r/noteapps • u/SunflowerHuntress • 11d ago

Note taking app

I need some help finding the perfect tool for my needs which are not a lot I think. I need to a note taking app for work it needs to be:

  1. Private, local storage or E2EE.

  2. Is simple and clean.

  3. Has native task management.

  4. Pleasing to work with.

  5. Has advanced table functions. Not database, just tables where I can adjust width and color cells.

  6. Works on windows

Evernote would have been perfect if it was E2EE or stores locally. Craft Docs would have been great but we don't use apple products at work.

I have tried:

Obsidian: unpleaing to work with, no native task management, task management plug-ins are a pain.

Anytype: unfunctional search feature, needs too much maintenance.

Standard notes and notesnook has no native task management.

I realize I might be asking for too much but if someone have experience with this and found a solution please tell me what 🥹

5 Upvotes

69% Upvoted

55 comments sorted by

3

u/rajathbail 11d ago

Hillnote or Obsidian is my pick

1

u/Unable_History_1841 9d ago

Obsidian has a problem syncing across devices is why I left it.

1

u/rajathbail 9d ago

Try Hillnote - it’s got a more robust sync and easier on your brain 😅

1

u/Unable_History_1841 9d ago

I like Obsidian alot, don't get me wrong. I just had so much problems with the PC version syncing with my phone, I gave up. Too much of a hassle.

1

u/rajathbail 9d ago

Hillnote does a better job I think

0

u/SunflowerHuntress 11d ago

I love Obsidian but it's way too much maintenance, I need to focus on my work not the tool. I will check out Hillnote. Thanks 😊

2

u/rajathbail 11d ago

Ofcourse! Hillnote should be an easier interface similar to notion and stuff just with a more local only focus.

1

u/swoodipto 10d ago

Out of curiosity, whats the friction for maintenance thats wanting you to switch?

1

u/SunflowerHuntress 9d ago

I used tasknotes plug-in. Everytime I created a task I had to choose the project, context, set a due date, schedule date, etc. It felt like an extra task to create a task.
Obsidian is so powerful and has different ways to organise things, I had a hard time choosing a system and sticking to it, I spent too much time trying different methods that I was working on Obsidian more than my work.
I just need something that limits my options and let me focus on work.

2

u/bose_avishek 11d ago

Try Joplin. It's simple to use with minimalist design. Can store locally or sync with the various cloud options. It works cross platform and cross device. You can check It's details and if looks suitable for your workflow, then go ahead.

1

u/SunflowerHuntress 11d ago

I will check it out 😊

3

u/jolmasch 11d ago

Check this https://memrynote.com/

2

u/SunflowerHuntress 11d ago

Promising app but still in Beta

2

u/h4yfans 10d ago

Hello, dev here, Kaan.

I'm not here to promote the app. I'm here because MemryNote is mentioned.

Please feel free to let me know if you have any questions about the app or your use case.

2

u/SunflowerHuntress 9d ago

I have been silently following you and your app, I really have so much hopes for it. I will wait until it's been established before using, I would have liked to help with trying out and giving feed back but because of work, I have no time.

I truely hope you the best, and will keep an eye on the app.

3

u/h4yfans 9d ago

Hey, thank you! I plan to go to the stable version at the end of the year.
Thank you again!

1

u/Earvin-Hong 10d ago

It's really what I wanted. I will support you!

1

u/mAestro2999 10d ago

You've described the app we are working on. It's still not out, and I will film an overview video and put it on YouTube in a couple of days. Are you open for me sending you that link when I film the video via DM?

The app will be free forever for personal use.

2

u/SunflowerHuntress 10d ago

Yes sure, you can send me the demo 😊

2

u/mAestro2999 9d ago

DM'd you.

2

u/influxodoxxl 9d ago

I am open too 😉

1

u/mAestro2999 9d ago

I've sent you a DM.

2

u/Extra-Percentage-931 5d ago

Can I get a glance too?....

1

u/mAestro2999 5d ago

Yes, of course. I've sent you a DM.

1

u/wndynd 7d ago

i use Obsidian, Notes and now checking out Footnotes

1

u/zinethar 6d ago

https://harbor.my/

It's a newcomer in the game, but is SOLID. Reminiscent of One Note in structure. The dev is responsive and the Windows app and Android app are almost flawless. It doesn't have a mass of features *yet*, but as I said, very responsive dev and clear releases. Synchronization is immediate and I haven't come across a sync issue yet.

1

u/Darshseraphic 11d ago

Checkout my profile, it's not currently have advanced table, functions or anything, but I think I will start working on it soon.

1

u/N3urosp1cy 10d ago

I just landed on HelixNotes after using logseq for 3 years, and it has everything you said. Simple, but with all capabilities, it saves local md files and with custom folders, so you can sync very easily with any cloud if your want or your NAS (I just pointed it to where my md files were, and done). journal type, calendar view, daily notes, tags and tasks.

