App for typing txt file notes on eReader?

[blue_skies]

Hello. I have a Boyue T62+ eInk ereader which has a built-in notepad which can be used with the onscreen keyboard to type notes. It works okay, but I don't see anyway to even name the note, so its usefulness is limited.

Is there an Android app that works well with eInk that I can use instead of the built-in app? I would prefer to be able to type and label and organize basic .txt files if possible.

I Googled this question but just got handwriting type note programs or things like Evernote which I don't think would work well on my basic eReader, which has no stylus type input. I would prefer .txt files so that I can just copy them to my computer as needed.

[AnotherCat]

I am not familiar with the T62+ but as no one seems to have any suggestions for you I'll throw the following into the pot. I am assuming the device has access to the Play Store in which case you might like to look at Zoho Corporation's Notebook app https://play.google.com/store/apps/d...notebook&hl=en.

I have been a OneNote user for many years but wanted something else just to keep simpler notes in and have them arranged in collections which most notebook type application cannot do. Notebook was suggested to me and I've found it does pretty much everything I wanted.

Its basic structure is that one creates notebooks and in those notebooks one can create notecards. So, for example, for a business or holiday trip one could create a notebook for that trip and in that notebook create a notecard for each organization or place visited in which one writes the notes relevant. It will take audio notes, attach images and other attachments and also scan documents - so during a visit one can scan into the relevant notebook anything of interest. It has an excellent checklist note editor too.

It is big, around 100MB, and while if one just wants to take text notes it seems an overkill it does do the simple stuff better than other simple note taking apps I have tried and it keeps ones notes organized in an easily accessible way.

It does not, however, store .txt files in itself, but it has very good export abilities (sends notes to email and other messaging, PDF, etc. and will import Evernote notes) and among those it will offer to export to any of the .txt editors it sees on the device so giving you a .txt file if wanted. However, I find that I rarely do that as Notebook will sync with Notebook on ones other devices and PCs over the internet so ones notes are available everywhere.

It does sync through Zoho's own servers on which ones notes remain resident as do automatic backups of earlier notes so one can revert to any of those in case of problems or for review - some don't like the idea of their information being on the servers of corporates, however Zoho is substantial enough to have offices in a number of countries and produces business, financial, etc. software, and have a comprehensive and well produced website. They offer Notebook as a freebee and it is regularly updated and maintained.

I use it syncing between my phone, tablet and PC but I don't see any reason why it would not be OK on eink displays as there is no animation.

[blue_skies]

AnotherCat, thank you so much for your very informative reply! I will look into that app. I am familiar with Zoho because I have an email address with them, but I never took a close look at their software. My eReader doesn't have a microphone so the audio notes won't work, unfortunately. I like that the Zoho app allows you to create notebooks... although looking at the screencaps, I wonder if I will be able to see the UI on my greyscale eInk.

I have tried a bunch of options since last night, and that has been one of the biggest problems. For example, I read that you can create and edit simple text files with ES File Explorer (which I use all the time on my phone) but when I installed it on my eReader, I couldn't make out the menus. I ended up uninstalling it.

I tried WriterP [Edited to add that the full name of this app is Writer Plus (Write On the Go), it just appears as WriterP on my eReader device] - this allowed me to make the text nice and large, easily switch to night mode, and even make folders... but I couldn't see any folder names - just these teeny, tiny folder icons. I also didn't see any option to export as text file -- so I copied what I had in the WriterP folder to my computer. The files were .md files and they did open fine with the MS Notepad, but there were no line breaks retained, and not even a blank space where line breaks should have been, so anything I transferred to my computer would have to be heavily edited. I uninstalled the app and kept looking.

Next I tried Notepad Free - I could see the UI and was able to name a note and type in the body of the note, but the font size was significantly smaller than the built-in Boyue note app, and I didn't see any way to change the font size or any other settings. I was really feeling the eye strain at this point late last night (and the frustration!), so I uninstalled it before finding out if it could save to .txt format that I can access on my computer.

Today I tried two open source Apps from F-Droid.org:

1. Just Notes (Take notes with import and export features...)

I only tried this very briefly because I couldn't find any way to make the text large enough for my eyes, and it seemed to just save the first part of the body of the note in the title, with no way to type the title and body separately. I uninstalled this app pretty quickly.

2. Notes https://f-droid.org/en/packages/com....letools.notes/ (A simple text field for adding quick notes, without ads.)

This at least has some settings, and I was able to make the background white and the text black. (It should be easy to switch it to night mode, too.)

The biggest negative for me was that I changed the text to Extra Large, but it was still much smaller than I would prefer, and smaller than Boyue's built in Note app.

The positives - Finally an app that allows me to create and name files, and even edit the names of files. It also allows exporting individual notes or all notes to .txt files, which is nice because then I can just copy them to my computer. (It saves the exported .txt files to the root folder.)

