Nebulous Notes 5.1 Manual

# What's New in This Version **5.1** *MAJOR UPDATES* * Now you can change line spacing * Now you can sort local files (I know, long time coming) *MINOR UPDATES* * Added Gentium Plus (Full Unicode) Font * Added Inconsolata Font * All connections use HTTPS * Tapping the line number in the pop-up selects the line * Added $line macro to select the line *UPDATES TO PREVIEW MARKUP* * Now you can use custom css for Markdown Previews * Preview Markup now clears its cache before loading * Addresses and links are automatically detected in Preview Markup ## Dealing with Issues If there are bugs, please email [phil@nebulousapps.net](mailto:phil@nebulousapps.net). There are a few general workarounds, if you're stuck: ### Can't Get into Nebulous? **Force Close Nebulous Notes:** * Tap the Home button to get out of Nebulous. * Double-tap it to see it running in the background. * Tap and hold on the Nebulous icon. * Then tap the minus sign to close it. * Then re-open Nebulous. **Reset Your Last Opened File and Theme (Option 1):** * FULL USERS: Tap on this link: [fixnebulous://](fixnebulous://) * LITE USERS: Tap on this link: [fixnebulouslite://](fixnebulouslite://) * *You must run this from Safari on your iPhone/iPad.* * *This resets your formatting and clears the last opened document.* **Reset Your Last Opened File (Option 2):** * Email yourself an attachment with a text file * On your iPad/iPhone open the email * Tap on the attachment * Tap "Open In", and choose "Nebulous" * *This option is effectively the same as Option 1* ### Dropbox Not Working? **Log Out and Back into Dropbox:** * Go to  * Tap the lock icon * Tap "Log Off Dropbox" * Re-login # Using the Editor ## How to Undo There is a gesture that works across all iOS apps to trigger an undo. Just shake your device. However, I don't find this ideal, and you probably want to enable the utility bar. Go to  and enable the **Keyboard Utility Bar**. Then tap anywhere in the document, and you'll see an undo button above your keyboard. ## How to Search ### Search All Device Files Go to , tap **iPhone** or **iPad**, then at the top there's a **Search Local** box ### Search All Dropbox Files Unfortunately, this is currently not supported. You can use the Dropbox's official app to search by file name. If you have Nebulous installed, you can then choose "Open In" from Dropbox. ### Search Text Within Your File First you must enable the utility bar. Tap  and turn on the **Keyboard Utility Bar**. Then tap anywhere in your document, and you should see a search bar. ### How to Search & Replace This is currently not supported yet. ## Speeding up Your Editing Nebulous Notes is one of the fastest ways to input on iOS. There are two ways that Nebulous Notes can help. ### Turn on the Utility Bar The utility bar provides an extra row of keys above your keyboard with handy features like undo, redo, and search, along with cursor buttons like left, right, up, and down. To turn on the Utility Bar go to  and turn on the **Keyboard Utility Bar**. ### Use the Arrow Keys The utility bar comes with keys to help you move around your editor. The arrow keys move you left and right one character a time, while as the arrows lines next to them move you one word at a time. Tap the select button to keep your selection box on while you're moving left and right. This makes it easier to select and move around large portions of text. ### Use Macros If you use phrases and words repeatedly, use a macro to insert that text with one tap. So if you have a signature that you always insert at the end of your letters, create a macro for it. To do this, enable the Utility Bar, then tap **Customize Utilities,** then **Add Macro**. Type in your signature in the contents box, and since it's long, you probably want to give an alias, like "sig". Now when you edit text, you'll see "sig" in a special toolbar above. Tap it to insert your signature. There are also built-in macros which are preceded with the $-sign. These can really speed up your workflow. Here's a reference sheet, but the best thing is to go to , **Customize Utilities**, and scroll down to **Reference Macros**, then tap the **+** button to try a macro on your macro bar. To re-arrange macros, tap the **Reorder** button in the upper-right, and tap-and-drag the lined handles on the right. **Special Insertion Macros** * $dfmt lets you add a custom time stamp. I recommend adding it, and then editing out what