Has anyone come across a good online alternative to either of these desktop apps? Notational Velocity or nvAlt
The basic feature set:
full document searching: as fast as possible
markdown editing and a formatted preview window
drag and drop documents or links, and convert to markdown
similar UI system: list of documents with preview of text, large search field
The best alternative to NValt or notational velocity, that I've seen, is Workflowy.
It doesn't have many of the features you're looking for, but is definitely worth checking out.
Related
I'm not sure StackOverflow is the best StackExchange site for this but I can't find a general standards/architecture one, if StackOverflow isn't the best place for a question in this form please point me in the correct direction.
I'm trying to find a universal UI format, due to business constraints I can't get too far into the specific use case, but am looking for something which would function as a minimal UI format for calling API functions, displaying tabular or descriptive data, ideally with images and other binary formats included, and displaying regardless of unforeseeable future changes in tech.
Is vanilla HTML the best solution here, or is there a more base-level option around already?
This is a topic that may be considered something not necessarily "programming related"; however, I feel it is since I'm asking for specific techniques.
Essentially, as a web developer, I work with a variety of platforms that include a WYSIWYG editor in the backend (TinyMCE, WYGWAM, etc) and one of the selling points of such systems is that it becomes easier to manage your own content because of these tools.
In theory, sounds great, in practice, not so much.
It can be way too easy for a client to break a layout by using many of the advanced features of a WYSIWYG editor. They can start floating things, setting too much margin/padding, etc.
Generally, I have tried to build any of these types of pages with only some sensible default styles applied to a few of the most common tags, such as setting a font size, colors, some margins, and some text decorations.
I would like to know if anyone has used anything more advanced to essentially turn the output of:
$cms->getContent();
...or equivalent into something that is effectively sandboxed and operates entirely agnostic of any other style/layout elements being used.
As often as possible, I express to clients that they should purchase an HTML/CSS book for Dummies and read it so that they aren't deer in headlights when they click "code view" in a WYSIWYG. But I know they don't do this, nor do they hire anyone who has experience, and it ends up allowing a client more control than they should responsibly have.
Plus, it sucks when you are using their sites as work samples to show others knowing they have the ability to take your beautiful design and development and make it look like crap.
A few things:
I have a standard WYGWAM config that I reuse on new sites by importing the exp_wygwam_configs table.
I keep options very limited in the editors
Areas of the page delineated for images should use a File field, with an image resizer like CE Image used to insure proper size
Client training. Make videos with Camtasia or similar tool if you have to.
Use a custom stylesheet for WYGWAM that has a small subset of styles, so they can choose h2...h4, for example, but not h1 or h5.
After encountering a lot of issues with WYSIWYG editors (which, by the way, never reflect accurately what you "get" in the end), I now prefer to leave only the most basic formatting features in the editor's configuration. For example, take a look at stackoverflow's editor.
It's got the following features: bold, italic, link, quote, pictures, lists, and alignments. The only special feature here are code sample and html, which are targeted to this site's audience. Most of your client don't need them.
I think it's the best approach, because if you give your clients the feeling that they can do whatever they want in the page, but in the end, this content is filtered when the page is rendered, they are going to be really frustrated. Not to mention the fact that the site will be slowed by the filtering process and the need to put the filtered content in cache.
Sometimes the client indeed wants to have a special layout in a page, but I think that can be best done by customizing the CMS so that it fits the client need.
Does anyone knows about any editor allowing to visually design a form (by form I do not mean DFM or Delphi form, but a "paper form", like those pre-printed forms that you fill with some info) and that generates pascal commands to draw that form in a Printer (or Image) canvas?
What I want is an easy way to draw/design this form visually, composed just by lines and text, and a way to convert this to Pascal commands that when run, will draw that form in a Canvas (Image or Printer), respecting the original layout and scale, doesn't matter the Canvas DPI where it is being drawn.
Update: Maybe I wasn't clear enough about what I need and why I need it. I developed an Open Source component called TFreeBoleto (freeboleto.sf.net). It is used to generate and print bank billets (a common method for billing people in Brazil). Right now, the component uses a TBitmap image containing the "billet" mask, and TextOut methods for the dynamic areas (ie: billet number, customer name, etc). It is fine when looked in the screen, but some people complains that the quality of the printed image is not good. The component uses a BltTBitmapAsDib procedure to maximize the quality of printing, but some people still think it is not good enough. So, my idea was to avoid using a bitmap image as the form layout, and draw everything direct in the canvas (both form and printer). Check here for a sample of what a bank billet looks like.
Of course ReportBuilder and/or FastReport could solve the problem, but they are not free, so I cannot include it in the component. I need "native" solution that any standard Delphi install would be able to compile.
You might get what you want out of the Fast Reports Report Designer which is a commercial reporting system for Delphi. Remember that a report is just a page. That page can be shown on the screen or printed on the printer.
You also might find that something like TRichView helps you.
