Tag: software

A few months ago, while I was editing some documents in Markdown, I came across Write! — a new text editor (still in beta) that is being marketed as “writing instrument for digital age [sic]” and a “distraction-free text editor that does not suck”. So I downloaded it and took it out for a spin.

I like it, but…

For the most part I like Write! It’s clean, it’s fast, and it has a minimal set of usable features that don’t get in the way.

It’s like a prettier Notepad but with a spell checker, a navigation bar on the right-hand side (like Sublime Text), and a basic understanding of Markdown (so you can make text bold, for example, by typing **example**).

I have a couple of issues, though, which prevents me from using this as my text editor of choice for writing.

Proprietary format

My main niggle is that by default Write! saves to its own proprietary format. This is a zipped, XML-based file format (.wtt), and as far as I can tell this isn’t compatible with the OpenDocument text (.odt) format. The simple document above (showing the first chapter of JRR Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings) contains the following files:

• document.xml — the actual document, plus some meta data such as word count.
• history.xml — an undo history.
• package.xml — this seems to define the package format and encoding (UTF-8).

You can export to PDF, OpenDocument, plain text, and three flavours of Markdown (Textile, Markdown, and Wiki) but that has more of a disruptive workflow than simply tapping Ctrl+S every few minutes.

Similarly, it would be great to be able to associate Write! to open certain file types, such as text (.txt) or Markdown (.md, .mdown) files.

Not full Markdown support

By default I tend to use basic, vanilla Markdown rather than Textile or Wiki). By default Write! is configured to support a mixture of the other two. That’s not a problem as a quick visit to the settings will put that right.

But Write! only supports a small subset of Markdown:

Supports

• Headers prefixed with hash (# for H1, ## for H2, etc.).
• Unordered lists using minus (-) and plus (+).
• Numbered lists.
• Links (but you cannot easily edit the link, text or title).
• Emphasis (italics and bold) using asterisks (*) or underscores (_).
• Automatic links in the format <http://example.com/>.
• Backslash escapes, e.g. \*literal asterisks\*.

Does not support

• Setext style headers (underlined using equal signs or dashes).
• Blockquotes.
• Unordered lists using asterisk (*).
• Code blocks — 1 tab, 4 spaces or three backticks ().
• Inline code using single backticks (.example {}`).
• Horizontal rule.
• Images.
• Automatic links for email addresses, e.g. <[email protected]>.

Cannot type with help window open

This seems to be a basic requirement that has been overlooked: if I tap F1 to bring up the help text (shortcuts and markup) I cannot keep the help window open while typing into Write! If I start to type I get an irritated 'bong!' sound from my PC.

Surely I should be able to refer to the help text while typing.

Conclusion

If Write! supported at least:

1. The ability to select which format to save to by default (even on a document-by-document basis); (MUST)
2. The ability to open certain file types in Write! (MUST)
3. Full support for Markdown. (MUST)
4. Ability to type while referring to the help text. (SHOULD)

then I would without a doubt use this text editor for all sorts of small writing tasks, such as writing documentation, journalling, text editing, etc. Until then, I'll just keep updating the beta and see what gets added in the future.

For me this is definitely one application to keep an eye on but it isn't for production use quite yet.

Bonus

What is nice is that you can vote for future features from the website's Feedback link. One of those suggestions is to save in plain text format; I've just submitted an idea to fully support Markdown.