BILLWEST  MacJournal --Aqua design --has largest toolbar custom buttons set I've seen. My Jaguar version is free --Accepts pics and formatting with it's text. Pop out drawers for both Journals (left side) and their entries (right side) are both controlled from both OSX Menubar and Macjournal window toolbar. Nice edit window has top toolbar, then Subject line, then editing window. Email button opens Mail.app. Has two of it's own Services on Services menu. Also --all Services work -- so it will do Services/Mail/Send Selection only if Mail.app is already open. Search finds notes and lists them in right drawer. I must manually open each found and listed note. All search words are hilited. I list it's Search Find among 20 Outstanding --of 46 note pad demos.

Exports to HD as 6 file types --plain text, rtf, rtfd, MS. Import text or Entries. Also E-mail Entry, LiveJournal, Blogger. .DragnDrop into/out of the listing drawer, or clipping from note body selected. Menu Exports in 6 file types: MS, rtf, rtfd, text, PDF, HTML or MacJournal file type. Also has great Email, livejournal, blogger exports. Typically, the classic note pads only dragndrops/Clipboard Copy/Pastes --as it's sole ReadIn/WriteOut.

Database location ---/Users/billwest/Library/Application Support/MacJournal/MacJournal Data.txt This is a perfect text-only copy of your entries. Also here is a proprietary file that opens MacJournal with all your notes. These can be duplicated for back up.

MacJournal is complete and perfect in every way there is --for what all I do Store and recover info --generally text --Terminal commands, bookmarks. I think that I'm free to load this thing with 500 notes --free to really use it. Many great demos --limit my use of the app --and are not earning my endearment. They don't get a fair chance. MacJournal is as good as Notational Velocity and Journler --it's just that I have already put hundreds of notes on Not Vel and Journler. And I just don't find a reason to put a few separate notes on more of the mighty new note pads. I'm trying to keep my notes together in few places.

MacJournal borders on OUTSTANDING. Even in the early Jaguar version I insist on keeping as it's free and uncrippled. Loads Mail.app, exports to dot.text file, great search. Has everything that I want. No demo limitations. By 'outstanding' --I mean that of the 46 note pads that I'm demo-reviewing --I really entrust my keeper info to only about 4 of them: Notational Velocity for text info, Journler for more formatted entries, VoodooPad Lite to create stand alone files for Documents sub-folders. MacJournal is permanent and un-crippled enough to hold important keepers. That means I have four note pad locations to search for keeper information. I also run Clipboard Trash Bucket and KoolClip --these really help any note pad/ Scrapbook.   
(Version 4.1.2b1)

BILLWEST  VoodooPad Lite ---Free version --Can link and include all kinds of pics and things to our text. Email pals say we can launch everything --all iLife is linked to VdP. Editor and toolbar appearance. Outstanding application --for OSX --as BBEdit Lite was for OS7-9. LINK stand alone files. Open with VoodooPad. Note truly a note pad --more of editor with effective Open Recent. Own kind of excellent SEARCH of opened document. Email sending is even my Mail.app. Also all Services work -- Will do Services/Mail/Send Selection only if Mail.app is already open. Has own Services selection --Append to Services Drop page and Make New Page.

This is one of four of 46 demo-ed OSX note pads --that I most often use --and have the most dot.vdoc files on my hard drive. With Notational Velocity, Journler, and MacJournal.

Database location --as much editor as special note pad. All compositions are saved to hard drive file. My Library/Cache is empty.

As good an editor as a special note pad --so --unlike classic note pads --VdP has a host of our Open/SaveAs/Insert/Import/Export actions. File menu has 3 different Opens, 2 Saves, 2 Exports, 1 import. Edit menu has 3 pastes, Append Selection and more. More plugins are being offered daily. Makes a note pad lover --with it's limited Read Ins and Write Outs --burst into tears. :)  
(Version 3.1.3)

BILLWEST  Journler ----Free as a beta --Accepts all kinds if files --and exports most of these. Unique interface that has everything. Entry window left, listings and many other features right. The Gold Standard of note pads, journals. And it's still free. I put all my keeper formatted, HMTL, pics on Journler. Search/Find results do not hilite the search string --so doesn't seem to move --jump --to other page occurrences at all. But does list all notes with the search word. So we manually select each listed note --what I do anyway. Email via toolbar button uses my Mail.app. All Services work including the pearCalc launch. Will do Services/Mail/Send Selection only if Mail.app is already open. Has own Services --Make entry of selection.

Because the Search/Find does not hilite string word and jump to next occurrence note --I don't rank Journler's Search/Find --that is vital to finding your notes --even among the 20 Best Search Finds of the 46 note pads I've demo-ed. But Journler has listed every note containing my search string entry --very complete Search/find results. Journler is of the 'style' that is very dependent on it's Search/Find feature --less so than the date of entry, a folder and note organization, or hard drive independent note files. But see what the database is below for us.

Datasbase --notes --location ---/Users/billwest/Library/Application Support/Journler/Journler Entries/0.jobj this Journler file is one of 64 I currently have. Each file icon here opens one of your Journler entries.

The original OS7-9 Note Pad idea was reliance on the great mac dragndrop and Copy/Paste to Clipboard. No other write out provisions --Mac SaveAs or Export. But many OSX note pads offer much more --like the editors and word processors ---Journler offers Import --Comm-O --almost any kind of file. Export Shift-Comm-S entry as appropriate file. Export Journal --your entire Journal database, I guess. :)

Of the 46 OSX note pads I've evaluated --I include Journler as one of the most used top four --with Notational Velocity, VoodooPad Lite, and MacJournal. I've got hundreds of big and little notes on Journler --which I wont put onto short lived or crippled demos. So many good note pads have no chance of becoming my most used favorite.   
(Version 2.0.2)

BILLWEST  Notational Velocity ----Used every day --I love this free note pad. Text notes only. As reviewed --"Interface so simple you could cry." Two pane plus dual entry line for 1) it's great 'auto-complete' Search/Find and 2) creating new Title line for new note. Heart of this big and simple note keeper is the dual Compose/Search/Find. Search really can be outstanding --Comm-G will hop down thru all string occurrences --on all notes . My Not Vel has 600 notes. Everything retained and found as fast as I can type each letter key. Import will open text and RTF files. Comm-E exports a text file with our Open/Save nav dialog. Operates with brilliant vi/Unix key commands. All Word Services enabled --including the pearCalc launch, Insert, and Mail/Send Selection. Has own Services selections --search describe with selection and make new note with selection. Here is an example of Simple being incredibly adequate. :)

Of the 46 note pads I demo--Reviewed --I list Notational Velocity as having one of the 20 Outstanding Search/Find features.

DataBase location ---/Users/billwest/Library/Preferences/NotationalDatabase.blor Unreadable so not a simple text edit back up copy. The Notational Velocity app opens with dbl-click on this note database file.

Not built with organizing notes and folders --no independent files on our HD --everything depends on it's Search/Find --and it is very good. With my 600 very large and very short notes --the Search/Find has got to be instant fast and good.

myNotes and Notational Velocity are the only two note pads that appear on our nav dialog menu Open With. Every hard drive plain text or rtf file can be Opened With Notational Velocity. So Notational Velocity also serves very well as a regular text editor. OSX Menubar --and Help --filled with Mac and Unix enabled key commands.  
(Version 1.1.1)