

TextNut – a WYSIWYG markdown editor for Mac - steveneo
http://textnutwriter.com

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steveneo
I am creator of TextNut. Thanks for your comments. Some of my points:

* Price disclosed - Yes, it is not my false. No way to put price there. I don't want to baiting so I provide trial.

* File save location - You can export at current version, either in page or Library level. I am working on iOS version, after that TextNut will support icloud and dropbox.

* WYSIWYG - I believe this why TextNut is unique with others, it does not mix markdown delimiter with content, also provide a way to switch between markdown and rich mode

* Ulysses - unfortunately, after a few version upgrade, its UI more like Ulysses. Although I prefer you say I "rip-off" from Apple Mail most. Actually, I inherit most ideas from geniuswiki that I made since 2007. (That is why the link, image, footnote using curly bracket { to open popover!) I checked in first line code of TextNut in early of 2011, but I stopped only after very roughly UI code [https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CDxHr19UIAEVArE.png:large](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CDxHr19UIAEVArE.png:large). Although UI looks more different with current, but basic design idea never be changed since then, 3 panes: doc tree, editor, help(was call `Macro` from geniuswiki), doc title is updated by content, etc. I restarted TextNut dev since the middle of last year, I got a out-sourcing UI designer and give my first version design [http://www.textnutwriter.com/img/1.png](http://www.textnutwriter.com/img/1.png). After I add Theme in 1.1 version, I set the default theme as current light grey as it can accepted by most writers. In latest 2.1 version, Tree structure doc tree is supported, then final version looks like current. As independent developer, I only invest very small amount money for UI design. I hope users can more focus on core functionalities rather than colour palette at early stage.

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joshstrange
So while this is common trend I really wish developers would stop using the
"Download on the Mac App Store" graphic when it should be "Buy on the Mac App
Store". Also there is NO MENTION of the price or even the fact this is not
free (other than linking to trial which implies that). I really hate this
practice of baiting and switching.

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smackfu
Blame it on Apple, they mandate using this button. I understand why they don't
want to use prices, because those are localized, but agree that it should
differentiate free vs. paid apps.

~~~
joshstrange
Odd, I could have sworn they provided a "Buy on the App Store" or similar but
I just read through their marketing guidelines and you are right. Well then
part of my argument doesn't hold up but still I feel like developers are doing
this on purpose (obstructing the price and/or the fact it is paid not free) to
hide that from you until after you get excited about the product/app.

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quinndupont
Files are saved in some undisclosed, unchangeable location (presumably the
~Library folder). This is a deal-breaker for me, since all of my documents
live in a synced Dropbox folder (I could symlink the files over, but this
should not need to be the case). This is more like a note taking application
(like Notational Velocity), than a serious editor. Too bad, it looks nice.

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wcummings
Can't you just symlink it into your dropbox folder?

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Aloha
I shouldn't have to. Beyond that, what format does it save it in?

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drewda
Or, if you only need to edit one Markdown file at a time, I also recommend
these Mac WYSIWYG editors:

\- Mou [http://25.io/mou/](http://25.io/mou/)

\- MacDown [http://macdown.uranusjr.com/](http://macdown.uranusjr.com/)

The latter is free and open-source.

~~~
Fastidious
MacDown is great! Thanks for the link.

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JulianMorrison
Why are pretty markdown editors such a thing on Mac specifically? Is that the
favored platform for bloggers, or something?

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outworlder
Not only pretty markdown editors. Software applications tend to be prettier in
general under OSX.

There's the financial incentive, as pointed out in other comments.

Then, what I think it is most important, the technology support. Take just
Cocoa, Core Animation and Quartz Composer and you are already light-years
ahead of the competition. I won't even talk about things like the Win32 API or
the existence of Swift.

'Pretty' Windows apps, in particular, are a royal pain to create. Unless,
maybe, if you target Metro.

You _can_ make them pretty even on Windows. However,if you want to keep using
native controls, the effort will be enormous. Many applications switched to
using embedded browsers because of that. If you are not using standard
controls, then you lose things like screen readers.

~~~
pikzen
>'Pretty' Windows apps, in particular, are a royal pain to create. Unless,
maybe, if you target Metro.

1\. Learn how to work with XAML

(1.5. Know how to make good looking UIs)

2\. Done.

Really. If you're forcing yourself to use WinForms, you're doing yourself a
disservice. Any Windows Dev that wants to push out good looking application
should learn how to use XAML. You can even ignore the databinding part if you
want.

That said, TextNut looks an awful lot like OneNote UI wise.

I believe the major problem comes from the fact that most people developing
for Windows are either doing it for free or for internal tools. There are very
few tools that fit Apple's market of consumer focused applications, and the
financial incentive clearly isn't there on Windows.

~~~
outworlder
Perhaps one should try to create the same application on both platforms. I get
a feeling that XAML (and WPF) are not a silver bullet and can't make up for
deficiencies in other areas. Such as typography.

But my WPF knowledge is limited, so I'll try to keep an open mind and research
more when I have the time.

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hamstergene
I believe the correct term is WYSIWYM ("what you see is what you mean"):
editing happens in rich text mode, with pretty styles and no markup, however,
those styles are merely part of editor's UI, not written into the document.

