I've decided to take up journaling, at least as long as the habit will stick, and decided on a few requirements.

Not on paper. I don't do that.

All content must be completely recoverable if the journaling software evaporates.

I need to be able to add any file type.

I want tags in hierarchies, and flexible sorting and searching.

There is probably a better way to do what I want, but so far DEVONThink looks like a reasonable option. I've started with a group for the year, with subgroups for months, with RTF files for day entries.

I named the first two months "06 - June" and "07 - July", and day entries in the form "19 July, Thursday". That was so they would sort chronologically.

Then I discovered if you choose unsorted for the contents of a group, the order you set is persistent. You can change back and forth between sort options without losing your unsorted order. Unfortunately, not all of the views allow fine grained sort options. In the three pane view, the sort order for the left-hand, vertical pane is global. You get the same sort order for the whole thing. I like that sorted by kind, which causes subgroups to appear as alphabetically sorted. July comes before June, until you switch back to any other view.

Oh, well, the two pane view isn't half bad. I think I may like it better, anyway, and switching to three-pane doesn't trash my manual ordering.

DEVONThink has an industrial look to it, but I'm tolerant of that. I'm intolerant of losing data, and DEVONThink is the only thing of its type I've used that has been rock solid.

I think it works great, and it might as well be free. After all, if you haven't installed DEVONThink, you should, and since it's already there, why not keep a journal in it? :-)

Yes, yes, I know. Mileage varies.

Amontillado wrote:

All content must be completely recoverable if the journaling software
evaporates.

Not sure how you do this with DEVONThink; doesn't it use a proprietary file format?

I think it works great, and it might as well be free. After all, if you
haven't installed DEVONThink, you should, and since it's already there,
why not keep a journal in it? :-)

The logic is impeccable, that is, unless you are not on MacOS ;)

DEVONthink has NO proprietary formats for documents. That seems to be an persistent urban legend. Files are stored in DEVONthink as their original files and are never transformed by anyone other than the user.. They can be any format -- from .txt to .app to anything more complex. DEVONthink just stores files or indexes externally stored files. Anyone can drag out or export their files from DEVONthink at any time.

Alexander Deliyannis wrote:

Amontillado wrote:
>All content must be completely recoverable if the journaling software
>evaporates.

Not sure how you do this with DEVONThink; doesn't it use a proprietary
file format?


>I think it works great, and it might as well be free. After all, if you
>haven't installed DEVONThink, you should, and since it's already there,
>why not keep a journal in it? :-)

The logic is impeccable, that is, unless you are not on MacOS ;)

On the one hand - on the other, DEVONthink does keep files in databases, which are effectively a single proprietary file (dtBase2 format).

So although you can easily extract files from DEVONthink, you have to be running DEVONthink in order to extract them... ;-)

Personally, I'd be using one of the many excellent markdown writing tools out there. If you're on Windows, you could do worse than the latest version of iaWriter (which is turning into a very sophisticated little number). Another product worth keeping an eye on is Write (writeapp.co), which has got some sensational features.

A nice, recently produced Mac product is Diarly, but it's still pretty basic. A mix of DayOne and Bear, really, but needs a few more features before it's ready to recommend.

Scrivener is said to be vulnerable to certain sync processes used by iCloud, particularly the option to let iCloud manage your files. Seldom accessed files, even (apparently) files inside of packages.

An Apple package, of course, is no different from a normal subdirectory. It's just flagged by the Finder as something to be displayed atomically unless you choose the option to show package contents.

A couple of times I've had some files I wanted to keep bundled up with a Scrivener project, so I've put everything including the Scrivener project into DEVONThink. I figure DT's sync is more predictable than iCloud. Works great.

If you right click on anything stored in DT, there is an option to "reveal in Finder."

I've been intrigued by Diarly as well. It shows a lot of promise, but it's concept is that it allows you one page per day, which is different than most journals, in which you can create as many entries per day as you desire. This might be better for some types of journaling. It might be restrictive for others. Diarly did recently add the ability to create multiple notebooks, so you can have more than one entry per day, but just one per day per notebook.

Regardless, it is still too bare-bones for me.

