I’ve no problem with using LibreOffice for most of my document needs, but i haven’t found a good substitute for microsoft’s OneNote yet. I mainly use it to plan my RPG games and it helps a lot. What alternatives are there for organizing notes on linux, with similar features to those that OneNote provides?
For text-based notes I use Obsidian.
It isn’t open source, but it writes standard markdown files to disk, so I can switch programs whenever I like and I am not locked into the Obsidian ecosystem with my notes. That was the main reason why I decided against using Joplin, especially after my experience with converting recipes from Nextcloud Cookbook to markdown …
In general I am always trying to find a simple file-based solution for whatever I need to do. I want to be able to sync it with Syncthing instead of something fancier that requires a centralised web server or even relies on a cloud service.
Did you know that you can even sync your note using git and thus a git remote server for syncing? It even works with iOS 😃
Synching works but if you have a server, Obsidian live sync is fantastic and seamless.
Actually that’s one of the main reasons I use Syncthing: It doesn’t need a server, as it is a peer-to-peer architecture. Unlike a centralised solution (cloud storage, Nextcloud, etc.) devices sync directly with each other. If they are on the same local network, you get to enjoy the full bandwidth of your local network. If they need to sync over a long distance over the internet, you are limited by the upload and download speeds of your internet provider, just like with centralised storage.
I have a server that serves as an introducer, so I don’t have to connect each device with every other device manually. But the server doesn’t need to be available once all devices are connected with each other.
Syncing continues to work without it for as long as I don’t reinstall any of the other devices. And even if I’d reinstall a device, I could delegate any other device to be the introducer or connect the devices manually with each other. It really is quite robust and fail-safe.
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For me the issue is “importing and exporting”. I just don’t want to have a note-taking software anymore where I can’t just read or edit plain text files with any text editor I happen to have.
I know I can export my notes from Joplin into markdown, but when I last tried it, I wasn’t satisfied with the result. I don’t remember it anymore, but exporting either didn’t preserve the file hierarchy, caused issues with linked images or I had to do something else with the markdown files.
I also didn’t like that Joplin had to sync with a local folder instead of just using the files directly. Overall it was just too complex for what I need (i. e. a glorified text editor).
But I don’t want to discourage anyone from using Joplin. Different people simply have different needs and Joplin is free to use so one should try it out and see for themselves. ;)
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Amkng all note taking apps, FOSS or not, online and offline, Obsidian still holds the top spot unmatched. I don’t even dislike to admit it anymore. It’s just that good and really has almost everything.