https://www.outlinersoftware.com/ Discussion of outliner, PIM, and knowledge management software en-us OutlinerSoftware webmaster@outlinersoftware.com webmaster@outlinersoftware.com https://www.outlinersoftware.com/topics/viewt/12619 Wed, 11 Mar 2026 09:51:41 GMT https://www.outlinersoftware.com/messages/viewm/47824
exatty95 wrote:
>I find Tana's supertags/fields approach to be much easier to implement
>effectively than Tinderbox's attributes. ]]> https://www.outlinersoftware.com/topics/viewt/12620 Tue, 10 Mar 2026 14:26:28 GMT https://www.outlinersoftware.com/messages/viewm/47823
Installing Zorin on the MacBook Air was ridiculously easy. They've clearly included the Air as a "template" machine, so everything just works. Because I wasn't using the Air, I gave Zorin full control (i.e. wiped and reformatted the hard drive), and everything was picked up: trackpad, audio, WiFi, Bluetooth, screen, etc. etc.

The result is a MacBook Air that's substantially faster than when it was running the last version of MacOS that worked on a 2013 Air. But what's impressed me most is the power management – when Zorin switches into suspend/sleep mode, it really does go to sleep. So the battery is lasting about twice as long as it did on MacOS (I've lightly customised the Gnome desktop to show processor and battery use – very easy to do). I'm actually seriously tempted to invest in the very last MacBook Air with an Intel processor – the 2020 model with Retina display (refurbed, obviously). That would be a dream!

I've been cautiously customising it and loading as many of my productivity apps as I possibly can to see how well they work.

HelixNotes is indeed fast and convenient (and yes, there is a "light" theme!). I'm also running Typora, which is one of the very best Markdown editors. But you can install apps like Workflowy too, as well as Zettlr, TextMaker (from SoftMaker), and of course I've got LibreOffice loaded just in case. Obsidian runs extremely well. I also run Octarine, although it's a little fussier on Zorin than on other Linux distros (I install/update from the command line rather than downloads).

There are many other highly competent Linux text/markdown editors (such as Joplin); I've only recently started to experiment with them. Since I keep all my personal logs, journals, notes etc. in markdown format, it's easy to access them from multiple apps provided you've got a suitable syncing system. Personally, I use Obsidian Sync and Nextcloud, but I also have repositories on Google Drive, Dropbox and IONOS HiDrive, all of which run quite happily on Linux.

Under the hood, Zorin is Ubuntu, but optimised for user-friendliness. That's been the vision of the (I believe Spanish) development team from the start, and it really shows. You can do things in Zorin that would cause other distros to scream and crash (I'm looking at you, Linux Mint!); Zorin simply shrugs and deals with it.

I'm sure I'll run into its limitations sooner or later. I've contemplated getting the Pro version (which is very reasonably priced), but really the only attraction is the extended selection of layouts; you can install the apps themselves from the Zorin Software store in any case.

The only downside? Zorin doesn't run on ARM processors. Yet. (They are talking about it!) My efforts to run it on (a) Parallels Desktop, (b) UTM and (c) VirtualBox all came to naught (UTM probably would have done, but was ridiculously slow so I cancelled the installation). In short, you need an Intel or AMD 64-bit processor.

The Zorin website is very comprehensive! I advise a visit.

tberni wrote:
Hello MadaboutDana.
>
>I'm also having a brilliant time with my process of ditching the GAFAM
>(no mean feat!).
>
>Right now I'm working with elementary OS 8.1 (a Linux distro based on
>Ubuntu 24.04, beautiful and well-made, which works a treat on an Acer
>Swift 1 with 8GB+256GB of storage. I've signed up with Proton for email,
>cloud storage, a VPN, etc. And I'm experimenting with software solutions
>too (Obsidian, Logseq, Zotero, Zettlr), all of which are going quite
>well, learning even more about operating systems.
>
>I was looking for a lightweight markdown editor for when Obsidian can be
>a bit too clunky. How about HelixNotes? Is the difference in start-up
>and agility noticeable? I've visited their website, can you edit with a
>light background?...
>
>On another note, you say you're having your Zorin experience on a 2013
>Macbook Air. I think that's fantastic! Was the installation difficult?
>Do you know if it's possible to install Zorin on a 2016 12" Retina
>Macbook?
>
>Cheers and congratulations! ]]> https://www.outlinersoftware.com/topics/viewt/12622 Tue, 10 Mar 2026 01:15:53 GMT https://www.outlinersoftware.com/messages/viewm/47822 For those of you interested, please download and try SheetPlanner 5.2.

