Using the Notes Extension In Brackets

• Link to Using the Notes Extension In Brackets podcast on anchorfm

I just started playing around with the Notes extension in Brackets. At first I didn’t quite get how to keep a note, but it is simple really, and a great way of keeping notes and demonstrating things while conducting some sort of screen sharing session, be it a class, lecture, or even code-related meeting.

First you click on the Notes extension while in an active Brackets window, and a Notes dialogue appears.

Then click on “New Note”, and then a preview window appears.

You can start typing your note in markdown. Notes supports Markdown.

What is interesting is that the note is saved and will re-appear when you go back into the project folder at a later date, but there is no actual file anywhere. It’s a note that seems to hang out in the Brackets stratosphere.

According to the Brackets Notes extension on Github,

Extension for Brackets that allows the user to easily add and manage notes, with Markdown support.*

I’m not quite sure exactly where it is saving itself, but it is still there in the Brackets project window when I re-open the project in Brackets. It does not appear anywhere when I open the project in VS Code or any other code editor. So it is storing itself somewhere somehow. According to the extension repository, it is being saved to Web Storage, but when I am using Brackets, I am not on the Internet. Go figure.

Update 2.16.21: The best part of this little Notes extension is that you can export its contents to a Markdown file with an .md (for Markdown) extension! Just click on the Settings gear icon in the Notes dialogue, and a tooltip dropdown appears. Select Extract to file and click on it. A new file called Unititled-1.md will appear in the Brackets left sidebar. When you make that file your active Brackets window, you will see the text you created in your note! And THAT WILL APPEAR in your project folder and in all other code editors!

If anyone does know how this extension works behind the scenes, I would love to know!

I can’t use Brackets as a standalone since it doesn’t have Terminal integration, and I rely heavily on that. Especially when I need to be working on multiple projects or slide decks at the same time. I use it along with VS Code! Sometimes I even start with VS Code for project set up related steps, keep that instance of VS Code open, and then switch over to Brackets for the content creation itself. I do really like its UI/UX. It just does not provide me with everything that I need. However, this little extension is quite the bonus!

I will be embedding this episode of Plugging in The Holes along with a transcript in the form of a post on interglobalmedianetwork.com for your hearing and reading pleasure. Bye for now!

Related Resources

• Brackets Notes Github Repository
• Adobe Brackets Code Editor