Ufocus 3 0 3 – Distraction Free Writing Tool

As the adage goes: Less is more. Here are three simple, no-frills tools that let you write right from within Chrome, but take note: They are pared down so you can really focus on writing.

• Ufocus 3 0 3 – Distraction Free Writing Tool Set
• Ufocus 3 0 3 – Distraction Free Writing Tools
• Ufocus 3 0 3 – Distraction Free Writing Tool Template
• Ufocus 3 0 3 – Distraction Free Writing Toolkit

Writer, aka 'the internet typewriter'

• Search in the Chrome Web Store for Writer, and then click 'Add to Chrome' to install it. You'll need to access it with your Google account and then give it permission to access that account.
• Now you've got a distraction-free, really cool retro interface for writing from right within your Chrome browser. (For all the gamers out there: The interface reminds us of the early text-based adventure games from the 80s, like Colossal Cave Adventure… yes?)

• Saving files is easy because the program does it automatically, but you can also click on the disk icon at the bottom of the screen to save your work, and then access your saved files by clicking the hamburger menu (the icon with three horizontal lines).
• You also have the option to export your files as a txt file, a PDF, or a few other options.

‎uFocus is a distraction-free writing application that allows you to open plain text files and keep them organized inside libraries. The main goal is to allow everyone to express their creativity in the most simple, beautiful way. What is uFocus capable of?. Unobtrusive interface: the title bar. New and improved 2nd Generation with 2x real-world battery life of the 1st gen. Say goodbye to writer's block with the world's best distraction-free writing tool. Best-in-class mechanical keyboard with Cherry ™ Keyswitches (made in Germany) Ultra-low power and high contrast E Ink ™ screen that looks like paper indoors and out. 8 Best Distraction-Free Writing Apps for Mac.Whether you're planning for writing a bestselling novel, research paper for your college.

• Another really cool feature is that you can set a daily goal for your writing. For example, if you set your goal to 1,000 words, the app will track you as you write, helping keep you accountable and on track for your goals. There are even more features available with the paid Pro version, so if you really like this app, that might be worth exploring as well.

Litewrite: 'Unobtrusive writing'

• Search in the Chrome Web Store for Litewrite, and then click 'Add to Chrome' to install it.
• This is a similar writing app to Writer, but it's more of a note-taking tool. We Iike the very modern, clean interface.

• You can start a new note by clicking on the plus icon up at the top, and as soon as you start the note, it will give it a heading in the left-hand column, which you can later use to navigate between them.
• One very cool and unique feature is the ability to specify your own storage with your notes so that you are truly in control over your own data.

Papier: 'Open a new tab and trap your best thoughts'

• Search in the Chrome Web Store for Papier, and then click 'Add to Chrome' to install it. Because this is an extension rather than an app, once it's installed, you'll notice its icon up in the extension toolbar. Click on it to open it.
• If a sudden flash of brilliance hits you and you want to 'trap your best thoughts,' all you have to do is open a new tab in Chrome, and then type into the blank screen. Your text is backed up directly to Chrome, so you don't need to create any accounts or sync anything.

• The beauty of this extension is that you can jot down your thoughts, and when you return, your notes are still there. You can continue right where you left off. Just open another new tab and you're ready to continue writing.

Ufocus 3 0 3 – Distraction Free Writing Tool Set

• You can use the menu down at the bottom to print or adjust the formatting of your notes, and you can follow a running word count in the lower right-hand corner.

Click here to watch this video on YouTube.

by Gene Wilburn

TOOL REVIEW || updated 5/3/2014

Simplify, simplify, simplify.

—H.D. Thoreau, Walden

Let's face it: desktop, laptop, and tablet computers can be distracting. You only just begin writing and achieve a little momentum when your mind decides to take a quick email break, or see what's new on Facebook, or dash off a tweet. Or an alert informs you that there's a fresh New York Times crossword puzzle waiting in your crossword app. The next thing you know, your writing session is over and your time has been frittered away by addictive, fun, but non­productive pursuits. Don't feel alone. Most of us find our computing devices distracting. What we need is help in blocking out distractions.

The most obvious way to avoid distraction is to screen it out, like a blackout curtain in Oslo used to screen out the midnight sun at midsummer. Happily, your current word processor may already have a screening mode that will hide the menus and icons of other programs so that what you see resembles a blank sheet in a typewriter.

The latest versions of Microsoft Word, for instance, offer a view called Focus View that opens your writing palette full screen and hides all menus and scroll bars. Similarly, the Swiss army knife of writing tools, Scrivener, has a view called Composition Mode that effectively screens out the complexity of the menus. In LibreOffice Writer this view is called, simply, Full Screen, and it's also called Full Screen in Apple's Pages word processor.

If this mode helps you and you're happy with the result, then you've already found a solution. However, if you're yearning for even more freedom from distraction, or are simply curious about what other writing tools offer, there are products that also screen you from the complexities of, say, Word or Scrivener by keeping things minimal. These apps don't try to be full word processors or outliners. They simply let you write text, the way you would on a typewriter. With the addition of spell­checking, of course.