5.2 is a huge update in terms of performance improvements, bug fixes, new features and Liquid Glass UI polish.

Release notes below:

Peter

# SheetPlanner 5.2 Release Notes #


SheetPlanner 5.2 is a big update to this spreadsheet-like project planning tool. Major enhancements in version 5.2 include:

- Major usability improvements across Outline, Timeline, Board, and Year views, including better editing behavior, safer multi-row pasting, improved column resizing on Mac, and multiple visual and interaction fixes.
- Significant Inspector improvements across platforms, including smoother updates, restored group states, improved layout behavior, and better integration with Outline editing.
- Sidebar enhancements on iPad and Mac, including inline sidebar display by default on iPad, improved folder handling and drag behavior, document title controls in the sidebar, and better keyboard navigation.
- Modernized toolbar and menu system with a cleaner unified Mac toolbar, adaptive toolbar controls on iPad and iPhone, improved menu organization, and additional keyboard shortcuts.
- Enhanced Smart Filters with a redesigned popover editor on Mac, support for naming and detaching the editor, improved focus handling, and better restoration of focus and filter state.
- Improved focus-based filtering, including hierarchical topic selection, automatic sidebar expansion to show focused rows, and better preservation of focus state when filters are cleared.
- Date picker enhancements in the Outline view, including support for parent rows with calculations, additional value options, and improved reliability.
- Expanded live sync support to cloud providers such as Dropbox, Google Drive, and OneDrive, with improved coordination between devices to avoid cloud-drive conflicts.
- Reliability improvements to live sync, including fixes for missed sync starts, and multiple stability improvements.
- Added sync diagnostics logging tools to help trace and debug syncing and publisher behavior.
- Major performance improvements throughout the app, reducing unnecessary reloads, layout work, logging overhead, and view refresh churn.
- Updated completed button styling with a new circular style, customizable colors, and consistent appearance across views.
- Added a new single-view mode option on Mac, allowing each tab to show either a single view or multiple views.
- Added a new About window on iPad and iPhone.
- Added new settings for spacebar behavior in the Outline and default font and color for notes.
- Plus many other improvements; see the full release notes on the SheetPlanner website for details.

Read on for a detailed list of changes:

* Outline view fixes and improvements:
- Double-clicking Outline column dividers now sizes the column to fit the visible values. [Mac]
- Added a Resize to Fit Content command in the column menu, that does the same as the above.
- When a single cell is selected, pasting multiple rows will now insert extra rows after the selected one, rather than overwriting subsequent rows, to avoid the risk of data loss.
- Fixed Topic editing in Outline rows so the first line stays visible while multi-line row height expands. [Mac]
- Fixed an occasional beep when indenting, outdenting, or toggling edit mode while a cell is being edited. [Mac]
- Added support for starting Outline cell editing by typing on an external keyboard after selecting a cell. [iPad]
- Fixed live Topic row sizing while editing so row height expands as you type. [iPad & iPhone]
- Fixed a crash that could occur while editing a Topic when syncing updates triggered view reloads. [iPad & iPhone]
- When a row has a long note, it is now loaded and displayed inline correctly (before it was only loaded if shown in a new tab).
- Fixed iPad date picker selections in the Outline so choosing a date updates the cell value. [iPad & iPhone]
- Fixed note typing color in Dark Mode when starting to edit a note so new text uses the appearance-adapted note style color. [Mac]
- Fixed an occasional beep when ending editing the Topic cell.
- Fixed dragging columns. [Mac]

* Timeline view fixes:
- Fixed occasional missing horizontal dividers.
- Fixed the shadows in the Timeline view when the Outline is also visible. [Mac]

* Board view fixes:
- Fixed Board card dragging so drops use the actual drop location and no longer intermittently land in the wrong lane. [iPad & iPhone]
- Fixed Board card selection so selecting a card no longer recenters the board and highlight drawing updates without visual artifacts. [iPad & iPhone]
- Fixed Board scrolling artifacts where cards could briefly appear in the wrong position while moving around the board. [iPad & iPhone]
- Fixed live sync refresh so Board updates after remote changes are received.

* Year view improvement:
- Now shows additional months to fill visible empty space.