Steve

MadaboutDana wrote:

A nice, recently produced Mac product is Diarly, but it's still pretty
basic. A mix of DayOne and Bear, really, but needs a few more features
before it's ready to recommend.

MadaboutDana wrote:

On the one hand - on the other, DEVONthink does keep files in databases,
which are effectively a single proprietary file (dtBase2 format).

So although you can easily extract files from DEVONthink, you have to be
running DEVONthink in order to extract them... ;-)

NO, you don't need to run Devonthink to get your files. You can open the package ("show package contents") in the Finder and find your files organized by file type.

Devonthink database is far from proprietary.
The same is true with MacJournal. All the files can be rescued using "show package contents" in finder.

Other genuine proprietary packages like Day One don't have that option.

I honestly don't get why MacJournal is not the most used software for journals.

It is the most suitable for the job.
it stores files transparently (even if the file names are convoluted); can store all types of files including embedded video.

Extremely fast
Feature rich; no other journaling software comes close to the list of features

Not entirely true - Lifecraft Pro (derived from Notelife Pro) is also very powerful. But... it's a subscription-based app.

However, it does almost as much as MacJournal, and as far as I can tell, is still in active development.

Okay, that I didn't know - thanks for this rather valuable information! I shall check it out!

Dellu wrote:

NO, you don't need to run Devonthink to get your files. You can open the
package ("show package contents") in the Finder and find your files
organized by file type.

Devonthink database is far from proprietary.
The same is true with MacJournal. All the files can be rescued using
"show package contents" in finder.

DayOne entries are stored in JSON. That's not really "proprietary" -- no more than XML is "proprietary". JSON and XML are formatted based on configurable, public, well-document and open source standards, both of which are easy to read, though JSON more readable than XML. It is true that it takes effort to transform JSON or XML to what most people would consider readable text, but tools exist to do that. Also, DayOne offers the options to export some or all entries as PDF, HTML or plain text.

Having spent years discussing disasters with DEVONthink users, I strongly recommend to NOT open the package and muck around with the internal folders. That can easily lead to lost data and in the extreme a pretty bashed up database. Believe me, people who say "never me'" frequently end up doing that to themselves. And there's no reason to do that. To get a file, open the client, and drag it to the filesystem somewhere. People way, well maybe DEVONthink will stop working someday. Really? The likelihood that the app will just drop dead someday is, IMO, slim to none. And, if it did, then the option to trash a database by mucking around inside the package will then no longer matter. So -- client first, mucking as last resort.

Dellu wrote:

Other genuine proprietary packages like Day One don't have that option.

As a break glass in case of emergency option, direct file access is nice.

I wouldn’t modify anything, but you can copy the files from within DEVONThink without specialized tools.

Scrivener is really nice in that regard. Their format is simple enough to reverse engineer, but you don’t have to. Full developer documentation is available on request.

A possibly interesting sidelight - DEVONThink definitely doesn't hide the real location of the files in its databases.

This morning I pondered the idea of using DT as a Scrivener alternative. I could put a bunch of document files in a group, set the sort to "unsorted", and order them as needed.

I discovered if I select all the files in a group and hit command-C, it copies the full, real, path to the files to the clipboard.

In the case of replicants, you still get the full path to the real file (or directory, in the case of a package stored in DT).

I could use Nisus to write chapters, set them in the proper order with drag-and-drop, and cut and paste the file names to a script that would run pandoc.

My thinking is this sort of manipulation isn't a problem, if you are confident in your methods, the implications of what you're doing, and you don't blame me if things go pear-shaped.

Backups are a good thing, too. 'Course, Time Machine riffles through DT databases and accesses all the files. At some point, you have to trust something outside of DT.

Paul Korm wrote:

DayOne entries are stored in JSON.

I know it exports in Json format. But, I didn't know it stores the database in Json. thank you Paul.

Amontillado wrote:

As a break glass in case of emergency option, direct file access is
nice.

I wouldn’t modify anything, but you can copy the files from within
DEVONThink without specialized tools.

At one point, I had one database fully corrupted. After trying all my best, I sent it to Devonthink's support group.
I was able to open the database after they did sth on it. But, I find most of my files were orphaned. After all the attempts of Repairing, restoring...I really had no option.

