Ulysses Reviews

Apps with non-standard UIs and I just don't tend to get along. I use most apps in fits and starts, and that's certainly true of this app. If I wrote for a living, or maybe even if I journaled every day, it'd be different - I'd be using Ulysses pretty much daily and wouldn't have a chance to forget all its peculiarities. But I don't write every day; I write when I feel inspired to, and that might be every day for three days in a row or for a week, and then I won't feel the need to write again for a month, and therein lies the problem with apps with non-standard UIs: when I launch an app with a non-standard UI after that month of not using it, I've completely forgotten how it works and I need to go through a tutorial all over again if I want to use it. Which is not something I'm willing to do for any app that's not essential to my life. And for me personally, the value of a pretty UI and having no visual distractions while writing is nowhere near so great that I would think it worth my while to re-school myself on how to use this app all over again every time I forget.

The whole idea behind the Mac is that computing should be intuitive, and this app is not. So I'm most likely done with it and will be going back to Word or some other app that I know how to operate when I open it, no matter how long it's been since I last used it.

I hope Apple does not delete my review and post it this time!

I have used this app for several years, and at the time it was probably the best of its kind. It is stable, reliable, and syncs flawlessly using iCloud. However, here is what is missing in this app that is now available in some of its newer competitors:
No formatted text option. I know some usres love markdown but there is a ton of similar apps that use markdown. What about those of us who use this app primarily for taking notes, planning projects, commenting on events and issues, capturing and organizing information from online sources and other things that are not meant for publishing but for having electronic/digital records only? We like to have a pleasant page layout with control over fonts and colors. Other competing apps offer several options (formatted documents, plain text, and markdown), so why not this app?.
No option to insert tables in documents.
No checklists; most other notes apps offer tables and checklists.
Search is a bit confusing. I find myself most of the time searching for a something and not foinding only to find out the my search was limited to the note I am viewing.
Out of frustration, I moved all my notes and documents out of this app to another app which offers all the features that are missing from this app. I have not yet deleted my subscription on the hope that some newer version would address my issues soon.

Finally — the right mix of hierarchal-based note taking, lightweight design, and ease of use. As a past user of Scrivener, Evernote, and OneNote, I have long craved something in between — a simple, bare-bones note taking app that would allow me to stash notes in a hierarchy, so I could easily keep related pieces of research and meeting notes together. OneNote and Evernote come close, but recent releases have changed the ease by which you can create and collapse hierachies, that aspect of their features/design feels at times limited or heavy-handed. Scrivener was a great go-to for awhile because of the support for sliding things around in hierarchy, but honestly I find this app to be simpler and easier to manage the hierarchy. I can see this has some powerful markup/structured authoring features as well, but I’m not currently using those. Just basic note-taking, each project in its own folder (group), and it’s really great for just that!!

Here's a splendid tool that every writer should have, a versatile engine that is devoted to nothing less than prose itself, and while it can do much more, its entire point is as simple as that, becasue as the old saying goes, writers write -- and it's really the only pedigreee any writer needs, because if you're writing, you're a writer, and if you're not, you aren't.
this app takes its name from what happens to be my favorite poem, an heroic epic from no less than Tennyson almighty, who like all writers knew the agony of an art that begins with nothing, but by som curious alchemy offers outcomes our world simply could not be without.
We writers are as Tennyson penned, "one equal temper of heroic hearts, made weak by time and fate but strong in will to strive, to seek, to find and not to yield." Quite simply -- in a way that is both simple but not easy, this app (both Ulysses and the epic poem) helps us get there.
So download it, then spring for the modest annual, and then get to work and use it every day, because whether you know it or not, the world needs your pen, your poetry, and your prose, and we need them all more than ever before.
Five stars, but only becasuse it wont let me give any more.

Ullyses is Ulysses for the consumate writer, the writer who obsesses over process and ritual but knows that when the deadline looms, it's time to get to work. It has all the bells and whistles of word processing programs without being a "word processing program." You'll notice this app lacks the spade of distracting options, though it has those in droves. The difference is that it's housed in a modern UX design that can push away all distractions with one button for supremely focused writing. What's more, you can customize the look and feel of your font, background color and paragraph width to create a consistent experience for yourself regardless of what the final product may look like. Put simply, this is the home for my writing. Trust me, having a dedicated desktop app brings the writing home, away from the distracting internet.