1\.
[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WYSIWYM](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WYSIWYM)

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ricg
How does it save the files? Looks like they are kept in a database in
~/Library/Application Support.

This would be awesome for keeping notes in plain text that will stand the test
of time.

~~~
axx
As someone mentioned in this thread, Ulysses 3 can do this. You can "mount"
local directories and it will save and show those files in "plaintext". Use
Dropbox, Syncthing, BTSync whatever to sync between devices.

[http://ulyssesapp.com/](http://ulyssesapp.com/)

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quinndupont
I'm really happy to see more What-you-see-is-what-you-mean Markdown editors.
This previous HN discussion of Markdownify
([https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=9354653](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=9354653))
alerted me to Texts.io, which initially looked extremely promising, but was
riddled with bugs. I ended up having to go back to iA Writer Pro (which is a
solid, normal MD editor). For pure writing activities, stripping away (hiding)
as much of the syntax and chrome as possible is very valuable, which is why I
moved to MD from Word in the first place. Two-pane write/preview editors are a
terrible solution.

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lloydde
> Two-pane write/preview editors are a terrible solution.

I agree with you. You remind me there is a need in my editing workflow for a
diff or divergence tool across my targets: github, PDF tooling and popular
free editors where collaborators might be working.

I'm happy to learn in these comments about the
[http://commonmark.org/](http://commonmark.org/) effort.

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maguay
That looks like a pretty close copy—or rip off, rather—of Ulysses
([http://ulyssesapp.com/](http://ulyssesapp.com/))...

~~~
zyxley
Ulysses' problem is that, despite saving as Markdown, there's no "real"
Markdown editing mode. Certain things, like images, can only be entered
through the GUI, and its clumsy parsing means that certain formatting gets
permanently mangled in a way that messes up copy-paste, since what you see
when editing isn't actually Markdown. Among other issues, for example, it adds
escape characters, of all things, to anything with a [.

~~~
maguay
Agreed. That's one of the reasons I'm not able to use it as much as I'd like
to. Basically only works perfect well for basic Markdown (and adding images
with their GUI)—if you need any extra code or tweaks on Markdown, you'll be
escaping a lot of characters.

Still a nice app in so many ways.

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chadk
[http://www.foldingtext.com](http://www.foldingtext.com) is my go to Markdown
editor. Combine with Notational Velocity which reads from a folder on Dropbox,
it is great. Especially since I can edit with Draft on my Android phone and
tablet.

TextNut looks like it will combine the two (organization and editing) but I
will wait until it has flatfile compatibility.

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ChikkaChiChi
The website was vague: Can you "Open in TextNut?"

If so, this is useful. If not, this is a missed opportunity. I don't want you
controlling where I store and open things, but I would very much enjoy a nice
Markdown editor for writing things.

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codebeaker
I find the "100% Compatible with CommonMark" a bit confusing, without looking
I'd assume CommonMark was another product from the same people, and they'd
done a re-branding, and wanted to make the association.

That said, whilst writing this comment it occurs to me that CommonMark might
also be an effort I've never heard of to standardise out some of John Gruber’s
original undefined spec behaviours, but as a developer Github flavoured
markdown is the de-facto standard as it has many well written and well-tested
implementations.

~~~
sooheon
You're right that it was an effort to pin down the markdown spec by not-Gruber
people. And Github actually was involved, along with some other big names like
Reddit, Stackexchange, and Meteor.

~~~
unfamiliar
But it didn't take off because Gruber threw a spanner in the works by refusing
to endorse it and insisting they changed the name.

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victorhooi
Slightly related topic - what typeface (font) do you guys use for writing?

For programming, I use Adobe's Source Code Pro.

However, for writing non-code, what do you recommend?

I'm currently trying Adobe's Source Serif Pro, which isn't bad. There's also
Source Sans Pro, but I would have thought a serif font would be better for
non-code tasks, and more pleasing on the eyes.

Other recommendations?

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look_lookatme
If I had the time, one of my side projects would be to build something like
this for AsciiDoc[1] that also includes a basic static site/pdf generator. It
would be a nice way to build user documentation.

[1] [http://www.methods.co.nz/asciidoc/](http://www.methods.co.nz/asciidoc/)

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stevewilhelm
One of the best markdown writers I have ever used is iA's Writer for Mac (and
iOS) [https://ia.net/writer/mac/](https://ia.net/writer/mac/)

They have an Android version as well, but I have not used it.

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Fastidious
There is a misspelled word on the "View" menu, first item. It is "libary."

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steveneo
Thanks, I will fix.

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archagon
Hmm... from a cursory glance, this looks very similar to Write[1]. Wonder how
it compares?

[1]: [http://writeapp.net](http://writeapp.net). Incidentally, I've been using
it for a few months and it's pretty nice.

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ngrilly
Where is the library stored? Is there any way to select a custom folder for
the library? It's possible in iTunes, in Preferences > Advanced > iTunes Media
folder location.

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Fastidious
This is a beautifully made application, very feature complete.
Congratulations! Now my problem is to choose which one to use, with so many
good ones!

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djyde
When we have markdown, why we need WYSIWYG?

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jos
Looks like a rip off of
[http://www.ulyssesapp.com/mac/](http://www.ulyssesapp.com/mac/).

