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diff --git a/published/Webmonkey/Monkey_Bites/2007/01.22.07/Mon/writeroom.txt b/published/Webmonkey/Monkey_Bites/2007/01.22.07/Mon/writeroom.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..dae953f --- /dev/null +++ b/published/Webmonkey/Monkey_Bites/2007/01.22.07/Mon/writeroom.txt @@ -0,0 +1 @@ +[WriteRoom][1] from [Hog Bay Software][2] is a text editor with a full screen mode to help you eliminate distractions by putting a blank "curtain" over your workspace and hiding everything else (including the omnipresent Mac toolbar).
WriteRoom bills itself as "a full-screen, distraction-free writing environment," which is apt since it straddles the line between word processor and text editor in terms of formatting features, but the focus is really the full screen editing mode.
In full screen mode it is indeed just you and your words -- no distractions. But even in full screen mode, you can still access menus, the menu bar, scroll bar, and word count appear when you move your mouse to the edge of the screen, much like DVD player and other full screen apps. The escape key returns you to the normal editing mode.
You can pick your choice of background and text colors in the preferences pane as well as control the width and height of the editing portion of your screen.
There are also a number of plugins available to further extend WriteRoom's capabilities. Plugins listed on Hog Bay's site range from Mail export scripts to Growl support for word counts.
WriteRoom can also install a plugin that adds a universal "Edit in WriteRoom" menu item to other application's edit menu. Very handy if you end up deciding you love WriteRoom, since with one keystroke combination you can jump from any program over to WriteRoom.
Depending on what sort of writing you're doing that may or may not be helpful. When working on articles for wired or posts for this blog I'm constantly flipping between my editor, my email client, RSS reader and web browser which makes WriteRoom's full screen mode less than ideal, useless in fact. I like to see the browser window in the background with an press release on it.
But later in the evenings, when I write for my own site or work on other projects, I find WriteRoom's appeal easier to understand. I'm not going to suggesting that WriteRoom can replace emacs or Vi(m) in fact though I've had it for over a year I rarely actually open WriteRoom, but when I do I'm always glad I did, if for no other reason than the pure black background reminds me to clean my screen every now and then.
WriteRoom is $25. Windows users can check out [Dark Room][3] which is pretty much the same thing, but made for Windows.
[1]: http://www.hogbaysoftware.com/ "Hog Bay Software"
[2]: http://www.hogbaysoftware.com/product/writeroom "WriteRoom"
[3]: http://they.misled.us/dark-room "Dark Room"
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