Hello,

I am looking for offline note taking app with minimalistic GUI similar to CintaNotes but with ability to paste images and tables inline. The other key features would be tagging and fast-as-you-type search with keyword highlighting. Any recommendations?

TIA

Use OneNote in small-window mode.

Even in a small window mode, I don't think OneNote is designed as a minimalistic on-the-fly note taking app.

Actually, a better comparison would be with ResophNotes since CintaNotes still uses too much screen space.
Anything similar to ResophNotes with inline images and possibly simple table support?

Ah, but there's the rub, you see: "simple table support". There's nothing particularly simple about a table, and not many simple note managers support them (on any platform).

The best options are HTML-based note managers, such as Alfons Schmid's Notebooks. There's a good Windows version of this, and of course it also runs on iOS and MacOS. Notebooks has the best copy-and-paste support of any note manager, in my experience, preserving e.g. web page layouts with remarkable fidelity.

And yes, it can be run in "minimised" mode.

Alfons Schmid’s Notebook looks interesting. I will definitely check it out. Does it require an online account like Evernote?
Table support is not as crucial as inline images.

Nope, it's compatible with Dropbox, iCloud and, I believe, any WebDAV server (can't remember the specifics of the Windows version, offhand, but the Mac version is also capable of *acting* as a WebDAV server if you want it to).

It's pretty lean and efficient, I've found. Only negative: if you've got a lot of notes in a given notebook, it can take a little time for Windows to load the list. That's because notebooks are actually folders, and notes are actually single HTML/text files. On the other hand, I have over three million words in my Notebooks databases (yes, it also keeps track of statistics like that). The advantage of this format is that it's Dropbox-resilient and files can be pulled into other editors/note managers.

It's also got a very good search function which indexes attached files (PDFs for certain; I think maybe also MS Office files, but that may be platform-dependent). There's loads more info on Alfons Schmid's website (www.notebooksapp.com)

I can't think of many "intermediate" note managers in the same league. A rather quirky but powerful alternative for Windows that hasn't, however, been updated since 2012, is AM-Notebook (www.aignes.com/notebook.htm). That may also appeal to you.

If I remember correctly, CintaNotes version 3 should incorporate many additions you are looking for.

Jon

Jon Polish wrote:

If I remember correctly, CintaNotes version 3 should incorporate many
additions you are looking for.

Jon

Alex Jenter of Cintanotes has his software under constant development. Here are the upcoming PRO features

- CintaNotes 3.0 with new UI;
- File and image attachments; >>>NEXT IN LINE> RECENTLY DONE

When I was looking for an Evernote replacement a couple of weeks back, someone suggested NimbusNotes to me.

https://www.google.ca/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=2&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0CDYQFjAB&url=http%3A%2F%2Fnimbus.everhelper.me%2Fnote.php&ei=eyGDVLvwBoWQyQSpnYG4Cw&usg=AFQjCNEJ3zkxn3pfUCP2nCezIQW4nIAeiQ&sig2=CnEcbCwR57IoLdDui1NT9Q

I've been using Nimbus in a limited way, and so far have been pleased.

In terms of design and features it seems superior to Evernote. I certainly prefer clipping from the web to Nimbus - it makes Evernote look downright clunky I also sense that the Nimbus developers have a better understanding of information than the Evernote folks.

Nimbus works across various platforms, and can be downloaded and used off-line.

I much prefer it to OneNote.

Daly



MotionTwelve wrote:

Hello,

I am looking for offline note taking app with minimalistic GUI similar
to CintaNotes but with ability to paste images and tables inline. The
other key features would be tagging and fast-as-you-type search with
keyword highlighting. Any recommendations?

TIA

The upcoming CintaNotes features look promising. Does CintaNotes allow to edit notes inside the main window like ResophNotes? That's one thing that makes Resoph super minimalistic. Do we know when these new features will be implemented? I will try Nimbus Note today.

Today I've performed a series of tests comparing 5 different note taking apps that recently caught my eye, namely:
1. ResophNotes:
http://s29.postimg.org/wqihqre87/Resoph.png
2. CintaNotes:
http://s27.postimg.org/nd9olfycj/Cinta.png
3. Evernote v2.2.1.386:
http://s12.postimg.org/bgzxd39a5/Evernote2_2_1_386.png
4. Nimbus Note:
http://s28.postimg.org/6iylr4cot/Nimbus.png
5. WizNote:
http://s22.postimg.org/s9yzz572p/Wiz_Note.png

The links show the most minimalistic view of each app without distortion.

