… why?
1 Like
Might as well be proprietary as far as I’m concerned. I don’t want to rely on having to export ‘stuff’ if anything goes south with a folder full of a year or two (or more) of json files. Hate to be old fashion, but…
1 Like
They are actively working to convert that JSON format to an extended form of Markdown (which is necessary to avoid feature loss). But keep in mind that JSON is just text. There is no lock-in at all with JSON with one of many available JSON viewers, it’s arguably much easier to deal with than XML or Evernote’s crazy custom version thereof.
Moreover, Craft (which today earned me as a customer for the foreseeable future) is committed to providing open-source tools to do any necessary conversions. Is it perfect? No, but Craft, as currently constituted, is also much more than just a Markdown-based note taking app.
I’m super excited by today’s release and if they keep releasing at this pace, then I have no problems at all with the subscription model.
1 Like
Can you expand on that thought? Are you saying…using an extended form of Markdown as opposed to a JSON format.
Sure, but it’s not my thought at all! See Section 5 in this doc: Your Data is Yours - Our thoughts on Data Ownership and Accessibility
I read that section this morning, which prompted me to ask the Devs for clarification regarding timing re:Markdown (whatever version). Their response was-
“At the moment this (JSON, my edit) is the only possibility, maybe later we will introduce other options.”
Just saying, not arguing. 
Yea, and really, the app is still pretty young. IMO, it still needs some kind of tagging, basic table support, and a UI refresh (I can’t pin the sidebar?) before it can truly start replacing things like Obsidian. But I like the direction and I love their philosophy!
2 Likes
Wouldn’t backlinks serve the same function as tagging?
I suppose…I’m still trying to figure out a tagging system, to be honest. Any suggestions? 
1 Like
https://craft-community.slack.com/archives/C01CL73J5DM/p1612219335170200
Nothing earth shattering here, but I thought I would describe my current workflow workaround implementing a “tag” or “index” feature. When I want to “tag” a page I enter an @tagname block to the doc. First time doing this I accept the creating request. For subsequent mentions of “tagname” I just accept the link. Now I have an empty document with the name “tagname” with back links to all the mentions. I move this document into a separate folder named Tags. Now I have a nice list of all my “tags” and also a list of all the pages where the tag is mentioned.
3 Likes
I’ve been doing something similar for the past few days, with the added twist that if I think a page is going to primarily exist just to receive backlinks, I start the name with a #. I think that tags are high up on the developers’ roadmap.
Does anyone else get asked to review the app at least once a day? It’s literally killing me. Literally.
Not just for Craft, but anything in the OS:
Settings → App Store → In-App Ratings & Reviews
Disable it and life will probably get a lot better.
6 Likes
I think you just changed my life.
5 Likes
Curious if anyone has tried out the new external locations in Craft. People were excited about it. I was excited about it. But I’m hesitating until I hear about other experiences…
1 Like
I use it for student notes. It had a hiccup at first. Not sure why, probably something to do with iCloud I’m sure. The devs were super cool and helped out quickly.
After it settled, it’s been great. Fast, smooth, and everything I want from a pleasant UI/UX and feeling secure in my data.
3 Likes
Been trying it out as a writing tool for a proposal that I’m writing and I love that you can link your sources as cards. I like the idea of adding content to block that’s a separate window. But somehow I’n not sold with Craft as a writing tool. The blocks I find it obtrusive in regards to writing. I feel like the blocks can be useful as an editing tool (move paragraph around) but it isn’t as helpful in the act of writing. I don’t often write linear, I like to move things around when editing but I don’t find this method helpful when writing.
I think Craft can work as a research tool but as a writing tool, there’s too much friction. But I think I’ll try to keep using Craft as a repository for research materials for my articles and proposals.
I’ll be on the look out for its upcoming update.
1 Like
I agree completely. I have been using Craft for all my research and find it a perfect fit for this task, but I am still doing all my writing in Ulysses - which I much prefer as a writing environment. I wish they would change focus and start pushing Craft as a research tool, because it’s by far the best I’ve every come across.
Interesting - how does Craft compare with Scrivener as a research tool in this regard?
@rkaplan I know you directed your question to @wiredfractal but I thought I’d jump in as well. I use Craft exclusively for work and personal notes. As noted above, Craft, in my opinion, is not a good writing environment. While Craft can serve well for research, I have all of my research documents in DT then reference them in Scrivener as needed. I occasionally put material in the Research folder of Scrivener but most of the time I keep research and research related notes in DT with Scrivener open while writing.
1 Like