Do not buy this product

I have been a user of iA Writer for some time now, and was quite excited to see this so-called pro version come out. I hesitated to buy the pro version due to the number of negative reviews. It went on sale last week, and so I decided to risk purchasing it (note: this decision was also made because the original iA Writer has started to consistently crash in the latest versions of Yosemite (10.10.2)).

I really think that this represents a sad case of a company that got greedy, and released an overhyped piece of software... do not fall for the claims made in the flashy videos that demonstrate this software.

Here are the problems:

1. The Pro version crashes more often than the old version of iA Writer - just simple text entry or saving of a file does this. I was stunned to find that upon buying a new piece of software that it constantly crashes!
2. The workflow feature is a **complete scam**. If you choose Note (make notes), Write (to write your document) or Edit (editing duh), all that happens is the font changes, along with the cursor color. There is nothing more than this, and no obvious way that this can improve writing or productivity. A complete farce in my opinion (and in the opinion of many other reviewers of this software).
3. The final Read mode makes no sense… it just changes font, and you can read the text without changing it… who really needs this?
4. If you attempt to Zoom in (under the Window function), a crash happens about 1/3 of the time.
5. The syntax option is interesting, and highlights verbs, adjectives, etc. But I cannot see why anyone would really want to pay for this, or how this would be of use in a document of any sort of substantial length.
6. The help web site has largely been deleted, and one can only obtain support on a number of issues by digging up the cached pages (by Google).

One bright spot: the support team is fast to respond to queries. Unfortunately, all blame for current difficulties with both iA Writer and the pro version is laid upon Apple and Yosemite, and no solutions seem to be forthcoming. Also, there seems to be unwavering support of the “Workflow” (without much to back it up). I feel a bit sorry for them to be honest.

I will not change this review until:
1. Crashing issues are addressed.
2. A real modification is made to the idea and function of Workflow, to make it worthwhile.

Rob1087 about iA Writer, v1.5.1