I went into the database get them out.

Stephen Zeoli wrote:

I've been intrigued by Diarly as well. It shows a lot of promise, but
it's concept is that it allows you one page per day, which is different
than most journals, in which you can create as many entries per day as
you desire. This might be better for some types of journaling. It might
be restrictive for others. Diarly did recently add the ability to create
multiple notebooks, so you can have more than one entry per day, but
just one per day per notebook.

Regardless, it is still too bare-bones for me.

Steve

MadaboutDana wrote:

>A nice, recently produced Mac product is Diarly, but it's still pretty
>basic. A mix of DayOne and Bear, really, but needs a few more features
>before it's ready to recommend.

Hello Everyone,

I'm maker of Diarly. Thank you for mentioning it here.

Diarly is intended to be replacement for paper diary. Its influenced by meditations by Markus Aurelius (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meditations

It's still quite early stage as Stephen and MadaboutDana mentioned but i'm planning to add some more useful features.

I'm currently working on iPad version. My list of things for mac right now are:
- Gallery for all the photos
- Locations (working similar way to tags)
- More importers from competitors
- Better feedback / forum alike for people to participate in the direction of Diarly (now i'm trying to reach people myself)

Notes without days - it's tempting for me as i use notes for quotes, wish lists, knowledge base etc. But not sure how to add it without making product too big.

Would love to get your opinions on what is the feature you would need most.


Krzysztof

We discussed a new diary/note-taking app called Diarly in this thread. Diarly just came out with an iOS companion, which in early testing syncs nicely via iCloud with the MacOS version.

https://pureformstudio.com/diarly

Steve Z.

Thank you for the update, Steve.

I bought Diarly for macOS and it easily -- and as far as I can tell accurately -- imported a zipped archived of all my DayOne entries in JSON format. That checks a big box on the path to eliminating DayOne.

The Diarly iOS app is iPad only for now -- it would seem an iPhone version would not be difficult. For me, iPhone journaling is what I prefer so I'll wait for the iOS piece.

Diarly on macOS does not yet have share extension or quick entry widget, both of which I use a lot to send snippets to DayOne. I've asked the developer for both, so maybe someday we'll see those too.

I parted ways with DayOne when they moved to subscription. Is the “full version” of this a subscription as well?

The AppStore says it includes the following. The app is incomplete in that it is missing the things I listed above. Although it is very fine the way it is. If they add an iPhone version I would be interested in seeing if they flip over to subscriptions. But it not yet using that payment model.

FULL VERSION FEATURES
• Seamless, secure multi-device sync via iCloud
• Encrypted and password protected access to your diary
• Custom themes
• Multiple journals
• Importing from markdown

Jeffery Smith wrote:

I parted ways with DayOne when they moved to subscription. Is the
“full version” of this a subscription as well?

The biggest thing for me about journal writing was about getting into the daily habit of it, and the biggest obstacle to that was needing to boot my Windows PC or laptop at the end of the day (which was associated with work in my mind, and therefore not relaxing, and took a long time to boot and was too big and heavy and noisy), just before I was trying to transition to sleep.

The search for a solution was the main factor that led me to trying out Chromebooks for this (I had a bad experience with iPads), with the main attraction being that it's light, instantly on, silent, and the files are automatically synced with the cloud (to avoid data loss), and there is a physical keyboard.

My setup hasn't changed for the past four years. I write the diary entry in plain text using a text editor called Caret (free from the Chrome Web Store), which is saved to Google Drive, and has nice dark themes. It's one continuous "tape" with the latest entry on the top, starting with some ConnectedText syntax such as this

@@20181012
Friday, 12 October 2018

so I can import that file directly into CT (which I do a few times a year) to be parsed into "date topics", which, as CT users know, have all kinds of magical properties in CT for further processing, display, and manipulation to get different views.

So Caret with Chromebook is the data capture end of the system, and CT thus becomes a database destination (on a Windows laptop, which gets backed up separately), as well as a sophisticated analytical platform for the diary data (allowing for interesting aggregation, e.g. pulling out and comparing only all the Monday entries, or viewing them by day, week, month etc.).

