Chronicle - A Personal Journal / Writing Diary Reviews

by Northern_Flicker

Immediately after purchasing Chronicle, I discovered that journal entries do not render correctly on my iPhone SE (iOS 11.0.3). The date and first line of the entry are hidden under the maroon menu bar. I can only temporarily view the date and first line of the entry if I drag down on the screen, which means that I am unable to adjust the entry date when necessary. I contacted the developer about this and have waited 3 days for a response. Perhaps this issue is isolated to the SE due to its smaller size, but I wouldn’t know that for certain since the dev couldn’t be bothered to respond to my support inquiry. I have no problem paying for an app, and I can deal with bugs if they are resolved in a timely manner, but I have no tolerance for devs who pocket my money and then offer zero support. Apple shouldn’t be tolerating it either. I have now uninstalled Chronicle from my phone, and I will be contacting Apple to request a refund.

by Rogers, Buck

Chronicle has not been updated since Sept 2016. With IOS being updated more frequently, it's important that developers update their apps so that they are compatible. If no more updates are made and Chronicle is not compatible, then Chronicle should be free and/or not recommended for the iOS versions that it is not compatible with.

A major deciding factor for me when purchasing or even using free apps for something that I rely on day to day is how often it is updated, the most recent update, and developers response to user problems. Chronicle is currently failing at all of these factors. Hopefully, there will be an update soon. Until then, I am now using a different app.

by Supwiddat

This has been my “blessings journal” for the past few years. Unfortunately, updating to the most recent version of iOS make the entries uneditable regarding dates. They slide under the top banner and also hides the first line of the entry. Brought this to the attention of the development at the beginning of March 2018, and haven’t been able to use it for two weeks now.

Just looked at the developers Web site, where it says that while Chronicle was developed for iPhone, it’s now optimized for iPad, and that iPhone is for quick access. Makes total sense! Unfortunately, iPhones are becoming the new iPads, as iPads (all tablets) begin to replace laptop/notebook computers due to portability, cloud storage and connectivity convenience.

Since I go for the phone rather than the pad, I’ll need to be seeking a new solution.

by Taleagle008

I think it’s a great app for writing a book and very easy in the picture department manipulation however, my 2 complains are 1)- made the big mistake of installing “notebook” which you’ll find in Setting with an off switch. Do not turn it on, it will cast you an extra $1.99 and will be impossible to access your app at least that is what happened to me.
I own 2 iPad, one of them a4 gen. and the 2nd one it’s an iPad Pro. With iOS 11.0.2 installed.
My second complaint is that I wrote twice to Steven, Chronicle creator to not avail so Far.
I re installed Chronicle which I do like from my purchased option but this time will keep away from”Notebook “ and to get my money back which will fight it when I get the bill from ITunes.

by Rays Bills

I’ve been using Chronicle for quite some time. I’m not sure why, but if you miss a day and want to enter the info and select the entry button, it takes you to the current day and I’ve been told you can make the entry and then once entered , just open the entry and then tap on the date and it will allow you to change the date. But the date is hidden way at the top of the entry and hidden under the top bar and not accessible. When I hold down my finger on the page and try and scroll the page up to access the date and once I let go the page jumps back down to the bottom. So trying to change a date is impossible. This only seems to be when using a iPhone. On the iPad I can change the date fine. I do like Chronicle over all.

by SlimRI

Decided to get Chronicle in place of the Notes app that comes with iOS. I'm still undecided but gave it 4 stars because it is pretty nice on you learn how to navigate.
I like the features of being able to designated different "folders" and then have the varied dated entries separate. Adding photos and creating separate diaries is also a plus.
Two options I would change is adding the ability to "bold" words and italicize words. Also, when you save your data to the cloud it saves the whole file every time by adding a new entry and only changing the date. Files can build up quite fast. I would like it to make a single copy and ask what to do with it. i.e. Save the complete file or just what is new. Forget the date and keep the folder name.

by Crayonization

Been using this as my journal app for a long time and I highly recommend it to anyone. My only gripe is it doesn’t auto backup to iCloud: so definitely keep a regular backup to google drive unless you wanna lose all your entries . Only manual transfer works to keep Chronicle’s data. Otherwise it works great though, and looks great too. Very clean and easy to use interface and Chronicle icon looks very low key and unassuming so I doubt it’ll be searched by anyone, if you’re worried about that sort of thing, anyway…

More security than pages, as well. Great journal to spill your thoughts in and very easy to export as text and rtf or the journal files for google drive storage or backups. Openable on PC as well. Very neat from a technical perspective as well.

by Tembrockkc

All I wanted from a journal was a password and easy use. This provides it. No fishing around, just open and go. That and my logitech create keyboard on my iPad Pro and it's a dream combo for writing.

