/nvalt-files

nvALT preview templates and image archiving service

Primary LanguageCSS

nvALT configuration files

I use nvALT extensively for research notes. The files in this archive provide these functions:

  • Bootstrap-based, MathJAX-enabled templates for previews
  • An Automator workflow implementing a Finder service that archives image files to a canonical location and copies a Markdown-formatted image URL to that image, enabling each incorporation of images.

Here is an example of the nvALT window with a MathJAX-enabled preview:

These templates began with templates published by Brett Terpstra. I modified them to remove evidence of the "Lopash" them and to add support for MathJAX.

What you'll get

  • Support for MathJAX in notes
  • Automatic highlighting of code blocks with highlight.js
  • A basic implementation of Widon't for headlines.
  • Smooth scrolling when clicking footnotes and anchors.
  • A "back to top" link that appears when scrolling down a note.

Installation

  1. Download and install nvALT.

  2. First, back up any custom files you've created previously. These files are located under $HOME/Library/Application Support/nvALT/.

     $ cd "$HOME/Library/Application Support/"
     $ mv nvALT nvALT.bak
    
  3. Move or download this archive to that location:

     $ cd "$HOME/Library/Application Support/"
     $ git clone git@github.com:mjpost/nvALT-files nvALT
    
  4. Download and install MathJAX to the directory mathjax in the nvALT directory above.

    You should now have the following files in your Support folder:

     custom.css
     highlight.pack.js
     jquery.min.js
     template.html
     mathjax/
       README.md
       MathJax.js
       ...
    
  5. Install the Automator workflow by double-clicking on the file nvALT archive.workflow.

  6. Install a keyboard shortcut for the workflow. Place it under System Preferences → Keyboard → Shortcuts → App Shortcuts → All Applications. The name should be "nvALT archive" (exactly). I use ^⌘a as my shortcut.

    Now, on any image file in Finder, you can click this shortcut (or select it from the Finder Services menu. The image will be copied to a directory within $HOME/Library/Application Support/nvALT/Media/{YEAR}/{MONTH}, and a Markdown-formatted relative path to this file will be placed on the clipboard, to be pasted into your nvALT document.