Pretext Reviews

by Aednichols

Sometimes opening a file and closing it causes it to disappear from the file list. Refreshing the file list makes it reappear, but there is perceived data loss.

Also, I have had sync conflicts from Pretext that caused weird split versions of the same file with appended numbers. Doesn’t happen working with OneDrive in other platforms or apps.

Edit: down to one star. I just tried to save a file five times (including an app quit in between) and it never propagated. Need to make an exit plan to a new solution.

by Computercolim

I hate to review badly, Pretext is free after all and it is neat.

But for a real markdown editor, it’s missing tons of stuff:
- open file from Dropbox, app crashes
- Cannot recognize lists as typed (have to tap on line, wait for popup to show, then hit “list”)
- One “real” recognized lists, not quick way to indent or un-indent
And some other issues where you type markdown and expect Pretext to “play ball” and do the right thing (it doesn’t).

But it is neat. It highlights. It has a cool markdown link insert tool. Spellcheck works as expected.

Some bugs:
Hitting list button on existing list ads more dashes (does not needs, already has dash bullet).

Not as important, but I’ve hit some rendering bugs. App opens document but keyboard area is blank white and does nothing. Or text area is cut in half but keyboard is present. Undo bar doesn’t appear, etc.

by ZachD5

I like Pretext and it does a great job of making quick edits and whatnot on my phone. The issue I have is that every time I change or even open a file on my phone that is formatted in plaintext, the line breaks on my computer file all go away. Not sure if this is a bug or I’m doing something on my end, but it makes Pretext unusable for me unless I’m starting a file on my phone.

by Anahata108

For photosensitive users, dark modes aren't just an aesthetics choice. For these users, especially those looking at their devices all day, dark modes aren't just about being pretty. Dark modes are fundamentally required to make Pretext useable at all.

Dark modes are an *accessibility* feature. They make Pretext useable in the same way that AssistiveTouch or VoiceOver do. Would you charge more for accessibility features? No. That would be terrible. Dark mode is an accessibility feature in exactly the same way other features are. Night Shift, True Tone, and the lesser known Reduce White Point aren't enough for some users: dark modes are the only way for them to use apps they can look at for hours at a time.

Furthermore, some users have "floaters" in their vision caused by fluids shifting in their eyes. They cannot comfortably use black on white UIs as a result. Dark modes are the main way users with these floaters can interact with their devices.

All that said: I realise that app developers need to make money. That's fine, really! I work as a developer myself. I understand. But charging for an accessibility feature is the wrong way to do it. I'd be happier making a *donation*, and getting nothing, than I am having to pay to configure Pretext to be useable in a way that doesn't cause me eyestrain and discomfort.

Dark mode is an accessibility feature. I shouldn't have to pay to make Pretext accessible.

by AnkleBowl

Pretext is exactly what i need. I was basically searching for a notepad equivilant for iPadOS, and Pretext did not dissapoint. It's basically notepad (as I said) but with a few extra features that don't get in the way but are nice to have. Overall, Pretext is simple, but well made. My only issue with Pretext (which I hope gets resolved quickly) is ever since I updated to iOS 15 the enter key on my keyboard doesn't work in this app. I've had to paste a newline in every time I want to go down a line.

by Mkbolivianwonder

I had a markdown document I was working on from my desktop, saved and closed it, and opened it on this app and added to it. Seemed great. When I reopened it on the desktop, the changes didn’t seem to write back to the file I had opened. Closing Pretext , I worked on the document more from the desktop. Re-opened the document in this app from where I had saved it on my server from the desktop, and now none of the changes I had added on the desktop weren’t showing in Pretext .

by Mlultra

This is a 3 of 5 because Pretext takes about 10 seconds to load once I click on a document. Also once I have a few other apps open this app will lose the place I was at on the page. Other than that it gets the job done . I’ll be looking for less bug filled alternatives though.

by SSteve

this app is a very useful text and markdown editor when you want something clean and simple. Occasionally I find myself wishing it had a search-and-replace feature but that doesn’t keep me from appreciating its utility.