Easy view of last week or so of entries with a preview of what's there. Nice for going back to cut/paste forms I've used for writing (Prompts I like to copy from day to day).

Feature Request: Daily templates. It would be great to have templates that popped up with a "do you want to use this template? YES/NO". That and/or a simple "Template" button (next to the "New entry" button to bring up a quick list of templates.

by EzziBA

I like the ease of use, the extras added to the keyboard. I like that you can use whatever font. You can enlarge the words and change their color.

I'll write some things down below that I think would improve at least my experience. None of them are needed, but in case you have the freedom, budget, and most importantly, the desire to add/change some things, I thought I'd add my thoughts:

One addition could be despite choosing the color for your notebook - provided that you purchase the notebooks add-on - it wouldn't affect the page color as well, but instead the page has its own palette of colors to choose from, and the option of lined pages.

I also think it would personally help if the writing platform could stretch to both edges of the screen when I turn my tablet to the side. I get distracted by the column of entries on the side and the buttons in the upper corners.

And lastly, it would definitely improve if there were titles to the entries as well as the date; I can write about several enormously different things on the same day, and all of them have the same name.

Other than that, I like Chronicle ; it's easy to use, has nice options. I like the layout. It's good for me!

Thank you for taking the time to produce Chronicle,

Ezzi

by TheKritter

I have been using this app since the original version and have found it to be a excellent application to manage events and information and provides the ability to do quick searches on all the information you have added to Chronicle when you need it. Additionally, the backup options are tremendous so that you can export your backups to both a PDF or text file to save your work, or you can use the backups to print on another device/computer. The developer has also created an additional capability (for a very reasonable fee) to create multiple journals on the same device so that each journal can be separately maintained.

This is one app that I use every day to keep notes related to my work (& events away from work). To the extent that I want to include my notes in another app like a word processor or calendar, etc., I can simply copy the text from this app and paste it into the other app. The developer has also done a great job of keeping Chronicle updated to the latest Apple iOS version and adding improvements to make give it more features increasing its flexibility (I started using this app on an iPad1 and today, a half dozen iPads later, I am typing this review on my iPad Pro 10.5).

I continue to highly recommend this app to everyone needing to keep a journal, diary, memo pad, events of events, or just needing a place to record anything that you think you might need to remember later (& be able to get to it quickly).

by Kulwhipp

I'm glad I bought Chronicle; exactly what I was looking for in a journal - clean, no ads, ability to personalize entries with font and photos. Love that I can add a photo to an entry as a recap of my day. Love the search feature. It would be great if we could have the option to also see our entries in monthly calendar mode. Also wish there was a Bold and Italics button, for emphasis.
LOVE that I can put a password on my journal. Privacy paranoia is what pushed me to write in a phone diary, instead of a physical one.
Love the simplicity of Chronicle, it's already great, but looking forward to seeing it more polished with the above details.

by Gnellio11

While this app is a wonderful app, it hasn't been updated in 3 years. I just updated my iPhone to IOS13 and it appears that the IOS has outdated Chronicle . So far I have observed, both in Chronicle and in writing this review, some problems with some of the keyboard functions, ie:

When trying to select a spot in your typing to change the wording by holding your finger on the screen at the approximate location to make the change, instead PDF creating a bubble to see the text, it selected the word on which you you placed your finger.

When adding a punctuation mark at a point of correction, the keyboard will not add a space after the punctuation.

When your typing reaches the end of the line, and the cursor advances to a point that drops below the top of the keyboard, the text field does not schroll up.

I have also not been able to find a selection to "contact the writer".

by Elizabeth525

This a simple, easy to use, straight-forward, useful app! I've been using it since 2010. I used to journal in notebooks, but I like that everything is in one place and I can search to find a topic or issue I may have written about in the past to see what the history is for me.

I appreciate the keyboard update for the iPad Pro. It would be nice for the text to expand the full width of the screen in landscape view when you leave the edit mode, it's kind of strange to have all the white space on the right side. I also like the new font, Iowan.

