Filed under: Software, How-tos, Odds and ends
Create a clutter-free writing environment for free
When WriteRoom debuted, many of us were impressed with the software and the idea of a focused interface that just lets you write. WriteRoom allows you to write on a screen of nothing but text, and the default view mimics the way many of us used with our first word processor (myself included): green text on a black screen. Still, if all you want is a screen of text with very little interface, here's a free and quick solution.
Start with Backdrop, a simple application for obfuscating your desktop or other applications. You can get fancy and include something like Spirited Away for auto-hiding applications you aren't using, but that's not the point here (and I don't think that app works in Leopard). I am assuming you're settling in to "just write." I find the default gray works fine, but you can customize the color and make it black if you are ready to zone out on your text.
Next, fire up TextEdit. While you can zoom the TextEdit window, I find the wide view of your text is distracting. WriteRoom is nice because you have big margins on a wider screen, making it easier to read what you write. To simulate this, just resize your text edit window to mimic a page of paper in front of you. Go to Preferences in TextEdit and alter the default font settings (for rich or plain text, depending on what you prefer). You can also change the default window size, or text area. I found a height of 45 with rulers turned off went from the top of the screen to the bottom on my 15" MacBook Pro. I use 18-pt Helvetica, but if you prefer Marker Felt, go for it.That's it! You can't customize TextEdit as much as you can Terminal, but if you want a universal text tool that can serve as a distraction-free environment, this works in a pinch. You could just as easily pare down your browser view and pop Google or Zoho Docs over Backdrop -- or for collaborative editing, open a free Etherpad page. If you do a lot of writing, you may want to look into WriteRoom. There's also an iPhone app for WriteRoom, which includes a mechanism for editing docs on your Mac (sort of).
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
Darren said 2:51PM on 3-23-2009
Looks like Windows 3.1. Someone finally found a use for Microsoft's old MDI interface. Funny.
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reglogge said 2:54PM on 3-23-2009
I'm using Spirited Away on Leopard - works like a charm.
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Brent Currie said 5:38PM on 3-23-2009
I'm using Spirited Away on Leopard as well. Works just as well as it did in Tiger.
Tedeks said 2:59PM on 3-23-2009
Definitely a neat idea, that I can be in my own world when writing :)
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Elliott said 3:01PM on 3-23-2009
I'm using mail/iCal as the default database. I also have Process for project management, which also syncs to iCal. Then I have ToDo on the iPod for mobile management which also syncs to the default database. I have heard good things about Things.
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Elliott said 3:07PM on 3-23-2009
Sorry about that, 1Password has odd habits sometimes.
I meant to say that Bean does full-screen very well, and for free. Much better than textedit can.
MacTipper said 3:02PM on 3-23-2009
Um, Bean (http://www.bean-osx.com/Bean.html) does this for free.
And I think Pages does as well.
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PSM said 3:36PM on 3-23-2009
Yes, Pages does it. The full screen mode gives you nothing but a black background and the page count and word count.
antiorario said 5:23PM on 3-23-2009
The problem with Pages '09 is that the full-screen mode doesn't survive a screensaver, and it's easy to accidentally turn it off by pressing Esc. Other than that, I like it.
Alfred said 3:10PM on 3-23-2009
I use SpiritedAway all the time and Isolator (http://willmore.eu/software/isolator/) when I need to get some serious work done without distractions. Imho it's much better than Backdrop, Think etc.
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Sam Franklin said 4:21PM on 3-23-2009
I use the app Think(http://www.freeverse.com/think/). I'm not usre if it works for Leopard but it works great in Tiger.
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antiorario said 5:25PM on 3-23-2009
Think works on Leopard. It actually does a very good job.
superberg said 3:20PM on 3-23-2009
No post about Mac writing software is complete without mentioning Scrivener. I love that app.
http://www.literatureandlatte.com/scrivener.html
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AlteredCarbon said 5:53PM on 3-23-2009
I second that whole-heartedly! Scrivener rocks my socks.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/33851568@N08/3380548662/in/set-72157615731282333/
auctoris said 3:27PM on 3-23-2009
You can also hide all other applications automatically when switching apps by setting the Dock's single-appplication-mode preference using Terminal:
$ defaults write com.apple.dock single-app -bool TRUE
$ killall Dock
Whenever you click a dock icon, all other apps will hide.
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John Lilly said 3:36PM on 3-23-2009
I use Desktopple (http://foggynoggin.com/desktopple), as it covers the Desktop as well as adding Spirited Away capabilities. Saves me room in my menubar, and it does a bunch of other stuff, too.
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Thodin said 3:51PM on 3-23-2009
Why not use JDarkRoom? It's exactly like WriteRoom, but it's free.
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Adam said 4:01PM on 3-23-2009
A second vote for JDarkRoom: http://www.codealchemists.com/jdarkroom/
It's excellent and does everything I need including word count and color and font settings.
Schell said 3:53PM on 3-23-2009
I think Scrivener is the best of the bunch. However, what I hoping someone will come up with eventually is a full-screen writing application that will allow me to put post-it type notes on each side of the writing application. (movable, removable, scalable, and savable). Scrivener does OK at this (it has a 'notes' section but it is lacking in the movable, scalable) but it is still not perfect.
What would be great is for someone to look at the average writer's desktop (their real desk) and make a program that mimics that. I don't have an empty desk. I have hundreds of notes cluttered around everywhere. There is something to be said about making things clean and neat, but there are those of us who simply cannot work in such a sterile and boring environment.
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nickux said 4:04PM on 3-23-2009
http://www.collegeotr.com/college_otr/paying_is_for_suckers_-_3_free_word_apps_for_your_mac_18706
Writer app always seemed cool to me
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