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Memo/Notes app that'll hyperlink to Calendar, Phone, etc.

S

scubaddictions

Lurker
All,

Recently ditched the Apple flavored Kool-Aid and have a new Samsung GS4 thru Verizon. Generally I'm loving it, and I'm learning the differences between it and my old iPhone 3GS.

There's one thing that has me stumped, an aspect of the iPhone that I took for granted and now I'm finding I miss it a lot. Within the standard "Notes" app it had a very good implementation of Hyperlinking, and I can't find anything like it in the Android 'verse.

For those not familiar with what I'm talking about: I could create a new note/memo and type 867-5309. It would recognize that string of characters as a phone number and make it a hyperlink. If I tap it it'll immediately try to dial that number.

If I type 03-25-13 it recognizes that as a date, when you tap it it gives you the option of viewing that date in the Calendar app, or creating a new event on that date in the Calendar.

It will also recognize an address and open it up in Google Maps. Of course, e-mail addresses will open in Mail, and a website will open in the default web browser.

Some of that is mostly gimmick, but I use the Calendar links a lot. I keep a text list of service information for a fleet of vehicles including when each is next due for oil changes, registration, insurance, etc. I can view or edit the overall note as a text document, click on the date of the next service due and immediately create a new Calendar event as a reminder to perform that service.

I'm really surprised that I can't find any replacement Memo apps that'll do anything like that. Any ideas? Is there a replacement Memo app I've overlooked, or an easy way to do that in a replacement Calendar app? I want to do this entirely on the phone, I don't want to rely on some desktop app to enter & maintain the links then sync to the phone.

Please help, all suggestions will be welcome,

Thanks!

Ryan
 
Both Color Notes and Gtasks create links from phone numbers and from addresses (to open dialer and maps). Neither one creates links from dates (to open calendar). I think this is typical of android applications.
 
Thanks for the reply! I'll try out those two apps, do you have a preference over either one?

Another minor problem I've had with the S Memo app is issues with larger notes. I don't like it that it breaks up a continuous note into multiple screens, and on some of them when I try to add to or edit a note I get an error, "Maximum Canvas size exceeded".

Stepping away from a Memo/Notes App, can anybody think of a way to easily create calendar events from links on a text document?

Thanks again!

Ryan
 
scubaddictions said:
All,

Recently ditched the Apple flavored Kool-Aid and have a new Samsung GS4 thru Verizon. Generally I'm loving it, and I'm learning the differences between it and my old iPhone 3GS.

There's one thing that has me stumped, an aspect of the iPhone that I took for granted and now I'm finding I miss it a lot. Within the standard "Notes" app it had a very good implementation of Hyperlinking, and I can't find anything like it in the Android 'verse.

For those not familiar with what I'm talking about: I could create a new note/memo and type 867-5309. It would recognize that string of characters as a phone number and make it a hyperlink. If I tap it it'll immediately try to dial that number.

If I type 03-25-13 it recognizes that as a date, when you tap it it gives you the option of viewing that date in the Calendar app, or creating a new event on that date in the Calendar.

It will athe recognize an address and open it up in Google Maps. Of course, e-mail addresses will open in Mail, and a website will open in the default web browser.

Some of that is mostly gimmick, but I use the Calendar links a lot. I keep a text list of service information for a fleet of vehicles including when each is next due for oil changes, registration, insurance, etc. I can view or edit the overall note as a text document, click on the date of the next service due and immediately create a new Calendar event as a reminder to perform that service.

I'm really surprised that I can't find any replacement Memo apps that'll do anything like that. Any ideas? Is there a replacement Memo app I've overlooked, or an easy way to do that in a replacement Calendar app? I want to do this entirely on the phone, I don't want to rely on some desktop app to enter & maintain the links then sync to the phone.

Please help, all suggestions will be welcome,
Thanks!

Ryan
Click to expand...

S Note on the Note 3 will do everything you request. Someone has ported alot of the Note 3 applications to work for the Galaxy S4. He has uploaded the ported apps to a thread on the XDA Forums, one of them is names "Snote3".

The web link for the thread is down below

xda-developers - View Single Post - [Note 3 Working Apps Including Knox Apps/Containers] Aroma Installer >[N9005XXUBMI7]<
 
Definitely interested in the S Note app, d/l'd the apk but it fails to install, just says "x application not installed".

Does the phone need to be rooted? I've only had it for a few weeks, still learning. Thanks!

Ryan
 
scubaddictions said:
Definitely interested in the S Note app, d/l'd the apk but it fails to install, just says "x application not installed".

Does the phone need to be rooted? I've only had it for a few weeks, still learning. Thanks!

Ryan
Click to expand...

I dont think you install them directly without having to do some other things first. Here's the installation instructions from that page below.

"How to install Camera, Gallery, Video etc etc "System Apps"

Deodexed Roms
Download the apk
Use any root browser/explorer that you can mount system as r/w
copy the apk to system/app/ and set permissions to rw-r--r--
Reboot!

Odexed Roms
Download the apk
Use any root browser/explorer that you can mount system as r/w
copy the apk to system/app/ and set permissions to rw-r--r--
Delete the odex file if present!
Reboot!"
 
SkyJackpot said:
Yes the phone will need to be rooted to carry out the process of moving the apk's to the system directory and applying sufficient read/write permissions to them.
Click to expand...

Well heck. Not sure if it's worth hassle of rooting just to get this one little feature. So far it's the first and only reason I've found to root the phone. I've got the file and links though, in case other reasons come up.