Nice job!

by RickDe123

Not a bad app if I say so myself. It Is user friendly, has decent graphics, simple to navigate through the different fonts and styles as well as the artistic part of it. I do not like that the "drawing" setting of the arts part though, much of it is pretty limited in what you can do but all in all it is a decent app.
I would include different choices of "strokes" for the art part, like; crayons, paint brushes, water color, graphite pencil. Then create a blending function for shading/ blending of the color with your fingers.
This could turn your journal app into a art portfolio app...just spreading ideas...

by Arbutus967

I’ve been looking for journals apps for months, mostly because I was going on a cruise and wanted to actually remember the cruise. I picked 2 apps for my vacation journaling, one over promised and under delivered but not this app. It did exactly what it promised, and I like the way I can embed pictures. I paid for the unlimited journals so I could have journals specific for vacations, etc and daily musings. I’ve had no problem back dating entries, yes you have to create the entry first but I don’t see that as an issue. I would like to see options to add a cover image or color each journal, maybe I can and just haven’t found the option yet.

by Blackbear4110

I wanted an app I could journal in, and I couldn't be happier with this one! The layout is simple and clean, and it's super easy to use. I also love that the Notebooks extension allows multiple "journals" in the same app, making it easy to categorize journal entries. It's also nice to be able to set a passcode on Chronicle for privacy, especially when siblings and friends are prone to borrow my devices.

The only ding I have against Chronicle is that entries made on my iPad don't show up on my iPod, and vice verses. It IS super easy to "export" across AirDrop, but doing so creates duplicates every time, which is kind of annoying.

Overall, I love Chronicle . Definitely worth the few dollars!

by Don Two Tails

5 stars for the ease in editing any document or entry that you write. You can search for an entry by date or key word. Spell checker is the best and easiest I have experienced. The format is simple. You don t waste a lot of time trying to find out how to use the application. There are no obstacles to free flow writing. I actually look forward to writing with the help of this app. I put my notes from a weekly blog show in this format so it is a great record keeper tool. And using IPad I can transfer it to another application where I can print out what I write if I wish to do so. This is one application that is well thought out and helpful.

by Odinsgothi

I am relatively new to “writing” on an electronic device. I always felt like it wouldn’t have the same effect as journaling in a paper book and being able to actually SEE the words in my own handwriting, with all of the character that comes with any individuals style of writing. I have enjoyed this app a great deal though. The option of different fonts and being able to add a picture, meme, or whatever you like makes up for a lot of the “coldness” of the screen, for lack of a better word, as well as all of the other options that are offered.

My life and all of my experiences are kept in this application.

by Capital Me

I really love how easy it is to just pop open Chronicle and start writing. I used to want to journal so much, but could never sit down at the end of the day and remember everything I wanted to remember. I have awful memory and for Chronicle to be so handy and easy is perfect. Especially since it isn't a physical notebook that I could leave out and anyone could open and read. I like the layout and the options it gives. And I think the only thing that could improve it is the option to put a lock on Chronicle so that if someone opens my phone, they still have to have a password or something to open my journal. But A++ on Chronicle so far. 😊

by Sunkistme

I’ve been using this app since 2014 and it is perfect! I love that I can send pdf backups easily through my email so I never have to worry about it. It is simple and easy to use—the perfect format if you want a truly journal-like medium to clear your thoughts like a simple paper and pen would offer. I am a strong believer in journaling to process thoughts and improve mental clarity and overall health. Chronicle is a perfect way to do that electronically—I love it!

As a side note, it does a remarkable job with the word prompt feature. I don’t generally use that, but sometimes that is just what you need when you are looking for the right word.

by Kiz2015

This developer has come up with several nice apps, including this one. I had been using the notes feature of Awesome Calender Lite until I found this. The advantage of Chronicle over Awesome Calendar is the word count, but I’m still a little torn because I can’t put a title to my entry, whereas I can in Awesome Calendar. Maybe the multiple notebooks add-on would resolve that issue for me. Haven’t tried it yet, but I’m considering.

The other thing that would be nice is the ability to apply font attributes (italics, bold, underline). It’s a little ironic that one of the screenshots is the developer’s personal entry on the writing process where he says to write a first draft in a conversational tone. If I’m writing in a conversational tone, I would like to be able to add emphasis so that it reads as if I were speaking and retains some of the emotion.

by R&D Ranch

Have been using Chronicle almost daily since 2014. I like it’s simplicity, but it needs an update (after 3 Years) going forward to be compatible with iOS 13 and incorporating the new picture formats of iPhone 11 Pro Max. These pictures make Chronicle a little unpredictable and at one point last week I reached out to the developer for assistance, but have not heard back. One of the new picture formats I added started causing Chronicle to minimize as soon as I selected it, even though Chronicle displayed as if it were Open.