This looks really great. It doesn’t look like it from my investigations, but does Plain Org support WebDAV? I wasn’t able to connect to a webdav server in the Files iOS app, and the docs don’t mention it.
Plain Org doesn’t do anything special for any particular syncing provider. Instead, it relies on other apps to plug into iOS’s file syncing infrastructure.
If you know of another app that can handle WebDAV syncing and you can see the synced files in the Files app, Plain Org would also have access to them. I’d love to hear of other apps that play well here, so I can update the table.
Sorry to be that guy, but is the source available, or closed / fully commercial?
Edit: To clarify, I don’t mind at all paying for software devs put a lot of effort into. But was burnt one time too many, and decided to avoid putting more heavy use functionality into applications that might go away just when you come to rely on them.
Sorry, closed for now. I understand that it’d be challenging for me to address longevity concerns without making the source available, but I hope there’s at least some relief knowing your org files aren’t locked in to any particular app.
Interesting that they support Syncthing. I was under the impression that that’s not an easy thing under iOS. Do they embed it along with this app or do something more clever? Or was my impression simply wrong?
I’d love to try setting this up, but the $9 purchase price is turning me away. It’s not that I mind paying $9 for an app, but I’d have to pay that without even knowing if there’s a suitable sync mechanism for my setup. “Seems to work” isn’t very reassuring.
I feel the same way; my org files are in Dropbox, and given that the habit tracker does’t work with Dropbox, I’m leery of dropping the money on an app that may not actually work for me.
Dropbox should be fine for reading, writing, and creating new files, but not opening local links. This is for Dropbox to fix (by allowing selecting/opening folders).
I’m being cautious here. I’ve not verified this particular syncing app myself and I don’t have a Syncthing server, so I’m a little conservative in my answer. There are a handful of users that have reported Mobius Sync app working well along Plain Org. Here’s two of them: https://www.reddit.com/r/plainorg/comments/qfrf87/comment/hi2cq9q/
Well, I’m gonna go ahead and test this and will report back.
edit The combination (Mobius Sync + Plain Org) works, but syncthing files are just a regular folder that Plain Org can have access to. Since iOS doesn’t support background tasks, syncthing is active only when it’s on the foreground so essentially syncing is manual.
Since iOS doesn’t support background tasks, syncthing is active only when it’s on the foreground so essentially syncing is manual
File providers work different than that. Syncing apps bundle additional extensions to handle file download/syncing. The extensions plug into iOS infrastructure and made available to other apps (like Plain Org) via file pickers.
I’m not sure if this fixes the synchronization. Plain Org cannot signal to Mobius that synchronization needs to happen, so we’re stuck with Mobius having to do that. It does have a background sync functionality (https://www.mobiussync.com/faq/) but that doesn’t seem to guarantee anything beyond “this happens a few times over a day).
Perhaps this is not a big problem for most people, but I find it a bit scary that things update out-of-order – especially a problem since orgmode’s data format being simple text doesn’t support that in any way.
What’s your setup for syncing? You can test syncing without installing Plain Org itself. If the iOS Files app can view/sync the files, then Plain Org will have access to them too.
Thanks. I trust based off the other reviewers it does work. The lack of background syncing is probably going to keep me from purchasing, but unless you’re going to add sync natively to Plain Org nothing will likely change there.
edit: Maybe I’m the odd one here, but I’d rather have a free app that is limited without a subscription. I like to provide ongoing financial support for products I use, and this can alleviate my try before you buy concerns.
I’m possibly misunderstanding what is meant by background here, but when you make edits in Plain Org, they get picked up by whichever cloud syncing extension you have and synced asynchronously. The quality of each syncing provider varies with their implementation (out of the control of Plain Org).
Apple iOS restricts apps from running continuously in the background, but apps can run for short times sporadically. Möbius Sync uses various methods to invoke background behaviour. Minimum interval between quick syncs and power syncs can be configured under Settings, but iOS schedules background activity in an adaptive manner that is not predicatable and sometimes counter-intuitive. It may take 24 hours to start sync but you can expect a total of 1-2h of sync activity per day once stable.
The quality of each syncing provider surely varies, but they’re all limited by the restrictions Apple puts on background apps. I’m not asking you to re-design your app to natively to support sync, just pointing out that this is a less than ideal setup for something like notes. If I edit a note on my computer, and want to access it on my phone within a few minutes, I’ll have to open Mobius Sync force a manual sync. This is effectively what another commenter points out.
edit: I also get that technically inclined users, especially ones who have invested in an open source solution like org, aren’t keen on subscriptions. I’m just voicing my opinion in support of them, because I want the tools I like to be supported long term. :)
Hey, thank you for Möbius Sync’s FAQ quote! I’ll reach out to author and see if things are a little different for extensions. With Plain Org being a client of the third party extension, I’d love to learn more about the extensions internals.
I’m just voicing my opinion in support of them, because I want the tools I like to be supported long term. :)
Thank you! I hope the sentiment grows. Helps all devs.
Prob worth tagging with
ios(instead of having it in the title) andshow(since you made it and are celebrating a big release).Oh yes. Thank you.
This looks really great. It doesn’t look like it from my investigations, but does Plain Org support WebDAV? I wasn’t able to connect to a webdav server in the Files iOS app, and the docs don’t mention it.
Plain Org doesn’t do anything special for any particular syncing provider. Instead, it relies on other apps to plug into iOS’s file syncing infrastructure.
Here’s a list of providers/apps that are known to work https://plainorg.com/#cloud-providers and how to enable them https://support.apple.com/en-gb/HT206481#thirdparty
If you know of another app that can handle WebDAV syncing and you can see the synced files in the Files app, Plain Org would also have access to them. I’d love to hear of other apps that play well here, so I can update the table.
