I just learned about a writing app called Effie. It looks like an interesting option. Here are some of the main features:

- Clean, inviting markdown editor
- It encourages the building of outlines in a document, then gives you the ability to view and edit the outline as a mind-map/diagram
- It has native apps for Mac, iOS and Windows (I've only tried the Mac version so far)
- It exports to PDF, DOCX and markdown text files. Export diagrams as images.
- It allows you to publish a doc for sharing online

A couple of negatives so far:

- While it is not a web-based app, all your documents are stored and synced through their cloud storage
- They discourage using the app offline -- though you can. I suspect it relates to syncing issues if you update the same document on separate devices before getting back online.

If you're interested in learning more, the website is: https://www.effie.pro

Steve

Thanks, Steve. It’s actually a very nice app, especially on Mac/iOS.

A bit like Bear, but with folders instead of (nested) tags and a rather nice mindmapping feature that works with bullet lists (which are automatically turned into folding outlines).

So far it’s been syncing well for me, but I’ve put very little data into it, so it’s early days…

Cheers!
Bill

Looks interesting. The use of their proprietary cloud is a little disappointing but more so is the lack of OPML interchange, which would seem to be a natural here.

Also: no import?

I hate when apps don't make their pricing clear on their website, but you can find it on the app store page: 4.99/mo or 29.99/year

Thanks for the post, it does look really interesting and has a very attractive interface. I’ve tried about 20 different Obsidian themes, and none look as nice as this. I’d probably take the mindmapping option here, over the Obsidian graph view.

With the markdown formatting, it’s too bad it doesn’t seem to have links (or backlinks function.) Maybe in a future update…

Effie is still extremely new. In fact, I sent them a message asking about a road map and I got an email back telling me I was their very first subscriber! I expect many upgrades to come. It seems they are going to focus on improving the editor first. Here is what I was told:

"We do have a roadmap and a host of new features we plan to add next year. Generally, we plan to add the support for images, upgrade the current editor and our mind map feature, and also do more updates on the editor themes."

Steve

Alas, what have we here? A newbie information manager that thought it would escape the eagle eye of a seasoned CRIMPer stationed on the mounts of Sherwood? Little did it know :)


Stephen Zeoli wrote:

Effie is still extremely new. In fact, I sent them a message asking
about a road map and I got an email back telling me I was their very
first subscriber!

Ha. Indeed. I don't know whether to be proud or embarrassed...

Alexander Deliyannis wrote:

Alas, what have we here? A newbie information manager that thought it
would escape the eagle eye of a seasoned CRIMPer stationed on the mounts
of Sherwood? Little did it know :)


Stephen Zeoli wrote:
>Effie is still extremely new. In fact, I sent them a message asking
>about a road map and I got an email back telling me I was their very
>first subscriber!

I’m enjoying experimenting with it. Still very early days, I guess, but the basic feature set is already nice.

And the team sounds very enthusiastic!

Stephen Zeoli wrote:

Ha. Indeed. I don't know whether to be proud or embarrassed...

Alexander Deliyannis wrote:
Alas, what have we here? A newbie information manager that thought it
>would escape the eagle eye of a seasoned CRIMPer stationed on the
mounts
>of Sherwood? Little did it know :)
>
>
>Stephen Zeoli wrote:
>>Effie is still extremely new. In fact, I sent them a message asking
>>about a road map and I got an email back telling me I was their very
>>first subscriber!

Version 2.0 came out yesterday, with bug fixes and image attachment.

I've been playing with the Mac version and it seems really nice and has a lot of what I want in a mid-weight outliner: Markdown, mindmapping, editing as either mindmap or outline, font choice.

But in order to use it to any great extent I'd need OPML import/export, which the app still doesn't have after being out a half a year, and I don't see anything by the dev promising its arrival (or consideration). There needs to be some way to get existing outlines and mindmaps into the app, and ways to interchange out, not just export to Markdown or PDF.

Thanks for sharing your insights about Effie. I'm Esther from the Effie team. Really appreciated your feedback, encouragement, and suggestions. That means a lot to us!

Right now we're centering on developing the Android version. Some other features that you've mentioned before (such as the OPML import/export, backlink as well as a pricing page) are also included in our roadmap. Hopefully, we can bring out these features as soon as possible to once again level up your user experience.

By way of thanks and to celebrate our new version 2.0.1, we'd like to offer 3-month payment codes for anyone who wants to try out the full features of Effie. Say hi to us with an email subject "From Outlinersoftware" and we'll send you the code within 24 hours.

Thanks again for your interest in Effie. Hope we can bring out the best of Effie in the days to come! Please feel free to reach us anytime through help@effie.pro. We're always happy to help!