for later.

Overall this is a really good app that I will use regularly. Plus one geek experience point for Benjamin Sautermeister.

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