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DocFX VS Dash for macOS

Compare DocFX VS Dash for macOS and see what are their differences

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DocFX logo DocFX

A documentation generation tool for API reference and Markdown files!

Dash for macOS logo Dash for macOS

Dash is an API Documentation Browser and Code Snippet Manager. Dash searches offline documentation of 200+ APIs and stores snippets of code. You can also generate your own documentation sets.
  • DocFX Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-05-11
  • Dash for macOS Landing page
    Landing page //
    2021-10-22

DocFX features and specs

  • Open Source
    DocFX is an open-source project, which allows for community contributions and transparency in development.
  • Multi-platform Support
    It supports generating documentation for .NET projects across different operating systems, including Windows, Linux, and macOS.
  • Comprehensive Documentation
    DocFX can generate documentation from source code files as well as markdown files, making it versatile for different types of documentation needs.
  • Customization and Extensibility
    The tool allows for customization of templates and supports plugins, enabling users to tailor the output to their specific requirements.
  • Static Site Generation
    DocFX can generate a full static website from the documentation, which can be easily hosted on platforms like GitHub Pages.
  • Integration with .NET Core
    DocFX integrates well with .NET ecosystem, making it a convenient choice for .NET developers for both code and conceptual documentation.

Possible disadvantages of DocFX

  • Complex Setup
    The initial configuration and setup might be complex for users who are not familiar with the tooling, requiring careful reading of the documentation.
  • Performance Issues
    For large projects, DocFX can be slow during the documentation generation process, which may affect productivity for large-scale documentation.
  • Limited Non-.NET Language Support
    While it is excellent for .NET projects, DocFX offers limited features when applied to projects in other programming languages.
  • Documentation Quality
    Some users might find that the generated documentation lacks polish out-of-the-box, requiring additional effort to meet professional publishing standards.
  • Learning Curve
    There can be a learning curve for new users in understanding how to use DocFX effectively, especially in customizing templates and themes.

Dash for macOS features and specs

  • Comprehensive Documentation Library
    Dash offers an extensive collection of API documentation sets for a wide range of programming languages and frameworks, making it a one-stop solution for developers who need quick access to reference materials.
  • Offline Access
    Dash allows users to download documentation for offline use, which is invaluable when working in environments without internet access or when attempting to reduce dependency on online resources.
  • Snippets Manager
    Dash includes a snippets manager that enables users to store and organize code snippets, which can significantly accelerate coding by reusing previously written code.
  • Integration with IDEs
    Dash integrates seamlessly with a variety of popular integrated development environments (IDEs) and code editors, like Xcode, Atom, Sublime Text, and more, streamlining the development workflow.
  • Custom Docsets
    Users can create and manage their own custom docsets, allowing for documentation customization specific to internal libraries or less common technologies.

Possible disadvantages of Dash for macOS

  • Paid Software
    Dash is a paid application, which may be a deterrent for some users who prefer free solutions or developers working with tight budgets.
  • macOS Only
    Dash is exclusive to macOS, which excludes users on other operating systems like Windows or Linux from utilizing its features.
  • Initial Set-Up Time
    Initial setup of Dash and downloading the necessary documentation sets can be time-consuming, especially for users who require multiple docsets.
  • Limited Cloud Syncing
    Dash doesn't offer robust cloud syncing options for documentation sets or snippet repositories, meaning users need to manually manage these files if working across multiple devices.

Analysis of Dash for macOS

Overall verdict

  • Yes, Dash for macOS is considered an excellent tool for developers seeking efficient and reliable access to offline documentation.

Why this product is good

  • Dash is highly regarded for its extensive offline documentation for numerous programming languages, frameworks, and APIs. Its speed and ease of use make it a valuable tool for developers who need quick access to documentation without an internet connection. The application allows users to create their own docsets and keep all documentation up to date effortlessly.

Recommended for

  • Software Developers
  • Programmers
  • Web Developers
  • Mobile App Developers
  • IT Professionals

DocFX videos

Generate Java documentation with DocFX

Dash for macOS videos

Dash for macOS

Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to DocFX and Dash for macOS)
Documentation
100 100%
0% 0
Productivity
0 0%
100% 100
Documentation As A Service & Tools
Software Development
0 0%
100% 100

User comments

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Reviews

These are some of the external sources and on-site user reviews we've used to compare DocFX and Dash for macOS

DocFX Reviews

We have no reviews of DocFX yet.
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Dash for macOS Reviews

  1. Stan
    · Founder at SaaSHub ·
    One of my favourite productivity tools as a software developer

    Once you get use to it, you won't be able to imagine your life without Dash. It will save you a bit of time every day. Many times.

    As a bonus you can use the "snippets" feature as a generic text-expander. That saves me tons of time when writing emails, too.

    p.s. aText is not exactly a direct competitor; however, I replaced it through the snippets feature of Dash.

