You all will laugh, I’m sure. For years (decades, actually), I (Doug) have been searching for the perfect note-taking app. I’ve gone through phases when I *thought* had finally found it, only to discover loose ends (“gotchas”) that I hadn’t anticipated. At the end of a very long list of Asana, ClickUp, Coda, Evernote, Joplin, GoogleKeep, Mem, Obsidian, OneNote, Roam Research Taskade, WorkFlowy, Notion, NoteJoy, and a million other options (yes, sorry to say, I’ve installed and, in most cases, used all those and more), I’ve finally settled on what I think is a perfect fit for me (drum roll): Craft. You can learn more about Craft here… https://www.craft.do/. (Note: We receive nothing from Craft. We’re not affiliated marketers for ANYthing. We never will be. If we share a favorite approach in Brigada, it’s because we really do love it — not because someone pays us to say so.) You can also make lots of cool comparisons here: https://noteapps.info/apps/compare. Why Craft for me? First, it’s fast. Second, it’s multi-platform and it syncs nearly instantly between them all. Third, it’s secure. End-to-end encryption. Encrypted at rest. Fourth – and this was important to me – it saves files locally so I can use the app offline when I’m away from internet. During field visits (when I need access to notes), I need offline capabilities. If I can’t search it offline (without wi-fi), this is a deal-breaker for me. Fifth, it’s affordable. Sixth, it has the capacity to grow if I need/desire to add multiple users later. Seventh, I can choose individual pages to serve up as public web pages — instantly. Eighth – searching is incredibly fast, even with larger databases. (I have thousands of notes from over the years.) Ninth, the layout is just gorgeous – and it makes sense to me. Finally, tenth, the AI that they’ve incorporated (and it’s GREAT AI) doesn’t track you and doesn’t go into some advertising model. Craft is the real deal.
How do I use a note-taking app? I use it to capture every little stray bit of life that comes at me. I save loose facts and quotes (which later help generate story ideas). I track meeting minutes, plans, projects, and dreams. I jot down virtually everything I can – and that way, it frees my mind of the stress of having to remember everything. Note-taking rocks.
Do you use a note-taking app? If so, which one have *you* settled on. If you haven’t already settled on something, we highly suggest you consider Craft. You won’t regret it.
Apple Notes. It’s simple and accessible in Apple platforms. And Free. Thank you for the noteapp comparison. I would love to hear if anyone has compared Apple Notes with Craft or others. I used Evernote but it was a paid service.
Would you believe plain text! I use it for my daily log, my ToDo list, my Wish List, and my Quotes file. I use Zim Wiki (on Windows and Linux, and Markor on Android as a front end to Zim Wiki) for stuff that I may not need to reference often, since it gives you a way to structure things. For sync I use ResilioSync, between all my devices. It does not store anything in the cloud, though there is a cloud reflector so that when you are behind a firewall you can still sync with your other devices. (I have to trust that the reflector is not scanning my content. I am not using encryption, though I guess that could be done. I’ll have to think about that some more). All the above are free and do-it-yourself.
Alas my hopes were dashed. I too am searching [pun both not and intended!] for offline note editing in rural Uganda- but Craft.do is not available for Android. Maybe something in the noteapps.info/apps/compare will present itself. One I would not recommend is SimpleNote – it edits offline but the formatting and searching is very limited.
You had to go do that, didn’t you, Doug?! Throw a wrench into my notetaking. My last foray was Obsidian. Just couldn’t get into it. You’ve sold me on trying Craft, especially with the security recommendation. Looking fwd to giving it a go…
Hi Brian. Any update on a possible option of trying out Craft?
Hi Charlotte. I think Apple Notes would be tougher for non-Apple users, right? Plus… I wonder if it’s kept “offline” ??? So if I’m interviewing someone away from wi-fi, or if I’m on a plane, I wonder if it’s available? And if it *is* available offline, I wonder if it syncs with phone — and or if it will allow others to edit real-time, virtually?
Thanks to others who pitched in ideas!
Phil, they have an Android version in development. It won’t be long. : )
Brian, I tried Obsidian too! And I concluded the same as you. I hope Craft is useful to you! So sorry! : )