Whether using TRichView in particular or not, I would look into using HTML to do what you want. I would use HTML+CSS to do both a screen and printer layout, that can also be viewed on the web. For simple text layout plus text boxes I think even bare HTML and HTML tables might be sufficient. To visually design simple text pages, using a Delphi application, I would use TRichView.
In both cases, you would be creating documents, not code. To create code that creates a page, without using any document system, would be very difficult indeed, and I am not sure what you would really do with that code, since you would need a compiler or interpreter to convert that code into something that you could use. Please clarify what you mean by "creating code", and what syntax you would want that code to be using. If HTML is code in your definition of "code" then maybe HTML is the best kind of "code" for your problem.
I do my form-work with WPTools. It is also a commercial product. The core is a very good wordprocessor and form-designer. The engine can render text and forms to any canvas (screen, printer, also create pdf) and is highly flexible. Output is mainly rtf and html.
I also see no advantage in creating pascal code to redraw the form. What you need, i think, is a good WYSIWYG-editor which creates a document that fits your needs.
Check out ReportBuilder # http://www.digital-metaphors.com/
It is a commercial reporting tool for Delphi - around a long time, very high quality, with all native Delphi source code packaged with it. I am using it for an important commercial project right now and I recommend it highly (I'm not working for them.) I've used MANY Delphi reporting tools over the years and this one is the best IMO.
RBuilder also has extensive support for paper form emulation see:
http://www.digital-metaphors.com/products/report_design/form_emulation.html
I haven't worked with that feature, but you can download a full-featured demo and try it.
Yoy can use Adobe Acrobat (full version) to create forms.
Then you can use free Acrobat Reader to display and print forms or other COM object in your application.
I think it is best solution for you.
PS
All tools for reports that are included in Delphi are free for you to design form and are free to distribute if user only preview and print already designed reports.
The same is valid for Adobe Acrobat (you may distribute forms) but you have added that you need to print form and some text over form. Maybe it is easier if you use reports but it is possible to do the same using PDF.
Most report engines are not open source but are free to distribute. There is many components for creating PDF - paid (one time), free, as well as open source.
PPS
I have read your updete for second time. Since you are using TBitmap and you can to TextOut so: You can use TMetafile. There is many editors for metafiles and it is free to distribute metafiles.
I use Mma mainly to solve relatively small problems.
I want to start using it also to prepare my presentations and documents, but I am having troubles to learn how to do it from the embedded help, and I guess some good resources may be available elsewhere.
Do you know any useful pointers (books, papers, videos ...)?
Do you have a "bag of tricks" to post here?
Edit
This question received two answers so far (#mzabsky's and Mr.Wizard's) and although both are useful, perhaps my concerns are much more basic. So I am posting an example of the kind of things I am unable to do (or understand how to discern how others did them).
I took the following example from The Mathematica Journal (the notebook at the left on the following image - click on the image to see full size):
So, some issues, just to get the idea of my troubles:
1) I copied the text to my .nb on the right, formatted it with the same style (text), but the appearance is different, so I guess the style definition is different. How can I copy the style definitions from one .nb to the other?
2) The table below the text block doesn't have an attached style. How was it formatted? Where is the background color defined?
I would like pointers to read (or videos to look, or whatever) about these issues. I don't want you to write down here a book on Mathematica formatting!
Summary of the links posted in answers
A Mathgroup thread (John Browne) and here (David Park and
Selwyn Hollis)
Advice from Bob Ueland
The Writing Assistant Palette
David Park's notes
Simon's documents
Tips for Mathematica SlideShow presenters
Notebook formatting
Presentations with Mathematica
Videos
Tips for Mathematica Slide Show Presenters
How to - Automatic Slide Show
Create a Lecture Notebook
I use Mathematica to take lecture notes in real time without any major issues (while the proud TeX guys struggle hard to keep up :) ). I have also used it for most math-related homework/assignments I wrote during past two and half years on university.
Before you start, you may want to look at some of these video tutorials.
Also, a few recommendations from me:
Keyboard shortcuts are the key to type fast. Ctrl+9 for inline math cell, Ctrl+6 for superscript, etc.
Learn symbol identifiers for the "esc - symbol - esc" notation. "sum" for Sum, "es" for empty set...you can find list of these in the Mathematica documentation. I have encountered only very few symbols I wanted to type that don't have the esc notation name (for example, leftwards double arrow or double right tee).
Type all math-related stuff into inline math cells. The math cell will do some of the math related formatting for you - put spaces where they belong, render all variables and symbols in italics, etc.
Use the preformatted templates found in "New"->"Styled Notebook".
Do not use ENTER for breaklines, individual paragraph should go into separate text cells (Ctrl+Shift+D) so Mathematica can break the content into individual pages/slides correctly.
In-built Mathematica PDF export sucks big-time; I use CutePDF printer for this.
