It used to hold true that I’d occasionally coordinate my nefarious plans for world domination inside of the iPad’s very own Notes application. I don’t like using Simplenote (as many will tell me to do) for such radical means, which is its own whitespace dedicated for short bursts of random prose. The only solace I could find was with MacJournal, though for a while, it only existed on OS X. And MacJournal is appealing not as a blogging solution, but as a database solution for maintaing multiple journals with optional encryption and password protection. When I can avoid it, I don’t like maintaining multiple files in the Finder.
When Mariner Software brought MacJournal to the iPad, Notes was emptied and I prepared to make the initial sync. Without a hitch, digital signals transitioned across the wireless airwaves, decapsulating its payload into my mobile interface. Wireless syncing between the iPad and desktop apps works without a hitch (and is completely automatic). Some customers have been clamoring for a cloud syncing solution, but I don’t see the necessity *right now*.
MacJournal for the iPad is almost as usable as its OS X counterpart. Audio recording isn’t available, full screen writing is absent, and you don’t have the same control over your interface as you would when using the Inspector. However, journal management, search functionality, and journal locks remain intact. You’ll also have the ability to publish your anecdotes online (WordPress syncing works, though I haven’t tried Typepad and Blogger).
I can’t say I’m a fan of MacJournal’s choice of brown in their application – I’m consistently reminded of either the wood paneling in my grandparent’s den or at Lancaster’s BBQ. Personally, I’m surprised a dark blue wasn’t used to stay consistent with the lovely app icon.
Just like the desktop application, MacJournal gives you the ability to create journals and smart journals via the edit button. Smart journals allow you to gather entries based on a topic, body text, or tags, useful for have not having to manage a hierarchy of folders based on similar contexts. I do think it’s weird that creating these items is done by tapping the edit button (which I would associate with editing preexisting entries instead of creating new ones).
Creating entries in a selected journal is fulfilled with the compose button via the toolbar at the top right of the application. Unfortunately, there’s a lot of choices available covering topics, syncing, settings, moving entries, deleting entries, and sharing. At first glance, these items can be confusing to access - in time you become comfortable with the options, but it’s currently not intuitive.
At the root of MacJournal, you’ll have the option to view all of your journals by date, but it’s not entirely useful. Looking for my entries in 2010, you’re presented with a twelve month hierarchy of folders for content written between January and December. The problem is, I might not have written anything in the month of February, but the folder is still accessible (it’s empty of course). I’m the under assumption that every folder presented to me has information in it I’ve written for that month - but that’s not always the case. Too, underneath the folders, you’ll get a listing of the year’s contents in bulk. Locked journals are hidden (which can be problematic if you don’t know where your locked content exists in a flood of entries), so they’ll need to be unlocked to search for content. Fortunately, this section of MacJournal is segregated from the remaining bulk of the app. When I talked to Mariner Software about this, I was told this was done purposely for performance reasons, and they’ll they be tweaking it in future updates.
Although I’m not a fan of the clumsy interface (for example, your last opened note is displayed upon launching the app or folders aren’t locked upon exit thanks to multitasking on iOS), the syncing features make this a must have application for me. It’s so useful being able to crank out ideas, tag contents, and have it sync flawlessly with the OS X client that I can forgo the above issues for sheer usefulness. I think in time MacJournal will evolve into a splendid product because Mariner Software does listen well to their customers complaints and requests - they were quick to respond to my ideas about the above issues. Hopefully that wasn’t just because I’m a kick ass MacStories celebrity.
MacJournal on the iPad gets daily use, and I think anyone who owns the desktop client should consider vesting in the mobile app. It’s $5.99 in the iTunes App Store, and was noted as an iPad app that doesn’t suck.
