Dynalist is building a new editor. Seems like a solution without a problem.

https://blog.dynalist.io

Paul Korm wrote:

Dynalist is building a new editor. Seems like a solution without a
problem.

https://blog.dynalist.io

The question is whether performance is going to take a hit due to the added layer of complexity.

Sounds like they are hoping this would increase Dynalist's mass appeal, opening it up to new market segments.

But I wonder if in turn it will make it less appealing to those of us that prefer the simplicity of Markdown.

Paul Korm wrote:

Dynalist is building a new editor. Seems like a solution without a
problem.

https://blog.dynalist.io

Hey Paul. Here's my humble rebuttal.

To me, it's a solution to a BIG problem.

I think it's a really smart decision too. And, if they do it right, they'll make the app appeal to a much wider audience.

Here's why I say that.

I truly do believe that "most" people don't "like" markdown. (Myself included.)

Why? Because most people don't like seeing markdown syntax while they're writing something.

I.E. when you select text, then hit CMD+B to make that text bold, the text you just tried to make bold... is now surrounded by: ** **.

Four...

Ungainly...

Asterisks.

And that—the syntax being rendered—and not the markdown itself... is the big problem.

The bigger problem is, is the majority of the "Notes" apps or "Writing" apps that USE markdown... also RENDER the markdown SYNTAX... that goes with it/

That's why I say "most" people don't like markdown. Most people associate that "forced rendering" most apps use as markdown itself. Like IAWriter, or Ulysses, or pretty much every other "notes"/"writing" app out there. You must look at that syntax. You have zero choice.

The horrible thing is this is all bad because markdown is great! The syntax is great too! But I, and I think most people don't want to see that syntax.

For people who are going to publish content online, I don't know, maybe seeing those asterisks is good. For coders, maybe they too, like seeing those asterisks.

If that's the case, then I suspect the reason is because the editor they're writing that text in is not the final destination of that text. I.E. It's going to be published and put on other people's devices in front of other people's eyes.

For me though, the editor I'm writing that text in IS the final destination. The majority of text I write is not published. It's either personal/professional notes, or documents shared with clients.

This means, I like seeing things in their final state. At all times.

And that's my big point: with rich text, everything is immediate. No imagination is needed.

This is one of the reasons why Evernote is used—by many, except me.

If you want big text, you hit header 1, header 2, or header 3, and big text is displayed. If you want to make something bold, you hit CMD+B and your text is bold—and it stays bold until you, the ruler of all things in front of you decide make it not bold.

Anywho, as you can see, I am somewhat opinionated about this.

I think a rich text editor will most definitely bring more people over from Workflowy.

Feel free to tell me I'm wrong. I might be.

Markdown will still be supported. Users will be able to choose.

Dr Andus wrote:

But I wonder if in turn it will make it less appealing to those of us
that prefer the simplicity of Markdown.

Good on them - too bad I've already switched to OneNote.

I used to be a markdown enthusiast. However, after years of using it, I believe it's only value exists if you are actually saving your notes in plain-text .md files and actually USE the advantages of a plain-text workflow (i.e. version control, use of code editors like vim/emacs, etc.)

Other than that, I don't see any instance where markdown is superior to a WYSIWYG editor with proper keyboard shortcuts.

I don't care about markdown in Dynalist -- didn't say I did. I care about the very simple yet useful workspace it provides, as well as the quick ability to get notes in and out.

Dynalist's developers have thus far been very judicious and thoughtful about their product, and I imagine they will continue to be that way.

Luhmann wrote:

Markdown will still be supported. Users will be able to choose.

Dr Andus wrote:
>But I wonder if in turn it will make it less appealing to those of us
>that prefer the simplicity of Markdown.

I agree with the problems of markdown syntax "programming" for most users. Especially when you see how the inline styles bold/italic/underline/strikethrough are often implemented is becomes bad quickly. And if you have to explain people how you escape asterics with backslashes and backslashes with double backslashs a lot people end up leaving.

Thats why i decided to implement my editor as WYSIWYG and only use some of markdown syntax as smart shortkeys, so your hands can stay on the keyboard. Bear and Ulysses have gone the same direction but it is still not good enough WYSIWYG.

And nobody ever came up with good table support. Markdown with images or bullet lists in table cells ... not possible in any markdown program i have tried. A program can input/output this tables but not a human.

Lets remember where Markdown comes from. From programmers who wanted to embedd formated documentation inside of source code files which live in plain text programming environments. They just had no choice but note taking apps have.

I welcome these Dynalist changes, as it appears one will have a choice as to whether to use markdown or WYSIWYG. Too often those of us who have no need for markdown are left behind. Choice is always good. I also appreciate thought is being given to customizing the tool display, which should benefit all of us. I see Dynalist brcoming even more useful than it is already.

Kudos to the developer!

Daly

Hey Lothar.

You said "your" editor. Mind sharing more info? It sounds cool.
Does it have a file-manager?

I believe he is the developer of InfoQube and is referring to the editor in that app:

http://www.infoqube.biz/

Luhmann wrote:

I believe he is the developer of InfoQube and is referring to the editor in that app:

http://www.infoqube.biz/

Not quite, as I'm the developer of InfoQube !

But most likely Infosqueezer :
https://www.outlinersoftware.com/topics/viewt/8779


Pierre Paul Landry
IQ Designer

Oh, sorry about that. Somehow google led me to the wrong page...

Luhmann wrote:

I believe he is the developer of InfoQube and is referring to the editor
in that app:

http://www.infoqube.biz/

Thanks for the info Luhmann.