Photograph by Silas Stein/image alliance through Getty Photographs
I am at all times searching for an excellent note-taking app. Till I met Tot, I hadn’t discovered precisely what I wished. My wants had been easy. The app needed to be straightforward to make use of, efficient, and unobtrusive. I’ve tried so many and sometimes discovered they had been both too intrusive, provided extra options than I wanted, or did not work as promised.
That search ended when I discovered Tot. Tot is a simple-to-use app that allows you to acquire notes and textual content on macOS, iOS, iPadOS, and WatchOS units. It presents a single window for interacting along with your notes, each darkish and lightweight modes, iCloud sync, markdown assist, and shortcuts assist.
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To be truthful, I am solely utilizing Tot on macOS, as I don’t personal or use any of Apple’s cellular units (past a MacBook Professional). And though Tot often is the good note-taking app for these cellular units, I’ve discovered it to be excellent on the desktop as effectively.
What makes Tot stand out from the competitors? The app would not fake to be something however a method to take and edit notes. One factor to remember is that Tot does restrict you to the variety of “views” it presents. You get 7. A view is principally a tab you need to use to compile and categorize your notes.
Now, you are able to do with these views what you want. As an example, one view is usually a procuring checklist, whereas the others is perhaps challenge notes, random passages you wish to preserve, notes to your self, a listing of internet sites to view later, or simply about any sort of observe you need. In the end, I like to consider the views as classes for which I’ll preserve as many notes as I would like.
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With Tot you’ll be able to add lists, emojis, fundamental formatting (solely italics and daring), and never rather more. You possibly can work with both plain or formatted textual content (switching between them by clicking the “a” on the backside proper nook of a window).
The app is free and is put in from the Apple App Retailer. There is no premium model of the app, so what you see is all you get. And that, my buddies, is why I like Tot. Not as a result of it is free however as a result of it would not attempt to be greater than it’s. Tot is a method to maintain notes and that is it. It isn’t a collaboration instrument, a challenge, or activity administration instrument. Tot does notes and no extra.
Let me present you ways I make use of Tot.
The best way to configure Tot
There is no want to clarify methods to set up Tot, because it’s only a matter of opening the App Retailer, trying to find Tot, clicking Get, after which Set up. As soon as it is put in, nonetheless, you may have a option to make.
You may have two decisions: Use Tot from the dock or the Menu Bar. I choose utilizing the Menu Bar possibility, as I’ve my dock set to autohide and I would like Tot to be as straightforward to entry as attainable. To set this selection, open Tot (from the Launchpad) and click on the gear icon within the high proper nook of the window. You may see a drop-down labeled Management With. From that drop-down, choose Menu Bar Icon, which is able to place a small circle in your Menu Bar.
Configure Tot to both dwell within the Menu Bar or the Dock
Picture: Jack Wallen/ZDNET
In that very same Settings window, you’ll be able to set the theme for Tot, between Match System, Mild, or Darkish. You can too create a keyboard shortcut to open the Tot window, so you do not have to click on the Tot icon within the Menu Bar.
That is it for the configuration. Tot actually is that straightforward.
The best way to use Tot
Tot is as easy to make use of because it will get. Click on the circle icon within the Menu bar and the principle window will open, the place you may see the 7 completely different circles, every representing a view. Click on the far left view and browse the Welcome to Tot textual content. Click on on the subsequent view to learn what Tot can be utilized for. Lastly, click on the third view and achieve entry to the complete Tot tutorial.
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As soon as you have learn via these welcome views, you’ll be able to delete the entire textual content inside and begin utilizing every view for a unique goal.
Creating lists
As you add to your views, you may finally wish to create lists. With lists, there’s one factor it’s good to know. To create a listing, click on the asterisk close to the underside proper of the window. A popup will seem, the place you’ll be able to choose the kind of bullet you wish to use to your checklist. As soon as you choose the bullet, it’ll seem in your view. Kind an merchandise for the checklist and hit Enter in your keyboard to activate the subsequent checklist merchandise. Preserve doing that till your checklist is full. On the finish of the checklist, hit Enter twice to exit the checklist.
Including checklist bullets to a Tot view.
Picture: Jack Wallen/ZDNETSharing views
You can too share a view. To do this, click on the upward pointing arrow on the backside nook of the view you wish to share after which choose from Mail, Messages, Notes, Reminders, or any supported and put in software.
Sharing a view to completely different apps may be very easy.
Picture: Jack Wallen/ZDNET
Whenever you share a view, it would not create a hyperlink or make it attainable so as to add collaborators. For instance, for those who share through e mail, Tot will merely paste the contents of the view into the mail.
And that, my buddies, is the extent of Tot’s fundamental utilization. Should you’re searching for a one-trick pony of a note-taking app, you’ll be able to’t get significantly better than this. Tot is easy however extremely efficient at what it does.