* Inspector fixes and improvements:
- The Inspector now uses a full-height background and a rounded control to switch pages.
- The Inspector now slides in from the right, instead of a popover, on iPadOS 26. [iPad]
- Updated the iPhone Inspector sheet to open at half height with drag support to full height or dismiss. [iPhone]
- Made the List Inspector item color pickers use a circular shape instead of appearing oval. [Mac]
- The iPad Inspector now uses an opaque background like on Mac. [iPad]
- Changed the Mac Inspector toolbar icon to the modern style. [Mac]
- The Inspector now also draws more smoothly when changing the layout, like toggling the filter bar. [Mac]
- The Inspector now remembers and restores the expanded/collapsed state of the groups (at last!). [Mac]
- Fixed crash when editing dates via date picker in the Inspector. [iPad & iPhone]
- Fixed editing the Topic in the Values Inspector. [iPad & iPhone]
- Changes in the Inspector are now live-updated in the Outline view. [iPad & iPhone]

* Enhanced completed button style:
- Added a new Circle style for the completed button; set in the Value Inspector for the Topic cell.
- Added a color picker to change the color of the completed button.
- Unified drawing of the completed button (appears in the sidebar, Outline, Board, and Month views).
- Fixed checkmark state in the sidebar for partially complete rows. [Mac]
- Fixed sometimes not saving the completed button style (in the Format Inspector for the Topic column).

* Sidebar improvements:
- The sidebar is now shown inline by default, so it's readily available for focusing and switching sheets. It can be hidden if not needed. [iPad]
- Added a menu command in the View menu and action (...) menu to toggle between showing the sidebar and Inspector inline or in an overlay (as before). [iPad]
- Fixed loading of a document with custom folders in the sidebar.
- Fixed dragging a sheet to a custom folder, and related dragging validation. [Mac]
- The button to toggle the sidebar now appears above the sidebar when visible, or before the title when hidden. [Mac]
- Fixed the sidebar being empty if the document opens with the sidebar hidden, then it is shown. [Mac]
- The split dividers are now hidden, for a cleaner look on macOS 26. [Mac]
- Fixed unnecessary space on the left edge. [iPad & iPhone]
- Added a document title at the top of the sidebar, which shows the filename, selected sheet, and edit state, like on Mac. [iPad & iPhone]
- Tap the title to show a menu, with information about the document at the top. [iPad & iPhone]
- The menu includes a Rename command, to rename the document. [iPad & iPhone]
- The menu also includes New Sheet, Duplicate Sheet, and Duplicate Sheet and Rows commands. [iPad & iPhone]

* Toolbar and menus improvements:
- The window titlebar and toolbar now uses a unified appearance, with the document title and toolbar buttons on the same level. [Mac]
- The current sheet name and/or any filter/focus now appears below the document title. [Mac]
- The toolbar now defaults to only showing the icons, as is the modern convention (but you can re-show the title text if you wish). [Mac]
- The toolbar now appears fully-formed when opening a document, instead of briefly showing extra buttons. [Mac]
- Changed the Views control to use regular bar buttons, and automatically collapse to a single button with a menu if the window is narrow. [iPad & iPhone]
- Removed the Connect item from the toolbar.
- Added the Connect submenu to the Organize menu. [iPad]
- Added titles to the toolbar buttons; they appear in the overflow menu if the window is narrow. [iPad & iPhone]
- When displaying the Inspector inline, the Inspector toolbar button is hidden. [iPad]
- Added the Welcome to SheetPlanner, What's New, etc items to the Help menu in the menubar. [iPad]

* Single view mode option:
- Added a new Show Single View / Show Multiple Views option in the View menu. [Mac]
- This option is tab-specific. [Mac]
- Holding the Option key when selecting a view via the toolbar will temporarily reverse this setting. [Mac]
- Changed the keyboard shortcut of Show Views Vertically/Horizontally to ⇧⌥⌘0, as the new view mode option uses ⌥⌘0. [Mac]
- The Show Views Vertically/Horizontally option is not available when using Single view mode, since it doesn't apply. [Mac]
- By default, documents use Single view mode, unless they already have multiple views displayed on upgrade. [Mac]
- The Project Plan templates default to Multiple view mode, to show the Outline and Timeline. [Mac]
- A tip popover appears when first using the views control, to inform about the view mode option. [Mac]

* The Smart Filter editor is now in a popover:
- The filter editor now appears in a popover on Mac, like on iPad. [Mac]
- It now includes a Name field; leave blank to use an automatic name, or enter a custom one. [Mac]
- The popover can be dragged from any empty space above the criteria to detach it to a floating window. [Mac]
- The controls are larger than before, and laid out more tidily. [Mac]
- Moved the restore current view and focus options to the top.
- When opening a template with saved filters, the Filter Bar is shown by default.

