Introducing my new android app for zettelkasten : Zettel Notes

dax7

Link : https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=org.eu.thedoc.zettelnotes

Hey guys. I created zettel notes after i couldn't find any app for zettelkasten on android.

As of now zettel notes supports:

• Full Markdown
• Note Linking
• Multiple repositories with default text and date format for each
• Extract note from within note
• #tags
• @authors
• Share text from any app to create new note
• Sort Notes by last modified, words, frequency of note opening, title, date

Do let me know, what you all think about zettel notes.

GeoEng51

@dax7

I’m not an android user, but I do love everything Zettelkasten. Good for you, for making the lives of many zettelkasters so much easier!!!

dax7

Thanks @GeoEng51 . I love developing android apps.

orderinthecourts

I've been waiting for an app like this for a long time. Thank you.

jtschroder

I tested the app using the demo content that was provided. It looks great!

Does the UID have to be in the filename for it to work? I only have the title of the note in the filename, no UID, and I couldn't get the app to read my files.

dax7

@jtschroder . Yes it needs UID ( in zettelkasten being the unique timestamp for each note ). Otherwise the app skips the note. Because UIDs are needed for note linking to work. Hope this was a rationale decision to make.

Maybe in the future, the app will handle this condition more gracefully instead of just skipping the notes.

myn_user

@dax7: The app looks cool.

Some points of improvement 😉:

• When I click the 3 point menu of a note in the note list nothing happens. In Study Helper I can rename, share or delete a note. Is this a bug?
• When I create a new note I can see the ID in the pop-up, but when the note is created I don't see the ID again. In your examples you have a header (h1) with the ID and the title. How can I create this kind of header? Or better: Can the app create this header automatically?
• When I have edited a note and want to switch to the read mode I have to press it twice: 1x for saving/parsing and 1x for switching. Why a 2-step-process?

• Sync via cloud in order to work on a tablet (I read in the description of your other app Study Helper that there is the possibility to sync with Dropbox).

  • Do you use .txt/.md-files?

• Export to .md

Questions:

• What's the function of >!text!<? Comments? What dialect is this?
• Where are the notes saved?
  • In a database or in files?

dax7

Hey there @myn_user . Thanks for the review.

• I have updated the app. The 3 point menu button should work now. It might take 2 - 3 days for google to review the update.
• ID is parsed as date and you can show date on notes by enabling the option in settings > Modify list item > Date
• I will fix the two step process in next version.
• The app support markdown files. Regarding adding sync functionality, i will surely add it later when the app is stable enough. Till then you can select your existing notes folder or create a new folder in your internal storage as repo in zettel notes and sync that folder via syncthing or dropbox.
• In the updated version i have added the share functionality. You can click the 3 dot menu to access that.
• >!text!< : this is a spoiler tag. Or rather click to reveal tag. For more details refer to this link
• Notes are saved as markdown files in storage. When app is started for the first time, it shows markdown files from The Archive Markdown Demo.
  • You can select a folder contaning your existing markdown notes from repo option in the app menu.

myn_user

@dax7 Thanks for the quick reply and update.

I updated to the new version today.
Thanks for the option to delete a note 😉.

Did you remove the option to choose the link-style or am I blind?

[[ID Text]] or [[ID]] Text

dax7

@myn_user Yes, I removed the option. It needed some more work. I will add it in the next update.

myn_user

@dax7 OK, I am not blind. 😁

I found out that [[ID Text]] works with the wiki function of Markor, which I use for my notes.

By the way: I tried to use Markor as a
Zettelkasten app before I found your app via your post.
In Markor you can "attach"/link files:
You choose another file via file explorer and Markor create the relative link to the note:

[20210603103916 Test](20210603103916%20Test.md)

So I have a lot of this kind of "hard" links.

Would it be possible that Zettel Notes can open this linked files too?

dax7

Here you go. The new update (v 1.0.4) should support this link [20210603103916 Test](20210603103916%20Test.md). Do note that app will work only for notes in the same folder.

Also, you can open link dialog by typing [[ in note edit screen.

myn_user

Hi @dax7,

thanks for the fast implementation.

I like your idea of using a "twitter-like" syntax for (hash-)tags and authors.

A couple of things that caught my eye:

• Author:

  • @@ only works if you defined the author somewhere in yaml.
  • When I use @@ the result is only the name of the author. Is this wanted?
  • An author defined via @ don't appear in the sidebar
  • When I click @author_name in a note the apps says that there is no note for this author.
  • Do I have to use @ in yaml too?
  • Can I define more than one author in yaml? Which syntax ([author1, author2] or yaml list)?
  • Are BibText citekeys (like @lastname2018 a problem for using the author-tag?

• Hashtags

  • A tag defined via yaml don't appear in the sidebar
  • Often I have to change the repo in order to see a new hashtag in the sidebar
  • ## don't open a dialog
  • Do I have to use # in yaml too?
  • Can I define more than one tag via yaml (which syntax)?

I hope my list don't demotivate you. 😉
I like your app. Really.

dax7

Hey @myn_user. A developer needs reviews I like it when someone points out a bug or suggests a feature.