In my criteria, I've mainly compared the following features:
A. Minimalistic GUI: award goes to ResophNotes with EverNote not too far behind.
B. Fast-as-you-type search: award goes to to EverNote (due to OCR search) with ResophNotes and CintaNotes closely after
B. Rich Text support: split award goes to EverNote, WizNote and Nimbus Note
C. In-place images: split award goes to WizNote and Evernote sine they have builtin simple image editing
D. In-place tables: split award goes to WizNote and NimbusNote with Evernote closely after
E. Offline with Online sync option: split award goes to ResophNotes and CintaNotes. Evernote database can be synced using Google Drive/Dropbox/etc. but it's not as convenient. WizNote and NibusNote require to register online account but can be used offline. I just don't like their enforced cloud approach.

Since minimalistic GUI and instant search are my primary requirements, it's a hard decision between Evernote 2.2.1.386 and ResophNotes.
If I wasn't dealing with lots of visuals and how-to guides, I would probably stick with Resoph but that's not the case. Therefore, it looks like Evernote v2.2.1.386 receives my gold medal. A little ironic that such an old app from around 2007 is still able to deliver. It's all because of those Russian hardcore coders :-)

Don't take me wrong, Evernote 2.2.1.386 can also handle images and tables pretty well as shown below:
http://s30.postimg.org/40k2qiw35/evernote_howto.png

It doesn't have border styles but a quick paste into MS Word can make it even better:
http://s29.postimg.org/tdo199osn/word_howto.png

Glad you found a satisfactory solution. I hope that the 'classic' Evernote will continue to work well with Windows 10 onwards.

I'm not sure I understand the point below re Online sync. As far as I know, both ResophNotes and CintaNotes use the Simplenote service for syncing, which itself is part of the 'cloud' as is Dropbox. I assume that any (non-LAN) syncing service nowadays will be based on the cloud, in order to also offer web access to data. Or am I missing something?

BTW, in respect to NimbusNote in particular, I was quite surprised at the lack of information on who is behind the company, or even where its headquarters are located.

MotionTwelve wrote:

E. Offline with Online sync option: split award goes to ResophNotes and
CintaNotes. Evernote database can be synced using Google
Drive/Dropbox/etc. but it's not as convenient. WizNote and NibusNote
require to register online account but can be used offline. I just
don't like their enforced cloud approach.

@MotionTwelve hope your decision to go with Evernote works for you. I have EN on my computer but haven't take to it. Each to his own.....we're all trying to finesse our bespoke solutions to unique problems/challenges/Projects that we face.

Indeed, Alexander, there's very little if any information about NimbusNotes developers on their site.

Yet their product in some ways appears and functions at a level similar to Evernote, if not better. And that makes me even more curious about who the developers are and what their ultimate plan is. I got 10,000 plus notes imported from EN into NimbusNote today. Smooth process, except for the program stopping every few thousand notes. Guess it got full and had indigestions. :)

I am liking NimbusNotes, though dislike there is no apparent way to sort folders and tags alphabetically, and now they're a mess because of the imports from EN.

And I see that NimbusNotes has lost the EN "created" dates.

I noted also that the ResophNotes sites says very little about it other than a list of features. Looks like it has not been upgraded since October 2013.

Since I already feel burned by Aquamind NoteShareExpress desktop edition for Windows, which hasn't been changed since 2012 I am feeling less secure than usual about software.

Daly

Alexander Deliyannis wrote:

Glad you found a satisfactory solution. I hope that the 'classic'
Evernote will continue to work well with Windows 10 onwards.

I'm not sure I understand the point below re Online sync. As far as I
know, both ResophNotes and CintaNotes use the Simplenote service for
syncing, which itself is part of the 'cloud' as is Dropbox. I assume
that any (non-LAN) syncing service nowadays will be based on the cloud,
in order to also offer web access to data. Or am I missing something?

BTW, in respect to NimbusNote in particular, I was quite surprised at
the lack of information on who is behind the company, or even where its
headquarters are located.

MotionTwelve wrote:
>E. Offline with Online sync option: split award goes to ResophNotes and
>CintaNotes. Evernote database can be synced using Google
>Drive/Dropbox/etc. but it's not as convenient. WizNote and NibusNote
>require to register online account but can be used offline. I just
>don't like their enforced cloud approach.

