Hello,

I am looking for a rich text (font formatting, images, tables, etc) taker/organizer app that will work with X1 Search 8. Most of the popular ones like Evernote, OneNote, UltraRecall, etc. use a single database file to store all of the information and therefore X1 has difficulty indexing such files. Are there any similar apps that would store each note in a separate file to allow X1 to index them and preview?

TIA,

MT

MotionTwelve wrote:

I am looking for a rich text (font formatting, images, tables, etc)
taker/organizer app that will work with X1 Search 8. Most of the
popular ones like Evernote, OneNote, UltraRecall, etc. use a single
database file to store all of the information and therefore X1 has
difficulty indexing such files. Are there any similar apps that would
store each note in a separate file to allow X1 to index them and
preview?

What about Word? or LibreOffice or etc? I'm not being facetious - I have this exact same dilemma, and I love X1 search, and it works pretty well with Word files. The only problem is I'm not fond of Word's performance with large complex files but it does have a huge feature set in terms of formatting, which I appreciate. I've been trying LO's 4.4 and beta 5 versions, and it's getting really good, and it works better with large files, but doesn't have outlining or expand/collapse headings like Word (2013) does.

Anyway, I too am interested in suggestions and what you ultimately settle on.

I'd opt for Notebooks (by Alfons Schmid) for Windows.

It manages its own files very efficiently, but in your file system, stores them as folders and distinct/separate text and HTML files, with attachments also stored as separate files.

So you can either use its own built-in search engine (okay but not great), or use X1 as well.

Cheers,
Bill

I am looking more for a note journal to quickly take daily notes/tasks/photos with rich text editing capabilities. Basically, something like Evernote but with separate files for each note which are compatible with X1 search. I just tried Notebooks and it does look promising but I find its note editing a bit limited. For instance, you cant just paste a photo inline but you have to insert it from the menu. Anything similar but with more editing features? Thanks for the suggestions.

I seem to remember that AM-Notebook stores notes etc. as separate files, although my failing memory (of all things Windows-related) isn't absolutely reliable on this score. The app certainly meets all your other criteria.

You can find AM-Notebook here: http://www.aignes.com/notebook.htm

There's a free "Lite" version if you want to experiment with it.

Of course you could simply use WordPad (although it doesn't support tables).

Also quite powerful, and open-source, is KeepNote, that stores files in separate folders in HTML format (http://keepnote.org// It doesn't support tables, however (at least, it didn't when I last looked, although I think you can insert tables if you're prepared to fiddle about with HTML, and I seem to remember you can paste tables into it).

Cheers,
Bill

TheBrain could fit your criteria. Yes, it is costly but I think the free version would work for you.

Another choice could be Scrivener. Not what it is designed for, but I think you could make it work.

Jon

... although I'd hesitate to characterise Scrivener as a quick, low-impact note-taking app ;-)

Wiznote may fit the bill.
Notes are saved with .ziw extension, but actually are simple .zip files with inside the html structure. So, if you are able to instruct your X1 to read .ziw as .zip files it will index its contents.

Wiznote is like Evernote. Just better IMHO at least on Win Environment.
Drawback: like Evernote needs a cloud accounting. But you can save everthing locally afterwards.
See more:
http://www.outlinersoftware.com/topics/viewt/4877

MadaboutDana wrote:

... although I'd hesitate to characterise Scrivener as a quick,
low-impact note-taking app ;-)

True but items are stored individually as rtf files easily searched by any desktop search. Plus there is a whole bunch of meta data that can be associated with the item. Not to mention the outliner, etc.

Although I prefer WhizFolders, Scrivener definitely has its appeal.

