Zettelkasten Forum


Mobile Zettelkasten causing 1writer to crash. Alternatives?

I like to have access for playing around with my zettelkasten on my iphone while commuting on the subway or traveling. I use 1writer for this because I like the way it searches and displays individual files. Since a recent update of my phone, I've noticed that 1writer will crash consistently every minute or so. I'm wondering if this has to do with the size of my zettelkasten or the number of individual files. Space on the iphone itself is not an issue because I have many gigs available.

This is my current zettelkasten size:
19,755,250 bytes (56 MB on disk) for 11,075 items

Anybody have any suggestions for solutions or alternative apps? I've tried ia writer and Ulysses but they lack the kind of file searching that is key to my zettelkasten usage. I want to be able to search file names and file contents.

Note: I also use Drafts to interface with my zettelkasten for capture, but I would prefer to keep the plaintext approach if possible. I LOVE Drafts but I don't want to put all my notes onto icloud if I can help it.

Comments

  • I just got started using 1writer and now I'm worried. I would contact the developer and see what he thinks.

  • Anybody have any suggestions for solutions or alternative apps? I've tried ia writer and Ulysses but they lack the kind of file searching that is key to my zettelkasten usage. I want to be able to search file names and file contents.

    In my experience, iA Writer does a good job of searching file contents. What problems are you having?

  • IA writer uses the search native to the iPhone and requires many taps to get there. In 1Writer the search and browsing of the folder is built in. I just swipe to see the files and navigate. Also iA does not let me search within the text file on Dropbox. Here’s an example of me searching for a tag in iA versus 1Writer.

  • @pseudoevagrius said:
    Also iA does not let me search within the text file on Dropbox.

    Ah. You didn’t mention Dropbox in your first post. You only mentioned having plenty of space on your iPhone.

    iA Writer’s support for Dropbox no longer allows adding Dropbox folders as a location. The iA website cites changes to the Dropbox API as the cause. However, iA claims that individual files are indexed by Quick Search.

    I doubt that iA Writer relies solely on the native iOS search:

    • In iA Writer, I routinely find files by words in their contents that the Files app does not find.
    • The Smart Folders support specifying search conditions that aren’t supported by native iOS search.
    • Search supports searching the contents of plain text and markdown files only.

    Opening Quick Search in iA Writer is only one tap in v5.3. So, I’m not sure why it takes you many taps.

    Hashtags are well-supported by iA Writer if you set up the Library in iCloud. You don’t even have to use search to find them.

    Now that you’ve clarified, I understand that you want to avoid iCloud. I’m just explaining why I was surprised by your dissatisfaction with iA Writer. My experience with iA Writer has been different from yours.

    I do wish iA Writer had some 1Writer features, though!

  • @pseudoevagrius, I now get why search takes you so long. You’re not using iA Writer’s Quick Search feature. Rather, you appear to be going via the Open... menu to find files that you have not added to iA Writer’s library, so they are not indexed for Quick Search. The Open... menu does rely on iOS native file search. Sorry for my confusion.

    If Dropbox is a hard requirement for you, iA Writer is almost certainly a poor choice. But, there are other ways to avoid iCloud in iA Writer—e.g., by adding a location from another app that supports that interface. If you use DevonThink, that might be worth trying. Unfortunately, I’ve found that the locations interface—when it’s even supported by apps—can be unreliable, because it often breaks with updates to apps and to iOS.

  • Sorry for not mentioning the Dropbox part. That's an important component in where things are breaking down. Though, Dropbox itself is not essential. I'm willing to move to another place, a benefit that explains why I want to maintain my files as plaintext in the first place. Location can be changed as long as I have control over how my files are organized and stored (and in what format).

    I've been resisting iCloud, but maybe I just need to get over that. Clearly Dropbox isn't doing me any favors.

    Devonthink is ok, but not my cup of tea when I've used it in the past.

    Thanks for taking the time to pitch some actionable alternatives. I might just give iCloud a spin if it works as well as you are saying.

  • @pseudoevagrius You’re welcome! Let me know if you get stuck.

    If you’re already using 1Writer, you might want to test iCloud with 1Writer, too. As you noted, the highlighting of search results within items in 1Writer is quite useful. On the other hand, the context menu that iA Writer makes available for search results is also useful.

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