Improving the Simplenote Web Client

like Markdown, use Linux, and needed a note taking app that syncs with Android. Simplenote is perfect right?

Almost Perfect...

Simplenote is... simple. One of its best features (simplicity) can at times be a liability for usability. So, taking matters in my own hands, I set out to fix it.

Let's start with the web browser interface because it's easiest to modify. I use Firefox but all commands are portable to Chrome.

Step 1: Minimum Window Decoration

Easy, create a bookmark that removes window decorations: Bookmark

javascript: void window.open(
  'https://app.simplenote.com',
  '_blank',
  'outerWidth=958,outerHeight=567,top=500,left=600,menubar=no,toolbar=no,location=no,personalbar=no,status=no,resizable'
);

Done. Next?

Step 2: Stylish

Simplenote uses text and element spacing that's too large. This issue requires an extension to fix. Stylish Chrome or Stylish Firefox.

Simplenote

After installing stylish we add code targeting app.simplenote.com. I've posted my code to this GitHub Gist.

And the results:

Simplenote

For me, this is much better.

Step 3: Double Click Action

The final complaint I have about the simplenote web interface is the automatic toggling between Preview and Edit when you click twice on the window.

To prevent this behavior, we need to inject a little jQuery into the browsers debugging console. Right click on the window and select Inspect Element. Choose the 'Console' tab and paste the following: Disable double-click

$('*').click(function () {
  $('#static_content').unbind('dblclick');
});
$('#view_mode_markdown').click();

Inspect Element

This is certainly a little annoying but the results are worth it. When I'm working I leave the Simplenote window open long enough that I dont mind disabling double-click. I simply save the code in a note titled "Why can't I configure you Simplenote!!"

Conclusions

That's it. With these changes I find Simplenote to be unsurpassed in functionality and convenience. In the future I'd like to get involved with their GitHub / Android client project.

If you have any additional recommendations please let me know.