Dyrii - Private Journal/Diary App for iOS & Mac

[Ibalek]

Hi there!

I am the creator of Dyrii, a private journal app for iOS and Mac. Dyrii was born out of the struggle between two contrasting ideas: a) allowing users to bring their own storage vs. b) taking over the ownership of providing and managing the storage for the user.

Being an avid journal user myself, I need the assurance that I own and control my journals and not anybody else. After all, it is an extension of myself. So, option b wasn't really an option. And that's how Dyrii was born!

Our goal with Dyrii is to provide users a powerful, let simple journaling tool that can last a lifetime. I am creating this thread to collect feedback on the App. Please feel free to post any questions, comments, or suggestion you might have.

While posting, please follow three simple rules:
1. Stay on the topic.
2. Do not advertise other products.
3. Do not use this as a bug reporter. To report bugs, visit http://support.dyrii.com.

Product Website: https://dyrii.com
Support Site: http://community.dyrii.com
Twitter: http://twitter.com/dyrii
Facebook: chttps://itunes.apple.com/app/id943305750

Mac App: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/dyrii-private-journal-with-audio-video-health/id946591444
iOS App: https://itunes.apple.com/app/id943305750

 

[BigMcGuire]

Awesome! Glad to see a forum was created! I am a heavy Day One user who happily signed onto this application (Dyrii) when in less than half a week, it came out with a Day One import. I imported 1200+ entries and 1500+ photos into Dyrii perfectly. I have it now on my Mini, Air, and iPhone. I love the fact that I can use iCloud storage (storage I'm already paying for) and that Dyrii is only $10 and I have another backup for my data in Day One.

The app works very nicely - it's not perfect but the developers listens to their users - that alone makes any $ I spend on this app worth it. I highly recommend it!

 

[Ibalek]

Awesome! Glad to see a forum was created! I am a heavy Day One user who happily signed onto this application (Dyrii) when in less than half a week, it came out with a Day One import. I imported 1200+ entries and 1500+ photos into Dyrii perfectly. I have it now on my Mini, Air, and iPhone. I love the fact that I can use iCloud storage (storage I'm already paying for) and that Dyrii is only $10 and I have another backup for my data in Day One.

The app works very nicely - it's not perfect but the developers listens to their users - that alone makes any $ I spend on this app worth it. I highly recommend it!

We hope to perfect the app in the coming weeks/months. What three features/improvements in Dyrii would make it your primary journal app?

 

[BigMcGuire]

We hope to perfect the app in the coming weeks/months. What three features/improvements in Dyrii would make it your primary journal app?

The three features:
1. Allow doing Command + T to input tags (like Day One does). (keyboard shortcut).
2. Allow highlighting multiple entries in order to export to PDF.
3. Allow ability to back up data on a daily basis locally.

 

[beachmusic]

What is the subscription for?

 

[teerexx52]

Hi there!

I am the creator of Dyrii, a private journal app for iOS and Mac. Dyrii was born out of the struggle between two contrasting ideas: a) allowing users to bring their own storage vs. b) taking over the ownership of providing and managing the storage for the user.

Being an avid journal user myself, I need the assurance that I own and control my journals and not anybody else. After all, it is an extension of myself. So, option b wasn't really an option. And that's how Dyrii was born!

Our goal with Dyrii is to provide users a powerful, let simple journaling tool that can last a lifetime. I am creating this thread to collect feedback on the App. Please feel free to post any questions, comments, or suggestion you might have.

While posting, please follow three simple rules:
1. Stay on the topic.
2. Do not advertise.
3. Do not use this as a bug reporter. To report bugs, visit http://support.dyrii.com.

View attachment 708511


Product Website: https://dyrii.com
Support Site: http://community.dyrii.com
Twitter: http://twitter.com/dyrii
Facebook: chttps://itunes.apple.com/app/id943305750

Mac App: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/dyrii-private-journal-with-audio-video-health/id946591444
iOS App: https://itunes.apple.com/app/id943305750

Congratulations! I have purchased a year subscription. Developer has been very helpful. Keep up the good work!

 

[Ibalek]

The three features:
1. Allow doing Command + T to input tags (like Day One does). (keyboard shortcut).
2. Allow highlighting multiple entries in order to export to PDF.
3. Allow ability to back up data on a daily basis locally.

#2 and 3 are already in our list of todos. #1 seems reasonable and straightforward. I will add it to our list. But in my opinion, #1 could be a nice to have vs. a must have.
[doublepost=1500042169][/doublepost]

What is the subscription for?

We have following premium features in the app that are unlocked when you upgrade.

