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Popular writing app Ulysses today received its 22nd major release, introducing new publishing features and additional options for users to customize the visual appearance of their writing environment.

ulysses-Blog-Publishing.jpg

As well as providing a focused writing environment, Ulysses offers ways to publish texts from within the app to various blogging platforms. Version 22 adds the ability to publish to Micro.blog, a social network for independent microblogs.
"Micro.blog offers a compelling alternative to the prominent social networks. People are in control of their content and can interact while there are no algorithms and ads. It's an independent platform with an awesome concept, and we're proud to have them," explains Marcus Fehn, Ulysses co-founder and creative head of the company.
The new Ulysses version also improves publishing to WordPress. Users can now update previously published posts from within Ulysses — to fix typos after an article has already gone live, for example. The developers have also updated Ulysses' preview theme to the new WordPress default Twenty Twenty-One, and generally improved the integration of the two apps.

ulysses-groups-colors.jpg

In addition, Ulysses 22 increases the customizations available to users who want to personalize the look of their writing environment. There's a new option to choose colors for group icons (groups are used to organize texts, similar to Finder folders).

Meanwhile, headings can now be displayed in a larger size in the editor to make them easier to distinguish from the rest of the text. The latter is dependent on the editor theme, where the heading size can be fine-tuned. Ulysses 22 also ships with a new default theme that has larger headings in place.

ulysses-Custom-UI.jpg

In other improvements, Ulysses for iOS now remembers the scroll position when switching between several documents, while on iPad, a new setting has been added to keep the keyboard open in this situation.

Ulysses can be downloaded for free on the App Store, with version 22 rolling out to existing users today. After a 14-day trial period, a subscription is required to unlock the app on all devices. A monthly subscription costs $5.99, while a yearly subscription is $49.99.

Students can use Ulysses at a discounted price of $10.99 per six months. The discount is granted from within the app. Ulysses is also included in Setapp, the subscription-based service for Mac applications created by MacPaw.

Article Link: Ulysses 22 Brings New Blogging Options and Visual Customizations
 
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macjunk(ie)

macrumors 6502a
Aug 12, 2009
939
563
I was using this before. The devs are really really slow at implementing features. And when they do implement features, it is mostly heavy on eye candy. Since then, I have moved on to other apps in this field...Typora, Obsidian etc. Still have not narrowed down on one; not cause I did not find feature parity with Ulysses but mainly cause these new apps introduced me to backlinking, Zettelkasten and I am trying to find the app that does this well.
 

RedTheReader

macrumors 6502a
Nov 18, 2019
502
1,222
Ulysses is also included in Setapp, the subscription-based service for Mac applications
Huh… I didn’t know this. For the guys paying $6/month for Ulysses, maybe paying a few dollars more makes sense, especially if there’s another subscription-based app included that they like.

Personally, I don’t like having a lot of programs because I find that I rarely need most of them, but still, it’s interesting to see a use-case for a service that I’d sort of dismissed until now.
 

MacHiavelli

macrumors 65816
May 17, 2007
1,253
913
new york
Scrivener for Mac has some merits, but it has a messy, old-fashioned, and overly complicated interface. It's developed by one person on a part-time basis, who also develops Scapple and iOS Scrivener part-time as well.

But the biggest issue with Scrivener is that it is RTF-based, and RTF is an excrescence written by Microsoft in 1987 and abandoned by them in 2008. It is a 34-year-old idea that hasn't been updated in 13 years and is never going to be. The world has moved on, but RTF and Scrivener haven't.

Work with Scrivener and you're relying on outdated technology and the whims and good health of one ageing guy writing code in his bedroom.

Ulysses at least has a team of coders. If you want a great writing app on one platform for free, Bear is brilliant: clean, fast, and wonderfully powerful. You can subscribe for more cross-platform features, and a low subscription price and high user numbers make it worth far more than Scrivener or Ulysses.
 
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johnnytravels

macrumors 6502
Oct 24, 2019
285
767
Still one of the most heavily overpriced text editors by one of the most attention-needy developers in the Mac app space.

Slow on useful features - most ‘features’ are still just adjustments to OS level functionality.

Avoid like the plague if you don’t want to feel like getting ripped off every time you write a sentence.
 
