I know you can use shortcuts to make templates which is what I currently do. Has there been any thought to built in templates within bear? Having to leave the app every time I want a template is awkward and kills any inertia I have while working inside bear.
Hello, we thought about having in-app templates but at the moment we donāt have real plans for them and Iām unsure theyāll be ever part of the main app. Shortcuts provide a great resource for advanced customizations such as templates and you trigger them using a keystroke or from the menu bar if you donāt want to leave the app.
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Can this be done on iOS or iPadOS? Everything Iāve been able to find is for macOS only.
Yes. I have a Daily Note shortcut for Bear (which works as a template) that I use on iPhone and iPad.
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Here is my workaround:
I created some template notes. I reach them in node ānotesā or āuntaggedā (it is important that these template notes are not tagged) where they are pinned. To use them as template i just a) duplicate them and b) tag them and remove the pinned status
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Are you able to trigger it within Bear or do you have to go out of the app to trigger it?
Ah, good question. Sorry I missed that detail. Thatās external in Shortcuts.
I also use the method @krssno describes.
Unfortunately, on iPad you canāt associate Shortcuts with keystrokes but I use the Shortcuts widget which I can trigger by swiping down to the lock screen and right.
P.S.
The iPad Shortcuts keystroke idea sounds good and Iāll send a feature request to Apple.
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@MrMentos You might know this allready, but alternatively, you could use the native text-replacement feature that part of MacOS and iOS to create a template. With this method you can stay within Bear, and you donāt even have to leave the current note youāre working on to look for a template-note. Should you be interested, hereās how it works:
- In Bear, create a template note, including formatting and tagging.
- In Bear, select the contents of the note (CMD-a) and copy (CMD-c).
- Go to the Apple menu and choose System preferences > Keyboard > Text replacements.
- In the new window, klick on te + sign to add a new line.
- Paste (CMD-v) the copied text into the right field (green arrow) and fill in the keystroke youād like to use (red arrow). In my case; typing āboeksamā triggers a template to a book summary.
- Hit āsaveā, return to Bear, test the feature and watch the magic unfold.
Be aware: setting this up only works on MacOS. For some reason the text replacement menu on iOS does nor accept a multi-line text input. Once set up though, this will work on every device. (Text replacements are synced! 
) Also, this of course will not work with images.
The beauty: With this method you can leave your fingers ons the keyboard without leaving the current note or switching to other applications. Zero friction. 
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Today I learned something. Didnāt know MacOS could do multiline text replacement! Thanks for the heads up 
Wow! Thanks! Didnāt ever thought about that.
I knew it could do single line but not multiline. Thanks for sharing 
I do the same. Works great.
I encourage other Bear users to build some Shortcuts to augment Bearās features.
Regarding having to leave bear to trigger a shortcut. You can trigger shortcuts via url. Bonus you can make into a hyperlink and it looks like a button. I have a note with multiple templates shortcuts. Works like a charm and even works on Mac.
- [Make Journal Note](shortcuts://run-shortcut?name=Journal%20Template)
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