One effect of using a Chromebook for this was that my diary entries got longer and more involved, which I can put down to a Chromebook having a built-in keyboard and thus amenable to typing, lying within arm's reach (the long battery life means it doesn't have to be tethered much), and being instantly on when I open the lid.

Obviously by now the Chromebook is also the main entertainment centre, so I would be reading the news or watching some entertainment on it before the diary writing anyway.

Sadly CT is no longer being developed, but it works perfectly well on my Win 7 laptop.

There have been rumours that the next generation of Chromebooks will be able to dual boot into Windows 10, so one day I could have CT running on the Chromebook as well.

Paul Korm wrote:

The AppStore says it includes the following. The app is incomplete in
that it is missing the things I listed above. Although it is very fine
the way it is. If they add an iPhone version I would be interested in
seeing if they flip over to subscriptions. But it not yet using that
payment model.

FULL VERSION FEATURES
• Seamless, secure multi-device sync via iCloud
• Encrypted and password protected access to your diary
• Custom themes
• Multiple journals
• Importing from markdown

Jeffery Smith wrote:
I parted ways with DayOne when they moved to subscription. Is the
>“full version” of this a subscription as well?

Hi Jeffery,

I'm maker of Diarly,

I'm planning to make the iPad version run on iPhone too, so there will be no separate version. As for the payment model - it would be pay once to unlock all functionality on the device. Syncing between Mac and iOS requires two purchases.

I will be working on iPhone - maybe next week and looking for beta testers - can offer free promo codes for interested. You can mail me at hello@pureformstudio.com if you are interested.

No plans for web version at this moment, want to make functionality there is now works perfectly, next update is more about making app nicer looking etc.
Biggest worry of my was that sync could be broken in some cases - so far there were no issues other than from beta testing but that was already fixed and patched in the Mac & iPad version.


If you got any requests happy to add them to my TODO.

Krzysztof

Ah Sorry meant Hi Paul :)

Diarly on macOS does not yet have share extension or quick entry widget, both of which I use a lot to send snippets to DayOne. I’ve asked the developer for both, so maybe someday we’ll see those too.

Don't think i seen this request, maybe something wrong with my send feedback (had error that email was not sent - need to fix it in next update :/)

Quick entry - UI wise it's simple, but problem i see is that if you have encryption on it would require password to encrypt, could store it in memory but it would still require typing in before using the widget. So will require bit more time than say 4 hours.. Definitely something i will consider.

How would you want share extension to work ?

Anyway, thanks guys for mentioning Diarly and your honest opinions about it. Worst thing for maker is if nobody noticed the app (which is quite frequent now with so many apps there). And looks like this forum is the first platform which mentioned app :)

Krzysztof



Krzysiek wrote:

Paul Korm wrote:
The AppStore says it includes the following. The app is incomplete in
>that it is missing the things I listed above. Although it is very
fine
>the way it is. If they add an iPhone version I would be interested in
>seeing if they flip over to subscriptions. But it not yet using that
>payment model.
>
>FULL VERSION FEATURES
>• Seamless, secure multi-device sync via iCloud
>• Encrypted and password protected access to your diary
>• Custom themes
>• Multiple journals
>• Importing from markdown
>
>Jeffery Smith wrote:
>I parted ways with DayOne when they moved to subscription. Is the
>>“full version” of this a subscription as well?


Hi Jeffery,

I'm maker of Diarly,

I'm planning to make the iPad version run on iPhone too, so there will
be no separate version. As for the payment model - it would be pay once
to unlock all functionality on the device. Syncing between Mac and iOS
requires two purchases.

I will be working on iPhone - maybe next week and looking for beta
testers - can offer free promo codes for interested. You can mail me at
hello@pureformstudio.com if you are interested.

No plans for web version at this moment, want to make functionality
there is now works perfectly, next update is more about making app nicer
looking etc.
Biggest worry of my was that sync could be broken in some cases - so far
there were no issues other than from beta testing but that was already
fixed and patched in the Mac & iPad version.


If you got any requests happy to add them to my TODO.

Krzysztof

The program mentions an in-app purchase of the full version, but I cannot find anything in the app that links me to a purchase option.