So what are your other options when it comes to a note taking app that is simple, lightweight and great for quick note taking? Meet Noted, a new Mac app in early beta that simplifies the note taking process on the Mac and does it in style.
A First Look
At first glance, I was drawn to Noted’s cute little Panda icon on their website; it also sits in the dock once the app is opened. Although it’s sure to be a hit with female users, the guys may not like it as much. You’ll also notice that there isn’t a menu bar icon, which is great for those who don’t like the extra clutter. Whenever I use an app for the first time, I always head over to the Preferences (or options) menu. I do this mainly to see what the app offers and to customize it. However, I was a bit surprisded to see that Noted’s Preference menu option is missing, or should I say it was never there to begin with. This is really not an issue right now since Noted is such a simple application and doesn’t need any set up; it works right out the box.
Getting Started
Noted is only available for download from their website. Since Noted doesn’t have any Preferences, your only task is to read the included “Quick Intro” note. You’ll see a preview of it as soon as you open the app – in the Unfiled collection. For full view, simply double click it.
The Quick Intro basically reiterates Noted’s public beta status and explains that there will be bugs and incomplete features (which is to be expected of any beta app). It also explains how to contact them if you need help, have a question or just want to say hello.
Basic Usage
You’ll start out with 4 default notebooks: Course, Home, Travel, Work. You’ll notice that those four notebooks appear under the section “On My Mac,” which probably leads you to wonder where is the “iCloud” section. Don’t worry it’s coming, but it won’t be available until the 1.0 release – which will be available in the Mac App Store. For now, there’s only notebooks on your Mac. You can delete and rename notebooks as desired. To do this, right click on a notebook and go to “Delete Notebook” or “Rename Notebook.” You’ll also see the option to add a new section to the notebook and change the color of the Notebook’s cover; there are eight basic colors to choose from.
The easiest way to add a new notebook, is to click on the + (plus) button at the bottom left corner of the application. You can also add new sections (in your notebooks) using this button. It’s pretty much the same process with adding new notes. There’s a + (plus) button at the top left corner of the notes area.
Other Features
The Unfiled section at the top of your collections is meant for jotting down quick notes. You can’t add any new sections within Unfiled. There’s also a trash bin, which is nice because you can easily restore items that may have been deleted by accident. Some other features include:
Smart Lists – auto-magically creates ordered lists based on the first numeric character Markdown – format your notes using this lightweight markup language View Modes – view your notes in card or list mode iCloud Syncing – sync notes across devices (coming soon) Search – see search results as you type Sharing – send in an email or to a Messages/iMessage recipient
Bringing It All Together
In short Noted lets you create notebooks, which are broken down into sections and then broken down into notes. You can easily add formatting to your notes using markdown and quickly create ordered lists with the smart lists feature. Searching through your notes is a breeze since you can see results as you type. You can easily move a note to a new notebook or share it by right clicking on it in notes view. It’s also nice to have keyboard shortcuts, which you can learn by looking through Noted’s menus. Although Noted is far from an Evernote replacement and some features are missing, it’s still a great option for those wanting a simple note taking app. It’s especially great for those that like to create ordered lists. What do you think of Noted? How does it compared to the note taking app that you’re currently using? Would you consider switching to Noted from your current notepad? Noted
