Frequently asked questions

Answers to the questions people ask most about Understory. If yours isn’t here, email support@ussher.ca.

Is this a subscription?

No. One purchase, and it’s yours.

What does it cost?

It’s free to try, with every feature working from the first launch. The free version holds up to 100 notes in your Personal Notebook and 20 in each Project Notebook. A one-time payment of $24.99 USD removes those limits. The pricing page has the details.

Is there an iPhone or iPad version?

Not yet. Mac only for now.

How is this different from an outliner?

An outliner is good for shaping ideas into a hierarchy, but every item in it is a bullet. In Understory every item is a whole note written as regular text, and the same note can appear in several outlines, or in none. How It Works explains it in full.

Is this a Zettelkasten app?

It’s built on the same idea — small notes, linked to each other — and adds the step from notes to a finished piece of writing. You don’t need to know the method to use it.

What can I publish to?

PDF, Rich Text, Markdown or a website, and you can print as well. PDFs come in US Letter or in paperback and hardback book sizes. You can publish a single note, the notes you select, or a whole outline.

Can I finish my draft in another app?

Yes. Publish to Rich Text to open it in your word processor, or to Markdown for any app or site that reads it.

Where are my notes stored?

Your Personal Notebook lives in your own iCloud account and syncs between your Macs. A Project Notebook is a folder you choose on your Mac, holding one ordinary Markdown file per note. Either way there’s no Understory account to create.

Can I read my notes without Understory?

Yes. A Project Notebook is plain Markdown in a plain folder, so any text editor can open it. Any notebook can also be exported as a zip archive.

Do I need iCloud?

Only for the Personal Notebook. Project Notebooks work entirely offline.