Hello everyone, author of CintaNotes here ;)
Just want to post a corrrection.

Simon Bolivar wrote:

DONE- Encryption and password protection of notes;
- Alarms and reminders in notes.

These are unfortunately not done yet, they are coming in CintaNotes 3+

Alex Jenter wrote:

Hello everyone, author of CintaNotes here ;)
Just want to post a corrrection.

Simon Bolivar wrote:

>DONE- Different view modes: minimal, compact, and normal;
>- Encryption and password protection of notes;
>- Alarms and reminders in notes.

These are unfortunately not done yet, they are coming in CintaNotes 3+

Hi Alex, the formatting of my comment earlier was poor (as I am unable to edit a post I'll be more careful in future) and I can see how it was easy to misunderstand the point that I was making. Here was how I meant to express it...........

Here are the upcoming PRO features
- CintaNotes 3.0 with new UI;
- File and image attachments; (NEXT TO DO)
- Autotagging: automatic rule-based tag assignment;
- Saved (predefined) searches;
- Forward and backward navigation (filter history); (RECENTLY COMPLETED)
- Different view modes: minimal, compact, and normal;
- Encryption and password protection of notes;
- Alarms and reminders in notes.

Cheers.

@Alexander Deliyannis
I am primarily looking for an offline note taking app but it would be nice to have online sync as an option and not enforced. I feel that both ResophNotes and CintaNotes follow that ideology. On the other hand, WizNotes, Nibus and Evernote starting with v3 all require online accounts and it feels like they push you to sync online.
Evernote 2.2 has one database file so it’s not the best approach for online sync using services like Dropbox and Google drive since every small change will have to resynchronize the whole database.
I completely agree with you about NimbusNote’s lack of information about its business. It’s almost as shady as WizNote’s servers in China.


@Alex Jenter
Glad to see that you’re actively responding to suggestions. Do you have a date as to v3 release? Also, are we talking about inplace images or attachments? Lastly, will the minimalistic view allow to perform all tasks within the main window including note creation, copying text between notes & note creation/editing?

Simon Bolivar wrote:

Hi Alex, the formatting of my comment earlier was poor (as I am unable
to edit a post I'll be more careful in future) and I can see how it was
easy to misunderstand the point that I was making. Here was how I meant
to express it...........

Ok, no problem Simon, thanks for the correction!

Hi MotionTwelve,

@Alex Jenter
Glad to see that you’re actively responding to suggestions. Do
you have a date as to v3 release?

It is always difficult to talk about the dates. They tend to slip, so I can
also say something like "currently we plan the release for this date".
At the moment we are preparing the 2.9 release with file and image attachments,
which is scheduled for Christmas, but will most probably be late and will
appear in January.

Version 3.0 then be possible somewhere in Spring.

Also, are we talking about inplace images or attachments?

First they will come as attachments in 2.9, currently we don't plan
inplace images in text, as we don't want to compete with Evernote or
OneNote on this territory, but instead move into the direction of smart personal
data and knowledge management.

Lastly, will the minimalistic view allow to perform all tasks within the main
window including note creation, copying text between notes &
note creation/editing?

Not at first. We'll for sure move into this direction, and the relevant tasks are
already on the roadmap (http://roadmap.cintanotes.com But since our resources
are very limited we have to take baby steps. Hope you understand.

Alex, you wrote: "First they will come as attachments in 2.9, currently we don’t plan
inplace images in text, as we don’t want to compete with Evernote or
OneNote on this territory, but instead move into the direction of smart personal
data and knowledge management."

I am confused about your position on inplace images in text.

Images are visual information, and are often best viewed with the relevant text rather than the user having to click an attachment lick, which is time confusing, and may be awkward if not possible to have more than window open simultaneously so one can look between the text info and the visual info, ie the picture or whatever.

I am not sure why you would want to limit yourself, or not want to compete with OneNote or EN "on this territory."

Knowledge management to me, is in the first instance being able to readily capture information in its entirety, whether a web clip, a copy and paste of a PDF from an academic journal with graphs, charts, and photos inline, or a cut and paste of any other document so as to maintain its appearance in the original. (Also being able to capture metadata, and having the capability of adding metadata, through a comment note, as was the case with Ariadne or is the case with MyInfo, or as was especially facilitated by Surfulater. But that's another aspect of the discussion.)

Thanks.

Daly