I have been evaluating Typora, a markdown editor for Mac (currently free while in beta). Its killer feature is a distraction-free interface that allows you to type markdown syntax, but quickly hides it in a readable preview so you get more of a WYSIWYG experience.
I have been really enjoying this streamlined interface as I write for work, and it’s almost enough to let me look past its few shortcomings. I don’t see myself paying for a commercial markdown editor after having three great free open source options in MacDown, HarooPad, and Atom editor. (To be fair, I have contributed donations to the MacDown, HarooPad, and Mou projects to support development. Somehow, this feels a little better than paying through the Mac Store).
However, I have built up a tolerance to seeing my markdown code mixed in with my writing, and I can absolutely empathize if you prefer the “zipped up” look of Typora — I’m finding that it really does add to my concentration to see a more streamlined view of my content.
My last workflow gripe is that it doesn’t allow you to select a chunk of text and hit the key for ⌘K to add a link by surrounding that text with brackets — it just deletes the text. 🙁 I’d like to see it work more like Haroo or MacDown — automatically enclosing the selected text with brackets or parentheses. This would greatly improve the workflow of adding links.
I’d recommend you try out the beta and see if you get enough joy from the distraction-free layout to justify paying the piper when it comes to the Mac Store.
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