Markdownload's future

[deathau]

As you've all probably noticed, I've been very lax in my updates recently, but I'm hoping to change that.
I've just pushed version 3.4.0 to the various extension stores, which contains a bunch of fixes provided by the community (listed in the readme, or you can go look at all the pull requests). I'm very grateful for all of these updates.

But I really have to pull my finger out and get a version working with Manifest V3. So, I've started re-writing the entire thing from scratch. In the current version of the extension, most of the processing is done in a background page, but with Manifest V3 I have to use a service worker instead of a background page for Chrome, but not for Firefox... Basically, cross-browser is a little messy at the moment, but it's doable, and I have a kinda working version locally.

One major change I've implemented is opening the extension in a sidebar/side panel, rather than the popup.
Here's what it looks like in Firefox:

And in a chromium browser (Wavebox):

I kinda like this better, as you can keep it open and clip things from different websites to the same file before downloading, but it's very different to the current extension, so I wanted to get some opinions on if you guys like the direction or not.

I am concerned that Safari does not have a sidebar, but I've been thinking for ages about making a Mac-OS native "app" to handle image downloads (if you've installed Markdownload on Safari, you'll know it has a pointless app anyway because that's just how things work in Apple land). This could be made into a separate window which behaves like the sidebar does in other browsers, but I haven't so much as looked into that yet.

So, what do you think? Am I on the right track?

[netentity]

This looks amazing! Excited to see this continue to integrate into my writing workflows.

[rickdoesdev]

Oops, just saw the comment about a complete rewrite here! I was just about to queue up a discussion asking what you thought about a large rewrite on a variety of things code style things like var vs let, == vs === to avoid type coercion, and possibly some unit tests, and maybe even some build stuff to enable typescript or esnext. Seems like you're on it; but if you need some help, shout out!

Loving the side bar in the screens above! Definitely a good direction!

[deathau]

I'm honestly not 100% sure why, but for this extension, I have an aversion to using build stuff like webpack. The submission process for Firefox in particular requires you to submit the un-built code separately for review, for example. There are other, in-my-own-head reasons, which probably wouldn't stand up to any form of scrutiny, but for now I'm going to stick with the no-build-system policy.

[SamejSpenser]

I'm really happy to hear that MarkDownload is making progress and evolving.

The side tabs instead of the current pop-ups seem way better; this way, I think I'll lose less of my manual edits before capturing, since I won't lose the already edited content if I accidentally tap or click outside it.

[FitzFrobozz]

Seems like a good fit and direction, and I really like the look of it.

What happens to an unsaved MarkDownload sidebar clipping if a person wants to double-check something else (using the sidebar) before fully saving the clipping? E.g. I use bookmarks and Simple Tab Groups in the Firefox sidebar and sometimes I need to refer to them before I finalize a MarkDownload clipping I've started.

[deathau]

What I'm playing with at the moment is that the data in the sidebar will persist as long as the sidebar remains open, meaning you should be able to switch tabs and windows without losing anything. It also opens up new use-cases, like clipping stuff from a bunch of different websites into the same file before downloading.
(I'm still working out the details on capturing images in this case, but I think it'll work)

[FitzFrobozz]

Perfect, thank you. Of course I'll take anything you throw at us as I've been a big fan. Best Obsidian clipper that I've seen, hands down.

[FitzFrobozz]

Oh, forgot to ask: since you are rewriting from scratch and changing certain things fundamentally, any interest in adding support for templater?

[deathau]

As in, the Obsidian plugin? What sort of support do you mean? Like syntax highlighting, or like using templater syntax?

[FitzFrobozz]

Yes, the plugin, sorry. I meant supporting the use of templater syntax so that templater itself could work its own magic on MarkDownload notes. I.e. user clips a page and the final note has all the features one would expect to see in a typical/standard templater-created note. (Hope that didn't just confuse the question even further, still waking up.)

[deathau]

While I like the idea in general, I'm not really into the idea of building and supporting my own templater clone. Looking at the docs there's a lot of Obsidian-specific stuff in there too that would make no sense to port over. I'd just be building a new template engine with similar syntax to templater.

On the other hand, you could always include templater syntax in your... template (words are hard) and trigger it in obsidian later. (If I'm understanding correctly, feel free to correct me)

[FitzFrobozz]

That's certainly understandable. While templater is regarded by many (including me) to be an essential plugin, it is by no means some kind of standard that deserves universal support (and I hope I didn't come across as seeing it as such). And yes, that suggestion is something I've had on my list of things to look into. And I have my workaround workflow as well. Anyways, thanks for the consideration and sorry for the momentary thread/issue derail!

[deathau]

No problems. This is probably the perfect place to take big swings like that 😅

[rsgranne]

I’m glad you are working on the extension, & I appreciate it. However, will there be a way to avoid opening a sidebar every time I use the extension? All I ever want to do is copy text as Markdown. I don’t need anything more complex than that. Thanks!

[deathau]

That's a good point and I'll keep it in mind.
I plan to keep all the existing functionality (where possible) including context menus and keyboard shortcuts, I just have to make sure to keep in mind that the sidebar won't always need to open.

🤔 I wonder if I can change the functionality of the toolbar button based on user preference...

[gaufde]

This is very exciting! Would making the safari/macOS "native" app mean that Markdownload would work on iOS through share menus?