* Focus in Smart Filters:
- When clearing (exiting) a filter, the focus is set back to what it was before using the filter (even from a previous session).
- Increased the size of the Focus button in the filter editor. [Mac]
- Fixed the focus button showing up when focused via a filter. [iPad & iPhone]
- When adding a new Smart Filter, if currently Focused, that focus is saved in the filter.
- When using a saved filter, any focus state is restored.
- When clearing (exiting) the filter, the focus state remains; it can be cleared separately if desired, but will often still be wanted.
- When changing or clearing the focus, the filter is cleared, since its conditions are no longer satisfied.
- Added a "From focus" button in the filter editor, that shows the filtered focus, if any.
- Clicking/tapping that button shows a popover listing the topics of the top-level rows, and the disclosures can be expanded to show any levels. Checkboxes are included to select zero, one, or more topics for focus.
- If a parent topic is selected, its children can't be selected, since they are included by the parent.
- The disclosure state in the picker is remembered, except that the selected topics are automatically disclosed.
- When selecting a filter that contains a focus, or choosing a Focus in the Outline view, the sidebar is expanded to show the selected focus.

* Date picker improvements:
- In the Outline view, the date picker menu button is now available in parent cells with calculations.
- The date picker menu button now doesn't unexpectedly disappear after choosing a date.
- The date picker now includes a value pop-up menu at the top, available for parent rows, enabling choosing between custom values or Latest or Earliest calculations.
- The date picker now has a bit more space, to fit with macOS 26. [Mac]
- Fixed the date picker not working properly when accessed via the Timeline Info popover.

* Added handy arrow key shortcuts:
- Pressing Option-Left Arrow in the Outline view when not editing a cell will collapse the selected row(s); if the row can't be collapsed, its parent (if any) is collapsed and selected.
- Pressing Option-Right Arrow will correspondingly expand the selected row(s), if possible.
- Moved the Show/Hide Sidebar menu command into a Sidebar submenu.
- Added Select Previous Item and Select Next Item commands to that submenu, with keyboard shortcuts Cmd-Option-Up Arrow and Cmd-Option-Down Arrow, to enable navigating the sidebar via the keyboard.
- Also added Collapse Item and Expand Item to the Sidebar submenu, with shortcuts Cmd-Option-Left Arrow and Cmd-Option-Right Arrow, to collapse or expand the selected item in the sidebar.
- On iPad, the sidebar shortcuts require the Control key too, as iPadOS doesn't allow Cmd-Option arrows. [iPad]

* Template Chooser improvements:
- Reimplemented the Template Chooser to use a native split view sidebar style on macOS 26. [Mac]
- Added a Recents sidebar section in the Template Chooser to quickly view recently used templates. [Mac]
- Updated the Open Recent drop-down menu to use the new one (see below). [Mac]
- Fixed the Project Plan template so the Successors column remains hidden when first opened on another device.

* Enhanced recent documents:
- Replaced File > Open Recent with a custom menu grouped by date ranges, with tooltips showing the location. [Mac]
- It is more resilient to temporary cloud outages (won't forget recents if briefly offline). [Mac]
- If a recent document can’t be resolved, you can choose to locate it or remove it from Recents. [Mac]

* Added About window:
- Added an About SheetPlanner window, available from the More menu and app menu. [iPad & iPhone]

* New Settings:
- Added an option on the General page for the Spacebar action: by default pressing the spacebar with a cell selected in the Outline (when not editing) will start editing, but this option enables you to instead toggle the completed state. [Mac]
- Pressing Option-Space will reverse this behavior. [Mac]
- Added options on the Defaults page for the font and color to use for new notes. [Mac]

* Live sync fixes and improvements:
- Reduced live sync participant start/stop notification churn by delaying stop notifications briefly and canceling them if activity resumes.
- When a document is an observer, the Save command is disabled. [Mac]
- Fixed a bug where syncing didn't start for a newly saved document, leading to the publisher state being inaccurate.
- Improved the publisher evaluation logic.
- Fixed changes not being saved to the document after being synced from an observer.
- Significant performance boost and faster ready-to-sync by remembering more sync state (the boost will apply after it does one more full sync with the cloud).
- Several more fixes and improvements to fast syncing.

