I started testing Helix Notes a couple days ago and came across a few things that I think could use some polish.
I am using Helix Notes on a Windows 11 Pro PC.
- When launching Helix Notes, sometimes it randomly will not open back up to the previous location I was using prior and will give me the choice to either "Open Notes Folder" or the second option is simply labeled "Back" which does just that- takes me back to my previous files. If I click Open Notes Folder and browse to the Helix folder I have created, it always throws a permissions error and will not open the notes. If I click the Back button I am taken back to my previous notes, aka, the same ones I was just given an error while trying to access manually. There is also the Recent buttons too. Clicking one of those often throws the same error message about not having permission. I can open and close Helix Notes 10 times in a row and maybe 3 out of the 10 will randomly forget where my notes are.
- When trying to create a new notebook, if the focus is on an existing notebook, the default behavior is to create a new sub-notebook under the currently selected notebook. This is fine except for the fact that there seems to be no way to take the focus off any existing notebooks without doing some gymnastics if I want to create a new notebook, not a sub-notebook. The only way I have found is to click over to Trash or Daily Notes and then I am able to create a new notebook that is not a sub-folder under an existing notebook.
- When I have a notebook selected and create a new note within that notebook by clicking the New Note button at the top right, the newly created note will show in that notebook but the folder will not increment the note count up by one unless I exit the program and re-open, At that point the note is where it belongs and the notebook note count is now correct.
- I have had a few instances where if I am in a particular notebook and create a new note, the result is that a new notebook is created titled "Unfiled Notes" and the new note was placed there instead of in the notebook I was in when the note was created.
- Every single note that I have created to date has a folder icon just below the note title and the text "Unfiled Notes" immediately to the right of the folder icon. All my notes are filed in a notebook, so this seems like a bug. This would seem to be tied the point # 4, where I have noticed new notes being dropped into an Unfiled Notes folder. However, I have not seen every new note dropped into an Unfiled Notes folder at the point of creation, so not sure if these two are related.
- I have chosen the option in the settings to "Sort Notebooks Alphabetically" but that choice is being ignored. The option to sort notebooks manually is the one I would choose, and it states that I should be able to drag notebooks in the order I choose, but when I try that option, dragging notebooks is not allowed, I simply get a red circle with a cross through it and the folders will not drag.
- Notes within a notebook have a sort option at the top of the note list so that I can sort by create date, last modified date, or alphabetically by title. I choose alphabetically but that setting is not retained when closing and then reopening Helix Notes.
- At random times I will get a notification from Microsoft that I have moved a large number of files to the recycle bin. Since I haven't knowingly deleted a bunch of files, I went to check what they were and they are always from the folder: C:\Users\username\OneDrive - My account\Documents\Helix Notes.helixnotes\search_index. Not sure what is causing these to be deleted, but this has happened several times over 2-3 days.
- I would like the option to turn off the timestamp beside each note that tells how long ago a note was created but I don't see an option for that. I find this information unneeded for my workflow, but others may like this, so an optional setting would be nice.
- When launching Helix Notes, I am taken to the All Notes folder every time. Could an optional setting be to take me back to the note or folder I was using last?
Sorry for the long list. I see lots of promise here and I don't want this to sound critical.
I started testing Helix Notes a couple days ago and came across a few things that I think could use some polish.
I am using Helix Notes on a Windows 11 Pro PC.
1. When launching Helix Notes, sometimes it randomly will not open back up to the previous location I was using prior and will give me the choice to either "Open Notes Folder" or the second option is simply labeled "Back" which does just that- takes me back to my previous files. If I click Open Notes Folder and browse to the Helix folder I have created, it always throws a permissions error and will not open the notes. If I click the Back button I am taken back to my previous notes, aka, the same ones I was just given an error while trying to access manually. There is also the Recent buttons too. Clicking one of those often throws the same error message about not having permission. I can open and close Helix Notes 10 times in a row and maybe 3 out of the 10 will randomly forget where my notes are.
2. When trying to create a new notebook, if the focus is on an existing notebook, the default behavior is to create a new sub-notebook under the currently selected notebook. This is fine except for the fact that there seems to be no way to take the focus off any existing notebooks without doing some gymnastics if I want to create a new notebook, not a sub-notebook. The only way I have found is to click over to Trash or Daily Notes and then I am able to create a new notebook that is not a sub-folder under an existing notebook.
3. When I have a notebook selected and create a new note within that notebook by clicking the New Note button at the top right, the newly created note will show in that notebook but the folder will not increment the note count up by one unless I exit the program and re-open, At that point the note is where it belongs and the notebook note count is now correct.
4. I have had a few instances where if I am in a particular notebook and create a new note, the result is that a new notebook is created titled "Unfiled Notes" and the new note was placed there instead of in the notebook I was in when the note was created.
5. Every single note that I have created to date has a folder icon just below the note title and the text "Unfiled Notes" immediately to the right of the folder icon. All my notes are filed in a notebook, so this seems like a bug. This would seem to be tied the point # 4, where I have noticed new notes being dropped into an Unfiled Notes folder. However, I have not seen every new note dropped into an Unfiled Notes folder at the point of creation, so not sure if these two are related.
6. I have chosen the option in the settings to "Sort Notebooks Alphabetically" but that choice is being ignored. The option to sort notebooks manually is the one I would choose, and it states that I should be able to drag notebooks in the order I choose, but when I try that option, dragging notebooks is not allowed, I simply get a red circle with a cross through it and the folders will not drag.
7. Notes within a notebook have a sort option at the top of the note list so that I can sort by create date, last modified date, or alphabetically by title. I choose alphabetically but that setting is not retained when closing and then reopening Helix Notes.
8. At random times I will get a notification from Microsoft that I have moved a large number of files to the recycle bin. Since I haven't knowingly deleted a bunch of files, I went to check what they were and they are always from the folder: C:\Users\username\OneDrive - My account\Documents\Helix Notes\.helixnotes\search_index. Not sure what is causing these to be deleted, but this has happened several times over 2-3 days.
9. I would like the option to turn off the timestamp beside each note that tells how long ago a note was created but I don't see an option for that. I find this information unneeded for my workflow, but others may like this, so an optional setting would be nice.
10. When launching Helix Notes, I am taken to the All Notes folder every time. Could an optional setting be to take me back to the note or folder I was using last?
Sorry for the long list. I see lots of promise here and I don't want this to sound critical.