Byword App Reviews

I really like Byword - Ive tried a bunch of markdown writting apps and while none are perfect, byword seems to have stuck with me, meaning after trying it, I stopped looking for a better tool - this plus marked 2 are now my go-to apps for markdown editing/previewing.

Still one of the simplest, nicest, cleanest writing apps. Perfect for Markdown.

I checked out several distraction free apps before finally coming to ByWord including the “minimalist” writing views of Pages/Word, as well some open-source options. Three things that ByWord offers won me over: 1) Customizations to the interface without overwhelming the creative process, 2) Future-proof plain-text file format, and 3) Export to file OR Copy to clipboard which allows quick copy/paste to any blog interface or page layout program. I’ve also used a quick workflow to output PDF drafts of work-in-progress: Preview->Print->Save as PDF … very quick and easy for any user level. I purchased the In-App Publishing option, and there are only limited services offered. There doesn’t seem to be an easy way to create a custom service to a non-WordPress blog. (Thus, non-WordPress users have to use the copy/paste option I mentioned above.) So if I had to complain, that would be it. But since the developers don’t misrepresent that feature in any way, I won’t hold it against them. :)

Byword is a great writing app for someone looking to write without any districtions. It allows for the user to focus on writing while handling the markdown and the uploading to their respective platform. Also, as the files are saved as txt files there is no worry that your documents will be locked in a proprietary format if you change OS or a program you’ve used gets sunseted. I would highly recommend this app to anyone.

Byword has become my text editor of choice. Its implementation of Markdown allows me to delay final destination at a later time (Word, PDF, etc). I use it even to compose some emails, the copy the markdown and pasted into the gmail browser editor. With the help of the Markdown pluging for Safari, I can then display the formatting as I intended. It is FANTASTIC!

Solid MD editor with few distractions. It’s my go-to Markdown editor on both my Mac and iPhone. It would be nice to have better custom CSS support and better previewing ability. When I do use the option to for a style-sheet, the in-editor “browser" does not seem to do a very good job of rendering the page—I still have to open in a web browser. Update: I use Byword in conjunction with Marked 2 to alleviate the preview issue.

What Byword does well is encourage me to write, makes markdown seem simpler than it does on a plain page, and foster quickly shooting posts to my WP blogs (any of them). Publish or perish is the stronger version of “F*ck it, ship it.” Write things and publish them. Rinse and repeat. With the ability to put partial posts in dropbox, Byword lets me get started without getting locked into this app on this platform (which is why I dumped MarsEdit in favor of this). And I can push posts to draft to clean them up on the WP dashboard. The HTML is vastly cleaner over MarsEdit, which makes me smile inside and stop worrying about quirky font changes in the middle of a piece. I haven’t picked up the separate iphone and ipad apps yet, but I will. This app has convinced me that I will write more, and publish more, as a result. I find myself coming back to this again and again, and each time I do, it’s more pleasant than I remember. I don’t want to replace Word; I want to put down some text and maybe some markdown in an offline world. Then, I just want to be able to quickly push it to wordpress when I’m connected. Sold!

ByWord is still my go to solution for writing in Markdown. This is the app that I am using to write this very review in. It is my default Markdown writer and every review will tell you that it works and has worked for years. Only recently did I have to introduce another Markdown editor for iOS beacuse of how I have structured my workflow for my blog. When Byword introduces the feature to edit .txt files already in Dropbox I will return for iOS. For now on the Mac, Byword has been and will be my go-to for writing in Markdown.

Great writing product both for OS X and iOS. Looks great on my dock. Unfortunately, I only use it when creating formatted Markdown and HTML. If however there was side panel listing all notes similar to NValt I would keep it open more often. If and when that day comes I would happily buy Byword 3.

Flaws: - no file for notes directories (IA Writer does this) - no search across files (IA Writer does this) - markdown preview does not correctly interpret relative links—all links must be absolute (incorrect implementation of markdown) - can only open files from file menu (artefact of item number 1, above) - no quick way to access preview: must access via menu command or pressing 3 keys simultaneously) - no split view (edit | preview) or ability to edit preview (either would be satisfactory) so preview is modal—you must go in and out of preview; this is much worse than any of the other minimal editors. I don’t understand why this is liked at all. IA Writer, MacDown, LightPaper, nvAlt, Quiver and possibly others are all better. Sorry to be hard core here, but this one is expensive and missing obvious and very basic features as listed.

Does not open on El Capitian 10.11.3. Click on the icon ans nothing happens.

Byword is smooth and has just the right mix of features and options. It is superior to the various other markdown editors I have tried. The capability to publish to a blog is an outstanding feature if you have a use for this. The developer provides assistance when needed.

I don’t use it all the time but when you really want to focus on your writing, it’s indispensable. Current version is rock solid and works great.

Cursor does not update and app seems to hang on even very small markdown files. Prior version worked just fine.

Though Byword is a poweful Markdown app, I only use the simplest of those actions. I’d like to become more fluent, but my main praise for the app is the way it really helps me to focus on what I am doing. I post to a couple of blogs and I am able to do that directly from Byword. As I mentioned, I have lots to learn about what the app can do but it is expert in providing a place for what writing I do. It’s clean and simple. I highly recommend it.

I have used this program since 2012. I especially like to write first drafts here, and its very convenient because of link through iCloud to my other machines. But since I have upgraded, my iMac version does not recognize changes I have made on the iPad. When I try to compose documents on the iMac, the cursor hangs up, and delayd displaying the text I have typed for up to a minute. All of the benefits of the program seem lost. Also, I have gotten no response from customer service. I have written several messages, and been met with stony silence. I have no choice but to reduce their otherwise excellent ratings with another review complaining about a very flawed upgrade, and an even more flawed response from the support team. Makes me sad.