Mac First Impressions: Feedback, Bugs, and Questions

[VenturaNotes]

Hey! I just checked this application out on my macOS and wanted to share my experience with it. The integrated sketchpad and terminal is what caught my initial attention as I have been looking for something that has everything in one environment.

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Bug Reports

1. Cmd + P shortcut not working in Kanban tab

• Behavior: Cmd + P works great to open the command palette from the markdown editor view, but nothing happens when the Kanban tab is focused.
• Expected: Global shortcuts like the command palette should work regardless of which tab/view currently has focus.

2. Left sidebar collapse animation lag & Fullscreen top-left gap

• When toggling the left sidebar, the collapse/expand icon lags behind the sliding animation of the sidebar itself.
• When entering native macOS full-screen mode, the sidebar layout doesn't adapt to the full height—there is an empty blank rectangle left in the top-left corner (likely the space reserved for window traffic-light controls in windowed mode).

3. Keyboard layout independence (Programmer Dvorak / e.code vs e.key)

• On alternate keyboard layouts like Programmer Dvorak, shortcuts trigger the wrong actions. For example:
  • Pressing Cmd + W (intended to close tab) executes Cmd + , (opens Settings).

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UX & Feature Suggestions

4. Custom Vault / Directory selection

• On launch, the app automatically generates a folder inside ~ (home directory). If moved (e.g., to Desktop), it recreates the home folder on next run.
• Suggestion: Allow users to choose their notes directory or open an existing directory containing markdown files and scripts.

5. Canvas: Option for fixed brush stroke width

• The canvas brush width dynamically scales based on pointer speed / velocity.
• Suggestion: An option or toggle for a uniform stroke width so the brush thickness remains consistent regardless of drawing speed.

6. KaTeX Support

• Are there plans to add live math/KaTeX rendering in the Markdown preview pane?

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Questions

7. Spreadsheet: "Formulas" and "Data" tabs

• In the spreadsheet view, clicking "Formulas" or "Data" seems inactive. Are these upcoming features or meant to serve a different function?

8. Kanban storage architecture

• How are Kanban boards stored under the hood? Are tasks saved as discrete items in a central JSON file, or are they parsed from / written back to Markdown files?

9. Backlinks

• Does the app currently support bidirectional linking (e.g., [[Note Name]]) between notes?

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I do think the best features were the embedded AI generation (preventing tedious copying and pasting) as well as vim mode for the markdown files themselves. Do you plan on adding support for PDF views and WebViews in the future?