* Fast sync now supports Dropbox, Google Drive, OneDrive, and other cloud providers:
- Now detects when a document is saved on a cloud drive other than iCloud Drive.
- If so, and the document is open on more than one device at the same time, changes are only saved to the cloud drive from one device, to prevent conflicts.
- The first device to open the document will typically save, but that could change depending on usage.
- The changes from each device will be synchronized via the fast-sync mechanism, so all devices have the same content.
- If another device is publishing changes, the window subtitle will say "Shared" instead of "Edited".

* Sync diagnostics logging:
- Added an optional sync diagnostics logging pane in the Activity Inspector.
- Only available as a Debug menu option; enable the Debug menu (via Settings), then enable Diagnostic Logging, then choose Sync Diagnostics ▸ Show in Activity to make the pane show up.
- Includes the current publisher status and sync status.
- Also includes an auto-updating log of publisher- and sync-related log entries (there are a lot!).
- Plus a Copy button, that copies all of the log entries onto the clipboard.
- Tip: if using Copy on an iPad, you can paste the text into a TextEdit document on your Mac thanks to Universal Clipboard.
- Useful to help trace publisher and sync issues.

* Performance improvements:
- Reduced redundant split-view state updates to improve view refresh responsiveness. [Mac]
- Reduced unnecessary divider and split-resize bookkeeping work when switching views to improve tab-switch responsiveness. [Mac]
- Reduced unnecessary full Outline data reloads during view switching to improve Outline tab responsiveness. [Mac]
- Reduced repeated hidden-Outline split sizing and unnecessary Inspector reloads during view updates to cut tab-switch lag spikes. [Mac]
- Added diagnostics for frequent Inspector reload bursts to help identify remaining reload churn. [Mac]
- Reduced Inspector refresh overhead by avoiding duplicate scroll restoration and redundant print-container layout updates. [Mac]
- Reduced hidden-Inspector split bookkeeping work and added finer Inspector reload diagnostics to identify remaining spikes. [Mac]
- Stopped reloading folders on simple view switches unless folder/sidebar state changed. [Mac]
- Coalesced nested Inspector reload requests and improved Inspector timing diagnostics to isolate remaining reload spikes. [Mac]
- Optimized Inspector disclosure updates to avoid unnecessary expand/collapse work during view switches. [Mac]
- Skipped redundant Inspector disclosure and scroll restoration work when state is unchanged. [Mac]
- Reduced false Inspector disclosure updates caused by group reordering during reloads. [Mac]
- Reduced Outline redraw overhead by skipping header reload work during redraw-only refreshes and avoiding unchanged grid color updates. [Mac]
- Avoided redundant Inspector print-container updates when print mode is unchanged. [Mac]
- Reduced unnecessary Outline topic-width recalculation when split positions are unchanged. [Mac]
- Avoided unnecessary base split-divider positioning while sidebar or Inspector panes are hidden. [Mac]
- Skipped redundant post-layout view-bounds updates when split state and bounds are unchanged. [Mac]
- Fixed some significant CPU usage, e.g. trying to update the Timeline when it wasn't shown.
- Made logging much more efficient (important since it is used extensively).
- The Diagnostic Log now updates every 10 seconds in the background, and starts a new log for each launch or day.
- Disabled some excessive logging.
- When resizing the window or columns, the note, links, and tags now remain visually unchanged (but behind the scenes temporarily replaced with images, for performance reasons). [Mac]
- Fixed an issue with the sidebar.
- Plus other improvements.

* Apple Intelligence (experiment):
- Added an Apple Intelligence child-row generation experiment. [Mac]
- To enable it, show the Debug menu and turn on Enable Intelligence (only shown when Apple Intelligence is available on this Mac). [Mac]
- Then use Organize ▸ Generate Child Rows on a selected row to generate and add child rows from the row's Topic and Note. [Mac]
- Use the note to write a prompt to guide the rows to generate and columns to populate; the more detail you provide, the more likely to be what you want. [Mac]
- If the selected row already has child rows, you'll be prompted to Replace, Append, or Cancel before rows are added. [Mac]
- Generated rows always include Topic and can also fill other columns (for example Start Date, Finish Date, and People) when sensible. [Mac]