• Sync
• Perspectives
• Templates
• Priority Support

Upgrades can be purchased either through Subscriptions (monthly/annual) or One-time Purchase by version (v1.x). Subscriptions cover current premium features as well as future ones, for example, 1.x, 2.x etc. Whereas, One-time purchase covers premium features under v1.x.

For more details, please read our frequently asked questions on pricing here:
https://community.dyrii.com/i9-pricing-questions

 

[BigMcGuire]

#2 and 3 are already in our list of todos. #1 seems reasonable and straightforward. I will add it to our list. But in my opinion, #1 could be a nice to have vs. a must have.

Agreed It's a small thing I can live without but in my laziness I've come to rely on (cuz I use it all the time in Day One). Heh.

Nice work!

 

[Ibalek]

A

Agreed It's a small thing I can live without but in my laziness I've come to rely on (cuz I use it all the time in Day One). Heh.

Nice work!

Actually, it is quite nice to have such shortcuts. We will think about adding this across instead of just for the tags.

 

[Ibalek]

Are there any viJournal users here, looking for import options?

 

[timothevs]

hm not sure if it is something I am doing wrong. But I have a rather large Day One Classic journal with 3000 odd entries. While trying to import the same into Dyrii - nothing really happens. The screen flashes to "Processing" and then it is back to the main screen with nothing imported. I made a GIF of this error -> can send the URL via PM.

 

[BigMcGuire]

hm not sure if it is something I am doing wrong. But I have a rather large Day One Classic journal with 3000 odd entries. While trying to import the same into Dyrii - nothing really happens. The screen flashes to "Processing" and then it is back to the main screen with nothing imported. I made a GIF of this error -> can send the URL via PM.

Recheck the zip file is all I can recommend. I exported JSON (a 756MB export file) for all my entries and when I went to go import, I accidentally selected a different zip. I had the same experience as you. I tried 3-4 times, then realized I was selecting the wrong zip file.

Once I got the right zip file, I was good to go and the import worked. (Not saying this is what you're doing, it's just what happened to me ).

Wow 3000 entries. Very cool!

 

[timothevs]

Wow 3000 entries. Very cool!

Have been journaling since I was 11. That's some 25 years of daily journals. I had been slowly migrating those over from paper to Day One.... Have only gotten through 10 years so far. :/

I did check the zip file actually - it contains the Journal.dayone file inside. It seems to open fine on its own. Here's what I see - https://cl.ly/1d2q2p400I13

 

[Ibalek]

Have been journaling since I was 11. That's some 25 years of daily journals. I had been slowly migrating those over from paper to Day One.... Have only gotten through 10 years so far. :/

I did check the zip file actually - it contains the Journal.dayone file inside. It seems to open fine on its own. Here's what I see - https://cl.ly/1d2q2p400I13

The zip file you selected looks fine but it is expected to contain following two folders inside it:
- entries
- photos
In your case, I am not sure why it has Journal.dayone.

Try the following steps:
1. Unzip the file to a folder.
2. Navigate to the Journal.dayone file in that folder and rename the file to just Journal. This is actually a folder so renaming it should let you open it as a folder.
3. Navigate inside this Journal folder and verify you can see following two folders under it.
- entries
- photos
4. If you are able to verify #3, then do the import again. This time select the Journal folder instead of the zip file.

Let me know if you run into any issues.

Btw, there was another user who imported 24k entries and close to 5k photos from D1.
[doublepost=1500387465][/doublepost]If you are still having trouble, please DM me at twitter.com/dyrii or using the chat tool on our website (dyrii.com).
[doublepost=1500388046][/doublepost]

I accidentally selected a different zip. I had the same experience as you. I tried 3-4 times, then realized I was selecting the wrong zip file.

In our next release, we are going to add an error alert when this happens.

 

[timothevs]

Thanks @Ibalek , I did message you what I am seeing, but will reach out to you on Twitter as well. Thanks for being so responsive.

Just for posterity - I am using the D1C v1.10.6, although I have my journal stored on Dropbox. I did try unzipping the backup, and renaming the Journal.dayone package to make it a folder - and tried it again. No dice. :/

 

[Ibalek]

We were able reproduce this problem. The fix is coming in next couple of days along with following enhancements.

New:
- Added support for multiple selection and export to PDF
- Added support for drag/drop of images from Finder, Photos app, and other windows.
- Added UI refinements for Entry Detail view to display meta data for place checkins and pins.
- Added a label to show the number of Entries and Attachments in the app under Preferences/Manage Data section.

