[HN Gopher] Xournalpp++ - closs-platform, open source note takin...
___________________________________________________________________
Xournalpp++ - closs-platform, open source note taking software
Author : rostayob
Score : 172 points
Date : 2022-05-30 09:36 UTC (13 hours ago)
(HTM) web link (xournalpp.github.io)
(TXT) w3m dump (xournalpp.github.io)
| srott wrote:
| Anyone have any recommendations for a nice Linux tablet with a
| decent stylus support ?
| wono_ wrote:
| I'd go for the ones with wacom stylus hardware. I didn't test
| any more recent setups unfortunately, but Fujitsu's
| T901/Xubuntu/Xournal++ are just perfect.
| blagie wrote:
| I recommend a basic drawing tablet connected to your normal
| desktop computer, and having a decent mount. They're $50-ish
| for decent models. XP Pen Deco Mini 7 is very decent. On one of
| my computers, it pivots out from under my desk (kind of like a
| keyboard tray). On another one, it's mounted on the desk.
|
| They're all plug-and-play under Linux, Windows, and Mac. Some
| come with extra drivers for Windows and Mac, but you don't want
| those. It's like mouse and keyboard drivers -- they add a layer
| of obnoxiousness for normal users, and unless you're doing
| something specialized, worthless.
|
| For whiteboarding, 6"x4" to 8"x5" is sort of ideal. Bigger than
| that, and it's too cumbersome. Bigger has upsides for e.g.
| artists doing Photoshop, but it's not really for business use.
|
| I like these a lot better than screen tablets or similar. Your
| hand and eyes are both at comfortable heights. You can also
| have multiple views open -- I can share a large full-screen
| view of a whiteboard over Zoom, and on a different screen, zoom
| in on what I'm specifically drawing. Working this way, I have
| perfect handwriting, and uncanny artistic ability. You also
| don't have alignment issues.
|
| Major issue is having lag-free software. Very low latency makes
| a huge difference.
| sudhirkhanger wrote:
| Which Wacom tablet should I get? Would an iPad be a better choice
| for note taking? How do Wacom and iPad compare hardware wise?
| rwalle wrote:
| When I looked at toolbar, I was reminded of GIMP, the UI of which
| is such a nightmare that I would not use it even if someone pays
| me to do so. It's just TOO crowded. And the contrast is terrible
| in the dark mode.
|
| Please, launch OneNote or any popular note-taking app on iPad,
| and just copy whatever they are doing. It's going to be much
| cleaner and more accessible.
| 29athrowaway wrote:
| If it had a more standard Gnome UI it would be perfect.
| WhyNotHugo wrote:
| Then again, software with a standard Gnome UI is pretty buggy
| on any desktop that's _not_ GNOME.
| jpeanuts2 wrote:
| Another user report:
|
| I'm a lecturer and used Xournal extensively during COVID to write
| on slides while lecturing. I had a Wacom on my desk, and
| switching from slides to handwriting was completely seamless. I
| think it made the lectures much more engaging. So thanks to the
| Xournal team!
|
| I used the older Xournal, since - if I recall correctly - the
| rewrite is missing full-screen support.
| jopsen wrote:
| I've never used it for note taking.. but it's my go-to tool for
| annotating PDFs.
|
| Mostly when I have to fill out a stupid form and sign it.
|
| I've been doing this with xournal for years :)
| gspr wrote:
| Typo: c _r_ oss-platform
| runald wrote:
| a typo that only users of dvorak layout could make
| gspr wrote:
| I don't mean to generalize, but aren't r-l-mixups also
| typical of native speakers of some East Asian languages?
| _emacsomancer_ wrote:
| Maybe it's a portmanteau of "crossplatform" and "FLOSS".
| hkt wrote:
| I haven't seen this before and am frankly delighted that it isn't
| an electron app. It looks fantastic and I'll be giving it a try
| today.
| orasiscore wrote:
| Same here
| treyfitty wrote:
| Pretty cool. But all these different note taking software suffer
| from the same thing: it's not so much about the actual taking of
| notes that's the problem, but organizing all the notes when one
| needs it.
|
| I'm reading a book called "How to Take Smart Notes" which
| espouses the Zettelkatsen method, and I spent all weekend going
| down the EMacs + Org-roam rabbit hole to implement what the book
| espouses. However, it became too complex, and became too
| burdensome.
|
| The real user pain point here is "it's difficult to remember what
| I write down," and "associating thoughts, and notes from
| disparate sources is too time consuming." No software has solved
| these two pain points, I'm afraid.
| sudhirkhanger wrote:
| That's not encouraging. I was planning into learning and
| setting up org roam.
