Allow embedding non-picture file formats

[Al_Dario]

Hi,

I’d like to request that you enable embedding non-picture file formats.

My team works with .pdf, .docx, .ppt, .cdx and other files, which it is extremely useful to be able to attach to notes. None of these are large (most are far below 20 MB, for example).

Without this, the files must be kept and synced separately to the notes. This means it’s harder to track changes and exchange ideas.

We note that other note-taking apps already support this (e.g. Boostnote, Nixnote2, Elephant etc.). Inkdrop’s feature set - particularly the encryption, mobile and markdown support - is extremely attractive to us, but not if we can’t attach files to notes. That makes it impractical. Help us give you our money!

Thanks,

Alan

[craftzdog (Takuya Matsuyama)]

Hi Al,

Thank you for the suggestion.
Supporting various file formats would be great, but I’m afraid to say no.
Please upload files to your cloud storage service and link them from your notes.
This app is not intended to replace apps like Evernote - the feature fat app.
I’d like to keep it simple and clean. I guess you like it because of its simplicity.

Features that lead to more features.
For example, if the app supported PDF format, some people may want a built-in viewer and a full-text search support for pdf files, just like Evernote, even though you don’t need it.
It would make the app more complicated and will become hard to keep supporting 5 platforms including Android and iOS, and custom database.
I’d like to focus on the quality, not number of features.

So, non-picture file formats will not be supported, at least for now.
Thanks

[Samantha_Zhang]

Embedding aside, there could be a market for ppl who just want to attach other files to their notes. I actually have a folder in my Google Drive named “Inkdrop attachments.”

Since it’s $5/mo for 10GB now, maybe supporting all file types would attract the power users to pay $10/mo for 100GB, so they don’t have to switch among different services.

[craftzdog (Takuya Matsuyama)]

I understand since I’ve got the same request several times. But again, no.
It is important not to support this feature as I described above.
It would increase the revenues but would lose the sustainability.

However, you can create a plugin that helps upload files to cloud storage from the app.

[Bob_Garra]

It would increase the revenues but would lose the sustainability.

So Inkdrop will be more sustainable if you get less money? That’s… …interesting.

In notes, people refer to things. Some of those things are in documents that it makes sense directly to attach. Attachments aren’t always images. That is why Google Calendar has attachments, that’s why Evernote and Bear also has them and not just for images. How well would those products have done if they had only attached images? Worse. Why? Because they would have been less useful.

Features that lead to more features.
For example, if the app supported PDF format, some people may want a built-in viewer and a full-text search support for pdf files, just like Evernote, even though you don’t need it.

You mean you don’t need it. In any case, allowing different formats for attachments in no way commits you to developing lots of other features. It’s the same thing you can do for images already, just for other formats. To make that more clear: when you decided to allow image attachments, you clearly didn’t worry that people would demand an image editor function, and various Photoshop like features. Because that’s not a risk. So the reason you give (“features that lead to more features”) doesn’t make sense.

It’s up to you, craftzdog, but Boostnote is hot on your trail, it already allows attachments of all formats and its free. You could listen to your customer base, as most successful products do, and have more of our money, or you can hold out until Boostnote has caught up and people just go with them. When that happens, tell us again about “sustainability”.

Best wishes.

[craftzdog (Takuya Matsuyama)]

If you are interested in my policy please read my blogposts:

https://blog.inkdrop.info/which-features-should-not-be-added-3b593dd2ad65

https://blog.inkdrop.info/how-i-built-a-markdown-editor-earning-1300-mo-profit-inkdrop-ddf6ad702c42

https://blog.inkdrop.info/get-a-slow-tempo-towards-becoming-a-long-running-product-12da66239539

Yes, I am one of those who don’t need this feature.
I don’t feel like adding features which I don’t use at all even if other apps have.
Inkdrop is made for people who are like me.
It is not a replacement for Evernote, OneNote, Boostnote, or Bear.
I don’t want to catch everyone using other apps.
I don’t need tons of users to get more money.
Instead, I’d like to focus on only features I would use, which makes the quality and the sustainability.
The reasons are described in above articles.

[raizo]

Hey, I’d like to add this feature as a plugin tho since i mostly use inkdrop for school and scanning documents comes out as a pdf file is there a way to hook the “paste” function to replace the clipboard? Or how would you go about doing this kind of thing

[craftzdog (Takuya Matsuyama)]

@raizo You mean you want to convert pdf to png by hooking the paste command? That’s not recommended as the documents lose text data.
You could integrate it with Google Drive or something.
By using their API, you can upload a file from a plugin and insert a link.

[raizo]

Yes, that would be the way I’d be doing it, can you elaborate on the losing data part?

Google Drive could also be an option

[craftzdog (Takuya Matsuyama)]

pdf has text information, whereas png does not. So, converting pdf files into png format is not recommended.