Lognote 5.4: Group Layouts, Widgets and Better Performance

A journal, a shift log and an ideas collection ask for different things. One wants calm, one wants density and one wants quick capture. Lognote 5.4 lets each group reflect that job and removes several points where a thought could get lost.

The short version is simple. Every group can use Classic, Bubbles or Journal. Drafts survive group changes and app restarts. Widgets take you to the right place. Sharing opens a proper composer. Images keep their shape. Long sessions with many images feel smoother.

What is new in Lognote 5.4?

• Capture: new widgets, a faster sharing composer, a separate draft for every group and a camera inside Lognote for Pro users.
• Organise: one layout per group, a live preview for display settings and a note archive for Pro users.
• Use every day: richer text, optional link previews, natural image proportions, stronger group protection, better Mac controls and focused performance work.

Classic, Bubbles or Journal for each group

Every group can now use the note layout that fits its purpose.

Classic keeps the timestamp prominent and fits many short entries into a compact chronological list. Bubbles separates entries visually and gives everyday notes a clearer, more modern rhythm. Journal gives each entry more space and organises notes by day.

You can choose the layout while creating a group or change it later in the group settings. A live preview shows how the view responds to date, time and note display options. Journal day headers can also show how many notes were recorded on that day.

The general layout setting remains available, while individual groups can make their own choice. A private journal can therefore use Journal, a shift log can stay in Classic and an ideas group can use Bubbles. The notes themselves do not need to be moved or recreated.

Bubbles, Journal and Classic use the same timestamped notes in three distinct views.

More views you can discover here

Widgets that open the right place

Home Screen widgets give you direct access to quick capture, recent notes, groups, favourites and statistics. Lock Screen widgets can open a new note, start a voice memo or take you directly to Inbox.

On macOS 14 or later, widgets on the desktop provide the same kind of shortcuts without making you navigate through the app first. Each widget opens the relevant place in Lognote. It is a doorway into the real app, not a second simplified note system.

A separate draft for every group

Starting a note no longer means that you must finish it before doing something else. Lognote keeps a separate draft for every group. You can switch to another group, close the app or restart the device and return to the text that was waiting in the original input field.

Notes can also contain bold text, italics, strikethrough, bullet lists, numbered lists and links. Formatting stays with the note when you change its layout. Optional link previews can show the title, image and domain of a saved link, and can be disabled in Settings when you prefer a quieter timeline.

Share first, decide where it belongs

Sharing into Lognote now opens a full composer. Send text or a link from another app, choose the destination group, add your own context and check the note before saving it. Inbox stays at the top of the group picker, while recently used groups appear first.

Text and link sharing do not require Pro. Photos and files remain Pro features, so sharing either of them into Lognote requires Lognote Pro.

Pro users can also take a photo without leaving Lognote. The camera has its own flash control and places the photo directly into the current note. There is no detour through the Photos app and no second step to find the image again.

Inbox catches the first thought. Groups, files and voice memos give longer records their structure.

Archive a note without throwing it away

The new note archive gives Pro users a place for entries that should remain available but no longer need to fill the everyday timeline. An archived note leaves the regular feed without moving to Trash. Restore it later and it returns to normal use.

This is different from deleting a note and different from archiving an entire group. It is useful for a completed incident, an old reference or a journal entry that you want to keep without seeing every day.

Photos keep their real shape

A portrait photo should look like a portrait photo. Images in the timeline now keep their natural proportions instead of being forced into a square crop. The full screen viewer has also been refined across devices.

On Mac, the viewer adds a native toolbar, a filmstrip and keyboard navigation. You can move through several images without closing the viewer after each one.

A clearer start for new users

The new setup on iPhone and iPad explains that Lognote stores data locally first, asks what you want to record, helps you choose a note layout and offers an optional Inbox reminder. Your answer can create a suitable first group, so Lognote opens with a useful starting point instead of an unexplained empty screen.

Short tips then introduce capture, groups, note actions, additional options and search where those controls appear. Existing installations do not have to repeat this setup.

Smoother scrolling and steadier long sessions

The performance work in version 5.4 focuses on situations that happen in real use. Groups with many images scroll more smoothly. Memory is released more consistently. Lognote remains steadier when it stays open for a long session.

You notice the work between actions. Images load with fewer interruptions, memory is released more consistently and long logging sessions stay focused on the record.

Version 5.4 also fixes voice memos without text disappearing from the timeline or appearing as images in Trash. On iPad, Split View returns to the group that was actually open.

Stronger protection for locked groups

A locked group now stays protected when it is opened from search, favourites, a widget or the Mac sidebar. If Face ID is unavailable, the device passcode can be used. Group locking requires Lognote Pro.

The important part is consistency. A lock should follow the group, not depend on which route you happened to use to open it.

Which Lognote 5.4 features require Pro?

Layouts for each group, persistent drafts, rich text, link previews, text and link sharing, guided setup and the general performance improvements work without Pro.

Lognote Pro is required for favourites, photos and files, voice memos, the camera inside Lognote, the note archive and locked groups. Photo and file sharing also requires Pro because those note types are Pro features.

Questions about Lognote 5.4

Do different layouts create different copies of my notes? No. Classic, Bubbles and Journal present the same notes in different ways. Changing the layout does not duplicate or reorganise them.

Can I keep a draft in more than one group? Yes. Each group keeps its own unfinished text, so changing groups does not replace the draft you already started.

Are the performance improvements only for new devices? No. The work targets image loading, memory release and longer sessions across supported devices. The exact effect depends on the notes and images in each group.

You still write into the same timestamped timeline. Version 5.4 gives each timeline the right shape for its job and preserves more of the work around every note.