|||

PTPL 103 · 4 Practical, Fascinating Uses of Plain Text in the Wild

Writing and websites, a Mac utility and a worklog

This week: Seen a post you love somewhere on the internet? Save it now, while you can. Two apps and two ideas for using plain text to solve everyday problems, including a distraction-free writing app, and plain text scripts to automate context switching on a Mac.


Scott Nesbitt was someone I found in various writing-themed forums in my early days seeking digital simplicity. I am currently studying his site, The Plain Text Project, and placing entries that resonate with me into Omnivore / Raindrop.

Why? Because katanist.com no longer exists, and I’m sad I didn’t take notes on the GTD with TaskPaper article on that site before it went down. Edit: Some kind and capable people have found the article for me on the Wayback Machine! So glad!

Also because I’ve found that Omnivore doesn’t always save the whole thing, and someone told me that Raindrop does. I’ve yet to confirm that. Edit: The SiteSucker app makes it easy to download entire websites. Thanks, Eric!

Scott has warned that while he has (at the time of writing) no plans to take down the site, don’t expect it to be there forever. You will likely find me referencing articles from his treasure trove for some time to come.

Here are four snippets I read on The Plain Text Project this week, with my thoughts on each.

Journaltxt — a text-based format for a website

Ignoring the techie side of this, it’s a nice example of One Big Text File (OBTF). The last updates were 7 years ago, so I have no idea if it still works as advertised. Still, seeing the simplicity of the human readable journal entries gave me a buzz!

Calmly Writer — a distraction-free writing app

I found Calmly Writer recently and it seems quite nice so far. I was able to open Markdown files on my computer (including in my Obsidian vault) and work on them. Here are some initial observations:

Pros

  • OpenDyslexic font option built in
  • In-app print, or export to .pdf or .docx
  • Images show up the same as they do in Obsidian
  • Text to speech and dictation are built in
  • It detects when an open file is changed outside of the app, and prompts you to reload it

Cons

  • You have to save manually (command + s)
  • Wiki links don’t work
  • Exported PDFs turn text to an image, so you’d need to OCR it for post-editing with apps like PDF Expert

Calmly Writer is free for an unlimited evaluation period, and a cheap one-time purchase after that.

Bunch — plain text scripts to automate context switching

Brett Terpstra, father of nvALT, nvUltra, and Marked 2, has also created Bunch, a macOS automation tool that takes a folder of plain text files containing lists of apps and commands to launch and provides an easy-to-use menu for triggering them.”

Cool as it looks, I haven’t used it yet. Putting it in my To Try pile for when the mood strikes.

Creating a Plain Text Worklog

Scott Nesbitt (of The Plain Text Project) suggests keeping a worklog rather than a time sheet. I don’t need a separate file for this as OBTF can handle it all, but I can see how people who need to report to other people on the progress of a project might find it helpful to have this kind of worklog in a separate file.


Next week — the power of the list. I’m preparing an overview of the main flavours of plain text task management. Like old-fashioned to dos made with pen and paper, but infinitely more flexible. Vanilla with toppings, nuts optional.


Follow my RSS feed, or sign up to receive posts in your inbox  

 

My posts cost you nothing to read, but a goodly amount of effort on my part to put together. If you’ve found value here I invite you to share this post with someone you think will appreciate it, or to make a contribution to my support jar

Up next PTPL 102 · No App Lasts Forever — Tips For Your Data Bug-Out Bag PTPL 104 · 6 Plain Text Task Management Options—an Overview
Latest posts PTPL 129 · Live Out of Your Notes the Way Tom Lives Out of His Car Inktober 2024 PTPL 128 · Keep Your Content Separate From the Container in Which It Lives PTPL 127 · On Backing Up Paper, and Static Websites for Tiny Archives Efficient App Agnostic Tasks in a Single Plain Text File (Obsidian Optional) PTPL 126 · What the Dash-Plus System Looks Like in My OBTF and Analog Notes Word Puzzles (that aren’t Wordle) PTPL 125 · Choosing Between Digital and Analog, and a Plain Text Accounting Update How to Keep Your Wheels Turning Smoothly Despite the Automation Paradox PTPL 124 · Saving Safari tabs as Markdown links, and Mono Fonts in Obsidian Looking Through Windows (From the Outside In) PTPL 123 · ‘Analog Office’ Blog and Tomoe River Planner Recommendations Mastodon and the Fediverse — Social Media’s Brighter Future Celebrating Independent Indie Blogs PTPL 122 · Aligning Your Task List with Your (Changing) Values PTPL 121 · Getting Focused With a 4-Quadrant Weekly Planning Matrix PTPL 120 · Quick Add vs Text Expansion in Obsidian Touch Typing For Classic Book Fans Your Name in Landsat Psst — They Don't Know What You're Talking About PTPL 119 · Yes, You Can Be Plain-Text Enlightened and Still Use Apple’s Reminders! PTPL 118 · My Simple, Sensible Plain Text to Proprietary App Workflow PTPL 117 · Oh, You Like Making Notes! Why Not Use… ? PTPL 116 · Plain Text Accounting Level 1, Complete! PTPL 115 · There’s Something New at the Top of My One Big Text File PTPL 114 · Obsidian, Silver Bullet, and Org-Mode—3 Different Approaches to Working With Notes PTPL 113 · Some Free Tools Cost Too Much PTPL 112 · Organise Your Stuff— Alternatives to Bartender and Hazel PTPL 111 · You Only Need 2 Calendar Categories For Effective Time Management PTPL 110 · How to Easily Type  macOS ⌘ Modifier Keys PTPL 109 · Households With Written SOPs Are More Resilient Than Those Without
... ... ... ...