* Plus many other changes:
- Rebuilt Mac app menus in code for easier maintenance and aligned more shared menu commands between Mac and iPad.
- Added icons for all app menus.
- Fixed the initial visibility of the sidebar and Inspector so they are now restored from the saved state.
- Added a Debug menu option to temporarily disable optimization paths for A/B performance testing.
- Fixed the note text color; now properly adapts between light and dark modes.
- Fixed a crash when loading a document with a lot of sheets. [iPad]
- Fixed layout of the Settings view in landscape on iPhone. [iPhone]
- Fixed slow layout on phone rotation after showing the Inspector. [iPhone]
- The Month and Year views now update correctly when selecting a row in the sidebar.
- Fixed a crash when attempting to drag a row onto one of its own children.
- Replaced the toolbar search field with a dynamic search toolbar item: it resizes with the window, and if the window is narrow, it collapses into a button, and expands when clicked, or on Cmd-F. Plus implemented pressing Esc to clear and exit the search field. [Mac]
- Fixed the sidebar completion pies updating when changing between light and dark modes.
- Fixed Focus in New Tab. [Mac]
- Moved updating records to after loading is complete, to avoid accessing settings not yet loaded.
- Fixed sometimes unexpectedly reverting the active theme when syncing.
- When hiding the Inspector, and there is empty space to the right of the last column in the Outline, the Topic column width is now adjusted to eliminate that empty space.


Note: changes apply to the Mac, iPad, and iPhone editions, unless otherwise noted.




]]> https://www.outlinersoftware.com/topics/viewt/12620 Mon, 09 Mar 2026 20:44:43 GMT https://www.outlinersoftware.com/messages/viewm/47821
But I also use Dynalist, Upnote, and Emacs with pandoc. A cool and pretty OS that so far works great. ]]> https://www.outlinersoftware.com/topics/viewt/7867 Mon, 09 Mar 2026 02:31:47 GMT https://www.outlinersoftware.com/messages/viewm/47819
Stephen Zeoli wrote:

>@Dormouse, Ulysses is strictly Apple products, which doesn't work for
>me, because I spend my work days on Windows. Dabble and other apps like
>it really focus on long-form fiction writing. Whereas, Speare looks as
>if it will work well for writing of most kinds and of any length. I'll
>see if I continue to agree with that assessment after I've used it more.

FYI a friend uses Typora for WYSIWYG Markdown. Available for Mac and Windows. It was in beta for nearly a decade and is rock solid. Though it doesn't try to duplicate the features of Ulysses it's very good at what it does.

https://typora.io/

Probably the other main contenders are the freeware apps Zettlr and Joplin. ]]> https://www.outlinersoftware.com/topics/viewt/12619 Sun, 08 Mar 2026 15:54:58 GMT https://www.outlinersoftware.com/messages/viewm/47818 https://www.outlinersoftware.com/topics/viewt/12619 Sun, 08 Mar 2026 15:18:24 GMT https://www.outlinersoftware.com/messages/viewm/47817 >I have been using Tana since its early days and think
>it's great, but increasingly find it best for power users -- I've fallen
>into the dreaded CRIMPer's habit of spending more time customizing it
>than I am working with it.

I looked into Tana a few times but I found it too taxing on the brain to have to think of all the possibilities that the architecture allows.

Roam just allows me to function as a basic user, using just a few key features that I really like.

>Roam and Logseq seem to be best at linking
>to/embedding individual blocks, which is a feature I really like -- it
>helps me knit together the most relevant parts of longer articles, etc.,
>about a topic. That helps keep me from continuing to accrue information
>about a topic that I'll never use because the amount has become unwieldy
>to work with.

Yes, the various embedding and linking functions are very helpful. On Mondays for instance I create a list of objectives for that week, and then I embed the weekly list in the daily pages of that week, and then every day I am reminded of what I still need to do (and can select activities to schedule for that day) and also see visually what I've already accomplished that week. ]]> https://www.outlinersoftware.com/topics/viewt/12619 Sun, 08 Mar 2026 12:32:01 GMT https://www.outlinersoftware.com/messages/viewm/47816 https://www.outlinersoftware.com/topics/viewt/12619 Sun, 08 Mar 2026 12:04:04 GMT https://www.outlinersoftware.com/messages/viewm/47815
I'm a basic user, I'm probably just using 10% of what it's capable of.

But I do use it every day, in fact it's the first page I open in the morning, as it's automatic Daily Notes page reminds me what I've planned ahead for the given day, and it also serves as a record of what I've accomplished during each day (and then week, and month, and year).

It has emerged as a powerful way of managing memory and personal history, and as a planning tool.

I'm aware that other software now can also do this, but there is a certain ease of use with the way wiki links and date links and automatic backlinks are created that made me stick with it (and also the cross-platform function).

The mobile app is kind of slow, I prefer to just open the page in a browser, and even then it takes a while for it to load, but that's a compromise I can live with, if I get access to my graph on the go.