I am a journalist as well as an amateur creative writer, and this app suits my needs for every type of writing I do. Look no further: this app is the best writing app on the market.

Ulysses not only provides a clean and unintrusive space to do my writing, but it's also packed with loads of features if you need them. this app is fast and lightweight, unlike some of the bulkier writing apps I've tried. The sync between the iOS and Mac versions is instant (and the mobile apps are equally beautiful and easy to use). The focus mode and writing goals motivate me to actually sit down and WRITE. I also love the ability to view a number of sheets together in a single, streaming editor, because this allows me to sketch an outline with multiple sheets and then fill in as I go.

The most recent update (March 2019) with the split-screen editor and the keyword manager are just a few of the significant new features that have rolled out since I became a happy subscriber to Ulysses last year. I am thrilled to support these developers with a subscription when it means a stream of quality new feaatures like this.

Thank you for making Ulysses and continuing to develop it with such attention to detail. It's clear how much thought and effort has gone into the design and usability of this program and it is very much appreciated.

This is a brilliant, beautiful app, and I am not going to punish you with my rating. But please hear me out.

There are a great portion of writers attracted to this app because they desire an aesthetically pleasing minimalistic environment *while* writing.

For many of those writers, viewing markdown characters at all times is legitimately distracting.

Apps like Spaces, Bear, Obsidian, have all proven that markdown can function just as well when hidden. It provides all the same technical functionality as when always visible. And while certain types of writers, like journalists or bloggers or researchers, clearly benefit by always viewing markdown characters because their aim is publishing, and that information is as constantly important as the words themselves, for many creative writers like myself, viewing the coding characters at all time for simple things like bolding and underlining and italicizing and titling is not only unessential, but actively distracting from the creative flow.

All I ask is that the this app team can respect my right to choose in this specific regard. What is not a distraction for you is a distracton for me, and users like me. I understand your preferences differ from ours, but please have enough respect for this section of your userbase to give us a toggle to write as this app intends for us to write -- distraction free.

The most clear way I can express this app is this: it's an indispensable tool that I use every day.

I'm currently writing a book, and frequently write articles, podcast episodes, emails, and other web and businessy things. Everything I write starts in this app.

Reasons I love it:
* Cloud syncing to iCloud is flawless
* Fantastic export options
* The minimal interfact has plenty of hidden features, and the Markdown rendering is fantastic
* It exports directly to WP and Medium (though I've moved my site to Squarespace, which can translate both Markdown and Rich Text exports from this app without any additional formatting)
* The organization of text snippets, notes, chapters, etc. is first class
* Dark mode...

There are a few features I wish they'd add though. Here's my short list of cons:
* Tagging could be better implemented, preferably with hashtags within documents
* Linking between docs with an @ mention would be quite useful
* Some mechanism for collaboration would be fantastic
* Export to Google Docs for editing and collaboration help please; exporting rich text into Google Docs renders a poorly formatted text, which may be a limitation of Google Docs, but come on this app team...ubiquity, ya know?

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Overall I absolutely love Ulysses and highly recommend it. If you're serious about writing, and especially if you frequently publish to email or the web, this is your app. Look no further.

I used this app on and off starting with one of the first versions. Don't remember which and when. I like it for textual information but for the type of writing I do I need the ability to easily build tables and embed mathematical formulae. For these reasons, even if I start writing in this app, I have to move the work to other applications at one point or another. So, given that basic functionality is the same, I just started to use the other ones for part of my writing. But that defeats the purpose of using a single application for managing all my writing needs. Scrivener is good, but it is way to complex for most of what I need, IA Writer is good, so is MultiMarkdown Composer. The one I like the most is a free one - Typora, which offers me most of what I need. I though end up comming back to this app, in the hopes it finally gets the functionality I need and I keep using it for jotting down ideas and notes that do not require math and tables.