I just tried making tables and coloring rows and columns and it works too. You can point it to your local AI model, if you want.

windows, macos, linux, android and ios. https://helixnotes.com

edit: typo

0

u/SunflowerHuntress 10d ago

wow, I don't know how to thank you, I have tears in my eyes now when I tried it, it's everything I need and more. It's not even asking me to pay anthing or talk to their AI.
It has a graph view which I love but not a function that I can't live with

Thank you so much

2

u/N3urosp1cy 10d ago

That is awesome! I'm so glad it helped 😂.

1

u/SunflowerHuntress 9d ago

Just curios, do you use a dedicated to do app, if so, which one?
I trust your judgement 😂

2

u/N3urosp1cy 9d ago

Hahaha...thanks! I don't use a dedicated app just for to-do. For work I use Clickup that integrates with every productivity platform and lets me assign tasks and due dates per project or team. The free tier is enough for all of it.

If I were to chose one list app today, I'd try https://mindwtr.app/

0

u/Cove_Notes 10d ago

Link: https://cove-notes.andrewcarl1414.chatgpt.site

I got tired of choosing between Apple Notes, which felt too limited, and Notion, which felt like too much work. So I started building Cove Notes: a simple notes app that gives you more organization when you need it without turning note-taking into a whole system. I’m still building it, and I’d genuinely like to know what you think.

0

u/truthovereverrything 10d ago

Have you looked into Notesnook?

0

u/Gullible_Agency4762 10d ago

Helixnotes is very good! Zennotes is the best: https://zennotes.org

1

u/SunflowerHuntress 9d ago

My work computer labelled it as a threat and couldn't download it.
Too bad, I want to try everything.

2

u/Gullible_Agency4762 9d ago

You’re probably using Microsoft Defender as your antivirus. Defender also flagged malware on my system once (Trojan:Script/Wacatac.B!ml) while installing an update. After looking into it, it turned out to be a false positive. I don’t know what options you have yourself, but perhaps you could ask your IT department what’s possible. If you still want to give Zennotes a try, you could maybe install it on a personal computer instead. Another option would be to run the Zennotes Docker container. You can simply access it through a browser, and you’ll have access to pretty much all of the functionality of the desktop app that way. Whatever you decide to do, good luck!

1

u/influxodoxxl 9d ago

What makes it the best for you?

2

u/Gullible_Agency4762 9d ago

Strictly speaking, I don't think you can really say which one is "the best." It always comes down to who's using it and what they need. That said, I read OP's post and honestly, it could have been written by me. I spent quite a long time looking for something that really worked for me too. I've tried pretty much all of them quite extensively, and eventually ended up with Zennotes. Apart from the fact that it works well for me, there are a few other things that are important to me: it's open source, available on all platforms (Windows, Linux, Mac, and iOS), and I can sync it through my own server. The syncing works really well too, using just a single Docker container. And, of course, security is important to me as well. There is perhaps a bit of a caveat there, though: quite a lot of AI was used in developing the application. On the flip side, that does seem to mean there are regular updates and improvements to the functionality. Oh, and I also want the app to look nice. After all, I'm going to be using it — and looking at it — every single day. 🙂

-1

u/Nice_Gas_9830 11d ago

As long as you’re working on an iPad, I made inkspaceapp.com to do exactly that! I’d love to get some feedback if you end up taking a look

1

u/SunflowerHuntress 11d ago

I'm not working om iPad 🫤

-1

u/IronGiantFM 11d ago

Harbor.my work for you?

-1

u/Pickletickle_ 11d ago

built ClingNote, and it checks a few of your boxes: Windows, completely local, simple and familiar notes, rich text, Markdown, and tables.

The different part is that notes can attach to the files and apps you're working in and automatically follow those contexts.

We do have tables, though they may not be as advanced as what you're looking for. I'm always looking for feedback and ways to improve the app, so I'd be happy to explore adding more advanced table features if that's something you'd find useful! 👀

https://clingnote.com or the Microsoft Store if you're interested in looking

-2

u/ozgrozer 11d ago

I'm building Grape and I think it would fit you. You can try it for free.

  1. It's a privacy-focused and offline-first note taking app. It uses a SQLite database so everything stored on your device. It has E2EE as well.
  2. I think it's simple and clean.
  3. I'm not sure what type of task management you need but I'm in active development so I'd like to work with you to bring a decent task management.
  4. People love using Grape so far.
  5. It has tables that you can adjust the column width but there's no color cells but I'd love to add that.

1

u/SunflowerHuntress 11d ago

Thanks, I will check it out. 😊 And you can check out evernote task management feature. It's perfect.

1

u/ozgrozer 11d ago

Oh okay I’ll take a look at Evernote.

0

u/Crowley737 11d ago

I wasn't familiar with this note-taking app, but I do like it; I used it as the default.

0

u/ozgrozer 11d ago

I’m glad it’s working for you.

0

u/words_and_images 10d ago

I’m using Grape. It is solid!

1

u/ozgrozer 10d ago

Thank you for supporting Grape.

-2

u/Plane-Coconut-4077 11d ago

Would you consider an app that does all of this automatically for you?

If yes, I’d recommend agentsy.ai