June 13, 2016
Writed Pro falls short of the competition
Writed Pro
Product: Writed Pro
Price: $8.99
Writed Pro is one of a new class of applications which are appearing in the Mac App Store. It is at its base, a distraction free text editor, supporting Markdown. It lets you export to Markdown, Word (doc and docx files), OpenOffice (odt files) and Rich Text files (rtf files).
With the subscription model under which Word is now available from Microsoft, there seems to be a need for apps which have the ability to deal with Word files without actually using Word. Writed Pro is an attempt at doing that.
You can open any Word document. It gets converted to Markdown syntax. You can work on it, and export to a Word document.
I have no need for this feature. I am and have been Microsoft free for a decade. But I can see why this has become a feature which is highlighted by these applications. Being able to read and generate Microsoft Word files is an important skill to have in the business world.
I have no idea how well Writed Pro does in converting the word files to markdown. I threw a few Word files at it, but they were not rich in formatting, it seemed to handle those fine. I don't know what it would do with a complicated, densely styled Word document. Pages can read and export to Word files too. I prefer Writed Pro only because it converts Word files to Markdown and that is the format I live and write in.
It is a competent Markdown based text editor. Supports most of the usual Markdown features. Footnotes are not supported and tables support needs work. There is a rudimentary support of keyboard commands built into the program. For instance, ⌘+B for bold, ⌘+I for italic and ⌘+K for strikethrough. However there are no keyboard commands for some other things you do regularly in Markdown, for instance links, ordered and unordered lists. It doesn't support system level keyboard commands for some commonly used features like full screen mode. The default command is ⌃+⌘+F, but Writed Pro doesn't support it. You have to invoke the command through the Window menu.
The full screen is well implemented. The focus mode lacks typewriter scrolling, and true focus on paragraph or sentence as implemented by Byword andiA Writer. Both of these applications let you open Microsoft Word files, and export documents to the Microsoft word format. iA Writer like Writed pro also converts Word files to Markdown. Writed Pro is playing in a crowded field with some well established competitors.
The Competition Eats Writed Pro's Lunch
In every meaningful criteria, Writed Pro seems to be the poor cousin of iA Writer. That might be understandable, Writed Pro is at version 1.0. iA Writer has had a few iterations and is now at version 3.0. These are the things Writed Pro does better:
- Writed Pro has themes. iA Writer only has light and dark mode.
- Writed Pro supports a few different fonts which are tied to its themes. iA Writer only supports its customized implementation of Nitti.
iA Writer is a complete markdown based writing solution, Writed Pro has a ways to go. You can read about iA Writer here.
Recommendation
If you are interested in this product category. Get iA Writer. Writed Pro only makes sense if you are severely resource constrained. iA Writer costs $14.99 while Writed Pro costs $8.99, but is often on sale for $0.99.
macosxguru at the gmail thingie
Markdown
Writed Pro
June 8, 2016
Don't Break the Chain or Your Streak
Product: Chains - Packages - Package Control.
Price: Free
Product: Streaks
Price: $3.99
Jerry Seinfeld is the originator of this productivity hack.
To become a better comedian, he wrote daily. To motivate himself, he put a large calendar that had a whole year on one page on the wall. Got himself a thick red magic marker and everyday he wrote, he would put a big red X over that day. Soon he had a chain going. The only task left?
"Don't break the chain."
I got reminded of this by an article in Medium, where Broderick Turner talked about writing daily.
I use a plugin for Sublime Text 3 called Chains. It is a calendar for the whole year. You get to mark off the days that you have completed the task that you have set for yourself. Do this for a few days and soon you see the chain emerge. I am using this to help me write every day. The chain is 22 days old.
Streaks
If you don't use Sublime Text 3, you can get the same help from an iOS app called Streaks. It is well-designed, and lets you track up to six tasks. It has links to the Health app, so, it is more versatile than a Sublime Text 3 plugin.
Both products and the productivity hack are recommended heartily.
macosxguru at the gmail thingie
Writing
June 6, 2016
Syntra Small: A Fast and Free Text Editor
Syntra Small
Product: Syntra Small | Code Editor Built for Speed
Price: Free
This is a new text editor for the Mac OS. It is available from the Mac App Store, here.
The developer is clear as to its mission. This is it:
My goal with Syntra Small is to make the fastest, tiniest, most modular code editor on OS X.
It's not meant to replace your IDE. It's meant to be there for those times when you need to quickly browse or edit a script, and want to do so with beautiful syntax highlighting and a built in linter.
So, how does it do?
It is fast. Fast to launch. Almost instant, on my five year old iMac. It is snappy.
Tiniest? I am not sure I care about that. But as a programmer, the developer might. I don't see the advantage that this provides the user. But to indulge the developer:
| Syntra Small |
18 megs |
| CotEditor |
19.4 megs |
| SublimeText |
31.4 megs |
| BBEdit |
30.7 megs |
| TextMate |
33 megs |
It is capable. It is fast. It is beautiful.
Syntra Preferences
It is minimal in that it gives you a small subset of decisions in its preference panel. You get to choose between Light or Dark mode. You get to specify Soft Tabs settings, Enable or disable Auto-Save and choose a font from a selection made available by the developer.
It has github integration available through the modular plug-ins which are a part of the architecture. I am waiting for more choices in that feature. A public API which is promised will make the process of users adding plugins easier.