This is by far the best writing app I've ever used, I got it at the start of my time in high school with some itunes gift cards, and used in all four years. Before, I had tons of folders on my desktop to organize my various notes for classes, but with this app' key word feature, I was able to organize a system where I would just open up a new doc, write the title, and it was automatically placed into the folder I needed it to be in. This was incredibly easy for me to use, to stay focussed while in class, and the experience only got better as I learned more of its powerful features and intricacies. I was also easly able to export my essays clearly formatted in MLA format without every having to worry about specific requirements in Microsoft Word or Pages for my teachers to accept my work. The various exportation options are beautiful, simple to use, and pleasing to the eye. Ulysses is a students best friend and I HIGHLY recommend it.

As a novelist and short story writer, I'm enjoying using this app on both my Mac and my iPad. It's biggest strength against any competitors is the seamless iCloud syncing. Other apps are too finicky or have very limited syncing options. With Ulyssees, the writing I do on my Mac just appears on my iPad and vice-versa. I can write and edit virtually anywhere. The otheer feature I think is a strength is that all of your writing is in one container, which you can organize however you want. I like this over having separate files for each project and wondering where that story you worked on three years ago is on your disk. Features that would get it a fifth star would be better planning tools (like a spreadsheet view that showed part of the first line of a sheet, or the first comment, keywords for each sheet, the target word count, and the current word count, with rows that can be rearranged by dragging), an ability to add meta data to a group and include it in the export (for example, author name, word count, story title, and the like for a manuscript suitable for submission to a publisher), and more formatting options in the export styles.

I have a MacBook Pro that crashed from a bad logic board. I got a new laptop and transfered my data to w/o much of a problem. I opened this app the next day and found over 6 months of crucial work missing. I contacted this app who apologized and referred me to the FAQ. I responded back that I still could ot find the data files and FAQ was not addressing my issue. A representative responded that it was likely a problem with Apple's iCloud service. I then contacted Apple's iCloud Tech Support and after being on the phone with them for over an hour, Apple's tech said it was an app issue because they could not find any this app files anywhere in their cloud. I sent a note to this app on Apple's findings and now I find myself 'Ghosted by this app' and all my work 'still' gone. As the old saying goes, this app is a great app and a good company right up to the point that you need them. If you need anything past a form letter, you're on your own.

When I first started using Ulyssess around five years ago I found it frustrating. Not only because it was missing a few features I really wanted, but because of its custiomer service. They prompted users to give feedback and then when I'd provide it they would tell me the reasons why they couldn't do it instead of just thanking me for taking the time. So I went back to my other apps and didn't both with it for many years. Then last year I decided to try it again. Low and behold the changes I'd hoped for, better cloud sync and the ability to set goals for chapters and manuscripts with visual progress. Ulysses also had so many great features it was even better than before. The editor, focus mode, improved markup options, and a simple, easy-to-use interface designed to be distraction free. I haven't reached out to their customer service again, but I'm hopeful that this too has improved. Bottom line: You really can't find a better writing app out there that has all the features PLUS reliability.

In additional to my this app subscription, I also subscribe to Bear, Agenda, and Drafts, and commonly use IA Writer and Word, each with distinct use cases. Where this app stands out most is its custimizable writing environment and document organization. Ability to have different colors for different header levels has proven critical for me in being able to quickly recognize my place in long text and see structure at a glance. I use this app for as much of my writing as possible, inluding important or lengthy email. Why the other subscriptions? I find Bear better for notes because of image and attachment handling, especially for notes that I will routinely refer to again. Agenda is best for meeting notes given connection to calendar. Drafts is best for text manipulation and automation, as well as ephemeral text. IA Writer is cross platform. Much of my business work requires Word output. How I wish I had one app that served all these needs, but I'd say this app is the most critical and by far the one I use the most. I wish all of these apps offered table support comparable to Apple Notes, or even Evernote. I'd also like this app to recognize Taskpaper syntax

Editing my previous review (bumping it up to four stars from three)...

A couple of weeks ago, I slammed this app for recent iCloud sync issues. Then I did some more research and learned it’s not alone in that regard. Indeed, many if not most so-called “shoebox” or central-library apps — like, to name two very familiar examples, Apple’s own Notes and Photos apps — are prone to them, too. It seems to be the nature of the beast. If you value having all your work together in the same library at all times without having to futz around with individual files and folders, the risks that go with the “shoebox” method are part of the price of admission. So I withdraw that previous complaint.