| poulpy123 wrote:
| I wonder if we couldn't use some kind of machine learning tools
| to provides summaries or overviews of the notes (like there are
| some bots that summarize news articles)
| input_sh wrote:
| I just do that manually. Whenever I open one of my notes, I'm
| immediately greeted with a couple of key bullet points that
| summarize it, and if I need to dig deeper, all I have to do
| is scroll further down.
| readerbaza wrote:
| I've used xournalapp++ recently mostly to sketch diagrams as I
| would on paper. I don't see it as a real note taking, just
| paper replacement.
|
| That said what you said is absolutely true and in my projects
| idea folder I called this "Inner knowing". The main problem is
| that note taking apps are marketed as a replacement for human
| memory ("brain dump", "second brain", etc). Hence they create a
| dependency on them as they decrease the ability to remember.
| When infact what we need is the opposite. Also I believe it
| should be an OS/DE feature thightly integrated with file
| management/search.
|
| Yes, i've tried obsidian, it somewhat works but it's always an
| electron nonsense.
| awesomelvin wrote:
| I believe you may like Obsidian.
| proxygeek wrote:
| Ctrl+q: search for any string you remember from your notes.
|
| That's my Helm org-Rifle shortcut for my org-notes over 10ish
| org files in Emacs.
|
| Works pretty well so far
| 8fingerlouie wrote:
| I'm in the same boat, and have more or less settled on simply
| writing plain text (markdown format) files in a plain directory
| structure maintained by me. I then use Obsidian to "organize"
| the notes.
|
| I'm also guilty of just jotting quick notes into iOS Notes.
| It's always there, and "good enough" for most quick note taking
| tasks. I prefer plain text for longer notes (which i assume has
| a longer shelf life), but if i'm just jotting down a quick list
| of things i need to get done today, iOS notes is more than
| enough.
| lhoff wrote:
| You might want to give "Joplin" a try.
|
| Straight forward OpenSource notetaking app with Markdown,
| sync Backends for your prefered cloud service (incl.
| WebDAV/Nextcloud) and smartphone apps. https://joplinapp.org/
| 8fingerlouie wrote:
| Sadly, Joplin doesn't support synchronizing files with
| iCloud, and i'm not about to go out and purchase yet
| another cloud synchronization option just for notes :)
| cyberpunk wrote:
| It's just markdown, you can use git.
| robertkluin wrote:
| Disclaimer: I'm currently building a product to help with my
| own organization challenges.
|
| This is what I realized as well--organization is the hard part.
| I kept struggling to find notes when I wanted to reference
| them. In my case, my notes are usually (but not always)
| captured in a meeting. I would struggle to find content because
| I might remember a person, a rough date, or some topic
| discussed... but if I put it in the wrong folder, tag, or
| physical notebook I was out of luck.
|
| I put together a simple prototype that pulled all the metadata
| off my calendar included it in notes. That was really helpful.
|
| We liked it enough playing with it internally that we built a
| product (witful.com). In 2.5 years of real world use I've
| almost never struggled to find stuff. Really has been a game
| changer for me, but my content is meeting centric.
| jyriand wrote:
| I've tried them all: roam research, obsidian, logseq, the
| Archive, org-roam etc. etc. None of them worked for me until I
| moved from digital to analog with pen and index cards.
| capableweb wrote:
| What problem were you trying to solve with your search for
| something digital when the solution turned out to be
| physical?
| jyriand wrote:
| Studying, reading, writing
| capableweb wrote:
| Yeah, if you're having trouble doing any of those things
| in front of computer, I'm not sure if the choice of
| software would help in any way. Some people are just
| wired to do things via non-digital ways :) Glad you found
| your solution.
| m8rl wrote:
| I'm using Xournal++ regularly on a Thinkpad X390 with one of the
| better Wacom stylus, mostly for note-taking and sketching of
| diagrams. Functionality is totally great and smooth, though I'd
| wish the user interface be more minimal without loosing features.
| chrisweekly wrote:
| Has anyone tried installing it on a ReMarkable tablet yet?
| sys_64738 wrote:
| Cross-platform is usually a synonym for Electron or Java based.
| Is it either do we know?
| dsr_ wrote:
| From the note at the top of their github repo:
|
| Written in C++ with GTK3, supporting Linux (e.g. Ubuntu,
| Debian, Arch, SUSE), macOS and Windows 10.
| ale42 wrote:
| Not necessarily, although unfortunately for GUI applications
| that's often the case.
| einpoklum wrote:
| Otherwise known as "That app I can use on Linux to fill PDF forms
| with, but isn't a PDF editor".
|
| Very useful.
|
| I would really like it if it had better snapping to
| lines/boundaries on the underlying PDF.
| JohnKemeny wrote:
| I've used this a lot with a Walcom trackpad, mostly for teaching
| under lockdowns.