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Brammy

macrumors 68000
Sep 17, 2008
1,718
690
The subscription model doesn't bother me too much, and I generally like using Ulysses. As mentioned, one of Scrivener's biggest flaws is it is essentially developed by one person. It's his full-time gig (well, developing the apps is), but something happens to Keith, that's that for Scrivener. Also, due to the file structure Keith used, to sync between iOS and macOS requires Dropbox.

Ulysses, though, seems hell-bent on adding features I don't want. What I want (what I really really want) is for them to incorporate variables (like automatic chapter numbering) that Scrivener has. Instead we get Wordpress syncing and a theme with a bigger heading font. Adding Micro.blog is nice, however. Where Ulysses shines, though, is the general ease of exporting. Scrivener's Compile section even in 3.0 usually takes some figuring when I have a new project and want to customize the output.

For my fiction stuff, I am just going back to using Word or Pages. Blogging I might do with Ulysses still.
 

eltoslightfoot

macrumors 68020
Feb 25, 2011
2,076
2,507
Scrivener for Mac has some merits, but it has a messy, old-fashioned, and overly complicated interface. It's developed by one person on a part-time basis, who also develops Scapple and iOS Scrivener part-time as well.

But the biggest issue with Scrivener is that it is RTF-based, and RTF is an excrescence written by Microsoft in 1987 and abandoned by them in 2008. It is a 34-year-old idea that hasn't been updated in 13 years and is never going to be. The world has moved on, but RTF and Scrivener haven't.

Work with Scrivener and you're relying on outdated technology and the whims and good health of one ageing guy writing code in his bedroom.

Ulysses at least has a team of coders. If you want a great writing app on one platform for free, Bear is brilliant: clean, fast, and wonderfully powerful. You can subscribe for more cross-platform features, and a low subscription price and high user numbers make it worth far more than Scrivener or Ulysses.
Hahahahaha! This is all completely wrong. I have written over 200k words and completed an entire novel in Scrivener. It has absolutely received MANY updates. In fact it was one of the first native M1 apps available.

Show me on the doll where Keith (a brilliant programmer by the way) hurt you.

The rest of us will continue to write entire novels easily in Scrivener. AND NO SUBSCRIPTION MODEL.
 

eltoslightfoot

macrumors 68020
Feb 25, 2011
2,076
2,507
The subscription model doesn't bother me too much, and I generally like using Ulysses. As mentioned, one of Scrivener's biggest flaws is it is essentially developed by one person. It's his full-time gig (well, developing the apps is), but something happens to Keith, that's that for Scrivener. Also, due to the file structure Keith used, to sync between iOS and macOS requires Dropbox.

Ulysses, though, seems hell-bent on adding features I don't want. What I want (what I really really want) is for them to incorporate variables (like automatic chapter numbering) that Scrivener has. Instead we get Wordpress syncing and a theme with a bigger heading font. Adding Micro.blog is nice, however. Where Ulysses shines, though, is the general ease of exporting. Scrivener's Compile section even in 3.0 usually takes some figuring when I have a new project and want to customize the output.

For my fiction stuff, I am just going back to using Word or Pages. Blogging I might do with Ulysses still.
Actually there are other devs, but really, what is the big deal with one developer? I have used Scrivener for over a decade and paid for new versions three times. Seriously. THAT IS CHEAP.

I should clarify, the other devs work on the Windows version. It is indeed the esteemed Keith Blount that works on Scrivener full time.

Hey, and listen, if you all that hate scrivener want to go with Ulysses and pay $50 a year go for it. :) I will just keep writing on my already paid for Scrivener.

Now Plottr, grrr. I do pay for that with a subscription model, but I don't have to like it.

Edited to add, because I was curious:

Scrivener User group on Facebook (not even official): 13k members
Official Scrivener page: 53k like and 54k follow

Ulysses actually as 10k members on their official page but I couldn't find a user group.

Anyway, I thought it was interesting.
 