I'm also a WorkFlowy user, which now also has some of these features, but I still prefer to use Roam for the daily task management, and WorkFlowy for tracking and developing longer-term projects, or for ad hoc outlining and breaking down and accomplishing tasks.

I also use Obsidian for different purposes, such as writing and storing longer documents, including a diary.

Probably one could just use one of these tools for all of these functions, but I enjoy the particular strengths of each of these software and also I don't necessarily trust them equally with all of my data.

I don't claim to be a particularly productive person but these three tools (in combination with Google Calendar) help me deal with the complexities of managing my personal, family, and work life in this day and age.

]]> https://www.outlinersoftware.com/topics/viewt/12620 Sat, 07 Mar 2026 17:41:48 GMT https://www.outlinersoftware.com/messages/viewm/47814 Still, is the Pro version worth it?
]]> https://www.outlinersoftware.com/topics/viewt/7867 Sat, 07 Mar 2026 15:55:43 GMT https://www.outlinersoftware.com/messages/viewm/47813
Darren McDonald wrote:
Has anyone ended up tryng out Speare?
>There has been no development of the app since May last year (2025), the
>website is still 2025, and I have sent an email to support a couple of
>times over the last few weeks but have never heard back. So, I am
>wondering if anyone is still using it and what their experience has been
>of the app.
>
>Stephen Zeoli wrote:
>@Dormouse, Ulysses is strictly Apple products, which doesn't work for
>>me, because I spend my work days on Windows. Dabble and other apps like
>>it really focus on long-form fiction writing. Whereas, Speare looks as
>>if it will work well for writing of most kinds and of any length. I'll
>>see if I continue to agree with that assessment after I've used it
>more.
>>
>>
>>Steve ]]> https://www.outlinersoftware.com/topics/viewt/12620 Sat, 07 Mar 2026 15:43:07 GMT https://www.outlinersoftware.com/messages/viewm/47812
I'm also having a brilliant time with my process of ditching the GAFAM (no mean feat!).

Right now I'm working with elementary OS 8.1 (a Linux distro based on Ubuntu 24.04, beautiful and well-made, which works a treat on an Acer Swift 1 with 8GB+256GB of storage. I've signed up with Proton for email, cloud storage, a VPN, etc. And I'm experimenting with software solutions too (Obsidian, Logseq, Zotero, Zettlr), all of which are going quite well, learning even more about operating systems.

I was looking for a lightweight markdown editor for when Obsidian can be a bit too clunky. How about HelixNotes? Is the difference in start-up and agility noticeable? I've visited their website, can you edit with a light background?...

On another note, you say you're having your Zorin experience on a 2013 Macbook Air. I think that's fantastic! Was the installation difficult? Do you know if it's possible to install Zorin on a 2016 12" Retina Macbook?

Cheers and congratulations! ]]> https://www.outlinersoftware.com/topics/viewt/12619 Sat, 07 Mar 2026 05:05:39 GMT https://www.outlinersoftware.com/messages/viewm/47811 https://www.outlinersoftware.com/topics/viewt/12620 Fri, 06 Mar 2026 23:48:28 GMT https://www.outlinersoftware.com/messages/viewm/47810
As some of you know, I regularly experiment with Linux as I seek to achieve my long-term goal -- moving away from the big U.S. suppliers. But so far, my experiments have been frustrating. Even Linux Mint, which I installed in early 2025 and then, after a number of seriously frustrating weeks, uninstalled again, was much less impressive than I had been led to believe. But this year I've installed Zorin OS 18 on my very elderly MacBook Air (2013!) -- and it has been a revelation! Not only has it given the Mac a new lease of life (much faster, much better power management), it also talks happily to my Android smartphone, and is exceedingly user-friendly to use. (Zorin OS has been around for over a decade, and can be found at zorin.com)

Yes, there are still some Linux-isms to sort out if you want to heavily customise your system, but the OS itself comes with a range of friendly layouts (including a Mac-alike one and a Windows 11-alike) and the "professional" version of the OS (which costs less than $50) comes with a slew of additional layouts. But actually, even just using the Core OS I've got my desktop to look and behave much like my MacBook Pro. And this means I can benefit from some of the excellent, open-source Linux software out there.

Such as cross-platform HelixNotes, which is a very pleasant three-pane note-taking system which is cross-platform (although not iOS-compatible, and only runs on MacOS in emulation mode) and very quick to launch. You'll find it at helixnotes.com

And I've also reinstalled Tangent, a truly wonderful take on lateral outlining which is also available on other platforms (e.g. Mac), but runs best on Linux.

