Ra0EL commented 2026年02月16日 19:35:44 +01:00

Hello,

excellent !
I have just discovered your great work here.
Like you I tried many similar tools, FOSS as much as possible. And I have to admit I am glad to have found HelixNotes.

I will keep on working with it for a while.
Bonus: though it relies on MSEdgeWebview on my Windows machine, its RAM footprint is very low. Most lightweight apps, as far as I can say, in this category.

If you allow, some comments and suggestions.

Comments

• A bit of documentation or more details in features would be appreciated. I discovered by chance the support of maths (LaTeX) for instance - afterward, I see it mentioned in release version, though. Maybe there are other features I haven't discovered yet.
• Table support does not really stick to Markdown.
  • ---: is not respected to align content in cells
  • a table created with Helix results in HTML code in the .md file, and note Markdown.
• The same with some text format (typically highlighting)
• Why no syntax highlighting in code blocks ?

Suggestions

• I would like the editor to alow access to raw code of the .md file itself.
• How to edit the frontmatter ? (again, raw mode editor would help...)
• Multi-tabs and/or split. It is not rare for me to write a note while needing to read from another note, at the same time. Or just having several notes under the eyes.
• an outliner view of the note (to navigate within it)
• ideally, collapsible headers in the note in view mode.
• optionnal, every now and then, it happens I use callouts, footnotes or Mermaid (you see what I mean since you know Obsidian).

Long life !

Hello, excellent ! I have just discovered your great work here. Like you I tried many similar tools, FOSS as much as possible. And I have to admit I am glad to have found HelixNotes. I will keep on working with it for a while. Bonus: though it relies on MSEdgeWebview on my Windows machine, its RAM footprint is very low. Most lightweight apps, as far as I can say, in this category. If you allow, some comments and suggestions. # Comments - A bit of documentation or more details in features would be appreciated. I discovered by chance the support of maths (LaTeX) for instance - afterward, I see it mentioned in release version, though. Maybe there are other features I haven't discovered yet. - Table support does not really stick to Markdown. - `---:` is not respected to align content in cells - a table created with Helix results in HTML code in the `.md` file, and note Markdown. - The same with some text format (typically highlighting) - Why no syntax highlighting in code blocks ? # Suggestions - I would like the editor to alow access to raw code of the `.md` file itself. - How to edit the frontmatter ? (again, raw mode editor would help...) - Multi-tabs and/or split. It is not rare for me to write a note while needing to read from another note, at the same time. Or just having several notes under the eyes. - an outliner view of the note (to navigate within it) - ideally, collapsible headers in the note in view mode. - optionnal, every now and then, it happens I use callouts, footnotes or Mermaid (you see what I mean since you know Obsidian). Long life !

ArkHost commented 2026年02月16日 21:00:58 +01:00

Hello,

Thank you for the kind words and the detailed feedback! Really appreciate you taking the time.

Let me go through your points:

Comments:

• Documentation — You're right, we need to improve this. I'll work on better feature documentation so things are easier to discover.
• Tables & Markdown purity — Tables are intentionally stored as HTML because markdown tables are very limited (no merged cells, no cell colors, no column spans). I understand the trade-off though, and it's something I'll keep in mind.
• Highlighting markup — Colored highlights use HTML <mark> tags, but default highlight (no color) does use the ==text== markdown syntax.
• Code block syntax highlighting — You're right, this was broken in the current release! The highlighting engine was loaded but the color styles were missing. This is already fixed and will be in the next release.

Suggestions:

• Raw .md source editor — Already available! Click the </> button in the editor toolbar to toggle between WYSIWYG and source mode. It shows the raw markdown body of the note. A keyboard shortcut (Ctrl+Shift+M) is coming in the next release.
• Frontmatter editing — Frontmatter (title, tags, id) is managed through the UI rather than raw editing, to prevent accidental breakage. Title is editable at the top of the note, tags via the tag manager in the sidebar.
• Multi-tabs / split view — This is on my radar but it's a significant architectural change. Not planned for the short term, but I'd like to get there eventually.
• Outline / heading navigation — Great suggestion, noted!
• Collapsible headers in view mode — Also noted.
• Callouts, footnotes, Mermaid — These would be great to have. No timeline yet but they're on the wishlist.

Thanks again for the feedback, and enjoy using HelixNotes!

Hello, Thank you for the kind words and the detailed feedback! Really appreciate you taking the time. Let me go through your points: **Comments:** - **Documentation** — You're right, we need to improve this. I'll work on better feature documentation so things are easier to discover. - **Tables & Markdown purity** — Tables are intentionally stored as HTML because markdown tables are very limited (no merged cells, no cell colors, no column spans). I understand the trade-off though, and it's something I'll keep in mind. - **Highlighting markup** — Colored highlights use HTML `<mark>` tags, but default highlight (no color) does use the `==text==` markdown syntax. - **Code block syntax highlighting** — You're right, this was broken in the current release! The highlighting engine was loaded but the color styles were missing. This is already fixed and will be in the next release. **Suggestions:** - **Raw .md source editor** — Already available! Click the `</>` button in the editor toolbar to toggle between WYSIWYG and source mode. It shows the raw markdown body of the note. A keyboard shortcut (`Ctrl+Shift+M`) is coming in the next release. - **Frontmatter editing** — Frontmatter (title, tags, id) is managed through the UI rather than raw editing, to prevent accidental breakage. Title is editable at the top of the note, tags via the tag manager in the sidebar. - **Multi-tabs / split view** — This is on my radar but it's a significant architectural change. Not planned for the short term, but I'd like to get there eventually. - **Outline / heading navigation** — Great suggestion, noted! - **Collapsible headers in view mode** — Also noted. - **Callouts, footnotes, Mermaid** — These would be great to have. No timeline yet but they're on the wishlist. Thanks again for the feedback, and enjoy using HelixNotes!

ArkHost commented 2026年02月23日 13:17:54 +01:00

Plenty of points have been fixed/added to the new release.
I'm closing this issue.

The points that have not been implemented yet, were noted for consideration.

Thanks for the feedback.

Plenty of points have been fixed/added to the new release. I'm closing this issue. The points that have not been implemented yet, were noted for consideration. Thanks for the feedback.