How and what do you use Keynote NF for? · dpradov keynote-nf · Discussion #741

no program (at least that I know of) that offers the versatility and possibilities that Keynote NF offers.

I fully agree. And I think I tried them all (during the years when development of Keynote had stalled). Nothing compares.

And here is why:

• Images, option to save in external folder (relative link)
• fully portable, even allows profiles
• lightweight, fast startup

Custom UI

• Key Shortcuts
• Toolbars, Icons,
• Custom Colors (fonts, backgrounds, tabs)
• Zoom settings (global and local)
• Alternative Margins

Research + Structure

• Clipboard Capture
• Apply Highlight Color
• Elaborate Search Functions
• Nested tree nodes
• Save Tree to File

Writing

• Glossary Terms
• Text Statistics
• Templates
• Formatting Styles
• New Node from Selection
• Export

Navigating

• Bookmarks
• Keynote Links
• Favorites
• History (local and global scope)

What I use it for:

1. Storage.
   Of just about everything. Information I might need one day, finished projects, manuals, recipes, e-mail correspondence ... — I file away everything.

2. Work in Progress
   3 columns via 3 tabs/folders: ToDo, WiP, Done
   Then I move my (nested) tree nodes from one tab/folder to the next.

3. Creative Writing
   I like to keep things modular, in small, manageable chunks (nodes and subnodes)
   But I also need my writing canvass to be empty, with lots of white space. To achieve this empty, distraction-free ZEN-mode, I have set up really wide Alternative Margins. An external super-shortcut (via Autohotkey) toggles 3 things in one go: Alternative Margins, Toolbars, Sidebars.

What I use it for:

• At work: when I used to work in an investment bank, it was my control panel for all relevant information about the bank and my job. I used to keep all important documents and emails in a single folder in my pc, and I would organize all that information at my own discretion through the tree structure and tabs/folders, adding in the notes section links to those documents, or intranet or external web pages. Also, because I was doing helpdesk work, through Keynote I had classified and organized complex issues so that I had quick access to their solution.

• In my personal life: I use it as a control panel in a single window to structure all my ideas, projects of various kinds, structure and content of books and articles, classification and organization of information that I find relevant

what features you find most useful in the program and use more
The ease of adding and moving nodes, the possibility of adding links on the note section to all kinds of files on your computer or webpages, the versatility in formatting notes, the use of checkboxes, the configuration options and the default settings, transfer subtrees, import and export current node and subtree

I have 6 knt files (two of them encrypted) that I use for a lot of things; it's actually hard to list them all:

• draft messages before posting them on various web forum (reddit, github etc)
• some long-term todos / life planning
• practical notes about administrative subjects (taxes, rent, etc)
• lots of notes related to my computer (hardware references, issues I encountered and how I solved them, research on various topics (e.g. before buying a new monitor))
• notes about various webdesign topics (my job) so that I can find them again more quickly than with a web search
• (encrypted) various sensitive or private information, for instance activation codes for apps that I bought
• notes related to my health (contact info, advices, health log, etc)
• notes or reviews about reading, gaming, movies (etc)
• work-related notes (practical info)
• random ideas or shower thoughts
• planning for personal projects (e.g. my website)
• etc

Basic features I really like

• (obviously) the tree structure and tabs ("folders")
• system-wide activation shortcut (and the fact that KN runs in the system tray)
• all the (very-well thought of) keyboard shortcuts that means I basically can do anything without ever having to reach for my mouse.
• the ability to quickly jump to another KN file with F12

Advanced features I often use

• internal links (ie. links to other parts of a KN file, with Ctrl+F6/Shift+F6)
• the glossary, e.g. to easily convert "->" to "→" (with F7)
• custom font styles, which I configured to use with keyboard shortcuts, e.g. Ctrl+1/2/3 → heading 1/2/3, Ctrl+4 → code (monospace), etc.

how and what you use it for
Back to ~12 years ago, right after a glance was taken at the screen shared by a colleague when he was taking some meeting notes with KeyNote, I realized at once this was what I was seeking for to do knowledge organization, task tracking, notes taking, etc. It's light weighted but with all frequently needed functionalities provided.

what features you find most useful in the program and use more
Convenient organization of information with Tab and Tree
Rich format of the content

Edit:

I realized that others had concise lists, which are essentially just summaries... I then realized why, you want to make a video... I removed all that extra text.

What I use it for (and how)

• Records/History (My previous phone number, addresses, Instructions I don't want to forget)
• Work (Employee ID Number, Original Job Offer Add, Emergency Contact, supervisors, pay, address, training information, and coworker info if I have it)
• Taxes (House, w2)
• Recipes
• Research
• links (URI, http, execute Application or Windows Batch Scripts without parameters, internal KeyNote links)

What do I not use KeyNote NF for:

• Diary/Journal, as I use OneNote instead
• Story Writing, as I use Obsidian instead
• Random thoughts, as I use Notepad

Features I like on KeyNote NF (and why/how)

• Structured, all notes can have subnotes
• Virtual Node (external RTF that's a node)
• Styling the Structure (Icons, Font, Background color, Font Size)
• Tables (RichEdit Tables with +---+---+)
• Scratch Pad
• Find (This feature used to suck, but it's great now that there is an active developer working on this application)