iA Writer App Reviews

I really, really love the syntax features, the ability to see how many messy adverbs and whatnot I use in the course of writing a story is invaluable. For this version: it’s nice, the UI is a little more streamlined, for better or for worse; I kind of wish there was a UI-enabled way to switch between note, write, etc., but no biggie. Like other reviewers, I wish there was a little more logical fleshing-out of the workflow features, but if you can get yourself psychologically in the mindset (“Okay, now I am going to edit!” or “No pressure here, it’s just notes”), it’s alright. I think, (if any developer is reading this), the best thing that could happen with Writer Pro would be a little more simplification; the Workflow feature runs the risk of getting in the way of the actual workflow of writing, (depending on how it’s developed in future versions, this does NOT exist in the current iteration) by virtue of complexity, if it can be honed, however, this can only improve the worth of the app. The Handoff features between this and an iOS device are awesome, and I find myself using them quite a lot, so that’s good. All in all, I still have a fondness for this app, and would recommend it :)

Im really happy with iA Writer Pro. Coming from iA Writer it did feel like a money-grab to me, but I dont regret buying it. Its my favorite app for writing and I find myself using it constantly. (For what its worth, I dont use the Workflow modes at all; I havent found a need for them.)

Funnily enough my only criticisim of this app is I don’t see the point in the work flow options - it seems a little redundent to me, or else I haven’t discovered a work flow that makes use of it. Anyway, a great app, certainly my favourite when I just want to write without distractions.

As a writer of long form fiction and non-fiction I use different applications, depending on the project and its requirements. Having discovered iA Writer Pro I tried it and found it offered me a good, distraction-free on-screen environment to write in, to keep the Flow going. One of the challenges this app’s developer will face is the temptation to continually upgrade it with new features which, if the developer is not careful and resists the siren call of “more is better” will make it like other writing apps, and then—what’s the point? I mean, if I want a feature-laden app for research i will use Scrivener. For works requiring indexing and footnotes, I still rely on Word. iA Writer Pro has a specific place in the writer’s toolkit, as a small, elegant, fast application which can be used as it is now for multiple projects including html creation. So yeah, I do recommend it to all writers, it’s not expensive, it allows you to write distraction-free, and it is well-thought-out.

The combniation of iPhone and desktop apps is powerful and helps me keep track of my process notes move to write which move to edit and then move to read when complete. Love how the application changes the font face subtly each time you move to a different screen i.e. edit or write for example. My writing end product has improved. If you write for a living this is a worthy investment.

Thoughtful, Peaceful, Tranquility, Purity. Some of the words that come to mind when I think of Writer. I write everything I can in this app. Unfortunately they do not make a code editor (cough) Golang (cough) please. Something about the write/sentence syntax is so… enticing. Even more than a typewriter. It almost acts like a muse as it were. The complete lack of “settings" (which I now realize is a beautiful thing) lets you focus on what really matters: the WORDS. And as a man I respect once said: “In the beginning there was the word” And in Writer, there is nothing else. Fantastic

I spent over half an hour trying to figure out how to change the size and style of the fonts. No go. You’re forced to use the small, helvetica-like font they give you. It’s rediculous. At this price you’d think you’d get some options.

iA Writer Pro and iA Writer are now the same application. The application feels vastly improved over the some what muddled iA Writer Pro. I never fully grasped how best to use several of its features, notably the ‘modes’, and I suspect many people felt the same way. iA Writer 3.0 feels like a return to the simpler original application, with improvements carried over from Pro. The interface is far more consistent between the iOS applications and the Mac application. Unlike the initial release of Writer Pro, this version also feels far more feature complete from the get go. I’m looking forward to where they take this application going forward.

Overall, I have enjoyed using iA Writer for the past couple of years, however it does has one quirk that can be somewhat annoying (depending on your uses) in that it auto indent whether you like it or not. While I understand that most users probably wouldn’t find this to be an issue, for my uses it proves to be somewhat inconvenient. If that does not bother you, than I fully recommend this app. However, if believe that you would also be annoyed by a quirk such as this, realize it is not the end of the world (like I have) and give iA Writer a shot because it is quite brilliant.

This has become my favourite writing app in the last year. With this new version, it’s just become the best ever!

Merging the light version with the “pro” was a great idea. Like many, I never really understood the workflow, and found it annoying, if not completely confusing and unnecessary. Now this is a nice, tight, and powerful enough markdown editor. Good work!

Using Writer from the beginning, it’s been interesting to see the evolution of the app. It gets rid of the weirdly restrictive workflow of Writer Pro, and unites the two versions of the app. The app is now slightly more complex than original Writer, but so it goes. The whiter background color is a little too bright for me, but there’s a dark mode now. Solid update.

I can’t believe I’m giving this app one star, but wow. The new update is awful. Why does an indent favor a block quote instead of a regular paragraph indent? I do not want to have to do a single or a double return to do a paragraph indent — that’s absurd. Most people are using this app for prose than for block text. The point is to be able to export the markdown, double returns translate as double returns though. I do NOT want to have to go through my whole novel erasing the double returns, or putting automatic paragraph indent margins that won’t read everywhere. Second, and worse, I lose all of my work. I don’t know what happened, but one second I had my book open, the next I noticed the file document title was a work document — with the text of my novel. I tried undoing until the end, and it just showed a blank page. I don’t know how that happened, since I didn’t have the work document at all, but I imagine it has to do with the new ridiculous Editor tab on the left.

Preview width doesn’t stay fixed at 100% forcing you to use split column. Editor uses left alignment, preview uses centering for titles. Wanna change that, go hack the CSS in the package. Note to the creators: You have forums full of users asking for some basic customization - listen to them. The flop that was Writer Pro should make it clear that you don’t know better than your users. This software is just the least-bad Markdown editor I’ve used, but it’s definitely not worth the $20 they’re asking for it. If the app store had refunds, I’d get one.

LOVE IT, LOVE IT. THX

As a journalist, I’ve used this app for the last couple of years. For everything other than large, in-depth projects, it is my go-to word processor. It eliminates distractions, allows me to write, and is easy for me to read. I rarely use any of the features. For me, it’s just a matter of opening the app, writing and exporting it to a word doc for my editor to review. It’s simple but it’s wonderful and I recommended it to every young journalist that I mentor.

Good design helps someone overcome their struggles. It is an act of compassion. iA is an org that specializes in communication, both technically and creatively. They deserve hearty props for building a tool that serves the mind of the writer, having taken years now to understand the challenges and frustrations common to the craft. Do yourself a favour and treat yourself. This isn’t just an app to write with. This new version, Writer 3.x, is a tool to be used to build your best work.

I’ve been happy with the original iA Writer for a long time. I skipped iA Writer Pro due to the price tag and negative reviews. I decided to try out iA Writer 3, and I’m very happy with it. The UI is very well polished, and they added just the right handful of features for me. This is the best writing app, period.

Usability of the app is good. It syncs well over iCloud. But I find the app’s design very dull! It needs customization for fonts and colors so that users can choose their own look.

I want multiple-file-selection such as in Finder or Mail. It is unuseful that I cannot move many file at once. It will be better, if one would be able to show full-width-preview with only one action.