NoteApp

A modern, lightweight note-taking application built with Java Swing.

Features

• Clean, Modern UI: Sleek interface with customizable themes including dark mode
• Note Management: Create, edit, save, and delete notes with ease
• Search Functionality: Quickly find notes using the search feature
• Keyboard Shortcuts: Efficient navigation and operation using keyboard shortcuts
• File Operations: Import and export notes
• Categorization: Organize notes by categories
• Responsive Design: UI adapts to different window sizes

System Requirements

• Java Runtime Environment (JRE) 8 or higher
• Windows, macOS, or Linux operating system

Installation

1. Clone this repository:

   git clone https://github.com/chukjosh/NoteApp.git
   

2. Navigate to the project directory:

   cd NoteApp
   

3. Compile the Java files:

   javac src/*.java
   

4. Create a manifest file:

   echo "Main-Class: src.NoteApp" > manifest.txt
   

5. Create a JAR file:

   jar cvfm NoteApp.jar manifest.txt src/*.class
   

6. Run the application:

   java -jar NoteApp.jar
   

Usage

Creating a Note

1. Click the "New" button or press Ctrl+N
2. Enter a title for your note
3. Type your note content in the main text area
4. Click "Save" or press Ctrl+S to save your note

Editing a Note

1. Select a note from the list
2. Modify the content in the main text area
3. Click "Save" or press Ctrl+S to save your changes

Deleting a Note

1. Select a note from the list
2. Click the "Delete" button or press Ctrl+D

Searching Notes

1. Type your search query in the search field
2. The note list will automatically filter to show matching notes

Keyboard Shortcuts

• Ctrl+N: Create a new note
• Ctrl+S: Save the current note
• Ctrl+D: Delete the selected note
• Ctrl+E: Edit the selected note
• Ctrl+F: Focus the search field
• Ctrl+Q: Exit the application
• Ctrl+Plus: Zoom in
• Ctrl+Minus: Zoom out

How Notes Are Stored

The application stores all notes in the notes/ directory at the root of the project. Each note is saved as an individual text file with the following characteristics:

1. File Naming: Each note file is named according to its title with a .txt extension (e.g., My First Note.txt)

2. File Format: Note files are plain text files with a simple structure:

   • The first line contains metadata in the format: creationTimestamp|lastModifiedTimestamp
   • The remaining lines contain the actual note content

3. File Operations:

   • When a new note is created, a corresponding file is generated in the notes/ directory
   • When a note is edited, its file is updated with the new content and modification timestamp
   • When a note is deleted, its file is removed from the notes/ directory

4. Loading Notes: On application startup, the app scans the notes/ directory and loads all note files into memory

5. Note Persistence: All changes to notes (creation, edits, deletion) are immediately synchronized with the corresponding files on disk

6. File Handling: The application handles special characters in filenames and ensures proper file encoding for compatibility across different systems

Project Structure

• src/ - Contains the Java source files
  • NoteApp.java - Main application class with UI and functionality
  • Note.java - Data model for notes
• notes/ - Directory where notes are stored as text files

Customization

The application features a modern UI with customizable themes. You can toggle between light and dark mode through the settings menu.

Contributing

Contributions are welcome! Please feel free to submit a Pull Request.

License

This project is licensed under the MIT License - see the LICENSE file for details.

Acknowledgements

• Java Swing for the GUI components
• Inspired by modern note-taking applications