One of the best, if not the best Markdown editor for Linux that boasts a minimalist GUI and tons of useful features
What’s new in Typora 0.11.18 Beta:
- Add warnings when user try to edit file from backup location.
- Line break should be rendered as whitespace when ignore line break is enabled.
- Fix new file in tile tree will result to duplicate files.
- Fix bug that table with tabs cannot be correct parsed.
Nowadays, web writers have it good. There are tons of nice desktop Markdown editors for all major OSes out there, as well as some very good web-based, in-browser ones, and lots of documentation to get anyone started with Markdown in minutes.
Among all these good Markdown editors, there’s one that stands out thanks to the combination of features and a distraction-free GUI.
The app in question is Typora.
What makes Typora special?
Upon first launching the app, you might be surprised to see a simple, black main window with not much in terms of menus.
One aspect that makes Typora stand out from the crowd is the lack of a separate Preview window. Instead, Typora provides a seamless live preview feature. The app is very much about getting rid of distractions, hence, Typora also hides its mode switcher, and pretty much all syntax elements as well.
Despite its refreshing simplicity, don’t think that Typora doesn’t have all it takes to be a great Markdown editor.
Fewer distractions, lots of features, and enough room for customization
One of the most surprising aspects of Typora is the number of features it provides. What’s even more impressive is that it makes them easy to access without you ever having to actually search for them.
For example, the app allows you to manage files with ease thanks to its tree panel and articles side panel. This makes Typora a great app for large projects that involve scores of files. Even better, Typora also works with a wide range of cloud storage services (Dropbox and iCloud being just two examples).
The Outline Panel provides an efficient way of quickly jumping through documents and specific sections. Typora also offers tons of options when it comes to importing and exporting files. You can import from and export to PDF, DOCX, OpenOffice, LaTeX, MediaWiki, EPUB, and so forth.
At the bottom of the GUI, you’ll notice a small Word Count section that can also display the read time, number of lines, words, and characters.
Last but not least, the Focus Mode makes it easier for you to focus on the current line (by adding a blur effect to all other content), and the TypeWriter mode ensures that the currently active line always stays in the middle of the GUI while writing.
Verdict
The whole experience is completed by a couple of neat GUI themes, and an impressive Settings section. You can pretty much change all aspects of Typora (starting from the way it looks, to the way it works) to make it suit your needs perfectly.
The app’s motto is “What You See Is What You Mean,” and it totally makes sense. Without a doubt, Typora is a very well-thought-out app. It brings together so many useful features, and enough customization features to keep everyone happy, while also feeling and looking remarkably simple.
Worth a try? Definitely, especially because it won’t always be a free app (it’s currently free during the Beta development stage).