What works best of all, however, is good ole' Obsidian, thanks to my Obsidian Sync subscription (with which, unlike some forum members, I've not yet had any issues). The great thing is, you can use apps like HelixNotes (or Octarine, or Typora, or any other Markdown editor) on the Obsidian repository, which means that if you're only syncing a single Obsidian vault (which I am, because I'm a cheapskate), you can use these other editors to access any part of that vault as if it was a separate repository. HelixNotes is much faster to launch than Obsidian (as are a couple of other Markdown editors I'm experimenting with), so if I want to update my journal (which is just a small part of my main Obsidian Vault), I do so via HelixNotes rather than Obsidian itself. Providing I remember to launch Obsidian before shutting down the machine, any changes made in HelixNotes are automatically synced with the Obsidian server.

Because HelixNotes also has a very fast search function, I find myself using it as a kind of default high-speed editor. It doesn't outline (in the sense of fold text) like Obsidian (many of those in this forum appear to be unaware that Obsidian now folds and unfolds just like Dynalist or Workflowy -- all you have to do is indent a sentence or paragraph. Headings have folded/unfolded for several versions now, but the latest versions also support folding body text). But that's a small price to pay in return for speed and convenience. For more in-depth editing, I just go back to Obsidian.

Uninstalling apps is also easy when running Zorin OS -- almost everything is handled by the built-in "Software" app, which can install apps from a wide range of Linux repositories, but shows you when an app has been "verified" by the Zorin community. Because Zorin has been under development for a long time, but with the very specific aim of remaining user-friendly, the latest version is seriously stable, and is now attracting users who've been put off by Microsoft's latest attempts to turn Windows into an advertising platform. It's well worth a look -- as is LibreOffice or the German proprietary office suite SoftMaker Office.

I'm typing this on my trusty MacBook Air! Which, I notice, does need a recharge, but has now been running for over 4 hours on a battery dating from 2013! ]]> https://www.outlinersoftware.com/topics/viewt/12618 Thu, 05 Mar 2026 22:20:38 GMT https://www.outlinersoftware.com/messages/viewm/47809 https://www.outlinersoftware.com/topics/viewt/12618 Thu, 05 Mar 2026 22:02:20 GMT https://www.outlinersoftware.com/messages/viewm/47808 https://www.outlinersoftware.com/topics/viewt/12619 Thu, 05 Mar 2026 21:57:43 GMT https://www.outlinersoftware.com/messages/viewm/47807
I keep hoping that Logseq's database version would solve this for me, but I can't find a ballpark ETA (and I may be past my prime for doing what it takes to adopt that system).

Thanks for any insights you can share. ]]> https://www.outlinersoftware.com/topics/viewt/12618 Thu, 05 Mar 2026 21:05:20 GMT https://www.outlinersoftware.com/messages/viewm/47806 >that.
>
No sync issues for me on Mac and Android, but I am not a heavy user.

The usar forum is here: https://talk.dynalist.io/

And on Discord too: https://discord.gg/cUQMdgR ]]> https://www.outlinersoftware.com/topics/viewt/12618 Thu, 05 Mar 2026 18:49:55 GMT https://www.outlinersoftware.com/messages/viewm/47805
It's not only slow when it syncs, it's REALLY unreliable. On multiple occasions, I have gone from one document to another, then back to the first, only to discover that my previous work had not been saved --even though I clicked sync!

Because of that, I have to memorize all my edits, every single time, so I can put them in again. One a couple of occasions, I had to re-enter the edits three times, even though I went through the spin-spin-spin cycle telling me I had fully synced.

If those problems could be solved, then I wouldn't need anything else. Wondering if there is a forum for Dynalist users. I should look into that.

Stephen Zeoli wrote:
I wonder why you're having trouble with the delayed syncing. I can open
>any of my outlines in Dynalist instantly -- I am using the browser
>version. I use it on my MacBook with Safari, and in Windows 11 with
>Chrome. Both work very fast. So I wonder if something else is
>influencing the poor behavior. Maybe if you can solve that, you can
>stick with Dynalist, which sounds like it is perfect for your needs...
>if you could only get it to work properly. ]]> https://www.outlinersoftware.com/topics/viewt/12618 Thu, 05 Mar 2026 14:13:14 GMT https://www.outlinersoftware.com/messages/viewm/47804