you don't need. * $paste will put whatever text was in the clipboard into the doc * $tab(n) will tab the text n-spaces * $untab will backspace any tabs * $sel will be substituted for the current selection (and leave the inserted text selected). «b» **Cursor Macros** * $bottom moves the cursor to the bottom of the document * $cursor will put the cursor at its location after the macro has been inserted * $del deletes the next character (as opposed to backspace) * $down moves the cursor down a line * $left moves the cursor to the left * $lword moves the cursor one word to the left * $right moves the cursor to the right * $rword moves the cursor one word to the right * $select selects the current word and keeps your selection in-tact when you move the arrow keys * $top moves the cursor to the top of the document * $up moves the cursor up a line **Utility Macros** * $separator divides your macros up into multiple rows of macros that you can scroll through * $find lets you add a search bar * $undo undoes * $redo redoes ### Use TextExpander TextExpander is a separate app that also lets you automatically insert text. When you type an abbreviation like "sig" it automatically expands it with your preset text. Go to , scroll to **Advanced**, turn on **TextExpander**. Then tap **Get App**. TextExpander works with all iOS apps, not just Nebulous Notes. ## Word, Character, Line Counts Tap and hold your finger anywhere in the editor, and you'll see a line number next to what is usually **Copy** and **Paste.** Tap and hold to select some text, and another pop-up will show you the word count. Tap that word count to see a character count instead. A faster, alternative way to get a word count is to tap the  icon, and in the parenthesis for the copy menu command, it will show how many words there are in your document. ## How to Close Your File Tap the document's title in the top and choose **Close File** ## Sharing Your Writing There are two easy ways to share your writing. One is to Email ( then **Email**), or to just copy all the text ( then **Copy**) and paste it into another iOS app. ## Formatting for Sharing ### Using Basic PDF exporter Tap , **Email**, then choose **Email as PDF**. This gives you some options to choose line-spacing, font-size, etc. A neat feature is that you can customize the first line's style, so you can give a nice looking title to your document. This is useful for making quick hand-outs. ### Using MarkDown MarkDown is a powerful, yet simple formatting tool. It lets you have text documents that look formatted both in source and exported. For example, if you use a single asterisk, you can italicize text (\*this\* becomes *this*). Or you can use two asterisks to bold text (\*\*this\*\* becomes **this**). This whole manual was written with MarkDown, and what's great is that it's not cluttered with HTML syntax or rich-text formatting commands. Go to your desktop browser, and View > Source to see for yourself. Once you have inputted MarkDown symbols, tap  then **Preview Markup**. Then choose MarkDown. You can also tap the action icon again in the bottom-right to Email it already formatted like that. A MarkDown reference sheet is available on the web, but eventually, I plan on making it built into the Nebulous Macro system. ### Using HTML You can also use HTML tags to mark up your text. When you are finished, simply go to , then **Preview markup**. ### What's Base URL? Base URL is like the HTML base tag. It specifies the default URL for all links and images on the page. So if in your markup you refer to *title.jpg* but have a Base URL of *http: //google.com/* the full image URL will become *http: //google.com/title.jpg* ## How to Print ### Using AirPlay Printers There are a handful of AirPlay enabled printers, which enable printing directly from Nebulous Notes. Search the web for "AirPlay printers" to find out which ones are available. To print, tap  then **Print**. ### Using the PDF Export to Print Tap , **Email**, **Email as PDF** then email the PDF to yourself. Then go to a computer connected to a printer, open your email, and print the attached PDF. ## Dealing with International Chars Files created in Nebulous Notes will look fine when opened in most text editors, since they're saved in UTF-8. However, you may need to open a file with an international characterset, like Chinese or Japanese, in which case, you may need to go to , **Advanced**, and tap **Automatic Encoding** to