Last updated: Monday, 1 September 2025 AEST
WELCOME to NoteMaker 2.5.3
A database application for those who love making notes
and it's free, but only fully operational with a pre-installed copy of FileMaker Pro versions 18, 19, 20, 21 or 22.
The latest update 2.5.2 (released 25 August 2025) has:
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personal found sets;
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the Note-Focus card becoming "control centre" in conjunction with the Index popover;
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enablement of pull quotes from the Note field;
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a dedicated layer for excerpts.
Message (Monday, 1 September 2025 AEST).
Generative artificial intelligence (genAI) is one of the wonders of the 21st century.
In order to increase its accuracy in simulating human intelligence it undergoes training by assimilating almost endless amounts of data: the more the cleverer. GenAI is truly a little miracle. When you see it in action it boggles the mind. GenAI has to be one of the greatest of human inventions of all time.
However, why should genAI do all the training in order to improve its intelligence?
It's time for humans to grow their intelligence too by going into training for themselves.
With NoteMaker, you make the decisions every step of the way; and you write the content.
You're not just mimicking intelligence (a la genAI), you are the intelligence.
Everything about NoteMaker 2.5.2 is you! Start to put not only your intelligence but also your intellect into workout mode. The gym? NoteMaker 2.5.2. Don't hesitate to download it at https://notemakerdatabase.com. It's free!
Don't let the Morlocks inherent in genAI make you into an Eloi. Time to stand up to a possible deterioration of your thinking, writing and research skills. Time to fight what will soon be the new establishment, genAI, by reasserting your ability to make judgement calls on the materials presented to you by genAI.
Conclusion. Technology-wise, genAI is arguably the greatest thing to happen so far in the 21st century (how wonderful are those summaries it provides to your search criteria; feel sorry, however, for the listed websites that follow that may not be visited due to the upfront summary) but be on guard that genAI doesn't usurp the moments when you can exercise your skills to make judgement calls with a perspective that should be greater than that provided by genAI. In a sense, you should always strive for your perspective to be greater than genAI's. In other words, make genAI your servant, not your master.
WHAT NOTEMAKER 2.5.3 CAN DO FOR YOU
NoteMaker 2.5.2 helps, allows or enables you to:
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write, store, search and manage thousands of notes in the one file;
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group notes under collection labels (categories);
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link one note directly to another;
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showcase spotted keywords;
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create your own personal "found sets", which can reproduce any time you wish;
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transform abbreviations (eg, "wsj" to "The Wall Street Journal");
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make notes extensive with a ReOrderAble list (see screenshot below), a storyboard and two preset tables;
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earmark some notes as special;
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create pull quotes that highlight a special phrase or sentence in the note;
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write effective summaries with scaffolding provided (especially useful for students);
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grow your intelligence and skills by exercising them (no explicit chatbots here);
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use a nifty but simple visual calendar for noting birthdays, due dates and the like;
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work with the thrilling partnership between the Note-Focus card and the Index popover ("control central");
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access the 20,000-word embedded User Manual (no internet connection needed);
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all-in-all, NoteMaker 2.5.3 presents a warm, comfortable working environment those who love making notes and for students who wish to be given some guidance in writing effective summaries.
NoteMaker 2.5.2 home page
NoteMaker 2.5.3 home page decluttered
The home page is where the action takes place. The two screenshots show the different "faces" of the home page: one with mostly formatting functions at your fingertips and the other with "Spartan"-like essentials only.
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The workflow is as simple as one, two, three:
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write the heading or contextual statement for the note (then press Tab);
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write or select a collection label (then press Enter);
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write the note.
Done!​
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ABOUT THE SCREENSHOTS
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​The column of popover buttons on the far-left are extensions. For example, you may wish to storyboard the content of a note about the birth and death of a star, which would be extremely difficult to simulate in the Note field, if not impossible, but a ready facility is available with the Storyboard extension. (By the bye, storyboards are great for visualising cycles and timelines.
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​The directory. The huge blank rectangle to the right of the column of the note-extensions will list the headings (or contextual statements) of your notes. Simply click on any of the headings in the directory to bring details of the note to the screen. (Currently, it's blank because no notes have been created).
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​Notice along the top toolbar are clues that show NoteMaker is a database (eg, "record"). It makes it clear, however, that each note is equal to one record in the database. Also, it shows that it has pedigree, as it is being built on the superb FileMaker Pro platform.
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​Clicking the Set due date button will make the note an event-note (which is a non-visual calendar item).
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Notice the crossword-like assortment of buttons and fields ... these give you instant access to (mostly) formatting tools, without the need to waste a click to access them from the Format menu.
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​If you find the home page a little cluttered, there is a hide clutter button that will hide all but the essential buttons and fields (see immediate screenshot above to see what a clutter-free NoteMaker looks like).
NoteMaker 2.5.3 ReOrderAble list extension
The Note field has several extensions: what can't be easily placed in the field itself may be refered to an extension. For example, simple ordered lists can be done within the Note field; however, though a list of Scooby-Doo movies can also be done in the Note field, it's not easy to reposition the listed items. But it's easy with the ReOrderAble list.
Please note: items in the list may additionally have links to their own notes. Therefore, a ReOrderAble list may act as a sub-directory, as is this case with the above list Scooby-Doo direct-to-video movies.
CONTACT THE FRIENDLY NOTEMAKER TEAM
Please use the contact form to:​
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ask questions;
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bring to our attention any bugs in the app or errors in the User Manual;
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provide us with an appraisal of your experience with NoteMaker 2.5.3.​
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(If you wish to download NoteMaker 2.5.3 (or ScriptPlanner 1.1.0), please visit https://notemakerdatabase.com
and go to the bottom of the website for the download facility).
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Appendix: images of ScriptPlanner
ScriptPlanner is a powerful (ie, highly useful) planning tool for screenwriters. Like NoteMaker, it is only functional with an installed copy of FileMaker 18, 19, 20, 21 or 22.