That is about it.
One of the advantages of dealing with a new product is that as an user you get to have some impact on the design and future of the product. The developer, Garet McKinley is responsive and you the user, have an opportunity to affect the future design and growth of the product.
Markdown
Syntra Small supports the basic features of every text editor, It supports themes and highlights the syntax of a whole host of languages. For my needs, it does a good job of highlighting markdown syntax.
What Is It About Full Screen Mode That Baffles All of These Editors?
I have noticed that a lot of these text editors have trouble implementing full screen mode on the iMac. Why is it difficult to implement a 80-character or thereabouts, text window. The text window centered on the screen and everything else black or swathed in the background color? For instance, this is Syntra Small in fullscreen mode.
Syntra Full Screen
I know the screenshot is difficult to read. Look at the lines, they go across the screen. So one line is all across the 27 inch iMac screen. It is not possible for anyone to write like that.
See the same thing in Sublime Text 3.
Sublime Text 3 full screen
See the same thing in BBEdit.
BBEdit Full Screen
I wish the developers would solve this problem and make full screen usable on bigger displays.
This is a free offering. It does what it is supposed to do and if you are looking for a quick, easy to use text editor, it fits the bill nicely.
Recommended heartily.
macosxguru at the gmail thingie
Syntra Small
text editor
May 31, 2016
Sublime Tutor: Sensei for Aspiring Sublime Text Ninjas
Product: Sublime Tutor
Price: Free
Keyboard commands. That is what separates the text editor ninja from the novice. On the path to text editing ninja status, you are better off picking one text editor and learning it. Learn it deeply. That means you have to learn the keyboard commands that allow you to do stuff in the text editor. Every command has one, the more you know, the more efficient you are in it.
The less you have to go to the menus, or click on buttons, or use the mouse at all, the more efficient you will be.
How Do You Reach Ninja State?
- Pick a text editor. Any one. On the Mac, Sublime Text 3, BBEdit, Atom, TextMate, vim, emacs, or, Chocolat, are all good choices. I use Sublime Text 3.
- Stay in that text editor for all your text editing needs. Keep it open all the time. Work in it whenever you are writing something.
- Infuse the keyboard commands into your muscle memory. How does one do this?
Keyboard Commands Into Muscle Memory
How do you fuse the knowledge of keyboard commands into your muscles?
- Learn them. In Sublime Text 3 and Atom, you can reach every command by evoking the command palette (⌘+⇧+P). Then you start typing words from the command you need and the fuzzy search gives you the command you are looking for. Next to it, is the keyboard command. Make a note of it, use it. Next time, avoid the command palette, type the keyboard command. In BBEdit, check out the Menus and Shortcuts preferences. In most other text editors read the manual or the help files. Search the Internet for cheatsheets.
- Learn them in bunches. Few of them at a time. Use them. Don't try to learn all of them at one time. You are not going to get there. Learn them in small batches. Let your muscles, both your fingers and your brain learn them, get used to them, welcome them into your life. Do this again and again.
- Give yourself time. You are not going to become a text editing ninja in a week or a month. It is going to take time. Give yourself that time.
- If you keep at it, you are going to get there. You are going to achieve ninja status.
Being a Sublime Text user, I am interested in learning how to use the text editor better and there is a new plugin which aids this effort.
Sublime Tutor is an attempt to teach you keyboard commands in Sublime Text 3 through a tutorial which is built into the program. It derives inspiration from vimtutor, and delivers small chunks of information to you, to aid you in the process of achieving true Sublime Text 3 mastery.
You can use package control to install the plugin. You can read about it here. Check out the package control page here.
It comes with 6 modules, 39 chapters and 70 features and shortcuts. It is intensive, it is complete and it is well organized. It will take time to get through it all. Don't hurry that process. It is not sensible to expect to incorporate all of that information into your workflow at once. Let it seep into your muscle memory. Do a few chapters at a time. Use what you have learned. When you get comfortable with it, ingest a few more chapters. Repeat the process again and again.
I am grateful to Jai Pandya for making this available. It is a fantastic resource and a worthwhile addition to the Sublime Text 3 arsenal. Thank you Jai.
macosxguru at the gmail thingie
Keyboard commands
SublimeText
May 26, 2016
Segue Down the Analog Road: The rOtring Rapid Pro 2.0 Mechanical Pencil
Product: rOtring Rapid PRO Mechanical Pencil, 2 mm, Matte Black
I don't know much about Bauhaus School of Art and Design. I do know that they inspired the design of the best mechanical pencil that I have ever used.
rOtring has been making the Rapid Pro line of mechanical pencils since 2010. rOtring describes them as "an innovative 2mm pencil with push mechanism and fine-lead pencils with cushion point mechanism & tubular sliding point. A perfect professional tool!"
This is how it comes packaged.
Rapid Pro Package
This is the pencil.
The Pencil
Why is this special?
The feel. The weight. The quality of the engineering. It is beautiful. It is heavy. Seems to be the perfect weight for writing. All of that translates into the following: I want to use this pencil. I want to write, even when I have nothing to write about.
As you can probably tell, I love this pencil.
Recommended heartily.
While I am talking about the pencil, you can get lead for the pencil here.
You also need a pencil sharpener, and this is the best one I have seen.
macosxguru at the gmail thingie
Pencil
Bicycle For Your Mind