change it. ## Using an External Keyboard Nebulous Notes works really well in conjunction with Apple's Wireless Keyboard. I often use it to write out long pieces of text on Nebulous Notes If you see the virtual keyboard on the screen, while your wireless keyboard is active, you can hide the virtual keyboard by pressing the eject key on the wireless keyboard. ### Shortcuts Many keyboard shortcuts that you are used to already work with the wireless keyboard. * Hold "control" or "command" and use the left and right arrow keys to move to the beginning or end of a line (as it appears on-screen) * Hold "control" or "command" and use the up and down arrow keys to move to the beginning or end of the file. * Hold "alt" and use the left and right arrow keys to move one word at a time. * Hold "alt" and use the up and down keys to move between lines (as they appear in your file). * Hold "shift" to select text while moving the cursor around * Control-X, Control-C, and Control-P provide Cut, Copy, and Paste * Control-Z undos the last operation # Managing Files To manage your files, tap on the  button in the upper-left. You will see two tabs at the bottom: * **iPhone/iPad**: files that exist on your mobile device * **Dropbox**: files that exist in on the Dropbox cloud service ## Existing Dropbox Users 1. Tap the  button 2. Tap the **Dropbox** icon below 3. Enter your login information, You only need to do this once 4. Browse to your files 5. Tap the cloud icon to the right of each file you want synced to your iPad/iPhone ## New Dropbox Users You can have your files saved into the cloud by creating a free Dropbox account (which includes 5 GB free). 1. Tap the open icon 2. Tap the Dropbox icon below 3. Tap **create account** 4. Enter your account information Your Dropbox account will be created immediately, and you won't have to enter your login info again from this app. You should see two items in your new Dropbox account: a "Public" folder and a "Getting Started.pdf." The PDF is issued by Dropbox, not by Nebulous, and explains how to use your Dropbox account. You can skip this for now. Now tap the **iPad/iPhone** below. This will show you all the files that are stored on your device (iPhone or iPad). Next to your files is a cloud icon. Tap on each one you want to have backed up onto Dropbox. This will give you a chance to name your file. I recommend you create a new folder to store your files on Dropbox. So tap the **+** button to do so. Once you have saved your file to Dropbox, it will show a Sync icon on the right-hand side of your file name. Your file now exists in both places, on your device and on Dropbox. Your file will be automatically synced whenever you open or close it, if you have Internet access available. ## How to Rename or Move a File Tap the **Edit** button to rename/move a file. Or if you're in the editor, tap on the file's name at the top and choose **Rename** or **Save As.** ## How to Delete a File Swipe your finger on a file to see a **Remove** button. Otherwise, tap the **Edit** button and and tap the minus signs to the left. ## How to Sync Multiple Files Tap on the **iPad/iPhone** button. Then tap the **refresh-icon**. This will check the status of all your files. Any conflicts will be denoted with a **?**-mark symbol. Tap on the **?**-mark symbols to choose whether to download from Dropbox or upload from your device. If you want to cancel the status check, tap on the progress percentage indicator. ## Common Questions ### How Does Syncing Work? Auto-syncing happens at any point when user interaction begins or ends, usually when opening a file, or tapping the **Done** button when finished editing. During an auto-sync, Nebulous checks for a newer version online, and downloads it if necessary. If there are changes to the file on your device, it uploads them. If there is a newer version online AND there are changes on your device, you will be asked to resolve the conflict. If you accidentally overwrite a file on Dropbox, you can revert your changes by going to dropbox.com. You can turn off auto-syncing by going to , scroll to the bottom, disable **Auto-Sync**. ### Compatible Files Types Nebulous Notes can open any plain-text file. Rich-text files or files with multimedia, such as images, PDFs, or Word files, will, in most cases, open in a preview-only mode. # How to Contact * Follow @nebulousapps on Twitter * Email me: [phil@nebulousapps.net](mailto:phil@nebulousapps.net)