Notational Velocity
Free
Absolutely Free
Notational Velocity overview
Notational Velocity is an application that stores and retrieves notes.
In Notational Velocity, the same area is used both for creating notes and searching. I.e., in the process of entering the title for a new note, related notes appear below, letting users file information there if they choose. Likewise, if a search reveals nothing, one need simply press return to create a note with the appropriate title.
Its unique advantages are as follows:
- Modeless Operation - Searching for notes is not a separate action; rather, it is the primary interface. -
- Incremental Search - Searching encompasses all notes' content and occurs instantly with each key pressed. -
- Transparent Encryption - All information is compressed and encrypted (enabled optionally) before it is recorded to disk. -
- Mouseless Interaction - Notational Velocity's window was designed for keyboard input above all else, and thus has no buttons. -
- Data Instead of Documents - There is no manual "saving" in Notational Velocity; all modifications take effect immediately.
- Complete External Access - Synchronize natively with Simplenote, or via files in Dropbox with PlainText, Elements, iA Writer, and other iOS apps.
What’s new in version 2.0 β5
Updated on Apr 01 2011
Version 2.0 β5:
- "Edit With..." menu for editing in WriteRoom, TextMate, etc., for all DB storage options
- Indentation is preserved for lists created in TextEdit and Pages (Thanks to tewe)
- No longer crashes when reading note-files containing illegal Unicode characters
- No longer crashes when syncing to Simplenote on OS X 10.7 Lion Preview
- Japanese font-substituted characters now display properly as tags
- Searching by title could fail on some system localizations
- Simplified single-line list display in horizontal layout
- Control-J/K and Control-P/N shortcuts for switching between notes (Thanks to Christopher Sexton)
- NV should use less memory when dealing with many tagged notes
- Restores automatic updating via Sparkle
- "NV: New Note With Selection" Services menu item is properly localized
- Italian localization courtesy of Paolo Tramannoni
- Chinese Simplified localization courtesy of Tunghsiao Liu
Information
App requirements
- Intel 64
- Intel 32
- PPC 32
- Mac OS X 10.4.0 or later
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Sep 16 2015
Version: 2.0 β5
Be careful : I synchronized my notes with simpleton and it works great, but it just deleted all my tags ; there was a warning about this on GitHub (https://github.com/scrod/nv/wiki/FAQ%3A-Synchronization)
Same problem with NvAlt.
Dec 15 2013
Version: 2.0 β5
nvALT, which is a fork of NV is probably more up to date and has some extra cool features.
Jul 9 2013
Version: 2.0 β5
Great app, but development seems to have stopped. You may be better off looking at a fork.
Nov 3 2012
Version: 2.0 β5
I often have ideas when I'm not supposed to: when I'm writing an email, using skype or working on my website... the idea pops up in my head and I have to write it down quickly, before I forget it.
And guess what? NO application allowed me to do that fast enough. Whatever I was using, I had to launch it or click on its icon somewhere. Then wait 2 seconds for it to open, then jot down my idea and save it. Then I could go back to whatever I was doing before.
Until now, I was using Dovonthink's drawer... Mouse driven. And slow.
In other words, a pain in the ass...
Then I discovered Notational Velocity.
When it"s launched (in a fraction of a second), just write your idea, then close it.
Created a trigger hot key (with keyboard maestro) to launch it wherever I am on my Mac.
When I want to note something, all the process takes less that 4 seconds.
I take notes all the time, now.
A brilliant app.
Oct 24 2012
Version: 2.0 β5
Love it!! Great feature set!!! Fast and easy to use.
Apr 22 2012
Version: 2.0 β5
Brilliant application!!!
I love the fact that it works only with plain text, keeps it lightweight with unlimited number of notes, articles...etc...etc.
and the fact that all words are magically linked - fantastic!
Thank you!
Aug 18 2011
Version: 2.0 β5
I love NV. Have been using it for more than a year now, and it has become my go-to place to write everything down. Quick notes, important financial info, whatever.
I also love the fact that the notes database is encrypted.
My only wish is that I could find an iOS app that will sync with NV in some way *other* than via the cloud. All the solutions I've found sync via Dropbox, Simplenote, or Evernote. But since I have some very private information in my NV notes, I don't want to have them sitting unencrypted on some third-party server.
What I'm looking for is an app that syncs with NV locally (via iTunes, Bonjour, or LAN WiFi). Any suggestions???
Jul 26 2011
Version: 2.0 β5
It just occurred to me to check for an update. Guess it's been a while since I last did that.
Just to prove how great this app is, I've been using the 2003 version 1.1.1 for all these years, flawlessly. Glad to see NV is alive and well. I'll get the iPhone app next.
May 9 2011
Version: 2.0 β5
This is simply the finest note-pad available for Mac. Just brilliant.
Apr 24 2011
Version: 2.0 β5
Aarrrggghhh!! I have a mixed feeling with this upgrade.
On one hand, I love that it adds vi style navigation with control key. I have setup my capslock to control so it's really easy to navigate in NV now (rather than use cmd+h/j/k/l).
On the other hand I now can't use some of the emacs keybinding (which supported system wide in Mac OS). One of the most important and sorely missed is control+k to delete to the end of line. I've used NV to manage my to do list, and usually just put the cursor at the beginning of the line and delete/kill it.
Overall though, great work by developer. And NV is still the best notetaking app out there.
Apr 3 2011
Version: 2.0 β5
I really liked the concise layout of Memoblock - but it takes a long time to boot, and its promising sync capabilities are useless for an iPod Touch. It's no longer usable.
In comparison, Notational Velocity has enviable velocity, and its vertical orientation cuts down on on-screen real estate. But I was floored by its seamless import of PDFs. Presently, I use two types of notepad applications: textual (Notational Velocity), and graphic (Notebook, VooDooPad), and both types are essential.
Apr 2 2011
Version: 2.0 β5
The built-in updater currently doesn't work. Keeps giving "update is improperly signed" error. Looks like it has to be downloaded manually this time.
Apr 1 2011
Version: 2.0 β5
I love the Horizontal layout view! Also, love the way it does tags and searches for them and text. And Bookmarks, too. Very handy app in many ways!
drking
Jan 31 2011
Version: 2.0 β4
I just want to say thanks for keeping PPC Tiger support in this new release. I use NV at home on an old G4 Tower and have an iMac running Leopard at work, syncing data via DropBox, and this works flawlessly for me.
I really like the new horizontal window view--it makes this much more useable for me.
Now, is there anyway to officially incorporate Markdown or MultiMarkdown and a preview pane, as some Steven Franks did in his fork?
Jan 29 2011
Version: 2.0 β4
An essential application for every mac, since many many years. Gets even 'more perfect' with the recent updates.
Use it in junction with a Simplenote account, the Simplenote app on the iPhone and ResophNotes on Windows.
Free
Absolutely Free
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