A user reported https://apps.apple.com/gb/app/it-hit-webdav-client/id1330133661 worked for WebDAV, could you check if it works against your server? If you know of any other WebDAV app for iOS, please report back.
Oh wow, that works perfectly, thanks! Jumping on Plain Org :)
Reddit post https://www.reddit.com/r/plainorg/comments/qr68dk/plain_org_v1_available_on_the_app_store for anyone who would like to read from beta users (who are now buying the app).
edit: typo
Sorry to be that guy, but is the source available, or closed / fully commercial?
Edit: To clarify, I don’t mind at all paying for software devs put a lot of effort into. But was burnt one time too many, and decided to avoid putting more heavy use functionality into applications that might go away just when you come to rely on them.
Sorry, closed for now. I understand that it’d be challenging for me to address longevity concerns without making the source available, but I hope there’s at least some relief knowing your org files aren’t locked in to any particular app.
Interesting that they support Syncthing. I was under the impression that that’s not an easy thing under iOS. Do they embed it along with this app or do something more clever? Or was my impression simply wrong?
It relies on third party apps plugging into iOS via https://developer.apple.com/documentation/fileprovider
Plain Org supports any provider that hooks into the above. Folks have reported success for a handful of providers at https://www.reddit.com/r/plainorg/comments/qfrf87/please_share_how_are_you_syncing_your_files_with
Here’s how you typically enable them https://support.apple.com/en-gb/HT206481#thirdparty
In short, the Mobius Sync app seems to work for Syncthing.
Edit: added more details.
I’d love to try setting this up, but the $9 purchase price is turning me away. It’s not that I mind paying $9 for an app, but I’d have to pay that without even knowing if there’s a suitable sync mechanism for my setup. “Seems to work” isn’t very reassuring.
I feel the same way; my org files are in Dropbox, and given that the habit tracker does’t work with Dropbox, I’m leery of dropping the money on an app that may not actually work for me.
Dropbox should be fine for reading, writing, and creating new files, but not opening local links. This is for Dropbox to fix (by allowing selecting/opening folders).
Here’s a user corroborating Dropbox works fine https://www.reddit.com/r/plainorg/comments/qfrf87/comment/hi2drdl
Here’s a list of then known providers https://plainorg.com#cloud-providers and how to enable them https://support.apple.com/en-gb/HT206481#thirdparty
Please DM if I can be of more help.
I’m being cautious here. I’ve not verified this particular syncing app myself and I don’t have a Syncthing server, so I’m a little conservative in my answer. There are a handful of users that have reported Mobius Sync app working well along Plain Org. Here’s two of them: https://www.reddit.com/r/plainorg/comments/qfrf87/comment/hi2cq9q/
ps. Refunds are possible on the App Store https://support.apple.com/en-gb/HT204084
Well, I’m gonna go ahead and test this and will report back.
edit The combination (Mobius Sync + Plain Org) works, but syncthing files are just a regular folder that Plain Org can have access to. Since iOS doesn’t support background tasks, syncthing is active only when it’s on the foreground so essentially syncing is manual.
File providers work different than that. Syncing apps bundle additional extensions to handle file download/syncing. The extensions plug into iOS infrastructure and made available to other apps (like Plain Org) via file pickers.
https://developer.apple.com/documentation/fileprovider
I’m not sure if this fixes the synchronization. Plain Org cannot signal to Mobius that synchronization needs to happen, so we’re stuck with Mobius having to do that. It does have a background sync functionality (https://www.mobiussync.com/faq/) but that doesn’t seem to guarantee anything beyond “this happens a few times over a day).
Perhaps this is not a big problem for most people, but I find it a bit scary that things update out-of-order – especially a problem since orgmode’s data format being simple text doesn’t support that in any way.
Oh! I need to check this again then.
Thank you!
What’s your setup for syncing? You can test syncing without installing Plain Org itself. If the iOS Files app can view/sync the files, then Plain Org will have access to them too.
You’ll need to install whichever syncing app you need for your provider and enable it with https://support.apple.com/en-gb/HT206481#thirdparty
For users on Syncthing, they have reported using Mobius.
DM me. Happy to help.
Thanks. I trust based off the other reviewers it does work. The lack of background syncing is probably going to keep me from purchasing, but unless you’re going to add sync natively to Plain Org nothing will likely change there.
edit: Maybe I’m the odd one here, but I’d rather have a free app that is limited without a subscription. I like to provide ongoing financial support for products I use, and this can alleviate my try before you buy concerns.
I’m possibly misunderstanding what is meant by background here, but when you make edits in Plain Org, they get picked up by whichever cloud syncing extension you have and synced asynchronously. The quality of each syncing provider varies with their implementation (out of the control of Plain Org).
https://developer.apple.com/documentation/fileprovider https://support.apple.com/en-gb/HT206481#thirdparty
Tricky subject. From a developer perspective, this would make the work much more sustainable.
I asked a bunch of beta users and most were not super keen on subscriptions.
The quality of each syncing provider surely varies, but they’re all limited by the restrictions Apple puts on background apps. I’m not asking you to re-design your app to natively to support sync, just pointing out that this is a less than ideal setup for something like notes. If I edit a note on my computer, and want to access it on my phone within a few minutes, I’ll have to open Mobius Sync force a manual sync. This is effectively what another commenter points out.
edit: I also get that technically inclined users, especially ones who have invested in an open source solution like org, aren’t keen on subscriptions. I’m just voicing my opinion in support of them, because I want the tools I like to be supported long term. :)
Hey, thank you for Möbius Sync’s FAQ quote! I’ll reach out to author and see if things are a little different for extensions. With Plain Org being a client of the third party extension, I’d love to learn more about the extensions internals.
Thank you! I hope the sentiment grows. Helps all devs.