James LaRue - myliblog

To complete my complement, on all platforms, of markdown-based editors with folding, I have also purchased Editorial . This application turns my old iPad 2 into quite a powerful editing program. Like Haroopad and Smartdown, it allows me to pull things from Dropbox, edit the markdown files, then send or save them as plain text, HTML, and even PDF. All of them share a design aesthetic I like: very clean, very similar in function. Editorial also has a very handy touchscreen way to drag paragraphs around. Until now, on the iPad, I really haven't seen anything that did quite everything I wanted. Editorial's basic functions are clear and powerful; the built in Python scripting could scale to very complex things. But I don't need to go there, yet. So now that I'm done tinkering with my tools, and have established a master file on Dropbox available from Windows, Linux, and iOS, all I have to do is write.

I've written twice now about the Windows application Smartdown (a Mac version is also available now). It's a markdown editor that includes code "folding" -- the ability to hide or "collapse" text under a heading. It is also "Zenware" -- software that adheres to a simple, stripped down aesthetic. It sells for $20 from Aflava . When I was on my writer retreat, I decided to buy it, first because it's a fine tool, second because good programmers should be paid. Smartdown is a pleasure to use, although I did have to reach out to support to figure out how to change its "save to panel" properties, instead of the more common minimize behavior. Smartdown can also be stored on a flash drive to make a portable application. I found it ideal for working with a long, chapter-length file, collapsing and expanding the sections to track the flow of it. On my Linux box (a recycled ThinkCentre PC running LXLE) I already had HarooPad , which is free, b...

I found another wonderful tool for writing, definitely worth sharing. It's called Haroopad . It's an open source, cross-platform, markdown-based, code folding-capable editor. You can download Mac, Windows, and Linux versions from here . The defaults seem to be set up for writers. You can toggle views: editor and HTML viewer side by side, or viewer (on the left) and editor (on the right) if you prefer that orientation, or just one or the other. It has a constant word count display on the bottom status bar. It has lots of themes. There's an automatic focus on the current paragraph. The best thing is code folding. (This is a neat trick that turns a text editor into an outliner . By that, I mean that you can selectively hide and reveal big blocks of text, allowing one to see or rearrange the structure of a document.) I did have to toggle it on (on the Mac, it was under File>Preferences). It works reliably and consistently by structure (header level). I love outliners. ...

What works for you may not work for me. At this moment, I'm looking for a storage system focused on plain text, Dropbox and (to a lesser extent) Google. Then, I want to be able to get to my files, to revise them, from any of my platforms. I want a clean editing environment that has a handful of functions readily to hand, that doesn't get in my way. So based on this quick review, I seem to have settled on a few clear choices. All of them (other than Simplenote, which has its own cloud storage) allow me to edit files sitting in Dropbox, which makes them cross-platform. Windows : Simplenote (and ResophNotes), WriteMonkey and Writebox. WriteMonkey begins to look like a true, new, writing environment. Focuswriter is another good choice. Note that all of these are free. Mac : Simplenote (and nValt), Writebox, and Focuswriter. But I'm leaving that platform. Again, all are free. Linux : Simplenote in browser, Focuswriter, and Uberwriter. Uberwriter costs $5; the ot...

Daedulus is iPad only, and has a unique UI. Instead of the file and folder metaphor, or the two column approach, Daedulus uses "stacks." A stack is like a folder. Sheets can be created within it - and can be flicked around within the stack, or across them in one of the best uses of the touch screen I've seen. I'm writing these reviews in Daedulus, and it's a lot of fun. With the ability to shuffle the sheets, and search across them, this is far better than Plaintext.  While the basic version is free, to get Dropbox syncing and exporting, you need to shell out some cash. I bought the bundle for $3.99. Daedulus syncs up with Ulysses III through iCloud, I understand, but I haven't tested that. Although I have a Mac (my son's abandoned laptop), it's not really my basic platform. It is Dropbox enabled -  the files are syncing to a Daedalus folder within Dropbox.