In general, minimalist editors share certain characteristics. They usually create plain text files that end in the file extension .txt. They sometimes offer rich text format (RTF) for preserving attributes such as italic, underscore, bold, and font choices. RTF files end in the extension .rtf and are easily imported into any major word processor.

Text Editors

The simplest editors of all are the text editors that come with your operating system. In Windows, this is Notepad or a third-party substitute. For Mac users this is TextEdit. For Linux users the editor would be Vim, Gedit, Emacs, or one of the many open-source variants.

The reason some writers write with a text editor—Neal Stephenson (Snow Crash, Cryptonomicon), for instance, uses Emacs, a Unix/Linux editor—is that text editors are fast, lightweight, and nimble, as well as being free of any formatting distractions. They also perform well on older computers. You don't need the latest in hardware to run these peppy little programs—you just start typing and go. The following distraction-free editors, however, offer additional support for writing not generally found in text editors.

WriteRoom (http://www.hogbaysoftware.com) may be the quintessential minimalist editor aimed at writers. Available for Mac and iOS, it costs $9.99 and $4.99 at the respective app stores.

WriteRoom offers two modes: a text window similar to Windows Notepad or Mac TextEdit, and a full-screen mode that blocks out all distractions from the system. One interesting option it offers is 'typewriter scrolling' that, similar to a typewriter, keeps the current line in the center of the screen so you don't have to type looking at the bottom of the page. WriteRoom has customizable sounds, including typewriter clicks for those who miss the typewriter experience. You can set the color palette of your choice, such as black background with soothing amber or green letters, like an early PC monitor. WriteRoom offers spellchecking as you type and it tracks word count. It can also convert between plain text and rich text formats. This time-proven product is a solid choice for Mac and iOS users.

Q10 (http://www.baara.com/q10/) is a free Windows minimalist editor similar to WriteRoom but with a few extras. It offers a spellchecker, timer (for timed writing sessions) and statistics that include word count, character count, and page count.

It has a useful 'notes' feature: any paragraph starting with '.' is considered a note. You can get a list of all the notes in your manuscript and jump immediately to any of them. You can also set goals: a target count of words, paragraphs, or pages, and view a percentage stat of how close you are to meeting your target. This is particularly useful for writers adhering to a strict daily word count.

Like WriteRoom, Q10's color schemes are customizable. Unlike WriteRoom, Q10 produces plain text only, with no option for rich text. This editor is an excellent choice for Windows users.

FocusWriter (www.gottcode.org/focuswriter) is a free editor that runs on Windows, Mac, and Linux computers. Similar to WriteRoom and Q10, FocusWriter combines some of the elements of both. Like Q10, it offers daily goals, timers, and alarms, and like WriteRoom it can produce both plain text and rich text files. It also provides support for basic OpenOffice/LibreOffice .odt files.

Its appearance is especially customizable, not only in terms of colors, but also in terms of background themes for those who prefer a bit of pizzazz, even in a minimalist editor. It includes a spellchecker and an optional scene list sidebar. FocusWriter can put you into a focused text mode in which the current sentence you're writing stays in full view while surrounding sentences are dimmed. Anymp4 mac video converter ultimate 8 0 12 download free. This can be useful for keeping your mind on composing rather than editing.

Running on multiple computer platforms, FocusWriter is an especially good choice for writers who use more than one operating system.

Ufocus 3 0 3 – Distraction Free Writing Tools

iA Writer (http://www.iawriter.com) is available for Mac ($4.99 [price currently reduced 50% until next update]) and iOS ($4.99) at the respective app stores. It presents a white background with black letters, like a sheet of paper in a typewriter; a full screen mode that blocks out distractions; and a focus mode that focuses on the current sentence, in the manner of Focus­Writer. Unlike the rest of the minimalist writing tools, it doesn't offer the writer a choice of screen fonts. Instead it supplies a single, attractive fixed font, akin to a typewriter font.

Ufocus 3 0 3 – Distraction Free Writing Tool Template

iA Writer can export to both .rtf and .html. What makes this little editor hot is its secret weapon: it employs standard Markdown symbols to add attributes such as bold, italic, lists, or block quotes. For instance, in Markdown language you can italicize iA Writer by typing *iA Writer*, surrounding it with asterisks. If the concept of plain-text formatting piques your interest, you can find out more about Markdown syntax at daringfireball.net/projects/markdown/basics on the website maintained by John Gruber, creator of Markdown. (For more information on Markdown, see 'What is Markdown?') Even without using Markdown, iA Writer is a pleasant writing tool that can sync files between a Mac and an iPad, via iCloud or Dropbox, for those who switch back and forth between computer and tablet.

These distraction-free editors are great for any writer who needs help concentrating on the work at hand, especially while composing. Once you've had a taste of distraction-free writing, it's jarring to go back to a writing mode that displays menus and icons. As Thoreau implies in Walden, simplicity can be deeply profound. Productive, too. ■

Ufocus 3 0 3 – Distraction Free Writing Toolkit

Gene Wilburn is a writer/photographer residing in Port Credit, Ontario, Canada. Gene serves as an advisor and nonfiction editor for Small Print Magazine.

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