January 29, 2020: I reduced the review to three stars because it has started putting up a review prompt every couple minutes. Hopefully that will get fixed and I can give it back the lost stars.

by Ignatius_J_Reilly

I’ve been prompted to rate Pretext no fewer than three times in two minutes. Knocking off a star for that. Knocking off another star for the fact that you can’t change the font at all. Otherwise, things seem to work pretty well.

People who are complaining here about having to spend 99 whole cents for dark mode should seriously reevaluate things.

by Arduous

Press and hold dragging of cursor is erratic, making quick edits of existing text mostly unusable. The only workaround is to touch exactly where you want to place the cursor. If you're off by a single character then try again because you can't hold to move the cursor location without the text scrolling wildly causing the cursor to end up somewhere completely unexpected.

by SteveGrimaud

I love how this works easily with both on machine and in cloud text files. Very easy to work in, no worries about other stuff getting in the way.
Now if the author could just include find and replace for text strings, it would be a five star rating. I hoped that was in the purchase, but no.

by Jestna

Probably the best app for editing text files through multiple cloud sources. The only things holding it back are the archaic interface and… well… again, the interface. It feels clunky and overly minimalist. Though, it shares this problem with almost all iOS text editor apps, so I don’t consider it a major drawback, but it keeps me from rating it at five stars. I still use Pretext instead of others, and I’m sure I’ll continue to do so.

by Xilenteyez

I really like that this allows me to edit my text files directly from Dropbox, and I use the feature to preview as HTML all the time!

But, as others have pointed out, I don't like how it updates the file whenever you open it without changing anything.

Also, sometimes files don't refresh as quickly as you'd like them to, sometimes I have to navigate back and return to see files update. But maybe that's the nature of Dropbox integration.

Finally, it would be nice if it could support advanced (maybe not kosher) features like tables. I would be willing to pay to get that.

by WALL-E3000

One of the better markdown editors for iOS but there is still room for improvement. A couple useful suggestions:

1) Make markdown styles affect not just color but also size and styling. I.e. a header should be bigger than normal text. Bold, italic, etc

2) Retain editing position when resuming app. Currently, it appears to bump the cursor to the end of the last open document, which is especially frustrating on longer docs because you then have to find where you were last editing.

Otherwise, great work. Please keep at it devs!

by Marlowe310

Full Files access, minimal interface and markdown preview = exactly what I was looking for all these years. There’s even a dark theme. The only feature that I’m missing is the ability to set a custom font (ala Textor). Hopefully that will be added soon, hint hint :)

by Mikesplaces

I needed a basic and functional markdown editing app to sync to iCloud so I can just write and access the files from either iPhone or iPad. I really appreciate the split screen mode for being able to see my day one journals entries side by side with a file I am editing on iPadOS. Pretext just fits inside my needs for writing and sharing those files where I want to work. The editing window is fantastic. Nothing there until i fill it. Please don’t change anything but if you happen to consider an updated version for iOS and iPadOS 14 a nifty widget with recent files could be cool.

by K4rakara

10/10. Good editor, no complaints here. But where Pretext really shines is how it doesn’t force you to pay to remove ads or whatever. It just works as is, and if you want a dark theme, you can contribute towards his coffee or whatever. Props man.

by Zrome

Charge for themes, charge for something else, not dark mode... especially since it’s an accessibility issue plus I can just enable it for free by using smart invert so all you are doing is making me do 2 more clicks to achieve the same functionality.

Great app otherwise.

by KPPhoenix

I am not always at my desktop computer when I need to edit a text-file. Unfortunately, my iPad’s built-in software can view text files, but can not edit them. Pretext, therefore, comes to the rescue.

by Papi Rowe

This a great and relatively-simple app that let’s you create Markdown files quickly. It’s great to write a few things on the go, and then later copy the file into your text editor. I love the UI, it feels native to iOS, in my opinion. I can’t wait to see what comes next.