Is there an iOS markdown editor that works with DTTG?

DEVONthink To Go Tips
#26

FYI I can edit in Textastic with the same method that works for PDF Expert.

Select the markdown file in DTTG and then Share “Copy to Textastic”. Once the edit is done in Textastic, Share…Open In…“Copy to DEVONthink”.

I admit it is not perfect and you have an extra copy in Textastic that needs to be removed, but sometimes it is really a pain to find that particular file in Files, which is why I use DTTG in the first place.

It would be really nice if I could figure out if a Shortcuts share extension could take me from the DTTG object into Files at the location of the object. Basically an Open in Files extension.

If it is a writing project I am working on, then I use git via gitlab on the Mac and DTPO on the mac indexes the directory. On ios I use Working Copy (git client) and that allows me to edit markdown files in place and also iThoughts mind maps I use for my initial draft of markdown.

#27

Since this is an often discussed topic. With maybe an exception using Shortcuts and some kind of Markdown parser, there is no way to begin in DTTG and edit externally and have the changes since —— unless you use the “index” files feature in DEVONthink (Pro/3) and make those files available in the cloud somehow (iCloud/Dropbox/etc).

This would be perfectly fine, EXCEPT you need to have your main DEVONthink database running on your mac for it to sync. For example, I can open an “indexed” document in iA Writer, make some changes, but they WILL NOT update until I open my laptop and allow DEVONthink to sync.

I could be wrong. But I thought this discussion should at least get a little update.

#28

but they WILL NOT update until I open my laptop and allow DEVONthink to sync.

Im curious what is the issue with that? If you’re not at the Mac and have no one working on it, why would it matter if the Mac is synced until you’re there?
PS: Apps like Dropbox, etc. work the same way. If the Dropbox app isn’t open, it’s not syncing to your Mac either.

#29

Because the technique described is to edit your iCloud file on your iPhone, and then have your desktop pick up the indexed file and sync it to the DEVONthink sync store, so the updated version is reflected in DTTG.

#30

My specific use case:

I use DTTG as an on-demand storage for the college classroom (I am a professor). I have notes, images, sources, etc stored in DTTG.

However, I am not fond of the text editor in DTTG. So I use iA Writer as my editor.

I wanted it to be easy to access the files in DT from an outside app (like iA Writer) so I indexed an iCloud folder with all my notes.

But if I make some edits in iA Writer before class, then jump to my DTTG in class — if I didn’t open my MBP, the changes will not sync. So it adds a step, and if I am without my MBP, then it won’t work until I do have acces.

It is not really a big deal on my end. I have just gone back to using the file picker inside iA Writer to work on files within the DT database. But it was nice to have those files better organized for retrieval (foldable folder structure, etc) in the file browser pane in iA Writer (or any other picker pane of an app that uses that API).

#31

I think, all of this would be solved with proper “Open In” support, where you can search some file within DTTG and just open it from there directly in your target app, not creating a copy, just working on the original file.

And the best solution is asked for here:

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#32

And the best solution is asked for here:

Hmm… I don’t know if it’s necessarily the best solution :stuck_out_tongue:

#34

Not?

Is there even a better solution?
What, please?

#35

There are many applications such as 1Writer, Editorial, Dropbox app itself, etc that sync directly to a Dropbox folder. If you modify a file with 1Writer on iPhone and then open the Editorial with Dropbox, you’ll see the same changes. If you have indexed the same folder in DEVONthink Mac, the notes will get synced to DEVONthink sync store and therefore to iOS devices as well. But what you see in iOS devices after this in DEVONthink is a “stale” version of the actual files instead of the current Dropbox situation, until you again open DEVONthink on Mac and let it sync the indexed folder.

I’ve also struggled to find some optimal workflow for this. Browsing to DEVONthink folder in iOS from other app seems like too much hassle. It’s not optimal, but currently I have my main Markdown (etc) notes folder in Dropbox. I have it indexed on Mac, but modify the files in it only when working on Mac. On iOS I use 1Writer and some other apps to directly modify the files. I use DEVONthink to Go basically for searching data from this source along with other data I have in DEVONthink, but I’m careful not to modify these notes in DEVONthink To Go. I have some other databases that I primarily manage on DEVONthink, such as a scientific documents database and office/receipts kind of database that I can modify on DEVONthink Mac and iOS. It’s not optimal and takes some mental burden to consider what is editable on DEVONthink, etc.

With the current iOS options, I guess to make this kind of Dropbox workflow work seamlessly, it would require DEVONthink To Go support directly indexed folders through Dropbox API, or something to that extent.

#36

I realy have no interest to use Dropbox for anything.

I want DTTG to work!

It is a local content management system with tagging and search and it allows for encrypted remote storage!

Dropbox is even EXACTLY what i dont want to use.

It just needs proper “Open In” and “External Files” or “External Folders” support.
So that other Apps can simply use the content!

#37

I am using Drafts as my note taking app on the iPad. Because of its flexibility it has the power to be THE text hub on iOS/iPadOS devices. But in my case most of the notes created in Drafts I sent to DEVONthink To Go. Simply because DEVONthink is the place to be for informations of all kinds, as you all well know.

Most of these notes I do not edit on my iPad and for the almost always minor edits of the rest the editing capacities of DTTG suffice. So my usage scenario is just one-way. Nonetheless I dare to contribute to this thread because I think there might be a way to go both directions. I just haven’t tested it because I did see no need to.

Say, you have written this note in Drafts:

Test Note

Content

When you use the DTTG action provided by Agile Tortoise, the creators of Drafts, the first line will become the title, the rest the content of the note. I modified it because I rarely do write notes with headings and want the whole of the note to become the content. So all of the above Drafts note will be the DTTG note.

