[HN Gopher] Ask HN: Is there a site that is just a text scratchpad?
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Ask HN: Is there a site that is just a text scratchpad?
I'm looking for a site that is basically just a text editor. It
doesn't need to save, support multiple files, etc. I just want to
type in xyz.com and copy/paste some text. Google Docs is too
complicated and slow to load. Does something like this exist?
Author : leros
Score : 8 points
Date : 2022-11-25 21:53 UTC (1 hours ago)
| tomcam wrote:
| Do you mind explaining how you use such a site, and if any of the
| other suggestions here worked? If it's because you want to paste
| clipboard contents without formatting maybe you don't know about
| Ctrl+Shift+V (Windows) or Cmd+Shift+V (Mac) which does that for
| you.
| leros wrote:
| I'm trying to offload a thought from my brain in the least
| amount of effort possible, so I can let the thought go, knowing
| I can come back to it later. Least amount of effort possible is
| so I can write the note without losing my current thought
| process as I'm very easily distracted.
|
| In my ideal world, I'd type in xyz.com and it would have a
| blank text area I can type a few words into. Then going back to
| xyz.com would still have that data in the text area.
|
| Tools like Notion are too heavy and would tempt me into taking
| proper notes.
|
| Things like a notepad app on my desktop require too much
| context switching. I have to leave the browser, open notepad,
| etc
|
| A blank Google doc isn't a bad solution, except it takes a bit
| of time to load and then I end up with lots of little abandoned
| note docs in my Google Drive.
|
| Literally a site with a text area that saves the text to local
| storage would be perfect. Maybe it supports Markdown.
| n4r9 wrote:
| This is pretty much exactly what I use Sublime Text for. On
| windows I just have to type the windows key, "sub", and
| enter. Then it pops up with my todo list and various notes. I
| can open a new tab to jot a thought down. The notes persist
| despite closing the application and restarting the computer,
| even without saving to disk.
| derefr wrote:
| If you're on macOS, have you tried Stickies?
|
| Specifically, are you aware of the [?]|Y hotkey for turning
| any selected text in a focused application into a new sticky
| note?
|
| If so, have you considered typing your note into your
| browser's address bar, highlighting it, and then using said
| hotkey?
| jez wrote:
| Your favorite note taking apps probably have registered a
| domain name in the .new TLD
|
| If you like secretly like Google Docs but just don't want to
| have to go though Drive to make a new doc: https://doc.new or
| https://docs.new
|
| If you want to use GitHub Gist: https://gist.new
|
| Similarly https://paper.new for Dropbox Paper
|
| Also definitely not a good idea in general, but I found
| https://md.new by guess and check. I can't vouch for the site
| itself but it might be just the tool you're looking for?
|
| (I've prefixed all these with https:// so HN will linkify
| them but in your browser's address bar you can usually omit
| that to make it more convenient)
| CrypticShift wrote:
| If you are satisfied with absolutely zero features, just enter
| this in the address bar (+ save it as a bookmark)
| data:text/html, <html contenteditable>
|
| Works at least in chromium based + Firefox
| leros wrote:
| That's pretty darn good. If it only saved the data so I could
| open it again and see my note, it would be perfect.
| adamredwoods wrote:
| File: Save-page-as
|
| Then, re-open the file in Chrome. Re-save as needed.
| CrypticShift wrote:
| If you want something that saves + local, you need an
| extension. This one comes to mind (chromium) https://chrome.g
| oogle.com/webstore/detail/papier/hhjeaokafpl...
| amadeuspagel wrote:
| Even better: data:text/html, <html
| contenteditable autofocus>
| jesushax wrote:
| TIL about the contenteditable attribute, which it turns out can
| be used on arbitrary elements to make them editable!
|
| https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/HTML/Global_att...
|
| You seem like a really cool person!
| abrax3141 wrote:
| But if you use a gdoc you can access it from anywhere (incl
| offline) and it's always up to date a version controlled. For me
| that's enough additional value to be worth a bit of a speed hit.
| sdwolfz wrote:
| https://firepad.io/
| [deleted]
| amadeuspagel wrote:
| I made thinktype[1], which is not just a text editor, but you can
| use it that way--you can immidiately start typing.
|
| [1]: https://thinktype.app/
| Slackwise wrote:
| I use HackMD, which supports Markdown and various other plain-
| text formats, including LaTeX, Mermaid, GraphViz, etc:
|
| https://hackmd.io/c/tutorials/%2Fs%2Ffeatures
|
| As an extra bonus, Vim keybindings are built right in.
|
| For your use case, it saves files immediately as you type them.
| It's also collaborative and can sync to GitHub.
| felixr wrote:
| Using one of the many JS editors in something like codepen.io
| works well:
|
| eg https://codepen.io/quill/full/KzZqZx or
| https://codepen.io/JessieWooten/full/wYObEX
|
| Or one of the many online markdown editors
| (https://markdownlivepreview.com/, https://dillinger.io/)
| yieldcrv wrote:
| https://pastebin.com
| skyyler wrote:
| pastebin.com is what I use for this. I'm curious if there's
| something more lightweight out there.
| shaantam wrote:
| https://wordcounter.net/
| leros wrote:
| This is actually pretty good. It saves text between loads.
| pwg wrote:
| What is the intended purpose that is not supported by a local
| text editor (i.e., notepad if on windows)?
| leros wrote:
| - Staying within my workflow. I'm already in a browser and I
| want to save a few thoughts. I can type xyz.com and write a few
| words without context switching. Opening a notepad app would
| make me context switch enough to lose flow state.
|
| - Having a single, always open file. Something like notepad
| would require me to open the app and then open a particular
| file. Again, too much effort.
| jasonjmcghee wrote:
| This is a good example of what https://lazy.so is trying to
| solve. I'm sure there are others I'm not aware of.
| leros wrote:
| Looks interesting. I'll keep an eye on it.
|
| FYI, the site took about 10 seconds to load which isn't an
| ideal situation.
| jasonjmcghee wrote:
| I have no ties to this app, just have been seeing it
| around.
|
| Fwiw that's just the landing page, almost positive it's a
| downloadable application.
| Oxidation wrote:
| I realise it's not a solution that you want to use, but I have a
| global hotkey set for launching or focusing a preferred text
| editor: Windows + Shift + E.
|
| You can even have a special hotkey for opening a specific file.
|
| The big advantage for me there is that you get real text editor,
| not just a browser text box and I can delete lines with "dd" like
| God intended.
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(page generated 2022-11-25 23:01 UTC)