I came across Folio Writer in my search for an app that is more welcoming of research writing as well as for fiction writing in general. The link to Folio Writer's website:
https://foliowriter.app

It has all the features I have been looking for, especially a version for the Mac and iPad that does force you to use one sync service.

My only partial negative is that it is Markdown-based. But accolades go to the developer here for creating a "live rendering" preference in settings where the text hides markdown symbols in the text you are editing. Live rendering is done extremely well and fast, so much so that I don't notice that rendering is being done at all. The only giveaway is that the Markdown script appears when we are editing a section of the text. I have just contacted the developer to ask if this can be improved as well. As I have written elsewhere, I understand the value of writing in markdown. However, for me, seeing markdown script in the text I am editing is a huge distraction, like having an itch I cannot scratch.

Folio Writer also has a Web app for when you don't have access to a Mac or iPad (or iPhone). The pricing is very reasonable for the features you get, a free subscription, and lifetime licenses, depending on the extra features you want. The Web version starts at free, with subscription at various levels depending on the online storage you require. I am happy with this pricing model because I am sure it will bring the developer an income to work on future maintenance and development.

As a side note, I am also very happy with the way Folio Note handles Japanese, Chinese, and Korean fonts.

Folio Writer was a pleasant surprise when I stumbled across it. So I thought I should share the find with all here too, as you have all shared your wonderful finds that have helped me greatly in setting up a set of tools to use when working on research. :)

I just got back from taking a look at the developer's website:

This is a kind of Scrivener clone but in markdown!!

Hello again, Darren:

Could you tell us a bit more about your experience with this app? It seems like a pretty interesting product from everything I've read. It seems like a much more complete product than Ahti, which you also told us about and that I've already bought; however, I haven't been able to find any information about the developer or their company. What can you tell us about that?

Thank you very much.

I contacted the developer and suggested some improvements, and they were made. With the latest update to Version 1.13, Folio Writer is now the app I have been dreaming of!

The markdown features are all still there by default, so nothing has changed for markdown users. However, with the update, you can change a couple of settings to get the non-markdown experience like in Scrivener.

I had other suggestions that were also included. The changes were mainly cosmetic, to make Folio Writer a more ideal environment to think and write in, and are made if you make changes in the settings.

One thing I need to correct in my original post is that you CAN choose any number of sync services. You are by no means forced to use one particular sync service. What makes this possible is that Folio Writer uses plain text files. You can edit the context of these files in another editor and have the edited files show up properly in the Folio Writer project.

(Apologies for this typing error in my original post. I was not able to edit the post. I may not be able to edit the post as it is the post that started this thread).

I asked the developer about her/his background and learnt that he/she is also a researcher who writes manuscripts and proposals. That is the reason why Folio Writer was designed to be so useful to the academic writer.

Also, @tberni, your comparisons to Scrivener are spot on. The developer was also a long-time user of Scrivener, which we both agree is great for fiction writing, but requires a lot of tweaking to make it work for writing research manuscripts. So features such as the legendary binder are there, but Folio Writer has added other features for non-fiction writing: citations, figures, equations, journal formats, reviewer responses, the Word round trip with co-authors, pulling quotations from PDFs, and so on.

So, at last, I have most of the tools I need to buckle down and get to thinking about and writing my research, with some literary translation at the side. The tools in my arsenal are MojoPad, Zotero, and now Folio Writer. I may have just managed to scratch the CRIMPing itch! ;)

I will give an update on my experience in using Folio Writer when I have had the proper chance to use its various features. But from what I have used so far, I have found it to be dependable and very responsive.

tberni wrote:

Hello again, Darren:

Could you tell us a bit more about your experience with this app? ... I haven't been able to find any information about the developer or their company. What can you tell us about that?

The developer just recently update his website and included information about himself in the "About" section:
https://foliowriter.app/about/

Great to see a fellow researcher developing a writing app. They know what is needed. :)

tberni wrote:

I haven't been able to find any information about the developer or their company. What can you tell us about that?

Thanks, Darren, for your advice.

I'm trying out and working with Folio Writer, and I think it could become a very interesting application. I've also contacted the developer and have been able to make suggestions and report some bugs. He has treated me very courteously and has implemented requests I've made. I appreciate his work, in particular:

- The use of pure markdown for long-form writing.
- A workflow that is very similar to the Scrivener philosophy (but with the simplicity of MD files).
- Emphasis on privacy: no data collection.
- Lightweight app (25 MB on disk and low resource usage).
- macOS and iPadOS / iOS

Of course, the program still needs some polishing (e.g., editor details, the binder, synchronization, etc.), but it shows good potential.

I invite forum users to try Folio Writer so we can discuss its usefulness.

Regards.

Darren McDonald2 wrote:

The developer just recently update his website and included information about himself in the "About" section

Thanks Darren for the kind introduction!

I’m bbchen, the developer behind Folio Writer. The app is pretty new, but it was born out of my own writing needs as a researcher. I had been waiting for years for Literature & Latte to deliver a non-fiction scholarly writing platform, but after waiting so long, I finally decided to build my own solution.

It's tailored specifically for clean, structured, plain-text writing workflows, for academic and long-form projects. Happy to be here and looking forward to chatting with everyone! If you have any questions and suggestions, feel free to leave them here or write to me via foliowriter.app's contact form.

Best regards,
bbchen

Thank you very much tberni! I appreciate your kind words and suggestions!

As I utilize Folio Writer for my own writing endeavors, my principal aim is to ensure the application is robust and comprehensive, providing all the necessary tools for both fiction and scholarly writing.

Best regards,
bbchen

tberni wrote:

Thanks, Darren, for your advice.

I'm trying out and working with Folio Writer, and I think it could become a very interesting application. I've also contacted the developer and have been able to make suggestions and report some bugs. He has treated me very courteously and has implemented requests I've made. I appreciate his work, in particular:

- The use of pure markdown for long-form writing.
- A workflow that is very similar to the Scrivener philosophy (but with the simplicity of MD files).
- Emphasis on privacy: no data collection.
- Lightweight app (25 MB on disk and low resource usage).
- macOS and iPadOS / iOS

Of course, the program still needs some polishing (e.g., editor details, the binder, synchronization, etc.), but it shows good potential.

I invite forum users to try Folio Writer so we can discuss its usefulness.

Regards.

Darren McDonald2 wrote:
>The developer just recently update his website and included information about himself in the "About" section