I agree: if Ulysses, iaWriter, Bear or any number of other competent markdown apps (e.g. Strike, MWeb, TextNut) included simple folding (under hierarchical headings, for example, as very well done by the alas defunct FoldingText), I would opt for those in a heartbeat. Simple folding makes it so much easier to keep track of a train of thought by sidelining stuff you're happy with so you can concentrate on bits that need work, and for reminding yourself of your overall document plan.

I'd also love to see RexPad turn into an app - the side-by-side pane thing is another excellent way to manage complex trains of argument/thinking. Combined with folding - well, life would be complete...

Luhmann wrote:

Worth pointing out that a pro plan with Dynalist (as expensive as it is
- I signed up when it was cheaper than it is now) gives you daily
backups on Dropbox in a standard format

It's not backups as much as not preferring that my data be on someone else's cloud unless there's end-to-end encryption so they cannot in any circumstances get at my files. I do trust Dropbox and iCloud and I am somewhat antsy about OmniSyncServer. I kept off from upgrading DayOne until they finally got end-to-end encryption working.

MadaboutDana wrote:

by the alas defunct FoldingText)

Whoa. I missed that. I went to the May 2018 blog post discussing Mutahhir's takeover of the app and the significant changes he'd intended then, at the very bottom of the thread, found his closing post for the thread from August saying, "The version of FoldingText 3 announced above is no longer being pursued, due to overwhelmingly negative feedback. I’m going to post another topic on future plans, stay tuned"

Again, whoa.

https://support.hogbaysoftware.com/t/foldingtext-3/3638/29

MadaboutDana wrote:

I agree: if Ulysses, iaWriter, Bear or any number of other competent
markdown apps

I've heard that outlining is on Ulysses' radar. That would help justify the subscription cost, although I have to say I've already guzzled that particular kool-aid. In general I don't like subscription-ware, but Ulysses is the best solution I've seen for fuss-free markdown on both IOS and MacOS.

Amontillado wrote:

I've heard that outlining is on Ulysses' radar. That would help justify
the subscription cost

Oh, that would be amazing. I bought into the Ulysses subscription the day they offered it, and although I didn't move everything to it, I use it a lot and it's is very pleasurable to write in.

I contacted IA Writer to ask about some friction points I have with the Mac app, and they mentioned that an upcoming (big?) update will address a few of my annoyances. No word about outlines though - that would probably be asking too much of a company whose philosophy limits you to 2 fonts, lol. But they are willing to change when necessary, and their latest update's incorporation of tags improves usability (and its competitiveness with apps like Bear).

Outlining in Ulysses would be amazing, I must say. It's neck and neck with Bear in my affections...

But iaWriter has also made some great progress recently. And there are some promising new arrivals, too (Zettlr, UpNote, Highland 2) as well as some interesting older apps that are still being developed (notably MWeb). And the newcomer Strike (still in beta), which is decidedly interesting (although the iOS app needs some serious work!).

All the above being Markdown-based, of course.

Cheers,
Bill