Interesting article from the co-founder of Scrintal

Posted by Darren McDonald
Jan 1, 2025 at 06:04 PM

Mellel! Thanks for reminding me of this app! I should try it out properly when I work on my next paper.
For now, I will continue with Scriviner. I can quit put my finger on it, but it is something with the layout and navigation that gels with the productive part of brain.
I can relate to some feature (or lack of a feature) in an app that stops you from exploring it further.
Your experience with No Style in Scrivener parallels my experience with Mellel in the way pallets appear as detached windows. Also, the design of icons is grating on my eye.
I know in my rational mind this is not a big issue, but it is distractive enough for me to continually quit Mellel. It is the first thing I check when a new release comes out.
I repeat what you say that this is a silly issue for me. I should really try to give Mellel a better chance.
If an app works for you, then that it is the obvious choice for you. :)

Amontillado wrote:
Scrivener is highly recommendable.
> >That said, I don’t use it for the reasons you cite and there’s one other
>thing, very silly of me.
> >There is a style in Scrivener called No Style. I really like styles, and
>having a style that is advertised as not being a style is jarring. And
>silly of me not to just get over it.
> >I like to open Devonthink and call that my Scrivener-esque Research
>folder. I like Mellel, so I open it up and think of it as the Draft
>folder.
> >Mellel’s Outline (navigator) works in some ways like Scrivener’s binder.
>I can drag and drop in the Outline, rearranging the manuscript.
> >Funny, too, how much I use Mellel.
> >When I outline, I like to be a little expansive. I have a style set for
>outlining that puts a page break in before every heading (auto-title) in
>the manuscript. When I click on an entry in the Outline, I see the
>related text in the edit window. It’s not unlike a two pane outliner,
>used in that fashion.
> >And yet, as much as tools that are as comfortable as old friends serve
>me well, I still yearn for the perfect outliner.
>