So far, so good, but again, just one-way.

To edit this DTTG note not in DTTG but in Drafts you should NOT use “Open In” but use Draft’s Share icon in DTTG. If you do so the note opened in Drafts looks something like this:

Test Note



x-devonthink-item://A11266CE-54D2-8911-A24F-ADC1FDFC3A66
Test Note

Content

Then you can edit the note in Drafts and it should be possible to create a second Send to DTTG action that does not create a new note but uses the provided x-devonthink-item informations to alter the linked DTTG note. Of course this action should only hand over everything below the x-devonthink-item line as note content.

If it works it would also be possible to combine the Create New Note in DTTG action with the Edit Note from DTTG action by letting the script look if there are x-devonthink-item informations in a specific paragraph of the note (trigger Edit Note action) or not (trigger Create New Note action).

Of course this would not be the same as notes in a place where different apps simply have access to them and each of them can always display the latest state of these notes, no matter in which other app they have been edited. The Drafts action scenario described requires DTTG as the starting point. But it does not require DEVONthink on the Mac.

In addition while the Drafts action would allow to edit the same DTTG note over and over again in Drafts each editing iteration would create a new version of that note in Drafts. Maybe this could be prevented by using the link of the Draft note so both apps only have one version of the note and Drafts not many.

But two questions pop up: Where should DTTG store the link of the Drafts note? In And: Why? Keeping versions of a note in Drafts isn’t a bad thing at all. Add Move to Archive as the final step to the action and the versions of the notes are out of the way but always accessible if necessary.

For everyone unfamiliar with Drafts I want to add that creating and customizing actions is only possible with the for-pay version.

#38

I told of the workflow I currently have to use. I think a major issue is that you can’t implement a native “Open in” button to open the document in other app with the current iOS system. That then gets saved to the app where you pressed it. It just cannot be done without some major hacks. Correct me if I’m wrong.

#39

Do you think, that such many people would ask for „Open In“ support if that would not exist?!?
Astonishing :slight_smile:

It is one of the standards of Apple:

https://developer.apple.com/document-based-apps/

And quoting from there more details:

Open in Place

By implementing Open in Place, you empower your users to organize and work on documents in the way that works best for them. You can store documents in your own app container, in a folder on iCloud Drive, or even in a third-party cloud provider’s app container. Open in Place lets multiple apps simultaneously edit an individual document, freeing users from the burden of keeping track of multiple copies in different locations. By supporting Open in Place, you can create a truly seamless document editing and collaboration experience your users will love.

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#40

And to add an this, the next step is „External Files“ or „External Folders“.
Which add a way to use whole directories as local content without having to manage single files.

DTTG needs those!!

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#41

What you write about is the „old“ way of doing such things.
And yes, what you write may well be possible …
But it requires something like Drafts that can trigger such actions.
That means, it is not possible for other Apps, without support for „X-URL“ …

Sadly, Drafts does not seem to support „Open In“ at all.
Therefor, this can only work with such actions.

The „Open In“ system and „External Files“ are the new way to handle such things.

And editors like Textastic and iA Write support them well, as documented in the links to MacStories which i posted elsewhere.

DTTG just needs to get improve a bit to be the central hub for content on iOS!
ALL people want to encrypt their cloud storage, if possible.

#42

OK, thanks, I checked those articles. Perhaps I made some assumptions of what’s currently possible with the iOS file sharing APIs. I’ll need to check the Multiple Copy app by the way, to see how it manages this issue, and also as a Git client. I can see many benefits for having an encrypted DEVONthink sync system as a hub for information management on iOS.

BTW, I’ve tried for a while to put “everything”, such as notes, bookmarks, etc into DEVONthink instead of having them in separate apps such as nvALT, Pinboard, etc. This approach has certain benefits for having them in one searchable and taggable system. One thing that made me go back to using Pinboard for bookmarks, and the current Dropbox sync for Markdown notes, is that the DEVONthink sync system isn’t on par considering speed and reliability when making quick notes, adding bookmarks, etc.

#43

Yes, with Open In and External Files / Folders support, DTTG could work as such a central hub!

You could simply use all compatible Apps as usual and simple sync the remote with DTTG at some later point.

Same workflow as with Working Copy … but Working Copy does not encrypt the remote and has not the search and tagging capabilities of DTTG.

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#44

This very thread pointed me into the direction of 1Writer and I gave it a closer look

It does what to my knowledge only Drafts does: It starts blazingly fast with a new and empty note. No preliminary picking of notebooks, file format, &c., is necessary. So far, so good.

Putting a note into DTTG or opening an existing one is possible. As it is with a number of apps, be it via OpenIn or an “ancient” x-url scheme.

But what I find most intriguing about 1Writer is that it allows to customize its standard file folder. Quite unusual on iOS/iPadOS. The option to pick a Dropbox folder has been mentioned above. But I would prefer if was possible to pick a DTTG folder/group as its standard file folder. It is not, the DTTG folders are greyed out.

Is it a restriction of iOS to not allow one app to automatically have access to the folder of another app? Or is it due to a restriction of either app?

#45

I would assume that it is a limitation of iOS. I experience the same thing with iA Writer and DEVONthink to Go, and also with another app that functions similar to DEVONthink to Go.

#46

I believe it’s both ends of the equation. I have heard that dropbox when working with some apps does not allow the book marking of folders, but I could be wrong here. But from the discussion I heard on a couple relay FM podcasts, it seems that both the apps in question need to implement it. But I imagine the bigger hurdle is iOS.

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