Regarding your issues:

• Author

  • Now in update (v1.0.5), authors are searched from note content, just like tags.
  • Yes, you have to use @ for denoting authors anywhere in yaml or in content.
  • You can define multiple authors. Just seperate them by space and add @ in front. Make sure that author name doesn't have space in between eg. @author_1 is valid and @author 1 is not.
  • BibText citekeys will be interpreted as authors.

• Hashtags / Tags

  • Sidebar should show the new tags, as soon as the note is parsed. (v1.0.5)
  • There is only one condition in which ## will not open tags dialog and that is, if there are no tags in repository. It will rather show a toast saying 'no tags'
  • Yes, you can define multiple tags. Multiple tags should be seperated by space and start with # and with no space in between. eg. #tag1 #tag_2 are valid but #tag 1 is not.

PS: You can denote tags and authors anywhere in note. Be sure to add # in front of tag and @ in front of author. Add your notes repo again after updating to v1.0.5.

Also, if you enjoy using zettel notes, do leave a review in play store. It means a lot to me.

myn_user

Hi @dax7,

thanks for the detailed explanations.

I still have problems with the ##-dialog.
I have defined tags in yaml as well as hashtag.
They are listed in the sidebar, but when I write ## nothing happens.

What do I wrong?

dax7

Hey @myn_user , can you send a video showing the steps and issue ?

zettlenoob

Hi! I just started to use your app. In all honesty, I'm very new to Zettelkasten method as well.
But I have the feeling it will be very powerful.
Thank you very much for the tool you provide! For now, I can think of a possible improvement: whenever I start a list, I'd like this list to automatically go on by clicking Return (e.g. like in Markor). Currently I have to manually enter a dash or a number for each new item. (But curiously, it seemed to work at first... Is that a bug?)

dax7

Hey @zettlenoob . Glad you liked zettel notes. I will look into the list issue and maybe fix that in the next update. Thanks for reporting.

ZettelDistraction

I like that the Link Style can be configured either as [[ID]] TITLE or [[ID TITLE]] in the Settings The first link style is compatible with Zettlr.

However, I don't use yaml or see a need for it in my workflow, and Zettle Notes seems to require yaml in order to set the title of a note. This complicates the workflow. In Zettlr, I create the note, and create an H1 title at the beginning of the form

# Zettel_ID Title

The Zettel_ID is obtained with CTRL+SHIFT+L and pasted the usual way. With the option to use the first H1 as the Zettel title, I can search on titles in the form [[Zettel_ID]] TITLE
and copy titles in this format when linking.

No yaml is needed for any of this. However, Zettel Notes seems to require a yaml header with the title: keyword set to the value of the intended note title (as distinguished from its filename, which is an ID) so that it will appear in the note display. This is an extra step, after which the yaml header can be removed. It's possible to create the title in a format that Zettlr recognizes, again

# Zettel_ID Title

but the title is associated with the note in Zettel Notes only if it is defined in the defaulted yaml header first.

Specifically, I have to create in addition to

# Zettel_ID Title

the yaml header

---
title: Title
---

so that Title will show up in the Zettel Notes listing. Once the note is saved, the title is set, and I can remove the yaml header. Of course I have to put it back whenever I want to change Title.

That's extra work, since I neither use nor see the need for yaml headers, which in my opinion work against the text only approach.

But I can see that the Zettel Notes app is needed and is under development.

dax7

Hey @ZettelDistraction. Thanks for the feedback. In next update, I will add the option to parse first H1 as the Zettel title (# Zettel_ID Title). And thanks for understanding that zettel notes is still in active development. If you have more feedback, please do tell.

dax7

Also, in the next update you can add # %id% %title% in default text in repository and whenever you create a new note specific zettel id and title will be added to note by default.

ZettelDistraction

@dax7 said:
Also, in the next update you can add # %id% %title% in default text in repository and whenever you create a new note specific zettel id and title will be added to note by default.

That's great, thank you.

zettelkísten

Two improvement suggestions for current Zettel Notes.

1. For .org files, not showing anything between
   :PROPERTIES:
   ...
   :END:
   So an option for not displaying PROPERTIES at all.

2. For .org, when TOC enabled at the top, clicking on any header, downside
   anywhere, it should jump to top, to the TOC. Much quicker
   navigation, better workflow this way.

Thanks in advance. Keep up the great work!

zettelkísten

A third addition.

3. After a crash of Zettel Notes, it should be possible to switch the repository directory. Otherwise, there is no option of starting Zettel Notes again, as it crashes permanently. The only solution is, then, uninstalling and reinstalling again.

eric_arthen

I found this app recently, and seeing the thread about it here on this site reassured me it would work well with my notes in The archive, shared via Dropbox.
So far I've found it to be quite good, better than othe options I've tried on my android devices.

On small request so far: I would like to be able to share preferences between installs. Perhaps by recording as text files in my Dropbox folder.

linux

@dax7 Could you let users decide the filename format by providing variables so that $title $id, $id $title, $title-$id, etc. are all legit.

Airini

@dax7 I am new to Zettelkasten and have started using it in your Zettel Notes.

New to the idea of .md, markdown and all that so I am having a very steep learning curve

But that said, love the app and it is working well, especially once I went through and checked out all the settings and what they are supposed to do

Kudos for the great app 👍

jonessmaryy

I like this app a lot. It delivers good markdown rendering and follows the Zettlekasten process to the ones. Thank you for this great editor!