v2.2.1 Great but PLEASE KILL THE BUTTERFLY
This is an update to my prior reviews (see below). Overall I’m happy with the program, though it took a while for the developers to restore some of the features they dropped from Ulysses III and quash a bunch of annoying bugs. It’s a great writing environment. They key to remember is it’s a markdown-only environment - it’s not for heavy-duty design. You’ll have to pull your text into another app for that. If you don’t get carried away with tables or attachments, and just focus on writing, Ulysses is amazing. The database structure is key for me, because I have quick access to all of my texts, rather than sorting through dozens/hundreds or separate files.
Keep up the good work guys, but PLEASE KILL THE BUTTERFLY!
Thank.
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I’m quite happy with v2.2. Full screen works quite nicely and they’ve quashed a few other bugs. I like that they’ve fixed the toolbar issues in full-screen mode - you can now choose whether you want to display the toolbar all the time, or have it pop up only when you need it. Generally the program stays out of my way, which is what I like. I’m still not completely thrilled with the export modes. They’re a bit funky, especially when exporting to Word, which is what I generally need to do given my workflow. But I can deal with the minor formatting issues that arise on the Word side. I suspect part of the issue is Microsoft’s unwillingness to deal with Markup, rather than Ulysses. Overall, Ulysses is a very nice, simple place to focus on generating words. Plain text is great.
But guys, I’m begging, please, PLEASE, kill the butterfly. I know the artist is highly invested. But it’s terrible. I’m not the only one who dislikes it. Let it go.
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The updates through 2.1.1 have finally brought some much needed stability to Ulysses. It’s not crashing anymore and they seem to have ironed out a bunch of other bugs. I’m pretty happy with the current iteration.
Some folks seem to gripe about the app’s use of a text file database, as opposed to regular text files. It’s a silly, specious argument. I think you’ll find the complainers are generally hardcore tech guys. The truth is it takes only a few clicks to export your text in any format you choose. If you want to export markdown, that option takes three clicks. I export to Word using a preset style sheet - again, three clicks. The Soulmen changed the process from earlier versions of Ulysses and it took me a while to get used to things, but it works fine. And the database is now backed up as ov version 2.1, so I’m happy with that. I back up my computer in multiple ways regardless, so I was never worried. I care most about the writing enviromnent and here Ulysses wins hands-down.
My only real gripe is the butterfly icon… I get that it’s a metaphor and I’m sure the designer put his or her heart into it, but seriously guys…?
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The 2.0.2 version is incredibly crash-prone. My version is crashing and restarting at least once daily, often more. This started with the latest update.
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Hallelujah - Paged Mode is restored with the 4.24.15 update. I’m getting used to this version of the app, although Quick Export menu still requires too many clicks to accomplish exports to common programs, compared to Ulysses III. As I said previously, this is still by far the best markdown app for managing long documents. The file management database is a solid feature. Don’t be scared of it. It works, and it’s safely backed up. I access it on my Mac and iPad with no issues, and you can also dive into it and find your texts if you need them. And everything is exportable. I’m bumping my rating up to 4 stars.
Now if they can just do someting about that butterfly icon...
Here’s my prior review:
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I think the update is just OK. Lots of people are gushing over it and I don’t see it.
The look and feel of the updates if inferior to Ulysses III. I miss Paged Mode, and I’m not sure why the developers would drop this feature. The new version has far too much white space, which to my eye has a significant negative impact on usability.
The Quick Export menu requires more clicks to get my text out of Ulysses. I love writing within the program, but then my copy needs to get somewhere - unfortunately that’s usually Word. It’s more of a chore to make that happen in my preferred template now than it was before.
Still the best markdown app out there for pure writing, mainly because of the file management database. But the update doesn’t seem to add much.
The icon? I don’t want to be mean. It’s not good. But there’s a trick to bringing back the old icon.
msinert about Ulysses – The Ultimate Writing App