Also, save often and back up often (Dropbox/Syncplicity are the ideal solution), one misplaced keyboard shortcut can turn hundred hours of work worth document into a goulash (trust me, been there) :)
Example of lecture notes I took in real-time during lecture (it is in Czech, but that doesn't matter much).
I agree with all that mzabsky said in his answer.
Here's a few of extra things:
I find it useful to make statements using a Text or DisplayFormula cell then manually group a Mathematica check/proof to the statement which is then collapsed and can be displayed when you want.
The Writing Assistant Palette has quite a few useful constructions in it that you can learn from.
Finally, I found it really useful to make my own style sheet for a couple reasons:
1) the built-in ones are a bit ugly; 2) it really helps you to understand how the notebooks work.
To see examples of the stylesheet I made (which I don't claim to be perfect - I didn't bother making it work in all screen environments) look at some of the files in ftp://ftp.physics.uwa.edu.au/pub/MATH2200/2010/. I use a similar stylesheet in all of my notes - I have many research projects primarily contained in Mma notebooks, eg http://arxiv.org/abs/1102.3043.
Like Mr Wizard, I also recommend David Park's notes as a starting point. Also, you should study stylesheets that you like by going to the Format menu and clicking "Edit Stylesheet". Don't forget to follow the links through the cascade of stylesheets (version 6 onwards).
To answer the questions in your edit: Once you are viewing a notebook's stylesheet, you can save it, edit it, and use it in your own documents. Stylesheets in
$UserBaseDirectory/SystemFiles/FrontEnd/StyleSheets are automatically available in the menu. You can then use that stylesheet in any notebook by simply selecting it from the menu.
The formating in the screenshot that you posted is all contained in the stylesheet. This includes the grey background in the table.
Addendum:
When distributing notebooks to others, if the stylesheet is external from the notebook, then other people will not see it as you do. To include the stylesheet into the current notebook, you need code like
ss = StyleDefinitions /. Options[EvaluationNotebook[]]
fn = ToFileName[{$UserBaseDirectory, "SystemFiles", "FrontEnd", "StyleSheets"}, ss]
If[FileExistsQ[fn],
style=Get[fn];SetOptions[EvaluationNotebook[],StyleDefinitions->style];,
Print["Can not find file"]]
(Assuming the file is in stored in the conventional place)
Here's an EmbedStylesheet.m that is an improved version of the above.
A Mathgroup thread on embedded stylesheets, particularly here (John Browne) and here (David Park and Selwyn Hollis) might be of interest.
I find stylesheets problematical. In particular I don't like having to remember to embed a stylesheet before I give the notebook to someone else, or before I try to print from an unfamiliar computer. However, along with David Park's tutorial (referenced above by Mr Wizard), I find this advice from Bob Ueland very useful.
If you browse the back-issues of The Mathematica Journal you will see that articles are available in Notebook format. These may be a useful reference.
Edit
I cannot recall a good formatting tutorial at the moment. You can use Show Expression (Win: Shift+Ctrl+E) to view the code expression for a block, such as the table in your example. While one may not enter code by hand in the same form, it can give indications of the options or methods that are used. Code can also be procedurally produced as needed.
I will add links as I find or recall them.
David Park's StyleSheet creation notes
Tips for Mathematica SlideShow presenters
These are brief, but may still be useful:
Notebook formatting
Presentations with Mathematica
A few years ago I read an article about a neat way to analyze a large code-base.
The idea was to zoom out so far that patterns of indentation and block length are all that is really visible.
The author wrote about printing out code with very small fonts and looking at the results from 10 feet back. I believe the author also had some tools for reformatting code and producing images for this technique, in such a way that paper could be avoided.
I can't find the right search query to bring this up. Anyone have any ideas?
The text editor Sublime Text has a zoomed-out overview of your code on the left of the window, and can be used to scroll.
I've done this myself, that is print to paper with very small fonts and step back. If you want to avoid the paper route then perhaps you can print to PDF?
Or use and editor that can zoom in and out by changing font size. I use SciTE and Komodo Edit, both based on the Scintilla code editing engine and both allow me to hold down the ctrl key and use the mousewheel to change font size (just like web browsers).
With a bit of Google-fu I found references that this (ctrl+mousewheel) may also be implemented in Visual Studio and XCode. Can anyone confirm?
I think you are referring to Software Visualization? If you search for Code Visualizer, you maybe able to find a few products out there that does it but there are more focusing on aggregating the measurements information/metrics together for software comprehension and not necessary as a way to view or navigating to code only.
Some of the tools include Code city, code crawler or code visualizer. Michele Lanza and his team did some great work in this area in the recent years, however some only has support for certain language/platform so be mindful if they are going to be useful for you.
http://www.inf.usi.ch/faculty/lanza/
http://www.inf.usi.ch/phd/wettel/codecity.html
Could extract all the types, classes, etcetera, and put them into a tool such as graphviz and generate a graph.