Bear is not good

General
21

Below are the ideas I wanted to share.

1. Global Note Capture:
If we click on a note in the list, it opens in a modal or popup style window. that popup could work like a quick capture style note outside the bar using some global shortcut.

2. Global Search Outside the App:
The search window opened with ⌘ + O is already very good. It could become even more powerful if it could also be triggered globally outside the app.

3. Shortcut to Toggle Tags Panel:
A shortcut like ⌘ + B could toggle the tags sidebar. Ideally users could also customize this shortcut in preferences.

4. Code Block Editing Improvement:
When creating fenced code blocks using triple backticks:

  • The backtick fences could hide when the cursor is inside the code block.

  • The language selector could appear in the top right corner as a dropdown.

  • Once a language is selected, the app could remember it and automatically use it for future code blocks as a default language.

5. Code Block Actions:
Inside the top right corner of the code block:

  • Language picker

  • Copy code button

These controls could appear on hover or when the block is focused to keep the interface clean.

6. Inline Video Rendering:
Videos could render directly inside the note like images instead of opening in preview. This would make it easier to scan notes that contain multiple videos.

7. Slight Corner Radius for Media:
Images, videos, and code blocks could use a small corner radius and inline codes instead of sharp edges so they better match the overall design style.

8. Inline Code Optical Size:
Inline code created with a single backtick has padding and a background. Because of this, the font size could be 1 or 2 points smaller than the surrounding paragraph text so it visually aligns better.

9. Code Block Font Size:
Code blocks could also use a slightly smaller font size compared to the default note text to improve visual balance.

10.Conditional Trash Visibility:
The Trash section could appear only when there are items inside it, instead of always being visible in the sidebar.

11. List Item Spacing:
The vertical spacing between list items could be slightly larger than the line height to make lists easier to read and visually cleaner.

3 Likes
22

so by well-designed, you mean just having 10+ themes to choose from? That’s your idea of good design? lol

23

I literally know it’s the first option in settings to view markdown. I still don’t see the headings, e.g. #, ## etc. They’re hidden away behind a graphic in the gutter. Some are happy with this.

But why go to all the trouble of showing other markdown syntax, but then hiding the heading level? If I click the setting to view markdown, then it should be across the board - display all markdown.

1 Like
24

Bear is the most solid interactive markdown editor out here. No one else has managed the degree of polish that Bear notes has. Not even close.

I struggle to use any other text input just because of how sluggish and buggy it is. The only other editor I use that comes close is vim.

It’s fine to want more features, just note that Bear is unique in it’s degree of polish. If that is not important to you that’s fair, luckily there are lots of more featurefull and more buggy editors out there.

I value simplicity and rock solidness above all else. Bear delivers the best of that.

2 Likes
25

Bear is basically the notes app I wish Apple had shipped. AN is okay, but Bear clearly has way more care put into it.

been using it for years and happily keep paying for it. Huge props to Danilo @trix180 and the whole Bear team. The level of polish still puts a lot of much bigger companies to shame “Yeah, i mean Apple”

1 Like