New app: Columns

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Posted by MadaboutDana
Mar 4, 2020 at 07:20 PM

I’ve been liaising with the (very amiable) developer of a new macOS app (sorry, Windows users) called Columns.

It’s a nice take on the Cornell Notes concept, consisting of a fairly conventional left-hand navigation bar with folders. These folders each contain “sheets”, essentially pages with “notes” on them. The notes are presented in the classic Cornell fashion - as headings in a left-hand column (in the editor) with the paragraphs belonging to those headings in the right-hand column.

The app is generally very pleasant to use, and has a fantastic search function (kind of filter combined with highlighted hit terms). It’s still young, but is constantly being tweaked. As yet, it doesn’t have an iOS partner, but that’s on the roadmap. I’ve already used it in anger, and like it very much, so I thought I’d mention it here. You’ll find it in the Mac App Store.

Cheers!
Bill

Posted by jaslar
Mar 6, 2020 at 12:25 AM

Website?

Posted by Beck
Mar 6, 2020 at 03:40 AM

https://apps.apple.com/us/app/columns-cornell-notes/id1493839821?mt=12

Posted by Paul Korm
Mar 6, 2020 at 10:14 AM

It’s cute. More of a proof-of-concept app than a worker bee. Won’t replace my own Cornell template in GoodNotes 5. But, for $1.99, a quick CRMIP.

It makes some design assumptions not consistent with normal Mac apps—stoplights buttons in the upper right vs. upper left corner for example—ideiosyncratic formatting pop-up— little things that are friction and unnecessary annoyances. A neophyte dev just being precious, perhaps.

Would be nice if there was a preview mode.

There’s no ability to add tick-boxes or tasks, which for me is an essential add-on in an e-Cornell document.

(FWIW, I created my Cornell template with Keynote, Keynote can be a surprisingly adept note-taking environment.)

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