Two simple but very different note-taking apps

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Two simple but very different note-taking apps

By Tracey Capen Note-taking apps come in many forms and capabilities. The best versions let you access your stored notes on whatever device you currently have at hand. But the most important feature in a note-taker is to let you add, clip, and store — and later find — random bits of information quickly and easily. (If speed wasn’t essential, most of us would simply fire up Word.) Two relatively new players are designed to do just that.

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A fair review of Google Keep, which I use on a daily basis.

As far as…
”It’s also an app you’re not likely to run across when using Chrome, Gmail, and other popular Google tools. I found out it about while reading a Windows Secrets Lounge thread. Oddly, if you sign in to Google and click the Google Apps icon, you won’t see it on the list — even if you click the More link. But there is a Google Keep site, and you will find it on the Google Products page.”
…is concerned, you can create shortcuts for easier navigation across your various Google products. Click on the Apps button and then “even more” and then choose any you want.
I mainly use mine on an Android phone and this article gives numerous tips and advice for using it. http://m.androidcentral.com/google-keep

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To expand on Trev’s comment, here’s how to add shortcuts to customize your App launcher menu.

A shortcut icon for Keep (or any of the other Google products) can be added to the drop-down list that appears when you click the 3×3-dot Google App launcher icon. Start by clicking the link from the “Even more” page to open Keep. Then, from the open Keep tab, click the App launcher icon, and at the bottom of the list you’ll find a Keep icon with an “Add a shortcut” link. Click that and the shortcut will be added to the main drop-down list.

You can also rearrange the drop-down list by dragging and dropping the shortcut icons into the order you want. You can even demote shortcut icons down to the “More” section, or promote icons up from “More” to the top section. (BTW, you don’t have to actually click the “More” link–just scrolling down with the mouse wheel does the same thing.)

It bothered me that products I never use (like “Blogger” and “Books”) were so prominently displayed by default while products I use daily (like Keep) weren’t on the list at all. But the App launcher is now much handier since i reordered the list.

Caveat: I’m not aware of a way to delete shortcuts from the list, so once you add a shortcut from the “Even more” page you’re stuck with it. If you no longer want the shortcut, the best you can do is drag it down to the “More” section.

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Interesting article but what about using the active pen?? Check out MyScript Nebo. Free for now in the Windows and Apple store. Requires an active pen / pencil. Let me know what you think.

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Both these are notes programs designed for sharing across devices.
“Security is a bit gray with Keep.” Actually, I’d say it’s rather grey with Chrome as a whole.

If you simply want a free program for Android for notes to take with you, I really like the free ColorNote. It has reminders, sharing, and online backup. https://www.colornote.com/
The last worked seemlessly when I recently changed phones.

On my PC, I use Notepad++ which also includes spellcheck.

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