Unfortunately, it doesn't retain the line breaks in the exported .txt files, so the text is all smooshed together just like the built-in notepad and the another app I tried, so there really is no improvement in exporting.

The trade off between this and the built-in Note app:
-- with this app, the text was too small
-- with the built-in app, text is nice and readable, but I can't name notes, or put them in folders.

-----

Then I ended up finding the Big Font app https://play.google.com/store/apps/d...ne.bfont&hl=en that allowed me to make all the system fonts larger, and after a restart, that ended up increasing the font size in the last app I tried (the open source Notes app - hosted on F-Droid)... so I am quite pleased with it now.

This Notes app (the last one discussed above) also has an option to browse all the files on my device so I can copy and paste something into a note, which is very nice.

I'm still looking at more options, but for now I'm pretty satisfied. I do wish it offered the ability to create and organize folders of notes, but unless I missed it, I don't think it has that feature.

If anybody has any other suggestions, I'd love to hear them. It seems like so many apps that seem like they would be great just display horribly on grey scale... especially for someone like me who has trouble seeing contrast. That makes it difficult or impossible to even see the app menus.

[AnotherCat]

Originally Posted by blue_skies

...I like that the Zoho app allows you to create notebooks... although looking at the screencaps, I wonder if I will be able to see the UI on my greyscale eInk.

It should not be a problem as one can select the background color for the notecards, so, for example, one can have black text on white background. Text sizes are adjustable from very small to very large.

With respect to the individual notebook covers if one uses the stock covers and the colored ones do not come out well in grey scale, then one can add ones own covers - not very intuitive I found but one opens the notebook and selects "Info" from the upper right menu selector, then can add an image from the devices gallery or direct from the camera. That would likely be problematical doing so directly on the T62+ but if done in Notebook on a phone, tablet or PC the new cover will sync across to all Notebook devices.

Thanks for the notes about the others you have looked at. I would be interested to know what you finally settle on using.

[M_Faust]

I use QuickEditor for .txt and GNotes for notes.

[blue_skies]

Originally Posted by M_Faust

I use QuickEditor for .txt and GNotes for notes.

Thank you for your reply. I came across QuickEdit the other day, but thought it was just for coding. I see that you don't have to have the lines numbered, so I may give it a try.

I edited my post above because the WriterP app is actually Writer Plus (Write on the Go) and I didn't realize it until I downloaded it again. Writer Plus gets very good reviews and does allow folders, so I thought I would give it one more try. I found out that the reason I couldn't see any folder names is because I was in the Night Mode setting which made the names invisible. The folder names are visible in normal mode. I still don't like the app though, because there are not enough options in settings, which is frustrating.

This morning I installed Text Editor by Byte Mobile. I like that it has various font and formatting options, and you are supposed to be able to save to either .txt or .html, but I tried that a bunch of times and though the saved notes show in my list right there in the app... I can't actually locate the saved files on my device. I couldn't find any setting to choose the default location for saved files, and the location of the saved files flashes very quickly at the bottom of the screen. I had to use my phone to record the file path, but I still can't find any such folders on my Boyue T62+ eReader using the file browser. Is it some hidden part of the app or something? Sorry if this is a stupid question, but I have know idea how to find these files. Here is a screen cap of the file location for a test file I kept trying to save and locate:

[blue_skies]

Originally Posted by M_Faust

I use QuickEditor for .txt and GNotes for notes.

Hey M_Faust, thank you again for recommending QuickEdit. After trying about ten different apps, I think that is the one that will work best for me.

https://play.google.com/store/apps/d...oft.edit&hl=en

[AnotherCat]

Is that QuickEdit or QuickEditor, I only found QuickEdit?

If QuickEdit it looks interesting, especially the tabs. However, for myself I will stick with Jota Text Editor for now which is free without ads (despite what it says in the Playstore page headline).

If QuickEditor may I have a link?

[blue_skies]

Originally Posted by AnotherCat

Is that QuickEdit or QuickEditor, I only found QuickEdit?

If QuickEdit it looks interesting, especially the tabs. However, for myself I will stick with Jota Text Editor for now which is free without ads (despite what it says in the Playstore page headline).

If QuickEditor may I have a link?

Oops, good catch AnotherCat. I'm not sure if there is a program by that name, to which M_Faust was referring, but when I googled QuickEditor, it actually gave me the results for QuickEdit and I didn't even notice the name change.
https://www.google.com/search?q=Quic...nt=firefox-b-1
https://play.google.com/store/apps/d...oft.edit&hl=en

Sorry for the confusion. I will edit my posts above.

[AnotherCat]

Thanks, it looks a good choice.

[M_Faust]

Originally Posted by AnotherCat

Is that QuickEdit or QuickEditor, I only found QuickEdit?

It is QuickEdit, not QuickEditor. I'm sorry, my mistake.