Indeed, if it were not for that method of file storage and the occasional (but sometimes scary) glitches that accompany it, I’d give this app five stars. For most of my work, I prefer the advantages of MultiMarkdown and a more transparent file structure than what this app offers. That said, I still recommend it highly; it’s a great app and a marvelous writing environment in which you’ll spend many hours working happily and productively.

i find Ulysses to hold everthing I write and keep it where ever i save it within Ulysses itself, with the other app I tried prior to this one, i would write 5 chapters save write another 5 chapters then save with the other 5 chapters, then save go back to write more and find 3 chapters up to the entire 10 written to be gone, no where to be found, disappeared without a trace, this happened with multible different apps and i just deleted all of them and seen this on read its reveiws and said why not? and tried one more time with it, and allthough i have not figured out the bulk of Ulysses and how to use it properly as yet, I currently have 4 different books started over the last almost 3 years and it has not crashed once and still has every single letter i have typed exactly where i typed it at. my ability to utilize Ulysses is exactly that, " My inability" not this apps. I will eventaully either figure out what i have to and finish a project within Ulysses or i will find someone who can and ask them to do it

I've been using this app for years since I started writing a novel & needed a better system for organization and editing. The recent updates with Projects feature have been great so far; before then I had to buy another app (Scrivener) for more complex stuff but then I kept coming back to this one because the UI and syncing in this app are truly unbeatable. I not only write from my mac but also my phone and iPad, and have to admit that it really has the best UI for focus and simple editing. One thing I hope from Ulysses is that there are less options for importing outside sources, like attaching PDF files or images. I know the editor isn't exactly to support high resolution files or complex layout before editing, but as the one who does not publish my writing through HTML or PDF and use Markup features only for faster writing & organization I sometimes want a system that can put together what I've researched for writing. I understand that simplicity is the key in this app but it'd be great if you could allow something similar to happen in this wonderful app!

I hardly write reviews but I love Ulysses so much that I feel that it would be heloful to point out this flaw.
The autocorrect, grammar and spellcheck, and dictionary of this software lag FAR behind the brillaince of the rest of the package. The program doesn’t know many common words, autocorrects to a dangerous degree, and, most annoyingly of all, when a word is marked as misspelled, it is very cumbersome to right-click in order to change it from the available menu of corrections as one would do in word. Right-clicking on a word that has been flagged will often jsut bring up the same menu as woul dcome up if you right-click anywhere else. At least fix this. When a word is flagged I should be able to right-click it to select a correciton with maximum ease.
Other than that, thank you for this product. It really is an excellent way to compose and to take notes and it fits effortlessly when integrated iwth other apps, esepcially using split view on Mac where you can make the window small and take notes from another, larger, part of the screen.

I have just moved over to the Mac ecosystem from windows/google, and I was using another program almost exclusively. Heard Wonderfull things about this app and had to give it a try. First off, I’m not a hug fan of subscription models, I would rather just pay outright, but this is worth it. I love the fact that the editor just gets out of my way, almost as if I have a blank page in front of me. Over the years, I found I work best when I can get my idea out first, then edit second. this app makes it easy to plan as much or as little as I want. Outline, character sheets, plot mapping all can be done inside the box. Markdown is simple enough and to be honest, I like to keep everything as a txt file, yes you loose formatting, but it can still be opened twenty years later. What really won me over is the fact that bouncing between devices is painless. I don’t have to worry that what I wrote on my phone at lunch will not open or format right on my laptop when I get home. This is what sold me, I can start an idea anywhere and fully flesh it out later without loosing a beat.

I’m currently writing a non-fiction book and in a bachelors proram getting ready for Law School. So I needed an alternative to Microsoft Word and Grammarly to help make my papers look more legit and professional. This is a perfect app. I took a chance on this and began using it wondering if it would be worth the money and it is. The footnote feature is specifically what I was looking for and the heading and automatic formatting. This helps me to make all my book chapters and sections look professional and really clean. If I had one criticism it would be a more in depth explination of the all the features. Maybe I didn’t pay attention long enough during the tutorial - so I’m giving 5 stars because that’s probably what happened - but overall, the interface is easy to use, the layout is awesome, and the product is amazing. I’m a big supporter of independent platforms and getting small businesses off the ground. This is a great and much easier platform to use than Microsoft Word. Glad to be part of the team, guys! Keep putting out god work!