Package: boost2simple
boost2simpleThis free, open-source tool was created to make it easier for formerBoostNoteusers to switch toSimpleNote.
It takes one or moreBoostNotecollection exports (inJSON format, see below how to get it)
and converts them to a single,SimpleNote-style export zip-file
which can then easily be imported withSimpleNote.
If I have done my job right, your notes will feel as if they have been inSimpleNoteall along.DisclaimerI am not affiliated with eitherSimpleNoteorBoostNote.I am just a guy who was a little pissed off about the wayBoostNoteintroduced
its 2021 subscription policies and likes to do good deeds out of spite.How Isboost2simpleHelping Me LeaveBoostNote?Your notes'contentsare preserved. (This would be a horrible tool if they weren't...)Yourtagsare preserved.Originalcreationandmodification datesare preserved.... and there are a few limitations inSimpleNotethatboost2simpleeven helps you overcome:AsBoostNoteallows users to havecollectionsandnested folders,
this tool uses the opportunities ofSimpleNote's tag system
to recreate their previous structures in an intuitive way.AnotherBoostNotefeature that is missing fromSimpleNotearetitlesfor notes
(SimpleNotejust uses the first line of the note for representation in a list).
With default settings,boost2simpleadds the original title to the beginning of each
converted note. (This can be easily deactivated, see guide below.)As many users are composing theirBoostNotenotes withMarkdownformatting -
which is also possible inSimpleNote-boost2simplewill by default prefix the former title
with#before adding it, effectively turning it into anh1heading.
(Using no Markdown turns this behaviour off,
as well as settingSimpleNote'smarkdowntag tofalsefor all converted notes.)Warning:I have not tested any of this with the newerBoostNote.nextand do not intend to do so.boost2simpleand all the info heremightwork just the same in this newer app,
but I do not know and therefore can not make any promises.RequirementsBoostNote's desktop app (or a valid JSON export -NOT JUST SINGLE FILES- see below)modernWindowsoperating system (though the Python versionmightwork under Linux too).being comfortable usingeither:an executable file from an unknown source (= me) to get a graphical interface, orPython 3.9+If you are having troubles with the exe or get someDLL-related error,
it is most likely due to an old version of Windows.
Please consider updating Windows accordingly.Which of these two options are you more comfortable with?How To UseIf you feel unsure about the things mentioned in this guide,
check out theWhat It All Meanssection below.
If your questions are not answered there, feel free to contact me!
Just try to get your old notes out ofBoostNoteyourself quickly
if you are reading this in March 2021,
as you might otherwise lose some of those notes soon!Getting Your Notes Out OfBoostNoteTo take advantage ofboost2simple, you first need to export
yourBoostNotecollection(s) properly. To do this:Open theBoostNotedesktop app butDO NOT UPDATE IT!-
sadly, if you haven't downloaded and synchronized the app already,
you might not be able to get your cloud storage files with afree accountanymore... (March 2021)Select your collection(s) aka "workspaces" on the left one by one
and clickSettings, thenSpaceandConvert Into File System based Local Space.
(This actually duplicates your "workspace" instead of converting it.)Now you can export the selected "workspace" to a folder on your computer.
The resulting export will look like this:Export folder  
 │   boostnote.json  
 │     
 ├───attachments  
 └───notesIf you are attached to your attachments, this is the time to get them out of here.
You won't be having them inSimpleNote.For converting, we only need the content ofnotes, which are JSON files holding your notes.
If you only had a single "workspace" inBoostNote(or don't want to get an identifying tag for your workspace),
just pick thenotesfolder as import folder inboost2simple.You are done here!If you do like a little more order in your life,
you should renamenotesto whatever you want that collection to be called from now on.Repeat the process for all workspaces.Put the renamed folders into a new folder somewhere.
If you were to call that folderBoostNotes(for sentimental reasons),
the structure we are striving for would look something like this:BoostNotes  
 ├───CollectionA  
 │   │   abc.json  
 │   │   efg.json  
 │   ...  
 │  
 ├───CollectionB  
 │   │   zyx.json  
 │   │   wvu.json  
 │   ...  
 ...In this example, you would pickBoostNotesas import folder,
and your automatically created new tags would be calledCollectionAandCollectionB.
All previoussub-foldersyou had before will be added to that automatically,
even if you don't see them right now.Don't add them manually!BoostNotealso lets you export/sharesingle notesin different formats ─
which is tedious for large collections.
It would work asSimpleNoteimport with the right file type,
but the results would be inferior to whatboost2simplecan do.I have decided to only support the above export method for now.
If demand is high, I might add single file conversion in the future.Setting Upboost2simpleThe Easy Way - no install necessary!Downloadboost2simple.ziprighthere.