Uberwriter is a Linux-only, Ubuntu-based markdown editor with some strong export options (odt, pdf, epub, rtf, html, latex source, MediaWikie markup).  It sells for $5. Other features inclue: - 'Focus' Mode greys out all but the sentence you are actively working on. - Fullscreen Mode - Inline Markdown Highlighting - Live Word and Character counting - Preview - Out of the box math support. I haven't tried it, but it seems a useful tool, and maybe the only Linux markdown editor of note at this writing.

The Aflava software, SmartDown, is billed as a minimalist markdown editor for Windows. After its free beta, it had an introductory price of $19.95, down from its retail price of $24.99. (This compares to $14.99 for MarkdownPad for Windows, another contender.) It has a simple, "sandwich" menu interface, with a pleasant enough gray-blue background. It seems to be close to my essential writer tool chest requirements.  Note: it appears that I can only edit one file at a time. That's too bad. It has a full complement of text editing and navigation commands, excepting movement by paragraph ((ctrl-up/down).  Folding   SmartDown offers *folding*. Anything that follows a heading (line preceded by hashtags) until another heading of the same level or higher can be collapsed simply by clicking on the along the left edge of the window. I guess this includes any other text, until the next header. That's my primary interest in this program. Spellcheck It...

This writer's environment is free (although donations are accepted, and there is a fee to get various plug-ins), Windows only, and first requires the download and installation of the 4.0+ .net platform (so needs to be installed in anything up to Windows 7, but is there from 8.0 on) . WriteMonkey is a zip file download; once extracted, it can be copied to anywhere, including a USB drive. The screen is by default perfectly white paper blank. F1 brings up a host of commands.  Cursor tests After running through the usual keystrokes: - all good. There's one change: Alt-Up arrow moves the whole paragraph up, which I adore. Ctrl-Up moves the cursor by paragraph. - I like the automatic indenting that happens after the insertion of a hyphen. - Search and replace is solid - one file at a time, I believe. - ///Bookmarks may be placed - three hyphens, or Alt-M. And the jump command (Alt-Left or Right) allows one to skip around by headings or by bookmarks. Text checking - Automatic word cou...

Stackedit (https://stackedit.io/) is a browser-based, markdown editor. It's simple enough for content creation: type on the left panel, see the result on the right. It also offers a word count, although I had to look for it. On the lower end of the right panel, there's a vertical three dot icon. Touch that, and a box pops up with a panel including a charcter count. Touch that number, and get a word count. The panel will even stay on the screen. It doesn't seem to have a search function, or navigation. Moreover, although this stores content in the local browser cache, it can be set to sync with Google Docs or Dropbox. Unlike some of the browser editors I've seen, it works well on mobile platforms. It is free, although it prompts you for a $5 donation.

Writebox is a free, in-browser app for Chrome and web browsers. There is a separate app for iOS and Android (for $1.99 each). Its font and background can be fiddled with, but beyond that it is stripped down, perfectly comprehensible, and works with Dropbox and Google Drive. It understands markdown, and can offer a toggled preview. It offers a word count, and the ability to save as html or email text or html. It does not have navigational aids (bookmarks or jump functions) or the ability to directly print. Apparently it doesn't work as well on the mobile platform browsers. Once you start typing, the menu options disappear.  It has also been reported to struggle with large files (5,000 words or more). But again, there's an advantage to something that stretches across multiple platforms. While it isn't free, it's not expensive, either. I sprung for it.

Word processing / text editing / writing software is going through some interesting changes lately. A handful of reasons come to mind. 1. Legacy software is often too complex, riddled with little-used options lost in mazes of menus. We spend more time trying to track down the command we do want than in creating content. 2. It's also a sad reality that many of us have lost files to the proprietary formats of now abandoned software. Wordstar is gone. WordPerfect is gone. The files of Microsoft Word (with its "embrace, extend, and extinguish" approach to standards) are notoriously balky, and likely to be corrupted. But the oldest format of plain text - a format  that can be looked at and edited by many free programs on almost any platform - endures. It is reliable and reusable. 3. Mobile computing is on the rise. We spend less time in front of one machine in one location. We spend more time with smart phones and tablets, which run entirely different operating s...