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I often use the Stack Overflow "Ask Question" site as a rubber ducking tool, that is I have to explain my problem by typing it consistently and carry all relevant information into one place etc. It has the advantage over a plain text editor that if the rubber ducking did not help I have already a nicely formated question with all the relevant details that I can post on the respective SE site. Also the code highlighting etc. makes it easier to read what I wrote.

Now, I spend too much time on the SE network anyway so I'd like to have a way to take this ability out of my browser to be used when I intentionally cut my Internet connection to be better focused (I use the Leechblock Extension for this).

So I want to have a tool that:

  • Runs on my desktop (Offline Capable WebApps are okay)
  • Runs on my Linux (a MATE on Debian actually, but other flavors welcome).
  • Supports the Stack Overflow markdown.
  • Produces a preview.
  • Does not need an Internet connection.

Nice to have:

  • Display read only relevant question from Stack Overflow (other SE sites would be nice, but not so important).
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7
  • Why don't you just click on Ask Question and turn off your internet connection?
    – nwp
    Commented Dec 2, 2014 at 13:26
  • @nwp Because then it is already too late. I am seeing "Hot Meta Posts" and want to read them. Also, all the new questions on the Main page etc. No, when I land on stackoverflow I am kinda lost.
    – Angelo Fuchs
    Commented Dec 2, 2014 at 13:28
  • Use a customizable popup blocker maybe together with a different browser and block distracting stuff, take a self control course or try your luck on stackapps.
    – nwp
    Commented Dec 2, 2014 at 13:32
  • 1
    Why not use a pen and paper like everyone else...? o.O
    – Lightness Races in Orbit
    Commented Dec 2, 2014 at 16:20
  • One of the biggest values to writing a question is seeing what related questions there are. More often than not, I find the answer to my question without ever asking it.
    – corsiKa
    Commented Dec 2, 2014 at 22:28

2 Answers 2

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6

You need to use StackEdit - it is exactly what you are asking for -

  • The same editor as SO
  • Works offline once loaded
  • Free
  • Works in browser so cross platform
  • Can backup to Google Docs, etc.
  • Syntax Highlighting available.

Scrrenshot

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1
  • 1
    Looks great! I will test it throughly but this looks like what I had in Mind. Will see if it is actually "offline" capable. I wouldn't have expected something like this to live in a browser.
    – Angelo Fuchs
    Commented Dec 2, 2014 at 13:57
3

I ran into a similar problem myself. I needed a program that allowed me to write Markdown-based email templates with a live preview. I couldn't find anything online, so I wrote my own software to do this.

There's actually a .NET library called MarkdownSharp that is really useful for this. This takes a Markdown-formatted input and produces an HTML-formatted output.

From this, I created a hasty program I call TemplateOne. It is open-source with no license, I consider this to be Public Domain. I built this for Windows, but the entire project is compatible with Mono, so that you or someone else can build it for Linux. Apologies that this isn't a perfect one-click solution for you.

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1
  • I'll give it a look.
    – Angelo Fuchs
    Commented Dec 3, 2014 at 9:10

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