More than Notes

01 Mar, 2026

There has been miles of words written about Note Taking apps — available on the web, your phone, tablet, or even as a paper and pen setup.

Me, I have a traditional paper note book with me at all times. However, there are times when I want to take electronic notes.

I've used many of the current offerings. Some for months, before switching to another. Most of them are either stuffed full of features, or awkward to navigate.

I generally want to take notes while in a meeting at work, or write notes for my personal life, or even a quick aide-mémoire.

Examples:

• Notes I type up when I am in an on-line meeting. The things we agree on. Tasks we set, etc.
• At home, I might keep notes on how I have configured a web server; what it is running; some of the setup files; etc
• If I am out and about, and I meet someone, I always jot down their name so that I do not forget it.

I had an itch

Having tried everything I can find, and none ticking my own boxes in terms of requirements, I've had an itch to create my own. It just seems lavish given the current market saturation.

Well, I did it. I sat down last weekend and coded the bare bones of what was in my head. I became quite pleased with the results, and used it during the week to to fulfil my note-taking-needs. In the last few days I have been polishing and adding some features.

I've actually produced something I enjoy. It's simple and effective for my own specific needs. I've even imported all my notes from another app.

What it does

• Each note is written in simple markdown. I love writing in this style, as I can focus on the text but add a few symbols to format it when it is viewed. It also means you can type on anything and are not relying on a toolbar for formatting - which can be a pain on a mobile device.
• Notes can be tagged quickly to group them together.
• I can create tasks as I type; again with no fuss.
• Tasks are displayed on the note, and can be interacted with. I can also see a list of all tasks across my notes. This was a huge 'nice to have' for me. I wanted to view a summary of every task across my notes estate.

Since then, I added searching. Individual notes can also be encrypted, as I wanted to store passwords in some of my notes.

Named It

Of course, my new-born now needed a name. It's called NotesAnd. Simply because it allows me to takes note and a little more. And it has a logo too.

What's next?

I'm really enjoying using it. It's a simple web based app.

Today I was pondering opening it up for others to use. I should not be so selfish with my lovely creation!! I'm not sure if there would be any interest in it.

Luckily, I built it in such a way that it is easily multi-user. Each user's data is entirely separate and self-contained.

Want to see?

If you are still reading and interested in what I did, here's a quick video I pulled together.

It shows a list of notes; tags; searching; tagging; adding tasks; marking tasks; encrypted notes.

Fun!

UPDATE: There's now a demo site if you want to experiment: https://demo.notesand.app

#Life #Tech