Like Paul, I have yet to have any of the problems that others fear might happen with MacJournal. Also, Mariner updated their writing app Contour 2 in December, so the company isn't exactly extinct just yet. I've sent a question to Mariner asking about the future of MJ. I will let you know if I get any kind of response -- I did get an auto response saying someone will get back to me soon, so at least the electricity is on there.

Steve Z.

Dellu wrote:

But, there are also other features of MJ: depends on what you want,
really.

I still find the Quick Entry of Day One better than the Quick Entry of
MJ because (a) you can template it, (b) it can insert an entry into an
encrypted journal.

Day One has a vastly superior iOS experience and that's really important to me in a journaling app. If I can't quickly journal from my phone, I'm way less likely to do it. I was looking at MJ as a note-taking solution, but that's probably just because I still can't find a note-taking solution that satisfies me. Ulysses, Bear, The Archive, nvALT, Tinderbox, OmniOutliner, OmniFocus, Curio/Curiota--all of them have at least one deadly flaw (at least to my OCD CRIMPing self)... *Quiver* comes very close to perfection, and is now back in active development, so we'll see (it's current weakness is a read-only iOS "app"--but the dev knows this).

JakeBernsteinWA wrote:

Ulysses, Bear, The Archive, nvALT,
Tinderbox, OmniOutliner, OmniFocus, Curio/Curiota--all of them have at
least one deadly flaw (at least to my OCD CRIMPing self)...

what?

*Quiver*
comes very close to perfection, and is now back in active development,
so we'll see (it's current weakness is a read-only iOS "app"--but the
dev knows this).

Quiver doesn't support Spotlight. The developer promised for years, never implemented it.

How about KeepIt?

Dellu wrote:

JakeBernsteinWA wrote:


>Ulysses, Bear, The Archive, nvALT,
>Tinderbox, OmniOutliner, OmniFocus, Curio/Curiota--all of them have at
>least one deadly flaw (at least to my OCD CRIMPing self)...

what?


>*Quiver*
>comes very close to perfection, and is now back in active development,
>so we'll see (it's current weakness is a read-only iOS "app"--but the
>dev knows this).

Quiver doesn't support Spotlight. The developer promised for years,
never implemented it.

That's true, but I don't use Spotlight much. I prefer in-app search to global search. And I use Alfred and LaunchBar anyway.

How about KeepIt?

Forgot that, I'm trying that one too. Lack of theming is annoying though.

Alfred and LaunchBar anyway

I also use Alfred. But, Alfred cannot search into a database if Spotlight cannot give it.

By Spotlight, I mean the general transparency: DEVONthink's index also depends on this transparent storage system.


If you don't care about the Spotlight, I think Tinderbox offers the most complex and complete system. I love KeepIt for the transparent storage it offers.

Just an FYI. I contacted Mariner Software again about MacJournal and got this response:

"Yes, we ran in to some delays but do plan on releasing an update in the near future."

Not sure that reassures anyone about the viability of MacJournal, but it is better than getting no response.

Steve

Well, that's something. Thank you for following up, Steve.

Depending on one's frame of reference, the next ice age will be in the "near future". But, hope springs eternal.

Stephen Zeoli wrote:

Just an FYI. I contacted Mariner Software again about MacJournal and got
this response:

"Yes, we ran in to some delays but do plan on releasing an update in the
near future."

Macjournal has a pretty significant update https://danschimpf.com/macjournal/history.html

That's great news. Do you have any idea when the upgrade will drop?

Thank you.

marlowe wrote:

Macjournal has a pretty significant update
https://danschimpf.com/macjournal/history.html

Impressive. Major CRIMP coming on!

marlowe wrote:

Macjournal has a pretty significant update
https://danschimpf.com/macjournal/history.html

v7.0b1 is available from Dan's development blog

http://danschimpf.blogspot.com


Stephen Zeoli wrote:

That's great news. Do you have any idea when the upgrade will drop?

Thanks, Paul.

This news coudn't come at a more opportune time, as I've recently recommitted myself to relying on MacJournal as my main writing app. It's not where I'd try to write a novel or long-form work (although you certainly could), but it is perfect for reflection and personal notes. The amount of built-in meta data options, including due dates, makes MJ suitable for lightweight task and project management.

I have downloaded the beta version, though I am not moving any work to it at this point. Just playing around with it and checking it out (I've found a couple of small bugs).

Steve Z


Paul Korm wrote:

v7.0b1 is available from Dan's development blog

http://danschimpf.blogspot.com


Stephen Zeoli wrote:
>That's great news. Do you have any idea when the upgrade will drop?

As I recall, there is no syncing of MacJournal as of yet. Does anyone know if the data file can be run from iCloud (as long as two machines are not trying to access it simultaneously)?

Jeffery

Oddly, the Help documentation for MacJournal 6 has a chapter on "Exporting and Syncing" with no mention at all about syncing in it. There also is no mention of iCloud in the Help documentation, if the search results are to be believed. Sorry to be unable to help.

