Is Dynalist Here to Stay?

❓Help
#7

I’d like one way to manage my tasks in an outline format that will stand the test of time. Notion, Evernote, MS Word files, etc. are unlikely to meet that criteria as their versions change, formatting changes, paywalls come and go, features are born and die, companies come and go, etc.

But .txt - and likely .md - are safe and mine forever. :+1:

The options I know of:

  1. Download backup → .txt. This loses bullets, checkboxes, highlights, etc. This really isn’t good enough.
  2. Download backup → .opml .
  3. Copy/Paste into a markdown editor. This loses highlights and checkboxes. It replaces completed checkboxes with strikethrough. It also adds empty spaces right after bullet points for some reason. It is also a manual backup method that requires file-by-file selections of everything, expanding everything (non-expanded bullets don’t get copied), then copy-pasting. Errors are 100% certain if anyone does this. So this is an OK method for backup, but obviously not perfect.
  4. No idea what the 4th option is. Enlighten me! :slight_smile:

Can I ask why Dynalist does not have an option to export to .md? Is this their form of user lock-in?

I understand that .md wasn’t really made to emphasize nested lists the way Dynalist is. Might something like .opml → SomeOtherFileFormat → .md preserve all the bullets, checkboxes, highlighting, etc.? The information is there in the .opml file!

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#8

From an outline pov, asciidoc and org-mode are better than markdown. txt is better than md because it makes no assumptions about markdown syntax.

Problem with all the formatting it is that’s dependent on interpretation and so not really permanent.

When Dynalist started, rich text was popular and programs using markdown internally were not prevalent in the way they are now. No lock-in.
I can’t remember how much formatting is exported (I stopped using Dynalist some time ago), but I do remember that it was best if you typed the markdown rather than using the keyboard shortcuts.

You could set Logseq up in org-mode and import your OPML into that. Though looks as if the logseq import is broken. There’s a fair chance org-mode will outlast markdown (doesn’t have the huge number of variants) - EMACS has been around a long time.

tbh, I don’t think you can have your desired long-term permanence together with all your preferred formatting.

#9

I just tested.

  • Export.
  • I selected formatted option
  • I copied the export
  • I pasted into a new Obsidian note
  • It was set out as a perfect outline with bullets.
#10

What is better about asciidoc, org-mode, and EMACS? Have they stood the test of time in terms of syntax and formatting for outlined bulleted lists and checkboxes?

I’m not sure what you meant by “assumptions about markdown syntax”

And as for permanence… I don’t need literal permanence. I just want my methods to endure until the next generation of AI - in, say, 2027 or so - can easily handle all backups, formatting, conversions, etc. for me. So anything that can last, say, 5+ years should be good.

#11

Just so we’re clear, since I’m not technical, and I thought I did this and got different results:

  • “Export” means I click on “Download backup”, right?
  • Where is there a “formatted option”? I don’t remember seeing that anywhere.
  • Why would you make a copy of the exported files?
  • What exactly did you paste into the Obsidian note? Did you open up .txt file, select everything, and copy-paste that?
#12

Markdown has only 6 levels of headers and multiple variants trying to deal with its deficiencies. The other two don’t have those variants and more levels of headers. Org is designed to be an outline.

#13

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Export is an option not download backup.
Copy is one of the ways it works. And the easiest to use.
I just pasted into a standard Obsidian new note - ie .md

#14

Got it, thank you!

Minor downsides include

  • The bullets didn’t quite format normally, as the horizontal spacing was off.
  • Checkboxes and highlights disappeared, but I guess I can live without those.

Overall, though, this seems like a reasonably easy backup sytem. Perhaps it is time for me to go all in on Dynalist. Your input has been invaluable. :slight_smile:

#15

I’d expect Dynalist to last that long.

#16

Based on the popularity of Obsidian? Or is Dynalist ultra low cost/maintenance?

#17

Based on the commitment of the developers and that there’s unlikely to be and major forced changes in the technology stack that would break it. Tickover maintenance should be enough.

#18

We talked on the Dynalist discord but for everyone else, regarding #2, here is the best way to get the non-markdown stuff converted to markdown for a universal backup copy (checkboxes, highlights, headings)

#19

Awesome, thanks for the info! Glad to know this exists.

#20

does it work?

#21

Yes. I just tried it. Took only a couple minutes from start to finish. Checkboxes, highlights, etc are all in markdown format, one .md file per document.

#22

after installing node.js what I have to do…?

#23
  • download the whole folder from github
  • edit config.json to have your Dynalist Pro API key (I just realized this requires Pro)
  • cd into the folder in terminal. if you aren’t familiar with it, go and ask bard.google.com “how to cd into a folder”
  • run npm install in terminal
  • run node index.js in terminal
  • the finished .md files can be found in a new folder called test-vault that appeared in the folder your downloaded
#24

thanks, I’ll try
after inserting the APY key the config.json edit is done by a text editor?

#25

Yes. Paste it here to replace this text and save. From a text editor.

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#26

no need to to be a Pro…account