myDiary is a clear and easy-to-use ‘journaling application’ with some cutting-edge functions like an integrated video diary, image and file management.

Self evident that all your entries are stored encrypted and that it all can be protected with a password. Today’s diaries aren’t just made out of text. Thus myDiary is especially made to record your day in pictures, movies and files like websites for example. Since today’s digital world is complicated and stressful enough there is no gain in dealing with excessive and complicated programs.

myDiary provides everything in one clear window and every important function is just one click away. If you create a new entry, record a movie with your iSight camera, if you take a desktop picture or if you add a file via drag...drop myDiary is never in your way but integrates seamlessly in your life.

1. Create an entry
Toolbar button New, Menu > New Entry, cmd+N

2. Add an image
Select image-view, drag...drop on table, + button (bottom), Menu > File > Image > New Image

3. Add a video
Select video-view, drag...drop on table, + button (bottom), Menu > File > Video > New Video

4. Record a movie
Toolbar button Camera, Menu > File > Movie > Camera, cmd+R

5. Add a file
Select file-view, drag...drop on table, + button (bottom), Menu > File > File > New File

6. Printing
Single entry: cmd+P, print button (bottom), Menu > File > Print... Complete diary: preview button (Toolbar), Menu > View > Preview Diary, cmd+alt+Y and press print button

7. Export
Single entry: Menu > File > Export Entry Complete diary: preview button (Toolbar), Menu > View > Preview Diary, cmd+alt+Y and press export button

To add a new entry press the new-button in the Toolbar, use the menu (File > New Entry) or press cmd+N as the fastest way.

By default all entries will be listed in reverse chronological order (latest entry comes first). You can disable this behavior in the preferences to order the entries alphabetically or by using drag-and-drop.

Every entry has a text-view and special views for attached images, movies and files.

You can tag (apply topics to) every entry. Thus you find every entry e.g. with the tag ‘happy’. In addition you can search for title, content and date. In case you search by date the result list includes all entries of the day before and the next one, because for less and less people the day start at dawn and ends at dusk.

The text-view displays only text for the sake of ease and performance. This ensures that myDiary has the same performance in five to ten years than it had on its first day. Of course while printing you are free to include attached pictures, movies and files including comments.

You are free to import text-files (.txt | .rtf | .doc | .rtfd | .schreiben).

Hint

By using the 'calendar-view' in the lower left corner you can directly search for a date…

You can attach an unlimited number of images to an entry.
To do this select first the image-view and then attach the image via drag-and-drop or the menu.
To add an image to your desktop, a mail or Photoshop for example simply drag it from the PictureView to the application.

Please notice!

myDiary is not meant to be a file management application like myDocuments. Thus you are working with copies. By adding a new image, movie or file a copy of the original file is created. The same is true when you place an image, video or file from myDiary on the desktop – it creates a copy. To work with the original image, movie or file use ‘Open in Finder’ or ‘Show in Finder’.

You can attach an unlimited number of videos (movies) to an entry.
To do this select first the movie-view and then attach the movie via drag-and-drop or the menu; add a title and comment and you are done. As an alternative you can press the plus-button in the lower Toolbar and select the movie.

You are free to drag-and-drop a movie directly from the video-view to the desktop, a mail or iMovie for example.


Video diary

Beside working with movies myDiary gives you the option to use it as a video diary. To use it as this you need a Mac with a build-in iSight camera or a compatible external camera attached.

To activate the iSight camera press the camera-button in the Toolbar, press cmd+r or use the menu File > Movie > Camera. This might take a moment. Once the camera is ready a record-button is displayed. Just press the button or cmd+T and start your diary. To end the recording press the record-button again. To store the recording press the done-button and add a title or a comment. You find your new video-diary in the movie view.

Instead of pressing the done-button you can press the record-button again to redo the recording (the previous recording gets deleted) or you can end the session without any recording by pressing the discard-button. It might take a moment to switch off the camera.

