How to Make Notes on Android for Later Inclusion

Scrivener Wish List
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I did a search for this, but did not find anything that looked recent.

So in a nutshell, here’s what I want to know:

I have an HTC G2 Android phone (currently on HOneycomb, I think) and am thinking of getting a Kindle Fire. What would be the best way in which to make notes or just write a section of something (a paragraph or three) on one of these and then get it into Scrivener when I get back to my PC?

Let me be clear: not expecting a full-fledged version, just something I can write notes or prose in before I forget it, and yet have it in some way be able to be pulled into Scrivener at a later point. For that sudden thought one has at 3am and is too lazy to get up out of bed to sit at a keyboard and get down, IYKWIM.

It doesn’t have to even be a Scrivener app, if there’s a suggestion of something else that’s light and compatible (text only is fine; I’m old school, I managed in DOS, so I’m not unaccustomed to dealing in simply .txt or .rtf at the most elaborate!). If there’s a Scrivener app for this, great; if not, what do you guys suggest? There must be something I can use without losing too much in translation. I’m putting this here because a) I found other similar, but not quite the same, inquiries here, and b) if there isn’t a way to do this, it’s a suggestion for future.

SUeMichele

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Hi SUeMichele,

I’m in the same boat (except I’ve got a Galaxy S2). Anyway, what I do is use a note app that will sync to the cloud i.e. Dropbox or similar, like Syncplicity. Then, once you sync your computer, your notes will be available to slot into Scrivener.

Or, you could go for something like Evernote (which again, stores in the cloud).

Actually, for just simple ideas and phrases etc, I use reQall (originally on my iPhone, like Evernote) and use either the voice recognition thingy of theirs (it’s actually fantastic) or just jot out a note. reQall then emails me the notes as “reminders”, (in the case of the voice note, transcribes it - but the recording is still available if it comes out “egg beater flap jack pickle” when I actually said “get main character to Chicago”).

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I also use Dropbox to store and sync files into a “Fragments” folder that lives close to the scrivener project. It requires a little discipline to remove these fragments once I’ve integrated them into scrivener, or just to move them to a folder called “Integrated”. But it works. It’s sad not to have access to text already in Scrivener, but I’ve been pretty happily dealing with it for a few years. Once Scrivener for Windows progresses to version 2, the synchronization option should appear and that will solve the issue. The iOS Scrivener 2 already has it, so we know it’s coming.

In terms of apps, I own the three major MS-Word-like word processors on Android that can do fonts and work off a .docx file. They are DocumentsToGo (DataViz), Open Office and Office Suite Pro. Office Suite Pro is, by far, my favorite, with Documents To Go in second place.

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Sue, I own a KF and use it mostly for reading books, news sites, and e-mail. I have experimented a bit with notes, and here is what I’ve learned.

  1. Since you want to export-import, the easiest thing is to open e-mail, write, and send a note to yourself. You may set up many kinds of e-mail accounts, like Yahoo or Gmail, but not Microsoft Exchange.

  2. KF does have a Notes app, but it has no export function at all, not even e-mail.

  3. Evernote is free at the KF store, and it’s a great little note-taker, BUT it does not support RTF export. You may only export in the Evernote format (a variant of XML) or HTML.

  4. A robust option is QuickOffice, free from the KF store. It has word-processing, presentation, and spreadsheet modules, all compatible with Word, PowerPoint, and Excel.

Update: I checked the KF app store later and under Notes there are several more apps to consider.

Good luck!

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Another nice alternative is called Jota Text Editor. This is nothing more but a really superb text-editor for long text with all you would need to simply write text. Later on you can send it to dropbox for syncing.

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I quickly realised that dropbox syncing was never going to work. So I’m back to using Android NoteSync which is a great enhancement for googledocs: it keeps synced copies of your notes offline for all those times when there’s no 3g connection, and syncs with googledocs whenever necessary and possible.

Still have to cut and past stuff back into Scrivener, and I can’t read the project when I’m away, but it’s better than nothing.

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It took me months to get this working, but now I’m set up so that Scrivener (Mac) synchs with a folder of rtf files which is handled by Dropbox.

Unfortunately this workflow costs a few bob, but in my experience and after all the time I put in looking at alternatives, it’s well worth it. I have seamless editing of Scrivener projects.

On the Android - I’m using a Tab2 10.1 - I run Dropsync to synchronize a local folder with the Draft folder inside the rtf export folder on Dropbox. I have the paid version which allows synching of many folders/projects, not just a nested hierarchy.

nb. Dropsynch (is there a final H?)makes Android Dropbox behave rather like it does on the Mac, with a synched local folder. The Dropbox app itself does NOT do this: it only synchronizes with a cloud whatsits.
My workflow allows offline editing, so I can write on the train, or on holiday or whatever…

It works flawlessly so long as I remember to make sure that Scrivener is closed down (the project auto-synchs as it closes) to avoid any conflicts.

On the Tab, I have a separate homescreen set up for Sctivening, containing
FX which allows me to navigate and bookmark the local folder onto the homescreen
Dropsync, which I run first to make sure synch is up to date if it’s only a few minutes since I used the Mac
and TextMaker Mobile (paid £5.50, I think) which is set to be the default app. for rtf files and opens on double-clicking a file in the FX window.

TextMaker Mobile is the better of only two apps I have found which allow this workflow. OfficeSuite Pro is clunkier and more expensive - £9.50-ish. I bought this first and regret it, as initially its rtf support was abysmal. It’s improved somewhat but not a patch on TextMaker, imho. Italic text isn’t always cleanly displayed as italic in OfficeSuite Pro on the Android, for example. In TextMaker Mobile it is.

Most formatting survives intact - bearing in mind that Scrivener is very forgiving of any synced-in paragraphs which have not been edited - and it works to and from the two platforms. Amazing.
Slight glitch - importing into Mac causes the text background colour to go black. It takes four seconds to fix it. No biggie.

There’s also an app (forget which) which does a stat synch of your dropsynch setup on the Android. Without it, it’s just a case of opening Dropsynch and selecting the synch icon from the menu. The (?) app makes it simpler but doesn’t show synch progress. Pick your method.

All in all it sounds far more complicated than it is.
I can be up and file editing on the Tab within seconds unless I’ve completely rearranged the Scrivener document and retitled all the sections, in which case it might take up to a minute - but seconds thereafter.

I keep the tab by the bed, for example, in case inspiration strikes.

Until/unless L&L produce an autointegrating Android editor, I believe this is the best soluition currently available.

Hope you find it useful.

I’ll watch the topic in case anyone gets stuck with it. I’ll fix any typos latererer.