Feature request: Treat note text as plain text

Hi all, in evaluating TBX7, there have been a couple of times when I wished the note text was plain text (instead of RTF). E.g. While using the fantastic Markdown prototype, and especially when copying text from web browsers.

I can imagine this implemented as an attribute that when set to true to allows me to declare individual notes, or classes of notes, as “plain text notes” that ignore RTF formats.

RTF text spaces are two-edged sword. Easy to disparage is the ability to import (unexpectedly) badly formatted styled text. However, RTF also - used with care, allows a useful dredge of styling that aids comprehension.

Thus I wonder if the option here is to:

a) allow only plain-paste only, regardless of source style. IOW, the user my, by choice, add styling. But, for notes so marked, they will never import styling via paste or drop.

b) have plain text-only notes.

I can see some wanting both/either. For my 2¢ as a TBX user , (a) seems a better and more flexible option.

In context, a glaring hole in current controls is you can’t reset the selection(or whole) note to defaults. Margins/tabs have to be done separately from text styling. Even if the latter is needed, it shouldn’t require two discrete menu commands to scrub bad formatting from $Text. Ideally, the task should be one menu option and an action to require cleaning at scale.

Or maybe expose Menu commands to action code so Agents or Stamps could invoke commands from the Format menu? I suppose with OSA scripting and RunCommand this is feasible already but not for the average user.

2 Likes

Yes! Even if the “plain text note” post isn’t useful or actionable, this suggestion is right on. For comparison, OmniFocus also allows RTF content to be pasted in their notes field. OF then provides a right-click option to Clear Style, which removes all extraneous formatting.

FWIW, beyond the aforementioned Edit > Paste-and-Match-Style menu option/shortcut, the Format > Style menu holds the other formatting options I mentioned above.