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Scott Robinson

macrumors member
Jan 20, 2014
45
29
Ulysses has got me through 5 years of a PhD. The interface and syncing are flawless (for me). For some people subscriptions models work. I have no issue paying for something that makes my life infinitely easier. Some people have mentioned Scrivener. I used it for many years but found the exporting Unfriendly albeit powerful and its iOS app perfectly usable but not as seamless as Ulysses. Moving to Ulysses has made me more productive. I can use Pandoc to export Indesign compatible inCopy files and get layout ready chapters in a few clicks And benefit from (IMO) the most pleasant writing UX on iOS.
 

Brammy

macrumors 68000
Sep 17, 2008
1,718
690
Actually there are other devs, but really, what is the big deal with one developer? I have used Scrivener for over a decade and paid for new versions three times. Seriously. THAT IS CHEAP.

I should clarify, the other devs work on the Windows version. It is indeed the esteemed Keith Blount that works on Scrivener full time.

Hey, and listen, if you all that hate scrivener want to go with Ulysses and pay $50 a year go for it. :) I will just keep writing on my already paid for Scrivener.

Now Plottr, grrr. I do pay for that with a subscription model, but I don't have to like it.

Edited to add, because I was curious:

Scrivener User group on Facebook (not even official): 13k members
Official Scrivener page: 53k like and 54k follow

Ulysses actually as 10k members on their official page but I couldn't find a user group.

Anyway, I thought it was interesting.
I think you lumped me into the "I hate Scrivener" camp, which I don't. I have a few projects that Scrivener was perfect for. I have started moving a lot of my writing from Ulysses back to Scrivener. This happened when I got the new M1 Air and pretty much gave up on using an iPad to write. I think if you bounce between iOS and macOS a lot, Ulysses is the better option.

My main concern is it's a complicated app with a single point of failure. This app is also central to a lot of writer's workflows. It's not something that stops me from using the app at all, but it something that is in the back of my mind.

Both apps tend to frustrate me in different ways, which is the nature of these things. For blog writing, I love Ulysses. The Markdown wonks hate that it obfuscates links, but that is a selling point for me.

That said, we writers tend to fuss over our apps and workflows, when all we need is something that accepts text input and can save in a variety of text-based formats. I tend to write shorter fiction, which doesn't really need the complicated structures of Scrivener and Ulysses.
 

AlexanderUK

macrumors member
Jun 25, 2020
40
61
I used to use Ulysses until they went subscription to which I put in an email request asking if they were going to add table support for markdown (as it's something pretty basic that they were missing) - amongst other features, as I often need to add tables into my documents. I got an email response within 48 hours cheerfully responding that they had it on their urgent todo list - I said once it's added I would commit to a subscription as currently there was no workaround (their advice was to purchase Marked, another app - not iOS compatible, which cost at the time £20 just to plug the holes in their product).

I moved over to IA writer which took some getting used to but worked much the same (I couldn't use Scrivener because while it's overall a better product, it's iOS app is lacking in feature parity and the developer has said he's got no intention of making them equal for stuff like ePub export).

As for Ulysses, it's been many years - and they still haven't bothered to add table support - or anything else markdown related - or anything else remotely useful. They have however redesigned their app 4 times, added third party service support (which requires little coding as the third party did the hard work) - and they increased the subscription price twice. So long story short, Ulysses is useless as a multi-markdown editor, it's glorified eye candy, and all the "team" behind it are interested in are making "app of the year" or "featured app" in the store because they are better at marketing than actually producing a quality product. And I say this as a software developer of 30 years and web developer of 20 years. I've also authored multiple books (on web development) through large publishing houses using such apps if it provides credibility to my claims.
 

Guscat

macrumors member
Jun 24, 2010
93
95
Hahahahaha! This is all completely wrong. I have written over 200k words and completed an entire novel in Scrivener. It has absolutely received MANY updates. In fact it was one of the first native M1 apps available.

Show me on the doll where Keith (a brilliant programmer by the way) hurt you.