Jon

WizNote definitely is on the path to bump down Evernote from the top podium spot in the notes taking/management field. However, having its main servers in China makes me a bit hesitant. If there was a way to make it completely offline (cloudless), I would have made the move a long time ago. I tried to add WizNote's .ziw to X1's file formats but all it does is display the search results as an expanded file tree:
http://s30.postimg.org/w9hzkqi7l/2015_07_31_10_57_03_X1_Search.png
Not too helpful in terms of finding info.
Also, AM-Notebook caught my eye but I believe it stores data in one database file or some native format that's not compatible with X1.
I've played around with Scrivener few years back and for writing and research it's a great tool but like MadaboutDana wrote, I would not put it in the same category as Evernote/OneNote/WizNote.
KeepNote does store notes as individual html files which is what I'm after but the fact that it hasn't been developed for years and it's struggling with basic features are making it less attractive.
Thanks again for all the suggestions and please keep them coming.

Have a look at Outwiker.

http://jenyay.net/Outwiker/English

"OutWiker is designed to store notes in a tree. Such programs are called "outliner", personal wiki, or tree-like editors. OutWiker's main difference from the other similar programs is keeping the tree of notes in the form of directories on disk, and encouraging changing the base by external sources and programs.
Also any number of files can be attached to the page. OutWiker can contain pages of different types, currently supports three types of pages: plain text, HTML pages and wiki pages, but the number of types of pages will increase in future."

Also you might look at UltraRecall - i think it can do a pretty good job of integrating the content of external files (html) with its own database.

jimspoon wrote:

Also you might look at UltraRecall - i think it can do a pretty good job
of integrating the content of external files (html) with its own
database.

Are you saying that X1 can search within an Ultra Recall database?

Jon

Jon Polish wrote:

Are you saying that X1 can search within an Ultra Recall database?
Jon

_______________________

I'm not sure, but I suspect that what might be meant is that Ultra Recall's own integral search function can search the UR database and any embedded/attached files.
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The thing is that you seem to be coming at this with a fixation on data compatibility with the search engine, rather than how best to search the data. From a search engine design perspective, that is putting the cart before the horse. What you need is a search engine that can cope with your data in whatever format it is in.
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I don't profess to know anything much about X1 Search, but I noticed in their FAQ the claim that it is able to search SharePoint libraries.
Microsoft Office products and Internet Explorer have a very good integration with MS SharePoint, so I would presume that X1 might be able to cope with all the file types from MS Office products and IE that are stored in SharePoint libraries. Therefore, since OneNote is an MS Office product, then its files (e.g., including the .one file extension) would presumably also be searchable by X1 - at least, within a SharePoint library.
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This doesn't necessarily translate to X1 being similarly able to search within those same file types on a client PC's hard drive, but I would expect it might. Have you exhausted that possibility?
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Otherwise, you could consider using OneNote, and relying on the excellent index/search capability within WDS (Windows Desktop Search) to search within MS Office files - including OneNote Notebooks with .one file extension. Not only does that WDS search cater for text, but also for OCRed/Alternative Text from images containing text and saved in the OneNote Notebooks, and for the spoken word in audio files (e.g., mp3) saved in those Notebooks. It is that index/search capability of WDS that became a factor in my choosing to use OneNote as my primary PIM (Personal Information Manager).
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However, though, from experience, the integration of WDS with MS Office products (including OneNote) seems superb, that is only true:
.(a) where the OneNote Notebooks are stored on the client Desktop - i.e., the WDS product does not index/search (hasn't got the search connectors) to see any files stored on OneDrive, nor does it index/search the local cache for OneNote Notebook that are stored on OneDrive. Go figure.
.(b) where MS Office document files are NOT embedded/attached within OneNote Notebooks (hasn't got the search connectors to see any files stored within OneNote Notebooks).

How then can WDS find OCRed text within images, and find spoken words within audio files when these are stored within OneNote Notebooks on the local client drive?
The answer seems to be that OneNote's built-in OCR, audio and index/search functionality does that, and dovetails the index into WDS' index/search connectors.
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What I find a serious let-down though are 2 points:
.(i) WDS's design demarcation such that it won't index/search outside of the local client drive (e.g., it won't index/search OneDrive).
.(ii) that MS Office documents embedded/attached within OneNote Notebooks saved on the local client drive are not indexed/searchable either by OneNote or WDS index/search functionality.

In the age of the much-touted MS Office integration and "Cloud Technology", these two points would seem so dumb as to be deliberate, surely?
Or maybe not.