I've tried Obsidian and I've tried Logseq and several others, but I keep wanting a local program that works on my computer with similar features and workflow to Dynalist, with the focus on block outlining in the central window.

Does anyone who is keeping track of developments on the general market have a suggestion as to the *most* Dynalist-like option available? If I thought I had control over my data using Dynalist with markdown local files I'd probably not worry, but I want the functionality but also (preferably) the control over my data.

So - what's closest to Dynalist other than Dynalist itself but in development and local-file based?

(And I am Linux or Windows and not Apple)

Thanks for any suggestions.

I had a quick look and there are so few non-SaaS single-pane outliners under active development. Many have been abandoned.

Some suggestions to try:
- if you can handle the complexity, Org-mode
- InfoQube, slightly less complex and you need to ignore most of its features, just write directly in a grid without adding columns. I wrote an outlining tutorial that's in the manual that can get you started
- extremely simple and plain text: Indigrid, no longer being developed but still available
- AppFlowy, I don't know much about it but it claims that you keep your data

One more to try: Rochus Keller's CrossLine

Maybe Visual Outliner? But the site for it doesn't refer to compatability past Windows 10

https://www.visualoutliner.com/

Or Buzz?

https://buzz.sourceforge.net/

I don't know of any self-hosted Windows/Linux apps that are extant and recently updated (there are numerous Mac apps that are) but FYI Dynalist's UI is based on its competition, the services from Workflowy and Checkvist. (Dynalist was initially created when the devs thought Workflowy development had been abandoned.)

https://checkvist.com/

https://workflowy.com/

cicerosc wrote:

I keep
wanting a local program that works on my computer with similar features
and workflow to Dynalist, with the focus on block outlining in the
central window.

I think it's likely to depend on exactly which features and workflows you are looking for.
I don't see Checkvist or Legend as being very similar.

I use Workflowy (very similar) as an outliner for PKM & tasks. But oc not local.

However, I do all my writing related outlining in Mindomo. Some of my maps have never been out of outline view. Excellent import/export, so exchanging outlines with Workflowy is a breeze. I use it because I find it a better outliner for this purpose. And Mindomo can be local only, and remains in active development. Only one pane, but that makes it central (apart from the note pane), Not the same as Dynalist but has most relevant features. #tags, links, but not wikilinks.

I doubt it's designed for PKM, and you can't dump too much in one map (each map has max 10k nodes, with 3-4k recommended for performance). But you can have as many maps as you want (free version limited to 3).
You might find a better outline option in other mindmap apps, though the few I have looked at don't seem much like an outliner to me.
But might be worth loking at mindmap progs - the data structures are the same and most have outline views.

Well now, AnyType isn’t the most immediately intuitive app out there, but actually, it’s immensely powerful, and they’ve recently introduced a “toggle” feature (accessed, somewhat counter-intuitively) via the context menu) that allows you to turn any section of text into a foldable outline.

You don’t have to pay any attention to AnyType’s many, varied features if you just want to use it as a Dynalist equivalent – the stripped-down UI is ideal for that kind of ultra-simple use. You can turn any note into a lengthy outline, with the advantage that you can also cross-connect any item in the outline to any other note/outline (complete with backlinks etc.).

And AnyType is thoroughly cross-platform ;-)

I’ve just discovered the very easy shortcut for turning any piece of AnyType text into the beginning of an outline:

+ space

Actually, the folding/outline function is extremely powerful – much more so than Dynalist or Workflowy!

Good grief. To be honest, I wasn’t sure how useful AnyType was going to be to me, although I’ve imported a lot of test data (straight from Obsidian – AnyType can import markdown files without any tweaking. Oh, and PDFs etc.). But this outlining thing is seriously useful! It’s easier to use than Obsidian’s, even!

I still have to run the “Jesse” test and see how much data any single note/outline can manage... will Moby Dick remain fast and responsive in a single note? I’ll let you know!

Yep, just imported the entire text of Moby Dick (1.2 MB of markdown text) into an AnyType note, and barely slowed it down at all. The search function is also able to spot all 85 instances of “Moby” in the text (checked against my favourite Mac text editor, CotEditor, which doesn’t allow something as tiny and feeble as Moby Dick to slow it down, no sirree!)

Just for fun, I also changed a number of paragraphs in Moby Dick into an outline. Still pretty darn quick, although there is a very, very slight delay in folding/unfolding.

I’m impressed!

P.S. The only thing that makes me sad is that AnyType doesn’t appear to support smart punctuation yet (i.e. nice, curly apostrophes/quotation marks). But I may be wrong on that – I’ll have to check the settings.

The other advantage of AnyType is that you can move any paragraph of text (a “block” in AnyType-speak – and indeed in e.g. Craft-speak) to any other note or “object" you choose. You can embed other “objects” in the text, and create links to pretty much anything at all.

The flexibility is enormous. If you decide to extend it beyond what Dynalist or Workflowy can do, you can use an outline as the basis of a database, using various criteria to filter/list blocks or other information held in the outline. That’s quite apart from the search function(s – universal and page-based), which is/are very fast and efficient.

Ah, I have spotted the flaw, however: AnyType keeps your data online; I’m not sure it’s possible to work on a local data file. Need to check!

Ah, sorry, I had forgotten. Yes, it does indeed store your data locally, albeit in fully encrypted format. You retain total control of your data, but it is automatically backed up to AnyType’s servers (until you exceed your free allowance, in which case it’s only stored locally). The local folder is chosen automatically by AnyType, which is currently something of a limit...

However, they do promise to enable storage of local data in your own preferred directory/folder in the near future, but in the meantime recommend a rather arcane workaround by a user. Their help centre is full of useful advice, by the way.

They do promise (repeatedly) that they have no way to actually view or access your data, because it’s end-to-end encrypted (you use your own PIN code or recovery passphrase to retrieve it).

You can also export your data at any time, in various formats (including Markdown).

Hi Cicerosc -

I am not sure my suggestion will meet all your needs, but....

I have started using MyInfo as a Dynalist replacement more and more, finding it as a single pane outliner pretty functional, as I had years ago when I first used it. MyInfo also offers the ability to work with columns if one so wishes. All in all it is a relatively easy program to learn and use, while offering more functionality than other of the more traditional outliners, and your data is local and under your control.

Daly



cicerosc wrote:

I've tried Obsidian and I've tried Logseq and several others, but I keep
wanting a local program that works on my computer with similar features
and workflow to Dynalist, with the focus on block outlining in the
central window.

Does anyone who is keeping track of developments on the general market
have a suggestion as to the *most* Dynalist-like option available? If I
thought I had control over my data using Dynalist with markdown local
files I'd probably not worry, but I want the functionality but also
(preferably) the control over my data.

So - what's closest to Dynalist other than Dynalist itself but in
development and local-file based?

(And I am Linux or Windows and not Apple)

Thanks for any suggestions.