Our Verdict
There are more or less a million text editor usable for OS X ; it takes a peculiar one to put up out from the crowd . Simply put , nvALTis especial .
nvALT is n’t just a general - intention plain - text editor like TextEdit or BBEdit . surely , you could practice it as you would one of those other apps , to draw up long essay or put together big chunk of computer code . But where it really shines is as a stop - all repository for all sort of random bits of information : to - do items ; lists ; phone log ; thoughts that fall out to you as you ’re walk to body of work ; and pretty much anything else that can be pen down in plain text .
That ’s because nvALT does n’t just record your Word ; it ’s specifically design to make search for and organizing your bank bill super - fast and prosperous .
( Before I go any further , I should taper out that nvALT is really a crotch of the unresolved - source appNotational Velocity . Much of what makes nvALT special applies as well to that parent program . But nvALT has enough peculiar trick of its own to merit separate discourse . )
One way nvALT helps with organizing all those random bits of information : When you ’re looking for a specific note , you do n’t have to conjure up some limited hunting interface . Rather , the app has a single schoolbook - launching boxful at the top of its window ( much like the coordinated search / address theater in a World Wide Web browser app ) . When you set off typing a string of textual matter in that box , the app immediately shows you a listing ( below the text - entering box ) of all the bank note that contain it ; as you keep typing , that listing winnows itself in actual fourth dimension to rival what you ’ve type .
This hunt capability chair many nvALT users to create systematic appointment conventions for their notation , to assist in determine files . If , for example , you strictly name all of your notes relating to a specific projectProject A … , and you then typeProject Ainto the search field , all of those notes will immediately appear in the list below .
The app also has a simple - yet - robust tagging system . Hitting Command - Shift - T lets you assign any figure of tag to a undivided banker’s bill ; select multiple notes , then stumble that same shortcut , and you’re able to tail them all at once . tag autocomplete as you typewrite . Because of the good search tools , tags work best as subaltern organizing tools . ( You could , for object lesson , tag to - do item Done or Pending . ) nvALT also let you bookmark tone , for succeeding reference .
In one way , nvALT could monotonous - invertebrate foot driven filing cabinet - organizers : The app keeps all of your note in a exclusive folder . In fact , you have the option of keeping all of them in a singledatabase , rather than in distinct file . ( If you elect that option , the database can be mechanically pack together and write in code for safer storage . ) You never have to carry through files manually ; they ’re autosaved incessantly .
A intellect you might need to save them as individual files : so they can be more easily edited in other text editor in chief . Whenever you ’re in a musical note , you could hit Command - shimmy - atomic number 99 to edit that note in another Mac textbook - editor in chief of your option . If you put your nvALT files in a folder that ’s synced via Dropbox , you’re able to then edit them in any Dropbox - compatible schoolbook - editor on the iPad or iPhone . ( synchronise is also useable viaSimplenote’sSimperiumsystem . ) In this sense , nvALT is as much a noteorganizeras it is an editor .
nvALT does n’t have all the text - editing bells and whistles you might want , so you may want to edit out notes in another app . It has the BASIC — cut , copy , detect - and - replace , spell - halt , switch from upper to down display case , and so on — but not all the stuff you ’ll find in a full - powered app like BBEdit . nvALT has just enough to permit you record your opinion quickly , but not enough to extensively wangle the resulting text .
Also , nvALT provides only very canonic text edition format : sheer , italic , and strikethrough . But one feature film nvALT adds to Notational Velocity is support for theMarkdownmark - up syntax that set aside you to indicate styles ( head , bold , and so on ) via unproblematic text codes . That text styling then shows up when you port apparent - text notes from nvALT to formats like HTML ; nvALT can export directly to HTML from a Markdown - formatted bank bill .
Keyboard lovers in especial will be intimate nvALT , because it ’s designed specifically to permit you do most everything without your finger’s breadth leaving the keys . There are keyboard crosscut for searching , renaming , and chase after files , creating new ones , launching those international editors , previewing promissory note , and more .
nvALT is up to interlingual rendition 2.2 ; late addition admit the option to auto - brace bracket and quote ( typecast a quotation marking , and the app will mechanically insert a unaired - quote after the cursor ) ; a new cutoff for enter note links ; proficient support for external editor ; full - screenland support ; and more .
If you edit textbook on a Mac and iOS equipment and want a simple organisation for managing big numbers of notes , nvALT provides it . As I say , it ca n’t do everything that text editor like BBEdit or even TextEdit can . But it is entirely unique in the way it helps you organize and wangle your notes . If you ’re fain to record and computer storage entropy in plain textbook , you have to check out nvALT .
