As an alternative to the Webnotes Greasemonkey script I touched base on earlier this month, the Writely Quick Note Bookmarklet [via] allows instant note creation to your personal Writely account. For the uninitiated, Writely can be considered a makeshift Microsoft Word alternative which provides users with a medium to create, edit, collaborate, and save documents as .DOC or .PDF files directly from your web browser. You can find more information on the free service via Writely – Help Center.

The setup may be a little tricky so I’ve written up this hand-holding tutorial:

• [Pre-registered users can skip this step] The first step is to register for a Writely account. No hand-holding here. Sign up is straightforward. You’ll soon find yourself at the main ‘Active Documents’ screen.
• At the top of the screen – to the right of the Writely logo – click ‘New’ (which will prompt you with a ‘New Document’ popup. Title your document Quick Notes and click ‘OK’. We’ll skip the collaboration [sharing] option. After closing, Writely will open your new blank document. Peruse the editor [if the service is completely new to you], then click ‘Done’ at the top right side of the window.
• Return to the ‘Active Documents’ view and right-click on your document titled Quick Notes. Select properties and look through the ‘address’ for the document ID after the Doc.aspx?id=. Copy that ID to your clipboard.
• Navigate to the Quick Note Bookmarklet page and paste the ID next to ‘Document ID’ and click ‘Create’. You’ll find your bookmarklet displayed which you can then drag to your bookmarks toolbar.
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  If you suddenly have an epiphany while browsing, click the Quick Note Bookmarklet and type your thoughts in the javascript popup. You now have the ability to compile a collection of notes to a single document accessible online from anywhere on Writely. Note: In order for the bookmarklet to work consistently, you will need to remain signed in at Writely. Next time you log into Writely, check the box next to ‘Keep me signed in on this computer’.

No more excuses. Remember your notes and keep them accessible at Writely.com.