In the preferences you can customize the quality of recording. This includes the compression and size for video and sound quality. In case the sound is too low please change the general setting: System Preferences > Sound > Input > Input Volume.

Hint

myDiary uses QuickTime to play (and record) movies. Thus feel free to use every format QuickTime supports and be assured that every additionally installed format, like Perian, and codex is supported. Please keep in mind that myDiary
works with a copy of your movie and that it might take some time to handle long movies.

You can attach an unlimited number of files to an entry.
To do this select first the file-view and then attach the file via drag-and-drop or the menu, add a title, tags and comment. You are done. As an alternative you can press the plus-button in the lower Toolbar and select the file.

You can view every attached file in Quick-Look and they are displayed as a thumbnail.
To do this myDiary uses all your installed Quick Look extensions. In case there is no Quick Look available for a file it displays the file icon.

myDiary supports OpenMeta. Thus every tagged file gets displayed with the tags.

Please notice!

Again, myDiary isn’t meant to be a file management application like myDocuments. It works with copies by default. To work with the original file use ‘Open in Finder’ or ‘Show in Finder’.

One of the best features in Leopard is Quick Look.
You no longer have to start an application to take a quick look at a file.

Thus Quick Look is directly integrated in myDiary. Depending on your currently selected view you can start Quick Look from the Toolbar, cmd+Y or the menu: View > QuickLook. Then it displays the selected entry, picture, movie or file.

In former times a diary was of course a real book.
Modern times’ diaries lack the same surface feel.

To ease the pain use 'Preview Diary' to turn your diary into a complete book that you can read, print or export.

In the preferences you can specify whether the first picture of each entry gets added and if a list of thumbnails of all the attached images, movies and files gets printed as well.

To get a preview simply press the preview-button in the Toolbar, cmd+alt+Y or use the menu View > Preview Diary. To print or export the preview make sure to have the preview-view selected, first; then print or export it.

Please notice

Due to the large amount of entries, images etc. it might take a moment to display the preview and the processor might get heavily used.

AutoSave:
Select it to autosave your entries in the background. Thus nothing gets lost in the event of a crash.

Do not sort recent entries first:
Select it to list your entries in a non-chronological order.

Lock with Password:
myDiary comes with the option to password protect it. Please be aware of the fact that the password itself is encrypted. Thus no one is able to open your diary without the password. This includes you, too. In case you loose your password your entries are lost. There is no backdoor and even I can’t help.

Protect images/movies/files:
Please read next topic: Security carefully.

Camera:
High resolution movies take a lot of space on your hard drive. In case the sound is too low please change the general setting: System Preferences > Sound > Input > Input Volume.

Font/Size:Font/Size:
You can define different fonts and font sizes for writing and displaying entries on the Mac and for printing and exporting them.

Include (first) image for print/export:
Select it to have the first image of each entry included in the printout or export of a single entry or the whole diary. Please keep in mind that printing this way consumes more ink or toner.

Include list of images/movies/files for print/export:
Select it to have a list of thumbnails of all the attached images, movies and files included in the printout. Please keep in mind that printing this way consumes more ink or toner.

Your life. Your diary. Your thoughts.

myDiary can be protected with a password.
All the entries are encrypted (256bit AES) by default. This way your entries are secure from prying people.


WARNING!
In case you use a password – memorize it. There is no backdoor, not even for me!

IMPORTANT!

It doesn’t make sense at all to protect your images, movies or files in the same way. In case I would do it you had to wait at every start-up or shut-down of myDiary until everything had been de- or encrypted. In the very beginning this might just take a few seconds, after quite some time a couple of minutes and after a year or so your had to wait a whole day or longer. In case you really want to store your plans for world supremacy you are surely aware of enabling safety measures like FileVault, the firmware password, using secure RAM, securely deleting your Trash, password protecting your screen saver and how to use TrueCrypt.