3 Handy Apps For Working with Text on Mac & iOS

Streamlining Text Creation and Formatting

The process of composing and managing text digitally often necessitates a diverse toolkit. Having access to efficient applications can significantly simplify tasks related to writing, formatting, and ultimately, publishing content such as articles, documents, and blog posts.

Exploring New Applications

Several recently developed applications offer compelling solutions for enhancing your workflow. Among these are Mou and MarkdownMail, both designed for use with the Markdown language. Additionally, FormatMatch, a Mac application, provides an innovative approach to text reformatting.

Markdown Tools: Mou and MarkdownMail

Mou is a dedicated environment for writing in Markdown. It allows for a focused writing experience, rendering previews as you type.

MarkdownMail, as its name suggests, facilitates composing emails using Markdown syntax. This enables richer text formatting within email communications.

FormatMatch: Automated Text Reformatting

FormatMatch is a particularly noteworthy Mac application. It excels at automatically adjusting the formatting of text copied from various sources.

This functionality is incredibly useful when pasting content into applications with differing style requirements. It eliminates the need for manual adjustments, saving considerable time and effort.

A Closer Look at Each Tool

Each of these applications addresses a specific need in the content creation process. They represent valuable additions for anyone frequently working with text.

Let's delve into a more detailed examination of each application's features and capabilities.

FormatMatch: Seamless Text Formatting for Mac

A common issue arises when transferring text between different applications or documents. Copied text often fails to adopt the formatting – font style and size – of the destination document.

Mac users are familiar with the "Paste and Match Style" command (Command+Option+Shift-V) as a workaround. However, FormatMatch offers a more streamlined solution to this persistent problem.

How FormatMatch Works

This application operates discreetly in the background, automatically reformatting copied text to align with the style of the document into which it is pasted.

Consider this illustration:

Text copied from a formatted source, such as an article, seamlessly integrates into a TextEdit document, inheriting the style of the existing text.

Effortless Operation

The application requires no manual intervention. There’s no need to remember keyboard shortcuts or initiate actions with a mouse click.

The formatting adjustment happens automatically, creating an experience akin to a native operating system feature.

Should temporary deactivation be necessary, FormatMatch can be easily toggled via the menu bar or a designated keyboard shortcut.

Availability and Value

FormatMatch is available as a free download from the App Store.

Despite being offered at no cost, the utility and convenience it provides would easily justify a purchase price of up to $10.

• Key Benefit: Automatic text reformatting.
• Platform: macOS
• Cost: Free

Mou: A Markdown Text Editor

For those unfamiliar with web development or HTML formatting, Markdown is a valuable tool. It functions as a text-to-HTML converter designed for web writers.

Markdown enables the creation of content in a plain text format that is both readable and easily written, subsequently transforming it into valid XHTML or HTML (Source: Daring Fireball).

Ease of Learning

From initial experience, Markdown appears considerably simpler to master than HTML itself.

Whether you are a beginner or a seasoned user, Mou, a dedicated text editor, is worth exploring.

Mou provides a live preview of your Markdown text as you compose it.

A Tool for Syntax Mastery

Mou is an exceptional resource for understanding Markdown syntax.

It can also serve as a preferred text editor for ongoing Markdown writing projects.

Built-in Learning Resources

The application incorporates a built-in document that serves as an introduction to Markdown syntax.

Users can initiate a new document within Mou and immediately begin writing, observing a real-time preview of their formatted text.

The syntax of Markdown feels remarkably intuitive.

Simplified Formatting

In many cases, composing content in Markdown proves more straightforward than utilizing keyboard shortcuts for text formatting.

This includes elements like quotations, italics, document headings, ordered lists, and line breaks.

MarkdownMail: Enhanced Email Composition for iOS

For users proficient in Markdown syntax seeking to craft visually appealing HTML emails directly from their iPhone or iPad, MarkdownMail presents a viable solution, available for $2.99.

This application empowers users to compose emails incorporating features such as bold text, italics, and bulleted lists, extending beyond the capabilities of standard email clients.

Leveraging the text expansion functionality integrated within iOS 5, frequently utilized Markdown elements can be pre-defined, streamlining the writing process and enhancing efficiency.

A preview function is included within the app, allowing for visual confirmation of the email's appearance prior to dispatch.

Emails can then be transmitted in either HTML format – ensuring the recipient views the formatted text – or as raw Markdown syntax, preserving the original markup.

Users have the flexibility to choose the delivery method best suited to their recipient’s preferences and technical capabilities.

We invite your feedback on these applications. Further options for Mac users can be found in our article, The Top 3 Free Coding Text Editors for Mac OS X.