    🏁 Competitors: aText

Best Text Expander apps for MacOS
Dash offers one of the most simplistic ways to start adding your own snippets. Dash 3 offers a set of language documentation at the side and this is something that will help you with rules and references. The tool allows you to create snippets by simply copying the phrase. Alternatively, you can also create custom snippets using keyboard commands. Dash allows users to setup...
Source: techwiser.com
What's a good alternative to Textexpander for Mac?
14DashView Productajimix4Written 4y agoIf you are a developer, Dash is your choice. It also does text-expanding and works great!🙏 helpful 3CommentsShare

Social recommendations and mentions

Based on our record, Dash for macOS seems to be a lot more popular than DocFX. While we know about 90 links to Dash for macOS, we've tracked only 7 mentions of DocFX. We are tracking product recommendations and mentions on various public social media platforms and blogs. They can help you identify which product is more popular and what people think of it.

DocFX mentions (7)

  • TSDocs.dev: type docs for any JavaScript library
    This is a better looking version of what Java and C# have had for a long time (kudos to the author for that!), is that the inspiration for this tool? https://docs.oracle.com/javase/8/docs/technotes/tools/windows/javadoc.html https://dotnet.github.io/docfx/ I saw the author mentioned in another comment that they found themselves peeping inside type declaration files "too often". While I do often use sites generated... - Source: Hacker News / over 1 year ago
  • What Does Microsoft Use to Create their KB Articles?
    Actually, we use it for OptiTune, it's called "docfx" https://dotnet.github.io/docfx/. Source: over 3 years ago
  • Library / Codebase Documentation - Multiple aggregated libraries - How to create? DocFx does not support this?
    We would really prefer to use a somewhat generic pre-made tool for this (such as DocFX) compared to rolling our own solution. We can roll our own solution... But would prefer not to so that we can minimize development and maintenance overhead. Source: over 3 years ago
  • CSharp Docuementation Site
    I use docfx from microsoft to generate documentation for all my oss libraries. Source: over 3 years ago
  • What platform is Microsoft Docs hosted on?
    My best guess would be that there's a CI/CD pipeline in GitHub that utilizes DocFX to convert the Markdown files to HTML. The constructed HTML files are then placed in an Azure Storage account that configured for Static Website Hosting combined with Azure CDN. Source: over 3 years ago
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Dash for macOS mentions (90)

  • Man pages are great, man readers are the problem
    Https://kapeli.com/dash for MacOS supports man pages just like any of its many other documentation sources. Just prefix the search query with `man:`. Absolute hall of fame app IMO. - Source: Hacker News / about 2 months ago
  • Why "alias" is my last resort for aliases
    Yeah, I do something kind of similar, using Dash [1] snippets which expand to full commands. Since I'm almost always on my mac, it means they're available in every shell, including remote shells, and in other situations like on Slack or writing documentation. I mostly use § as a prefix so I don't type them accidentally (although my git shortcuts are all `gg`-consonant which is not likely to appear in real typing).... - Source: Hacker News / 3 months ago
  • Patterns for Personal Web Sites (2003)
    Yeah, I keep thinking that CHM was the peak format for offline docs. Today we have Kiwix [0] and Dash/Zeal [1] – both amazing projects, but somehow they feel more complex, and the formats they use aren’t as ubiquitous. [0]: https://kiwix.org/en/ [1]: https://kapeli.com/dash for macOS, https://zealdocs.org/ for others. - Source: Hacker News / 4 months ago
  • Ask HN: What is one software product that boosted your productivity?
    Dash https://kapeli.com/dash Mac app. A native standardised search and browsing interface for the documentation of almost every programming language out there (and in some cases, their third-party libraries too). - Source: Hacker News / 8 months ago
  • Rerun: Visualize Multimodal Data over Time
    Rerun is great. I wish they prioritize rerun_sdk build for iOS and/or Android - so that you can log remotely from mobile devices. Serializing and streaming images, depthmaps, sensors data in own code is a pain and rerun has done great work with that. A little worrying for me that rerun seems getting more complicated and verbose and API changes frequently. The whole vizualization code can clutter algorithm/code... - Source: Hacker News / 9 months ago
View more

What are some alternatives?

When comparing DocFX and Dash for macOS, you can also consider the following products

Doxygen - Generate documentation from source code

Zeal - Zeal is an API Documentation Browser.

Natural Docs - Natural Docs is an open-source documentation generator for multiple programming languages.

DevDocs - Open source API documentation browser with instant fuzzy search, offline mode, keyboard shortcuts, and more

JSDoc - An API documentation generator for JavaScript.

AttendanceBot - Time & attendance tracking for distributed teams