Fixed:
- Resolved an issue that caused beach ball to spin indefinitely in Atlas and Album view.
- Resolved an issue that caused the app to not respond while closing/terminating the app.
- Resolved an issue that caused images to lose their orientation while attaching them in Editor.
- Resolved an issue that caused imports from Day One Classic to not work under certain situations.
- Bug fixes for random crashes.

 

[BigMcGuire]

We were able reproduce this problem. The fix is coming in next couple of days along with following enhancements.

New:
- Added support for multiple selection and export to PDF
- Added support for drag/drop of images from Finder, Photos app, and other windows.
- Added UI refinements for Entry Detail view to display meta data for place checkins and pins.
- Added a label to show the number of Entries and Attachments in the app under Preferences/Manage Data section.

Fixed:
- Resolved an issue that caused beach ball to spin indefinitely in Atlas and Album view.
- Resolved an issue that caused the app to not respond while closing/terminating the app.
- Resolved an issue that caused images to lose their orientation while attaching them in Editor.
- Resolved an issue that caused imports from Day One Classic to not work under certain situations.
- Bug fixes for random crashes.

This This is awesome! Wooo hooo!

 

[RobinInOR]

Just wanted to say hi and tell you I just downloaded your app today and I’m loving it. Good job!

It’s funny, I’ve been a programmer for 30 years and am starting to dabble in apps now that ios11 and Xcode 9 are here. Was thinking of an app to corral all my daily routines, but here it is, much better than I could have ever conceived. I can see the time you’ve taken for all the little features that make it easy to use.

I’m glad you’re going to update with drag and drop, that’s one of the features I’ve been intrigued with. I’m a little leary with the iCloud integration, I’m on the free 5G one and usually use Dropbox for any of my cloud data needs. But I will give it a try and happily use your app instead of building my own

Thank you for making my life easier!

 

[Ibalek]

It’s funny, I’ve been a programmer for 30 years and am starting to dabble in apps now that ios11 and Xcode 9 are here. Was thinking of an app to corral all my daily routines, but here it is, much better than I could have ever conceived. I can see the time you’ve taken for all the little features that make it easy to use.

I am glad you like the app! We started dabbling with Xcode just to build Dyrii. I can message you some tips and links for Xcode tutorials that helped us.

Were you using a journaling app before? I am assuming you were looking for a specific feature that made you dabble with Xcode.
[doublepost=1500407752][/doublepost]

We were able reproduce this problem. The fix is coming in next couple of days along with following enhancements.

New:
- Added support for multiple selection and export to PDF
- Added support for drag/drop of images from Finder, Photos app, and other windows.
- Added UI refinements for Entry Detail view to display meta data for place checkins and pins.
- Added a label to show the number of Entries and Attachments in the app under Preferences/Manage Data section.

Fixed:
- Resolved an issue that caused beach ball to spin indefinitely in Atlas and Album view.
- Resolved an issue that caused the app to not respond while closing/terminating the app.
- Resolved an issue that caused images to lose their orientation while attaching them in Editor.
- Resolved an issue that caused imports from Day One Classic to not work under certain situations.
- Bug fixes for random crashes.

The app update (v1.06) is now available on the App Store. If you don't see it yet, wait for a few minutes because Apple servers have some time lag based on geographic location. Let me know if you run into any issues.
[doublepost=1500407823][/doublepost]

Thanks @Ibalek , I did message you what I am seeing, but will reach out to you on Twitter as well. Thanks for being so responsive.

Just for posterity - I am using the D1C v1.10.6, although I have my journal stored on Dropbox. I did try unzipping the backup, and renaming the Journal.dayone package to make it a folder - and tried it again. No dice. :/

Try this again using the latest version that we just now rolled out - v1.06.

 

[RobinInOR]

Were you using a journaling app before? I am assuming you were looking for a specific feature that made you dabble with Xcode

I’ve used general note apps like OneNote, Notability, I tried DayOne when it first came out, and I also used a photo365 app that made it very easy to do a photo a day. Which you have covered but they had a neat interface that showed the photo thumbnails in a calendar monthly format - if you had multiple photos you could select which to show in the monthly view.

I was interested in drag and drop and how it would work with other apps that would support the new functionality.
Like being able to drag a book from the grid view of Kindle app into a day to show I started or ended reading.
Drag/drop a photo to a day (you mentioned that)
drag/drop a link from music with the cover,
or dragging an email,
or anything really.
Drag,drop text from a webpage to store as a thought (now I use Scrivener to do that if I’m doing research)

I’m fascinated with drag and drop, can you tell? Lol

 

[MechaSpanky]

While posting, please follow three simple rules:
1. Stay on the topic.
2. Do not advertise.
3. Do not use this as a bug reporter. To report bugs, visit http://support.dyrii.com.