The rest of us will continue to write entire novels easily in Scrivener. AND NO SUBSCRIPTION MODEL.
I love Scrivener. I just wish the iOS and Mac versions didn't synch with Dropbox which I have come to hate. (It slowed my iMac to a crawl until I finally deleted it.) If I could synch it with iCloud, I'd buy the iOS version in a heartbeat.
 

eltoslightfoot

macrumors 68020
Feb 25, 2011
2,076
2,507
I love Scrivener. I just wish the iOS and Mac versions didn't synch with Dropbox which I have come to hate. (It slowed my iMac to a crawl until I finally deleted it.) If I could synch it with iCloud, I'd buy the iOS version in a heartbeat.
That is the one unfortunate part. I am hoping with icloud kit eventually they will change it. I literally only use dropbox for that purpose.
 

anakin44011

macrumors regular
Jan 6, 2004
200
760
Another 3 months, another Ulysses update which is valued by some (and not others), another MacRumors post, and alas, another dozen or so people complaining about the subscription model.

If you don't see the value, don't pay for it. Why is this still an issue? Why the thread of superiority complexes? If another piece of SW works better for you...great!

I'm thankful that Affinity's suite exists because I don't do enough graphic design work to justify Adobe's subscription model. And I'm thankful that Final Cut Pro exists and that I have only had to pay once since FCPX came out (although I paid quite a bit a few times before that). But I have absolutely no superiority complex over those who pay Adobe $1000 a year (or whatever it is now) for that powerhouse suite that is the industry standard in so many ways.

So I gladly pay the $50 for Ulysses because it best matches most of my needs...at least today.

Scrivener doesn't (although I've paid for it 3x and admire it for what it does well). Nor do the other half dozen apps I've tried.

YMMV
 

Brammy

macrumors 68000
Sep 17, 2008
1,718
690
One nice thing about Ulysses I forgot is the v20 and v21 updates were actually pretty dang good. The grammar check is very, very well-done.
 
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johnnytravels

macrumors 6502
Oct 24, 2019
285
767
But I have absolutely no superiority complex over those who pay Adobe $1000 a year (or whatever it is now) for that powerhouse suite that is the industry standard in so many ways.
So, with your comparison, are you suggesting that Ulysses is in any way the industry standard for anything? Because I have to admit, I do have a *bit* of a superiority complex over people who feel good about paying a dev to essentially keep a mediocre product somehow working...
 

csilverman

macrumors newbie
Oct 4, 2011
16
45
I was using this before. The devs are really really slow at implementing features. And when they do implement features, it is mostly heavy on eye candy. Since then, I have moved on to other apps in this field...Typora, Obsidian etc. Still have not narrowed down on one; not cause I did not find feature parity with Ulysses but mainly cause these new apps introduced me to backlinking, Zettelkasten and I am trying to find the app that does this well.

Unsurprising. Since the subware model gives them money whether or not they actually did anything, the incentive to innovate—or even fix bugs—is less.
 

Apple_Robert

Contributor
Sep 21, 2012
34,283
49,520
In the middle of several books.
Scrivener for Mac has some merits, but it has a messy, old-fashioned, and overly complicated interface. It's developed by one person on a part-time basis, who also develops Scapple and iOS Scrivener part-time as well.

But the biggest issue with Scrivener is that it is RTF-based, and RTF is an excrescence written by Microsoft in 1987 and abandoned by them in 2008. It is a 34-year-old idea that hasn't been updated in 13 years and is never going to be. The world has moved on, but RTF and Scrivener haven't.

Work with Scrivener and you're relying on outdated technology and the whims and good health of one ageing guy writing code in his bedroom.

Ulysses at least has a team of coders. If you want a great writing app on one platform for free, Bear is brilliant: clean, fast, and wonderfully powerful. You can subscribe for more cross-platform features, and a low subscription price and high user numbers make it worth far more than Scrivener or Ulysses.
Bear is much more reasonable than Ulysses. Every year, Ulysses goes on sale for $29 during Black Friday. I believe that that is much more reasonable than the typical $49.

I have started using Agenda, which uses the Dutch subscription method. That is more in line with what many here would consider paying for, in my opinion.
 
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Apple_Robert

Contributor
Sep 21, 2012
34,283
49,520
In the middle of several books.
Ah yes, I came for the myriad complaints about the subscription offering that has absolutely nothing to do with the blog piece, posted by folks who already spend lots of money on various subscription services but zero in this particular one as being beyond the pale.

Endlessly amusing.
Your post has nothing to do with the blog piece either. If you want to call out people, walk the walk.
 
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