In terms of note-taking apps on the Mac, it is exhausting to look previous Apple Notes, as it has a variety of options and has confirmed itself to be fairly dependable. However in my workflow, I typically miss having a scratchpad on my Mac, one thing akin to Notepad on Home windows. I like utilizing instruments like this for outlining my articles, jotting down notes that may flip into story concepts, or just creating fast to-do lists for routine duties.
macOS has a built-in app known as Stickies that does a few of these issues, but it surely’s desperately in want of an replace, because the design appears outdated and it is not very best for dealing with a number of notes. I lately found Antinote, a fantastically designed app that does the whole lot I would like from a sticky notes app, and has many extra options together with creating Pomodoro timers and changing currencies, which can enchantment to energy customers too. Antinote has a seven-day free trial, after which you’ll pay a one-time fee of $5 to purchase the app.
Rushing up your Antinote workflow
Credit score: Pranay Parab
The very first thing you need to do after downloading Antinote is be taught the hotkey to launch it, which is Choice-A by default. Personally, I arrange a customized keyboard shortcut to fireside up the app each time I would like it, which you are able to do in Settings > Shortcuts > World Hotkey, and that fits my workflow very properly.
Usually, I really needn’t use this shortcut. As a substitute, I are inclined to pin Antinote to my display screen, which signifies that it sits in a floating window above all my different apps. Nevertheless, once you use any app in full-screen mode in your Mac, Antinote will get hidden. In these instances, utilizing the hotkey takes you to the desktop and again to Antinote, which is a lifesaver.
You also needs to spend a minute or two organising Antinote to your liking, beginning off in Settings > Visuals. Right here, the app allows you to select if you would like it to indicate up within the Dock, menu bar, or neither. I lately switched to Barbee for menu bar administration, which retains the chaos beneath management when I’ve a variety of menu bar apps open, and due to this fact I choose to make use of Antinote as a menu bar app. Nevertheless, I typically make it a ‘headless’ app, which signifies that it solely exhibits up once I use the keyboard shortcut to launch it (another excuse to have it memorized).
Understanding Antinote’s key phrases
Credit score: Pranay Parab
Antinote makes use of key phrases to determine which options are enabled in any given observe. You possibly can kind the phrase ‘timer’ on the high of a observe and it will present you all of the instructions wanted to start out a timer. As an example, kind ‘timer 5’ to start out a five-minute timer, or ‘timer pomo’ to allow a Pomodoro timer that allows you to work for 25 minutes earlier than beginning a five-minute timer for breaks. Different key phrases embody ‘math’ for calculations, ‘paste’ to make Antinote retailer you clipboard historical past, and ‘listing’ to start out a guidelines. Go to the app’s settings and navigate to the Key phrases tab to memorize or customise all these key phrases.
Navigating between notes
Credit score: Pranay Parab
Whereas there are many keyboard shortcuts to handle your notes, I like the app’s use of swipes to change between varied notes. You need to use your Mac’s trackpad to carry out these gestures. Use a two-finger swipe in the direction of the left to start out a brand new observe and swipe to the suitable to go to the earlier observe. This manner, you may undergo your total observe historical past by simply swiping. These gestures are quick and notes open almost immediately after you swipe in both course.
Antinote additionally robotically saves your whole notes within the app, however if you wish to share a observe with others, you may click on the share button within the bottom-right nook of the app’s window. It will save the observe as a txt file within the folder of your alternative. You possibly can then use different apps to share the observe. Sadly, there is no real-time collaboration characteristic.
What do you assume to this point?
Fascinating further options
Credit score: Pranay Parab
Past simply being fast and simple to make use of for jotting down concepts or doing fast unit conversions, this app has just a few extra useful options in its toolbox. You possibly can take a screenshot of textual content and the app will makes use of OCR to extract it right into a observe. The default macOS keyboard shortcut—Command-Management-Shift-4—will allow you to screenshot an space in your display screen. Use this to repeat the screenshot to your clipboard, and paste it into Antinote. The app will robotically extract any textual content for you.
I additionally like Antinote’s distraction-free UI. It shows textual content and allows you to write with out exhibiting all of your accessible buttons till you progress the cursor close to these buttons. There are just a few buttons on the high of the app’s window and some in the direction of the underside, so in case you discover you may’t discover one thing you want, strive each areas. One of many buttons on the high is a worldwide search button that allows you to search by your whole Antinote notes, which could be very helpful.
The app lets you arrange an auto-delete schedule, which is sweet in case you primarily need to use it for short-term notes. In its settings, go to the Notes part to configure this. I’ve set it as much as delete notes after a month, however you may even filter the whole lot within the app inside a day if you wish to. The app helps a number of themes, too, accessible beneath Settings > Visuals. You may make the app look extra like a bodily pocket book, as an illustration, or change your canvas from unruled to dominated or grid-based.
Settings > Visuals additionally allows you to change the dimensions of the window and the default font dimension to fit your wants. After I’m utilizing my MacBook’s show, I maintain it at medium, however I enhance the font dimension when the laptop computer is linked to a big monitor.
