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myTexts for iPad, distraction-free writing to go
A while back, I shared my discovery of myTexts, a robust distraction-free writing application ... well, as robust as a stripped-down, no-frills editor would want to be. Now, myTexts has shown up on the iPad, with iTunes syncing of your text files between your iPad and the desktop version. To make the deal sweeter, if you pick up the US$2.99 iPad app, you can get the Mac version (normally $19) for free. The iPad app is good-looking, and has two different editing modes. The first one you're presented with is a more illustrated interface, with faux-paper and a wooden desktop background. If you'd rather be completely undistracted, there's a full-screen mode that has nothing but your text and a keyboard (and a nearly-invisible button to go back to the menu). In the main menu mode, your files are presented on the left, and your text is on the right. You can switch files quickly, and flip from writing to the file's attached notes with a button at the top. You can export files on the iPad, and it's necessary to do so before syncing a file back through iTunes. When you export a text or myTexts format file, it shows up on your Apps screen in iTunes, where you can add and transfer files of either type. The latest version of myTexts on the Mac can read the original-format files from the iPad, maintaining any notes as well as the text. The desktop version can then interpret any Markdown, and output PDF, Word, Rich Text, HTML and more. While we're waiting for Writeroom for iPad to be finalized/approved, myTexts has swept in and offered an alternative with some great functionality and a clean interface. There are a few glitches, mostly related to attaching and detaching an external keyboard, but it's safe to assume they'll be smoothed out quickly. It's a pleasure to use as it is, and quite useful for writers. Combined with the desktop version, it's pretty powerful as well. If you pick up the iPad version, be sure to head over to moApps to get your desktop version for free!
myTexts, yet another way to reduce writing distraction
myTexts, a new app from MOApp, caught my attention recently. It's another "distraction-free writing" app with some nice touches and a reasonable price tag. This genre of apps basically time-warps you back to the days of full-screen, menu-free, plain text word processing. The most popular of the comparable applications would be WriteRoom, which is in active development and, I believe, the original app in this category. myTexts adds some great touches to the idea. First, myTexts uses a database to store your documents, with auto-save and auto-backup. Your entire document library can be searched, including the title, full text, document notes and user-assigned tags. Documents can be exported in a variety of formats, ranging from plain text files (.txt) to Word documents (.doc). You can even export XML/HTML. Tags assigned in the app are written to exported documents as OpenMeta tags, making Spotlight searching more efficient, if you're a "tag" kind of user. Fonts and colors are customizable, although you only get two choices (shades of grey) for the background. There's a sidebar containing your document list, as well as notes and tags for the current document. Notes for the current document can also be popped up in a floating, always-on-top window which you can quickly paste to from other applications and which dims when not active. The sidebar automatically hides and can be triggered with a mouse-over, or you can disable the mouse trigger and call it only with a keyboard shortcut. There aren't a lot more features, but everything is keyboard-navigable and quite well-polished, especially for such a young application. Like WriteRoom, myTexts is a Cocoa application and its editing area is fully-compatible with System Services, the OS X spell-checker and third party applications such as SpellCatcher X. myTexts is available as a free trial, and can be purchased for 12 Euro (about $17US), making it slightly cheaper than WriteRoom (also downloadable as a free trial). If you're in the market, I'd suggest giving both apps a try, as they both have their own feel and features. The WriteRoom wiki lists a few other apps in this category, and I'm pretty sure WriteRoom 1.0 is still available as a freeware app if you don't want or need the frills.
