Import & Export
Jotaid stores standard Markdown, and neither direction is locked.
Exporting the Current Note
| Format | Shortcut | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Markdown | ⇧⌘E | A portable .md with YAML front matter. A note with images exports as a folder: the .md plus an assets/ folder holding the images |
| — | A typeset, printable document; LaTeX and Mermaid both render correctly |
macOS also supports bulk export: select several notes and export them to a folder, one .md each, with their images in a shared assets/ folder. iOS goes through the system share sheet, without bulk export.
Exporting a Whole Project
macOS: right-click a project and choose Export Project. The project becomes a folder, each theme a subfolder inside it, and every note a .md with its images in assets/ — the reverse of Import Folder below.
Images go along, other attachments don't
Markdown exports carry your text and images. Other attachments, such as PDFs, are not in them. For a complete copy of everything, use an encrypted backup.
Importing Markdown
Import in the menu (⇧⌘I) offers two modes:
Import File(s)
Pick one or more .md files; they land wherever you currently are.
Importing into the Inbox is always free. If you are currently inside a project, the notes go into that project — which falls under multiple projects and needs Pro. On the free tier, switch back to the Inbox first.
Import Folder
A whole folder comes in, its directory structure mapping itself onto Jotaid's hierarchy:
| On disk | Becomes |
|---|---|
| The folder you picked | A project |
| Each top-level subfolder | A theme |
| Anything deeper | Folded into #tags |
On the free tier, a folder goes into the Inbox
A new project needs Pro, so on the free tier Import Folder asks where the folder should go: into the Inbox, or unlock Pro and make it a project. In the Inbox the mapping is the same one level down — top-level subfolders still become themes, and anything deeper still folds into tags. Importing individual .md files into the Inbox is always free as well.
Nesting stops after two levels and turns into tags instead, because Jotaid has only two container tiers. Forcing deeper directories through would manufacture a pile of shell themes holding one note each; tags carry that information and retrieve better.
What Gets Skipped
- Files over roughly 10 MB
- Files that are not UTF-8
They do not fail the whole import; they are listed in the report ("N imported, M skipped") for you to handle separately.
Moving In From Elsewhere
Coming from a folder-based tool such as Obsidian or Typora, Import Folder usually does it in one step — those are already a directory tree of .md. Afterwards:
- Check that the project / theme structure the folders produced is what you wanted
[[backlinks]]in the bodies are recognised, and nodes come into being with them- Front matter is read, so the original timestamps of your files are kept; images in the vault come along with the notes (oversized ones are compressed, and the import report says how many). Other embeds, such as PDFs, are not imported — their text stays in the note
- Use Link All to backfill plain-text mentions into real links
Next Steps
- Backup & Restore — A complete copy including attachments
- Quick Capture — Other ways in, one item at a time
- Note Formatting — Which syntax Jotaid supports