alike Simplenote: access notes repository on Android, app, web?
I'm completely sold to NVUltra already - yet a smallish thingy remains:
With nvAlt and syncing to simplenote.com/app on Android I was able to access and edit my notes on the go.
How can that use case be accomplished with nVUltra?
Any hints welcome.
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At this time, nvUltra is "platform agnostic" -- it works on folders of files regardless of whether that folder is synchronized by some other program to a cloud server or not.
Some "sync services" provide complete solutions for synchronizing a folder to and from the cloud (e.g. iCloud, Dropbox), and some do not. The last time I looked, Simplenote did not offer such a solution. (In fact, that is why I created one for myself many years ago, but it has not been maintained and is probably not reliable, if it even works at all.)
I personally use iCloud to synchronize certain folders between my macOS and iOS devices, for use with nvUltra and other applications. I do not have an Android device to see how well Dropbox works for the same functionality. Others may be able to contribute more information.
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Hi Fletcher,
thanks for your comment, appreciated.
Anyone around with a workaroundish solution, please?
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Hi Fletcher, again --
weeks after ... I half-heartedly tried some options and find myself uncapable of proceeding with any.
I want to have my /notes-folder on all devices I use, namely a Mac, an iPad and an Android phone. I do accept that nVultra is available on the Mac only. Can live with a pure markdown-formatted repository outside the Mac and thus w/o the benefits of nVultra -- just the .md will do
Would prefer a non-$-subscription service of any kind, say: a straightforward, no-strings-attached hack just to have my markdown-formatted snips wherever I need them. Bonus: a URL / Webpage secured with reasonable credentials.
(1) sync to/with GitHub
idea was to use a private git to sync the noted-folder across devices and OSes -- stalled as I just don't understand GIT enough to make it work. gave up, frustrated
(2) GDrive
same idea: have the same Google Drive /notes-dir on all devices, use .md outside my Mac
stalled for unknown reasons. appears to me that GDrive doesn't handle plain md the way it s supposed to be
(3) SyncThing
tested yet didn't succeed - mainly for the same reason GIT supposes to me: a lot of additional apps that need grooming and tuning and nifty settings
Didn't try putting my master /notes-folder to iDrive and use it on at least the Mac and iPad from there.
Any guidance on any of those trials?
Is it really that complicated to make a /notes-folder available cross-OS, cross-device?
You're geniuses!
-sk.
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(Speaking for myself, not Brett.)
I can't speak to Android, so will defer to others with more experience as to whether there are good solutions/hacks there.
iOS offers the idea of File Providers, that allows a single program to act as a sync agent to the cloud for specific files/folders. This allows something like the macOS Dropbox client to work -- you simply work with a folder of files as desired, and in the background Dropbox keeps those changes in sync remotely.
This allows third party equivalents to iCloud Drive on iOS. At least in theory.
In practice, when I last looked at this, none of the providers that I tried really worked properly. This was a couple of years ago, so perhaps things have improved. And there is no reason that third party sync tools should not use this and use it well (e.g. Dropbox, Google Drive, Resilio Sync, etc.) But outside of iCloud Drive, I have not been successful with this.
Sync isn't *that* complicated, but it is complicated and it requires a very detail-oriented solution to avoid the various edge cases that can creep in. My first iOS app included built-in support for Dropbox, and I spent so much time reimplementing what the Dropbox team should have provided. There is no reason for individual developers to have to reimplement file synchronization logic for each cloud provider out there. I've done it a few times, and I have no desire to write another sync handler again. Even a mobile OS like iOS is now robust enough to allow the equivalent functionality provided on Desktop (e.g. a background agent that keeps a cloud folder and an on-device folder in sync, regardless of which apps modify the files). There is no reason that I should have to write a sync handler for iCloud, Dropbox, Simplenote, GDrive, etc. If they are serious about supporting their users, those companies (who make infinitely more than I do from this) should provide the tools themselves. This also improves reliability -- they can do things the right way a single time, as opposed to requiring 10s/100s/1000s of individual developers to reinvent the wheel with slightly different bugs each time.
It looks like there is "Möbius Sync" for iOS, which may or may not provide this service via SyncThing. I have not tried it.
My solution, which generally works well, is to keep my nvUltra folders in iCloud Drive, so that I can access them via nvUltra on macOS or iOS on all of my devices. It works as well as any general file sync scenario I have used in the past, other than perhaps bespoke sync tools custom designed for a specific application.
(As for your git idea -- I have considered using git as the backing core for a text file sync engine for a few reasons, included robust edit logging and history, but never spent the time to get too far with it. I've also thought about using git as the file format. Will Shipley has a good discussion about this. The primary downside that kept me from pursuing this further is that throwing a git repo in a Dropbox folder and then editing it on multiple machines simultaneously is dangerous... This is slightly different than your idea, but does provide some interesting considerations.)
UPDATE: I reenabled the Dropbox file provider on my iPhone and worked in that folder on my Mac. It generally seemed to work in my basic tests, but I need to delve further to know how reliable it is. One advantage is that in the event of a catastrophe, you can use the Dropbox web interface to recover prior file versions. This may be worth looking into for you? Though, again, I can't speak to Android.
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(Any frustration you detect in my response above is directed at companies that offer an "API" that is only a partial solution, not directed at you!!)
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Fletcher!
kudos for your elaborate insights, appreciated! Feel your API pain.
I cannot be truly helpful with any of this besides volunteering as a guinea pig.
However and as an abbreviated to-this-next for myself: I'll go with iCloud then, accepting all the optional downsides there.
Nevertheless I guess that a bunch of nValt-fangirls like me will kiss your dirty feet for a robust solution -- maybe take it to the backlog?
-sk.
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As an anecdote — I'm using syncthing between my 1-2 macbooks, android phone, book reader and a server or two without a hitch for years. It syncs a bunch of stuff, but also my notes. Doesn't really need much in terms of setting up. Notes I edit via nvALT on Mac and Denkzettel on the phone. Slowly maybe moving to Obsidian for both, but I heavily miss nvALT's find-or-create interface. Time to try nvUltra!
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I tried syncthing and a bunch of others, way too much 3rd things I do not want to cater for. Use Obsidian for longer pieces on larger screens though. My sluggish workaround goes like this:
- notes live on iCloud as a /kne.notes.icloud, containing only .md-files
(my last name ist KNEcht, so all my gears'n'gadgets have that prefix + .icloud reminds me, that I am working on the cloudy thingy ... so far for the neurosis, just leave me behind)
- iOS on iPhone and iPad: using iAWriter that I licenced anyway, opening /kne.notes.icloud as folder, using its search to identify the note I want to edit -- saves back to /kne.notes.icloud
- MacOS: nvUltra, also opening /kne.notes.icloud
... works OKish -- nevertheless, a native iOS nvUltra app would be appreciated A LOT, dudes!
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smallish update for my smoothing workflow:
all on
- *.md on iCloud as a /notes.icloud
- ... thus synced across iPhone and iPad w/o other syncing s/w
- using MDNotes (a free minimal yet fully functional md-editor) on iOS
Works for me: minimal setup, robust. Wouldn't need a native iOS nvUltra with that anymore.
The cross-platform issue with Android or clean Webaccess is not solved by that.
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