![]() TableFlip is available on the Mac App Store. As an added bonus, it also works with CSV files. Even better, if your file has multiple tables, TableFlip opens them simultaneously in separate tabs. Not only can TableFlip export new tables to a markdown document, but it can also read tables within an existing document and update them in place. TableFlip takes the pain of writing markdown away by presenting you with a spreadsheet-like interface, making it much easier to write and edit tabular data. In fact, I enjoy writing JSON more, and that's saying something because that sucks too. Writing tables in markdown sucks - pipes (|), tabs and dashes, do not make for a pleasant experience. The MultiMarkdown command-line interpreter is free and open-source, and can be installed using HomeBrew, or by downloading the installer from GitHub. MultiMarkdown Composer is available on the Mac App Store. If I didn't already have MMC, I don't think I'd buy it in 2020 - at least not without some concrete evidence from the developer he hasn't abandoned the app. For this reason, I'd recommend iA Writer. iA Writer has long eclipsed MMC in both features and performance. The app is growing very long in the tooth. My only gripe is how little support MultiMarkdown Composer gets these days. MultiMarkdown is ideal for this use case, though it's not a great app for losing yourself in the drafting process. When writing technical content, I some documents accessible on the file system, so I can manipulate them more readily with shell scripts, command-line tools and other utilities to massage text. In this respect, MMC is the canonical MultiMarkdown editor of choice with the strictest adherence to the dialect.ĭespite my love for Ulysses, it falls short in technical writing since it lacks support for tables, definition lists, glossaries, metadata blocks and so on. It's made by the gent who developed the MultiMarkdown dialect of markdown. ![]() MultiMarkdown Composer is my Swiss-army knife for markdown. Ulysses is available on the Mac App Store, or SetApp. This is more than I can say for Scrivener, which is languishing while its developers put all their efforts into Scrivener 3 for Microsoft Windows. In return for my annual subscription, the app gets updated regularly with refinements and new features. Ulysses is a subscription app (the only app I subscribe to), but the cost is negligible given how much I use it. Thanks to Ulysses' support for Ghost (and WordPress and Medium), I can publish a blog post with a couple of clicks. I particularly like the simplicity of its export feature, which is far easier (though less powerful) than Scrivener's compiler. While its markdown support isn't as fully featured as many of its competitors, it's more than adequate for prose.īeyond the writing experience, I also like the Library, the way goals and word counts work, the abundance of keyboard shortcuts, and material sheets. Ulysses's UI is the perfect blend of form and function. It has the best drafting experience of any app I've used. ![]() ![]() I love Ulysses for drafting my blog posts, short stories and my personal journal. No surprises here for anyone's who's followed my blog for any length of time. As a technical writer who's dealt with corporate rebranding throughout my career, believe me, this is the best way to write docs, and insulate yourself from pain and whims of those wankers in management. Writing in markdown also separates content from presentation. In 30 years of computing experience, I've never seen a text file corrupt, which is more than I can say for MS Word, or even Scrivener on rare occasions. Plain text is platform agnostic, lightweight and indestructible. The most significant advantage with markdown, aside from its simplicity, is it's based on plain text. Ever used an asterisk for bullets or emphasis? Or perhaps you've marked your headings with a hash. In case you don't know what markdown is, it's a lightweight markup language created to give web writers an easy way of compiling plain text into HTML.Ĭhances are, you've used markdown, even if you don't know it. So in celebration of all things text, I decided to give a brief rundown of my favourite markdown tools.īut, first thing's first… What is markdown? I use it daily in my professional life as a technical writer, and in my creative life as a blogger and novelist. I love markdown, despite its quirks and shortcomings.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |