Notes Markdown Highlighter
Visual Studio Code (VSCode) extension for Notes Markdown, a custom file type which can be used for daily notes.
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Concept
When I write daily notes, I was using OneNote, but found that it's not exactly portable, nor is it Git friendly like Markdown is.
I decided that it would be best to utilize Markdown, but I wanted to keep the same coloring I used for each line.
This extension is a means of allowing that, plus some VSCode commands that automate some note-taking processes.
Features
This VSCode extension features:
- Customizable highlighting / formatting for a new file extension:
.nmd
- Applies these formats to VSCode's Markdown Preview, too!
- A command to insert the timestamp and a keyword.
- A command to generate a Notes Markdown file for an entire month, useful for daily notes at work or school.
- This command has many options, like the first day of the week, whether to include weekends, etc.
The formatting is handled by a series of rules that are baked-in by default. These rules are shown in the table below.
| Category |
Color |
Symbol |
Keywords |
Description |
| Issue |
red |
Exclamation point in a circle |
ISSUE, CRITICAL |
Critical or important things that need immediate attention |
| Task |
amber |
Lightning Bolt |
BUG, FIXME |
Goal, task, to-do item, etc. |
| Bug |
amber |
Lightning Bolt |
TASK, SUBTASK, TODO |
Issue to fix. |
| Fix |
blue |
Checkmark (blue) |
FIX |
Issue or bug was fixed |
| Done |
green |
Checkmark (green) |
DONE |
Marks that something was finished. |
| Verified |
green (highlight) |
star |
VERIFIED |
Marks that something was tested as working as intended. |
| Notes |
light pink |
Pencil |
NOTE, INFO, COMMENT, DOC, // |
Quick notes or not-so-critical things |
Here's a preview of the rules in the editor itself:
These rules also apply to the Markdown Preview! Take a look!
Commands
Timestamp Inserter
You can insert a timestamp (via: Ctrl + Shift + T) which will input the timestamp and the keyword in the following format:
[HH:MM] KEYWORD:
This allows quicker insertion of the keyword, and captures the date, if that's handy to you.
Monthly Note File Generator
Another command is the Monthly Note File Generator, which is useful if you take daily notes. It has multiple options that it will ask you for:
- Which month and year you are targeting
- Whether you want to include weekends
- The first day of the week (Do you fall for the Sunday-is-the-first-day-of-the-week propaganda? well, do ya?)
- Whether the days should be ascending or descending (should the last day of the month be at the top or the bottom?)
The format of the file is:
# MM/YYYY
## Notes
### MM/DD
### MM/DD
// This pattern continues until every date in the month is included...
There are also separators between weeks to help navigate the file!