|
| Note that this is a rewrite of Xournal (a GTK application), and
| there are still some things Xournal get better, but many things
| xournalpp do better.
|
| It's worth it to try both.
| cseleborg wrote:
| I used to use OneNote with the Microsoft Pen (or is it Stylus? I
| forget...) to take notes in this fashion. Eventually, though,
| there are only a few cases, like large diagrams that you need to
| evolve over time, where a digital solution beats a paper
| notebook. The need to start and unlock the computer/tablet if
| it's not already on, to dismiss or ignore notifications, to
| launch the app, to select the right color or tool and the
| occasional glitch when writing (pen sometimes not writing, or
| suddenly jumping to a completely different place, even deleting
| old lines when drawing new ones, I feel like I've seen it all)
| add up to more friction than a paper notebook.
|
| My notebook, which I use like a Bullet Journal, has no batteries
| that need recharging, no screen that can crack, no notifications,
| the pen has an ink capacity of over 2 years of daily writing,
| with a new recharge costing ~6EUR, no software updates.
|
| There's no search, and occasionally I do flip through the pages
| longer than I'd like, but it's rare.
|
| Nowadays I mostly write in my paper notebook, and if there's
| something in there worth keeping, I upload a photograph of it in
| Notion.
| psyc wrote:
| I have tried again and again to switch to a stylus+app
| solution, and I've reverted to paper and pencil every time.
| Unbeatable latency, totally predictable UX, and no UI to argue
| with over anything. I've been a programmer for 35 years, and I
| hate software. All software, probably. I actually hate it.
| Sometimes I hate the way I make it, but I definitely hate the
| way everyone else makes it.
| capableweb wrote:
| > My notebook, which I use like a Bullet Journal, has no
| batteries that need recharging, no screen that can crack, no
| notifications, the pen has an ink capacity of over 2 years of
| daily writing, with a new recharge costing ~6EUR, no software
| updates.
|
| I've always had a stern preference for pen and paper, mostly
| for the reasons you also outline. Always had Moleskins and they
| never failed me.
|
| But some time ago, I came across reMarkable (2) that seemed
| like a very good device for people with a distracted mind like
| me. And now I don't think I'd like to live without it.
|
| Batteries last weeks between charges, screen feels
| indestructible (the entire device feel indestructible
| actually), no notifications or any other distractions, and the
| nibs are really long lasting. Extra plus is that the screen/pen
| makes it really nice to write on, something I missed when
| trying to use any other device for notetaking.
|
| The reMarkable is a bit on the expensive side though,
| especially for its low amount of use cases. But the cases it's
| built for, it does it really well, so if you have the cash to
| spare, maybe look into it and see if it's interesting.
|
| Not affiliated with reMarkable, just a happy user who never
| thought I'd dump my notebooks for anything else.
| chrisweekly wrote:
| Same! Moleskine journals -> ReMarkable2.
| lr1970 wrote:
| > My notebook, which I use like a Bullet Journal, has no
| batteries that need recharging, no screen that can crack,...
|
| And also no backup of any kind. So if and when your precious
| dead-tree notebook is lost or stolen what are you going to do?
| cseleborg wrote:
| Well, I did write that I nowadays store digital photos of my
| important notes.
|
| However...
|
| Like psyc, I still have notebooks around from my teenage
| years. What I no longer have are the recordings from my piano
| compositions from that same period.
|
| I did lose one notebook once. It had my email address in it,
| and the finder contacted me. Somehow, the handover failed. I
| was angry, but in all honesty, it hasn't affected my life a
| bit.
| psyc wrote:
| Why is this an inevitability? I'm almost 50 and I have every
| such notebook I've ever had since I was ~12. After
| approximately 20 moves. Know what I don't have? Most of my
| digital files going back that far.
|
| Who steals people's used notebooks? Or new ones?
| zimpenfish wrote:
| I don't think it's "this is inevitable" as much as "losing
| small items like notebooks happens not infrequently to many
| people and is therefore statistically something to consider
| as a risk factor".
| unnah wrote:
| On the other hand, an electronic notebook has infinitely large
| pages, easy cut & paste, ability to zoom in to work on details,
| and you can repeatedly erase stuff without any smudges. By
| moving stuff around you can easily rearrange the structure of
| your notes, and add lots of new stuff in the middle. You can
| carry around tens of thousands of pages on a single light-
| weight device. Electronic systems with OCR may also have usable
| search.
|
| In other words, it's a trade-off.
| IceWreck wrote:
| I dont use this for general notetaking or anything, but Xournal++
| is excellent for editing PDFs. I mean its not exactly a PDF
| editor but you can use it to add stuff to your PDF like
| textboxes, drawings, images, etc.