It's disappointing that the coding exists but hasn't been implemented in the aftermarket, and that Samsung released the app for one front-line device but wouldn't release it for another. -sigh-

Thanks again!

Ryan
 
scubaddictions said:
Thanks for the reply! I'll try out those two apps, do you have a preference over either one?
Click to expand...
I like them both.
Color Notes is simple to use on the phone, has great sorting / filtering and widgets.
Gtasks coordinates with Google Tasks. Syncing is effortless and I can access the same notes on either Android or PC (although the pc interface is a little clunky).

Neither one requires root. Both easy download from Google Play

I don't know much about the option posted by SkyJackpot.

I'd just make a general comment that most new users would prefer to get your apps from the playstore rather than a link to an apk.
Easier to install.
Less risk of malware from unknown source.
Less chance of problem with the app itself using a developed play app than something that someone pulled out of stock application of a different type phone.
 
chanchan05 said:
You can always use another memo app. I personally use Evernote for larger notes.
Click to expand...

Well, my main interest is the Hyperlinking feature that links parts of a memo to the Calendar, with the secondary issue being how S Memo deals with large notes. If I can't get the S Notes 3 app to work I'll definitely be switching to Evernote, Color Note, GTasks, etc.

Thanks!

Ryan
 
electricpete said:
I'd just make a general comment that most new users would prefer to get your apps from the playstore rather than a link to an apk.
Easier to install.
Less risk of malware from unknown source.
Less chance of problem with the app itself using a developed play app than something that someone pulled out of stock application of a different type phone.
Click to expand...

Well, I'd certainly prefer a standard playstore app too.

This leads me to a question: What is it about this ripped APK file that keeps it from being installed like standard aftermarket app? Would there be a way to wrap it within some installer that would set the file permissions and do a proper install without having to root the phone?
 
scubaddictions said:
Well, I'd certainly prefer a standard playstore app too.

This leads me to a question: What is it about this ripped APK file that keeps it from being installed like standard aftermarket app? Would there be a way to wrap it within some installer that would set the file permissions and do a proper install without having to root the phone?
Click to expand...

You mean SNotes? Because there are missing dependencies which are present only on the ROMs for the Note series. Sort of like on Windows you can't install some programs without the .NET Framework. The thing is, unlike Windows, you cant just download drivers and framework software and install on the fly, as they are baked into the ROM. So you need to root and get a ROM with the SNotes dependencies baked in to have it install and run on your phone. That app was designed specifically for the Note devices to take advantage of the WACOM technology hardware it has, and thus only the Galaxy Notes are supposed to have that originally.

Edit:
I just realized that you were intending to use the notes to calendar option for a set of vehicles. Why not use aCar? That app was designed to be a maintenance reminder/logging app for multiple vehicles. Better to use a specialized app for the purpose.
 
SkyJackpot said:
S Note on the Note 3 will do everything you request.
Click to expand...

Just for giggles I stopped off at a cell store and played around with a Note
3, no matter what form of an date I try (day/month/year, month/day/year, spell or abbreviate the month, all numeric,etc) I cannot make any of them act as a link. All the other normal links work (email, URL, street address, phone #) and make an immediate link without any additional steps. Can you provide any additional information on this?

Thanks!

Ryan
 
chanchan05 said:
I just realized that you were intending to use the notes to calendar option for a set of vehicles. Why not use aCar? That app was designed to be a maintenance reminder/logging app for multiple vehicles. Better to use a specialized app for the purpose.
Click to expand...

I've started playing around with aCar, it's an interesting program and I'm not giving up on it yet but I don't think it's going to be able to replace what I'm doing exactly. It looks like it stores and distributes maintenance reminders solely from within the app rather than using any overall calendar. I like the use of a visible monthly calendar because I can see instantly when multiple items on multiple vehicles are due in relation to the days of the week, particularly helpful when scheduling around my own work schedule and what days the vehicles will be in use by the company. Within aCar it appears I'd have select each vehicle individually, then see what upcoming reminders are in place for it. I'd pretty much have to gather info on each vehicle, write it down, then compare those notes to a calendar to see how it all fits together.

I can also sync my phone's calendar to Google Calendar, that way if the phone is lost or damaged I don't lose anything. I don't even need to wait till I get a replacement phone to access the maintenance schedule and logs.

It's a good idea though, looking for an alternative app that's a little more task specific. I'll start poking around.

Thanks!

Ryan
 
Auto-generated, context-sensitive app linking has been the darling for Apple's legal attacks on HTC, despite the fact that such features have not been brought up by Apple against Samsung or Google yet, despite having the same features.

Neither have they gone after Microsoft whose implementations predate the Apple patents.

When trying out other notes apps, see if they are sensitive to only recognizing 10 digit phone numbers separated by two dashes and YYYYMMDD for a date tag.

I've seen these features come and go within apps or as apps disappeared from the market.

I agree with trying the Evernote app first.
 
scubaddictions said:
Well heck. Not sure if it's worth hassle of rooting just to get this one little feature. So far it's the first and only reason I've found to root the phone. I've got the file and links though, in case other reasons come up.

It's disappointing that the coding exists but hasn't been implemented in the aftermarket, and that Samsung released the app for one front-line device but wouldn't release it for another. -sigh-

Thanks again!

Ryan
Click to expand...

I have the same phone as you. The "Samba Filesharing" app alone was worth me rooting. Now when I run the app, my camera directory shows on my desktop as a network folder. I can manage my pics with out any wires or waiting for a complete directory read. It just works!

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.funkyfresh.samba&hl=en
 
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