Write! (distraction free editor)

[Midas]

Write! is another distraction free text editor, still in a beta stage but already with a slew of very interesting features; and the download link produces an overlay that includes this statement: "Currently available features will remain free and fully supported in future versions".

I tested it on Windows 7 Pro x64 SP1 via (Uni)extraction of the installer, and it apparently keeps everything in its own folder -- it's Qt5 based, settings are stored in xml files inside the program folder, and I found no trace of (aptly named) Trolltech junk.

• Write! is a distraction-free text editor that boosts your productivity. It supports markdown syntax, spell-checker, cloud integration and much more!

  Even though it's trendy in the software development community these days, we chose to abandon being mobile-first and browser-based, but set on an alternative path of native desktop responsiveness, performance and experience over the overhyped browser-based-everything. [...] You can think of Write! as a lightweight combination of a distraction-free editor, Evernote app, a bit of Wordpress post editing UI, some formatting features of Word, and even some IDE mechanics, from which we borrow how auto-complete or text folding works.

  • 

Download current Write! release (beta v6.3) from http://wri.tt/ (or directly from http://wri.tt/latest).

For usage tips, be sure to check the Write! blog at http://wri.tt/blog/.

Recent reviews:

• http://hackerspace.lifehacker.com/1651653315
  http://betanews.com/2014/10/28/write-is ... xt-editor/

[Midas]

Write! tested further; not portable -- creates like named folder in %APPDATA%, where it saves settings & documents...

Portability requested via author's Facebook page.

@webfork: please move accordingly.

[webfork]

please move accordingly.

Moved. Bummer it wasn't portable.

[donald]

Tried latest version 6.5
No folder in %APPDATA%.
Changed and saved settings, created and saved a document.
XP sp3 32bit

Only checked for folder in %APPDATA%
Cant find change log.
Perhaps this is the above mentioned feature request?

[Midas]

Tried latest version 6.5
No folder in %APPDATA%.

• Just re-tested latest Write! beta v6.6 in Windows XP Pro SP1 (x32) and apologies are in order: that folder isn't in '%APPDATA%', but in '%USERPROFILE%\Local Settings\Application Data\Write!'.
  
  Nonetheless, Write! deserves applause for not touching the system registry, even though it is yet another Qt5 program...
  
  BTW, the afore mentioned %USERPROFILE% folder includes an 'Analytics.xml', which contains an unique local GUID key.
  
  On a related note, Write! is able to import from RTF, plain text and three different flavors of plain-text markup (see next), as well as export to PDF, ODF, and plain text -- including Textile, Markdown and Wiki style markups (oddly, no RTF export -- licensing issue?).
  
  Now, if the interface was a tad more customizable (colors, etc.), Write! would make for an ideal no-distraction editor cum notetaker, even if a portable launcher would be required...
  
  PS: another thing that is not easily discoverable is Write!'s feedback resource (http://writt.uservoice.com/) -- where portability is currently the 5th most voted new feature...

[Midas]

Write! is now stable; latest version is v1.4.0 (annoucements at http://wri.tt/blog/updates/).

Write! morphed into some kind of cloud/social writing client with a paid monthly subscription model (yuck!), but the free version is still available (see http://wri.tt/#anchor2 for differences), although with a whopping 90MB download (OP direct download link still works past the site registration requirement).

BTW, portability still not implemented, although it's still one of the most voted requests:

• http://writt.uservoice.com/forums/26051 ... ns/6631113
  
  http://writt.uservoice.com/forums/26051 ... ns/9741933

[shnbwmn]

... morphed into some kind of cloud/social writing client with a paid monthly subscription model (yuck!)

Yuck indeed, and a real shame. This is one of the better-looking writing clients I've seen.

[webfork]

... morphed into some kind of cloud/social writing client with a paid monthly subscription model (yuck!)

Yuck indeed...

I'm less annoyed by the social/cloud writing component (thankfully it's not browser-based, which would destroy the whole "distraction-free" element) than two of the pro-only features. The global search and sessions tool do feel premium but how much money did it cost to develop an unlimited undo and a dark theme? That makes the free version feel a little like crippleware.