With all the great options for note-recording software these days, it’s frustrating that every one of them has a dealbreaker for me. I feel like I’m on the cusp of finding my ideal external-memory software, but I’m going to have to put in some work to articulate why the features I’m hoping for are so valuable not only to me, but hopefully to a wider user-base.
Writing things down is an important step for me to take in any part of my life. I want to remember things, and the best way is by externalizing the information. There are a lot of ways to make a record of information that I can review later, but some of the most powerful ways of making a note is with software.
Using a great note-taking software can do the same wonderful things your mind can do:
A note-taking application must have a good user-experience for each of these actions.
Although adding a new note is among the most common activities in a note-taking application, it is often taken for granted. To make this a good user experience, you have to understand the conditions people are often in when they create a new note.
People often have to record important information while distracted. They don’t have the time or attention to consider the organization or formatting of the note. The bare minimum is written, photographed, or recorded, and that has to be enough.
The note-recording experience should allow this. It should not take excessive thought to create a new note. The user should not have to put effort into naming, formatting, or deciding where to put the note when it is created.
Google Keep implements this beautifully:
Right at the top of the page, it is ready to be typed in immediately. It’s not asking for an essay, it’s offering utility and speed.
When the user starts typing or adds a photo, the text field expands dynamically to fit the content. The interface doesn’t guilt the user into writing more than necessary by giving them an enormous blank page to fill. The interface introduces more tools as the user might need them.