| ohthehugemanate wrote:
| I use it as a music score reader/annotator. Unbeatable on
| Linux, at least. The stylus support is excellent.
| wngr wrote:
| Yes, it's pretty decent for that.
| 0des wrote:
| Horrible name. Say it out loud.
| DeathMetal3000 wrote:
| While I fully agree that the name is terrible (maybe we should
| start open sourcing product names?), the name is "Xournal++",
| not "Xournalpp++". The title here is wrong.
| _emacsomancer_ wrote:
| They have the pronunciation written as one of the first things
| in the linked article: /,z@nl,pl^s'pl^s/.
| 0des wrote:
| Nobody is going to carry a pronunciation guide on the off
| chance they might want to recommend a tool to a friend.
| codethief wrote:
| I bought a Supernote A5X last year, which is a fantastic e-ink
| tablet with a stylus. The company behind is very actively
| developing and enhancing the Supernote's (Android-based) OS and
| software and people (including myself) love them for it (see
| /r/supernote). However, I really wish their note file format was
| also supported by desktop software like Xournal++. Basically, I'm
| hoping that one day we'll have a standard file format for hand-
| written notes but of course I'm aware of the usual XKCD...
| rossdavidh wrote:
| I think the title should say "...cross-platform". That is all.
| wiz21c wrote:
| I'm usually using Krita to share notes when in videoconference
| calls... But that's a bit heavyweight :-) Will try this one asap
| !
| wiz21c wrote:
| a few minutes of testing tell me that it's the tool I've been
| waiting for :-)
|
| the shape recognition is a bit rough... I need to make an
| almost perfect circle so that the tool recognizes it...
| VoidWhisperer wrote:
| I hope this fixes something that ended up being a huge pet peeve
| of mine when trying to use the original versions of xournal: It
| would autosave on the main thread so the program would just
| abruptly freeze sometimes.
| jacek wrote:
| Alternative with a modern interface: Rnote
| (https://github.com/flxzt/rnote)
| codethief wrote:
| Wow, never heard of rnote before! Looks surprisingly slick! Now
| if only it supported my Supernote's .note files...
| bachmeier wrote:
| That comes with a massive disclaimer:
|
| "This is my first Rust and GTK project and I am learning as I
| go along. Expect some bugs and crashes. Also: The file format
| is still unstable. It might change and break compatibility
| between versions."
| cozzyd wrote:
| Yeah the breaking compatibility is probably a showstopper. I
| don't know why it can't support import of older file
| formats...
| _448 wrote:
| I use Xournal++ for explaining concepts online via discord/jitsi
| using app sharing. Simple and works well.
| anyfactor wrote:
| I have tested many pdf software but nothing comes close to
| xournal when you want to annotate and draw on a pdf.
| solarkraft wrote:
| I wish it wasn't so buggy and glitchy. I tried to use it for
| notes for a semester and it _kind of_ worked ... With lots and
| lots of hiccups.
| broses wrote:
| What os are you using? I found it extremely glitchy on windows,
| but pretty good on Linux. (It still crashes sometimes when I
| leave it open for a long time on Linux, but still the best
| handwriting app I've used on windows or Linux.)
| solarkraft wrote:
| Linux (KDE Wayland/GNOME Wayland, Gnome was a bit better for
| touch use in general but the glitches were the same, IIRC) on
| a tablet with a Wacom digitizer.
| bionade24 wrote:
| The problem sadly is Wayland. While wayland generally
| improves touch input, Xournalpp has those hiccups &
| glitches, for the ones are know are actually GTK bugs. I'm
| still sticking with Wayland though. I used Xournalpp one
| year before I switched on Xorg.
| riidom wrote:
| While some sections are TODO, the docs help getting an idea about
| it without having to install first, which I do like.
|
| I wonder though, what if I don't have a pen? I imagine using it
| with keyboard for typing, and making some drawings/sketches etc.
| with mouse. Is that a first-class workflow?
|
| Also, plugins written in Lua, I like that. Whether one is a fan
| of Lua or not, at least it is an low-entry bar to writing
| plugins, which generally is nice.
|
| One more question, since the "Config"-part of the docs are very
| todo - is there some kind of dark mode? All screenshots are light
| mode, so I wouldn't take that for granted.
|
| Mostly I am curious about the audio-record feature, I can imagine
| well, writing a brief summary and just talk a few additional
| remarks into my headset instead of typing that down.
| kkfx wrote:
| I use rarely Xournal, but not for notes, just to compile pdfs
| someone have made without form, demand a signature (handwritten)
| in etc. Since adding text or images on a pdf is hyper-fast.
|
| Not tried other use, nor I have not much idea of the differences
| with this fork...
___________________________________________________________________
(page generated 2022-05-30 23:01 UTC)