OK for writing, horrible for doing anything with your writing.

I use byword to type anything bigger than an endnote list on my Macbook Pro, iPad mini, and iPhone 6. The typing interface is great on all three – the Mac version gives me just enough style control without having too many options – and once I learned it, I’ve liked using Markdown. Even in RTF view, the markdown tags make it easy to see what’s what. I appreciate the ability to save everything to iCloud Drive so I can share between devices and access through finder.

Output is as bad as input is good. First, no matter how many line-breaks I type or how I adjust the settings, when I copy and paste into any other app or web page, the breaks aren’t seen as paragraph breaks. Every time I copy or export a document, I have to manually delete/enter between every paragraph. One time on a three paragraph document isn’t a big deal. A dozen times a week on thousand word articles is a pain in the posterior. Second, even with the filters and addons on both ends, the Markdown isn’t parsed when exported, whether through their premium exporter or copy/paste.

I love it for writing, but the problems above are making it more work than it’s worth.

One last feature I take issue with. This is a paid app with an extra purchase of premium publishing. I get that it’s a way to save money for people who don’t have need of the premium feature. My frustration is that the $4.99 addon has to be purchased twice if you use both Macs and iOS devices. I don’t mind paying a fair price for software, but this double-dinking is just frustrating. Charge me the fair price up front and don’t make me pay for the same addon in two places.

As it stands, I write on my Mac, open the document on my iPad to publish, then jump back on the Mac to fix all the things that don’t publish properly. That’s just too much futzing around.

caedmonm about Byword