Steve Z.

Jeffery Smith wrote:

As I recall, there is no syncing of MacJournal as of yet. Does anyone
know if the data file can be run from iCloud (as long as two machines
are not trying to access it simultaneously)?

Jeffery

I found this information on the Mariner website:

Begin quote:
Several services exist on the Internet that make it possible to share/sync data between two computers. The only sync service that MacJournal supports at this time is Dropbox, although we will be adding support for iCloud in an upcoming release.

Dropbox is a free service that, with a client program developed by the service provider, makes it possible to sync data between two computers that are running the client program.

To share your MacJournal data among different Macs using Dropbox, simply install Dropbox on each of your Macs. Make sure that you are logged into the same Dropbox account on each computer. From one of your Macs, move your MacJournal data file into the Dropbox folder. Make note of the Dropbox syncing status, and once Dropbox reports that syncing is complete, you can open that document from other Macs logged into the same Dropbox account.

MacJournal also supports sharing data among Macs and iOS devices via Dropbox. See this knowledge base article for instructions on how to transition from manual wifi syncing to storing your data in the cloud.

Note that we strongly recommend that you do not have the same data file open on more than one computer at a time. When you are done using MacJournal on one computer, make sure to close the file, and allow sufficient time for changes to sync to Dropbox, before opening that file from another computer.

Dropbox is a 3rd party service, and not a service managed by Mariner Software. Because of this, we can't predict changes in Dropbox that could affect MacJournal data sharing, and can't guarantee that MacJournal data sharing will always work with Dropbox. That being said, we have a number of users who have been using Dropbox for MacJournal data sharing for a while, and who report using it with no problems at all.

When sharing a file on more than one computer or device via, it is important to use good practices and be aware of sync conflicts. Always make sure that changes made to your MacJournal data in one location are synced to Dropbox before viewing and editing that data on another computer.
End quote

Here is the URL for this page:

https://marinersoftware.deskpro.com/kb/articles/managing-macjournal-data-on-multiple-macs

Steve Z.



Stephen Zeoli wrote:

Oddly, the Help documentation for MacJournal 6 has a chapter on
"Exporting and Syncing" with no mention at all about syncing in it.
There also is no mention of iCloud in the Help documentation, if the
search results are to be believed. Sorry to be unable to help.

Steve Z.

Jeffery Smith wrote:
As I recall, there is no syncing of MacJournal as of yet. Does anyone
>know if the data file can be run from iCloud (as long as two machines
>are not trying to access it simultaneously)?
>
>Jeffery

Thanks Stephen,

Though I have a DropBox account, I don't like the amount of space it takes on my computers, so I don't have anything sync'd locally. I can wait to see if iCloud is added to the new version.

I imagine the date of that post for v7.0b1 should be 6 January 2019 not 6 January 2018.

marlowe wrote:

Macjournal has a pretty significant update
https://danschimpf.com/macjournal/history.html

Looks like Macjournal won't be distributed by Mariner going forward: http://marinersoftware.com/77373-2/

Thanks for the notice, Marlowe.

I hope this is good news for MacJournal. I suspect it is, as Dan may have renewed interest in keeping it updated.

Steve Z.

marlowe wrote:

Looks like Macjournal won't be distributed by Mariner going forward:
http://marinersoftware.com/77373-2/

I've been on the fence and not much into journaling. The information here and in the other threads has been helpful to sort the options as I consider starting the process. Based on what I've learned, I'll be watching with interest where future development of MJ goes, especially on the iPad. I sense some good things coming ahead from the move back to distribution by the developer rather than through a third party.

Thanks!

marlowe wrote:

Looks like Macjournal won't be distributed by Mariner going forward:
http://marinersoftware.com/77373-2/

I was happy that the new version can import DayOne's database (JSON). Unfortunately, it doesn't seem to work.

Note that MJ is now up to beta 3, and Dan mentions (in the same Mariner blog post) that the final version will be released shortly - free to existing users! Happy day!

And just to reassure you - I sync MJ between my MacBook and an iPad, using Dropbox, without any issues. Interestingly, there are iCloud entries in Settings, but the iCloud sync doesn't appear to do anything (yet!).

Cheers!
Bill

I thought the same (with 7 beta 3) but found that I had to select the .zip file created by DayOne's export, and then wait a very long time for MJ to do the import. It places the imported files in a new folder (MJ calls folders "Journals") at the end of the folder list. The imported documents are in markdown format with images displayed inline.

Dellu wrote:

I was happy that the new version can import DayOne's database (JSON).
Unfortunately, it doesn't seem to work.

Paul Korm wrote:

I thought the same (with 7 beta 3) but found that I had to select the
.zip file created by DayOne's export

That is nice. Thank you Paul.

I've been using beta 3 of MacJournal. I just checked https://danschimpf.com for news, and saw that the final version is available for download.

What's more, if I'm reading it correctly, MacJournal is now going to be free, as in beer. Amazing!