Product Website: https://dyrii.com
Support Site: http://community.dyrii.com
Twitter: http://twitter.com/dyrii
Facebook: chttps://itunes.apple.com/app/id943305750

Mac App: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/dyrii-private-journal-with-audio-video-health/id946591444
iOS App: https://itunes.apple.com/app/id943305750

[doublepost=1500042169][/doublepost]
We have following premium features in the app that are unlocked when you upgrade.

• Sync
• Perspectives
• Templates
• Priority Support

Upgrades can be purchased either through Subscriptions (monthly/annual) or One-time Purchase by version (v1.x). Subscriptions cover current premium features as well as future ones, for example, 1.x, 2.x etc. Whereas, One-time purchase covers premium features under v1.x.

For more details, please read our frequently asked questions on pricing here:
https://community.dyrii.com/i9-pricing-questions

Congratulations on your release of a new journaling app. I wish you best of luck with your endeavors but I do have a few problems and observations with your post and software.

It is my first time to see "rules" that only apply to one thread. I didn't know that we could make our own rules for each individual thread. Which brings me to the "Do not advertise" "rule". I think this needs to be corrected. It should read "Do not advertise other than for Dryril" because you are essentially advertising, right?

Anyway, I can appreciate the hard work that it takes to make an app but for me and tons of others out there seeing the word "subscription" pretty much tells me that I don't need nor do I want your app. Have a read of the tons of people that are complaining about Day One's brilliant choice to go to the subscription model https://forums.macrumors.com/thread...ransitions-to-a-subscription-service.2054054/. I do think it is great that you at least offer a choice of subscription vs perpetual license but from past experience normally companies that do this eventually go all subscription so it isn't something that fills me with confidence. I also don't care for the use of the term "one time pricing" for version 1. You should use the term "perpetual licensing" instead. Saying that you offer a one time purchase might be misunderstood by some to think that they have a lifetime license, which isn't true. You are simply offering a perpetual license which is what all software used to be.

 

[Ibalek]

It is my first time to see "rules" that only apply to one thread. I didn't know that we could make our own rules for each individual thread. Which brings me to the "Do not advertise" "rule". I think this needs to be corrected. It should read "Do not advertise other than for Dryril" because you are essentially advertising, right?

Thanks for your comments! I will change the wording to "Do not advertise other products".
[doublepost=1500476586][/doublepost]

I do think it is great that you at least offer a choice of subscription vs perpetual license but from past experience normally companies that do this eventually go all subscription so it isn't something that fills me with confidence. I also don't care for the use of the term "one time pricing" for version 1. You should use the term "perpetual licensing" instead. Saying that you offer a one time purchase might be misunderstood by some to think that they have a lifetime license, which isn't true. You are simply offering a perpetual license which is what all software used to be.

We are going to keep the perpetual license option. Subscriptions work better for us but I understand why users need to own their journals. So we are committed to keeping that option as long as possible.

Regarding changing the term "one time pricing" to "perpetual license", I am open to it but I am not sure if users understand the term "perpetual license". It gives an impression that future version would be free under that license. Changing it to "Perpetual license for v1" may not be bad. Good suggestion!

 

[Ibalek]

If anyone is still encountering crashes, please report them to us. We have also published an article on our community site with details on how to extract crash logs.

https://community.dyrii.com/i62-app-crashes

 

[renox]

I have a couple of questions:

1. Will this app support markdown?
2. How do I export attachments to file system?
3. How to change font or its size? These options are greyed out in the menu bar for some reason.
4. How to create expanding grey area (like the one from template's "Enter your response here")?

 

[Ibalek]

I have a couple of questions:

1. Will this app support markdown?
2. How do I export attachments to file system?
3. How to change font or its size? These options are greyed out in the menu bar for some reason.
4. How to create expanding grey area (like the one from template's "Enter your response here")?

Thanks for these questions. See below my responses.
1. We are evaluating markdown but don't see an advantage over our current rich text editor. Are you seeing anything specific that is missing where markdown editor could add value?
2. We are going to soon add support for exporting attachments to file system.
3. Are you looking to increase the font size in the Editor screen or throughout the app? In the editor we have a zoom feature under more (...) menu. You can try using that as a temporary workaround until we add system wide font size change.
4. Can you clarify what you mean by "expanding gray area"? Did you mean you want to have that type of formatting in the Editor?