Your browser might (...ahem, should!) warn you about downloading weird stuff from the internet.
Please ignore it for now and download anyway.(recommended)Be a responsible person and scan the downloaded zip-file for viruses.Extract the archive to wherever you find its contents later.(recommended)Scan again for good measure.Run the extracted executable file (boost2simple.exe),
the interface should pop right up.I tried to makeboost2simpleself-explanatory.
If you're still confused, please refer to theWhat It All Meanssection below!The Pythonic WayGet boost2simple the way you usually do, either here or viapip install boost2simple.Please also dopip install scandirif you don't have it already.
I will include it right away in an upcoming update.Rungui.pyorcli.pydepending on your preferred interface.
They have the exact same functionality.If you have chosen the CLI, the extensive--helpwill guide you through the process.Short version:cli.py [-h] [--markdown | --no-markdown] [--title | --no-title] [--from ORIGIN_DIR] [--to TARGET_DIR]Importing Your Notes WithSimpleNoteYou have successfully created an export archive that looks and worksexactlythe way
originalSimpleNotearchives do! Now it's time to transfer your notes.Navigate to your chosen destination folder.Extract thenotes.zipfile to reveal the following structure:notes  
 │   abc.txt  
 │   def.txt  
 │   ...  
 │   zyx.txt  
 │  
 ├───source  
 │   │   notes.json      <--- the import file for SimpleNote!  
 │  
 └───trashIf you want, you can now make a backup of this archive (in zipped or unzipped form).This is also an interesting folder to browse through
if you only need some note's contents (and nothing else) in plain text...
You can easily find them here by name.OpenSimpleNoteand click the menu symbol in the upper left corner
to go toSettings, thenToolsandImport Notes.Clickbrowseand navigate to your freshly extractednotesfolder.
Inside it, you go tosourceand pick thenotes.jsonfile.When asked to "enable Markdown on all notes", you can pick whichever option you like.
If you activated Markdown formatting during conversion,
it should be enabled on all files anyway.Click onImport.Congratulations, you did it!Using Your NotesYou can now use your old notes just like regularSimpleNotenotes!To really profit fromboost2simple's tag-simulated folder structure inSimpleNote,
you should turn onSettings -> Display -> Tags -> Sort Alphabetically!
Now you can navigate your files by tag in the main menu, like so:Tags  

   /Collection1/  
   /Collection1/SubFolder1  
   /Collection1/SubFolder2  
   /Collection1/SubFolder2/SubSubFolder  
   /Collection2/  
   /Collection3/  
   ...  
   RegularTag1  
   RegularTag2   
   ...Feel free to adopt that system for future notes by adding the according tags to your notes!What It All MeansFile ExtensionsIn this guide, allfiles haveextensionslike.exe,.txt,.jsonor.zip.
If you don't see this extension, its visibility is deactivated in your file explorer.
This is fine, and you can simply ignore the file extensions in this guide!"use Markdown"(aka--markdown/--no-markdown)If this functionality is activated (as it is by default),SimpleNotewill recognize the imported notes asMarkdown-formatted and display them accordingly.Additionally, if you include the original title (see below),
the latter will be prefixed with#to turn it into anh1-header.
MostSimpleNoteclients don't display this symbol in the overview
(the Android version does, but I hope to change that soon).If you didn't useMarkdownor don't even know what it is,
there is no harm in leaving this on (apart from the extra symbol),
but you also don't profit from it.Personally, I encourage you to learn aboutMarkdown,
because it is a great way to style plain text almost effortlessly -
the same way this guide you are reading was styled!"include original title"(aka--title/--no-title)If this functionality is activated (as it is by default),
eachBoostNote's title will serve as first line of the converted SimpleNote,
followed by a single empty line.This is practical, because inSimpleNote's overview,
the first line is treated like a title anyway, and you will find your notes more easily.Known IssuesSelecting Desktop as directoryIf you are having trouble selectingDesktop, please try a different directory instead.
This is a problem withWindowsand theFolderPicker, which I have no control over.Files are not showing when selecting a directoryThis, too, is caused by theFolderPicker.
I might look into alternatives for that since it causes some quirks,
but at the moment simply rest assured that your files are there.
It just looks for folders and nothing else, since you can only pick those anyway.License & CopyrightThis program is free software: you can redistribute it and/or modify
it under the terms of the GNU General Public License as published by
the Free Software Foundation, either version 3 of the License, or
(at your option) any later version.This program is distributed in the hope that it will be useful,
but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of
MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.  See the
GNU General Public License for more details.
You should have received a copy of the GNU General Public License
along with this program.  If not, seehttps://www.gnu.org/licenses/.boost2simple - the BoostNote->SimpleNote converterCopyright (c) 2021, Rafael Witak.