Nisus Writer Express 3.5 Now Available

9/18/2015Posted inNisus Writer Express1 Comment

We are very happy to announce the release of Nisus Writer Express 3.5.

This new version introduces a lower price: only $20! It has also been updated with iCloud support, OS X document Auto Save and Versions, and is now 64 bit and sandboxed. There are also bug fixes, improvements, and enhancements. The complete release notes for Nisus Writer Express 3.5 can be found on the Express release notes page.

Nisus Writer Express 3.5 is available now on our site and on the Mac App Store. It is a free update for our customers who already own any version of Express 3. For those of you who don’t own Nisus Writer Express, you can purchase from our store and the Mac App Store for the new lower price of $20.

Nisus Writer Express 3.5 requires Mac OS X 10.7.5 or later.

If you write professionally, or are a student, educator, or just someone who needs a great writing tool, Nisus Writer Express 3.5 has the features you need to do the job at an affordable price.

SummerFest 2015

6/22/2015Posted inGeneral, Nisus Writer ProNo Comments

To celebrate the beginning of Summer we are happy to announce that we are once again participating in the SummerFest promo. For a limited time eight awesome artisanal apps from eight awesome developers are discounted 25 percent.

Nisus Software is proud to team up with great developers of wonderful tools like Scrivener, DEVONthink Office Pro, Tinderbox, Aeon Timeline, Bookends, Take Control Books, and of course Nisus Writer Pro.

Get the tools you need at a terrific price, for a very limited time. To save 25% on one or all of this excellent SummerFest software use the coupon code SummerFest2015 during checkout.

You can learn more about this collection of exceptional software from the SummerFest 2015 page.

As our friend Adam Engst of TidBITS wrote “ If you take your writing seriously, do yourself a favor and invest in the tools and training that let you focus on the best way to convey your ideas to the world.”

The SummerFest promo ends on June 30, so don’t wait. Order early and often.

A Few Thoughts On WWDC

6/8/2015Posted inGeneral1 Comment

As I write this it’s less than an hour before the WWDC keynote. This is Apple’s Developer Conference, and it’s kind of a big deal for us. It means massive amounts of speculation on what will be announced. I know the rumor mill is churning with many predictions, some involving new hardware. Honestly, I don’t care about that.

You know what I would love? An temporary end to new featuritis with an eye on fixing many persistant bugs in OS X and iOS. Especially OS X. I don’t care what they call it, just fix the crap that’s been broken since Lion. Is that asking too much? I don’t think so, but Apple may have other ideas. Whatever… just fix it already, Apple.

I really hope this happens, but I have my doubts. I have a wonderful track record of incorrectly predicting many, many things at these Apple events. I hope to break that streak, but the chances of that are probably not good.

I can dream, though, can’t I?

New MacBook: Upgrade From The iPad?

6/3/2015Posted inGeneralNo Comments

I finally had a chance to use a MacBook at the local Apple Store. I’ve been wanting to try it and the Apple Store gives me a good opportunity to check it out without being pushed into buying one.

I had read the comments and reviews from Jason Snell for Macworld, Ars Technica, and this review from Marco Armet (spoiler alert: Marco really hated the MacBook), but I wanted to check it out for myself to see if it was as good as I thought it might be or as bad as Marco says it is.

To my surprise it isn’t slow, in spite of its supposedly slow processor. It is quite quick, though I didn’t do anything more stressful than surfing the web and write with it. The screen is beautiful, which in itself is reason to seriously consider it. To my eyes, it’s the best of the retina screen Macs. That’s saying something.

However… that keyboard! I like the big keys, and the fact that it is full sized. There is very little travel, though, and that bugs me. I suppose I could get used to it, but it reminds me very much of typing on an iPad. I got used to it, but I can’t say I like it. I guess I was spoiled typing on those Apple Extended Keyboards. Everything else feels inferior to me.

That got me to thinking about the MacBook in a different way. Is the MacBook a the upgrade from an iPad? One thing that stuck me watching the March keynote is the way the MacBook looks very much like an iPad. The back of it certainly does, and from a distance it looks like an iPad with a keyboard. There are other little touches here and there that subtly remind me of an iPad Air. Plus… colors! It’s all very iPad like. Seeing one up close only reinforces that feeling.

Perhaps Apple has determined that the iPad isn’t the productivity machine it’s made out to be. In other words, maybe this is supposed to be the upgrade from the iPad for those iOS users who need more. I tried to love the iPad as a productivity tool, but I just couldn’t do it. Even with a bluetooth keyboard it wasn’t for me. I know some of you feel differently and have made the iPad work for you. Not me, sadly.

I suppose at some point I will own a MacBook since I am a fan of small and light computers. I’m typing this on a MacBook Air, a machine I’m quite happy to own. The single port won’t bother me, but right now the price does. Maybe in a year or two it will get cheaper. The keyboard might be a deal breaker, but I’d have to really use one for a while to figure it out.

What do you think? Is this a computer that could appeal to a writer? Or is the MacBook a tool for the fashion conscious CEO?

Please leave a comment and let me know.

 

Nisus App Updates

5/26/2015Posted inGeneral, InfoClick, Nisus Writer Express, Nisus Writer ProNo Comments

Now that Pro 2.1.1 is out, I’d like to talk about other things we are working on here at Nisus.

First up is InfoClick. Version 1.2 is now in beta testing. The focus of this version was adding a few highly requested features along with fixes and enhancements. InfoClick 1.2 should be released in weeks, but that’s dependent on how long the beta period will last. You just never know with these things.

Nisus Writer Express 3.5 should also be out fairly soon. This new version gains OS X Auto Save and Versions like its big brother, plus the usual bug fixes and enhancements. This also should be released soon, so stay tuned.

Lastly, I’d like to write about the Mac App Store situation. At this point, we are still working with Apple to get Pro 2.1.1 into the store. There are a few technical hurdles to overcome, and I can’t even begin to guess when Pro will be approved by Apple. Hopefully it will be soon, but we have no idea at this time.

Stay tuned to this blog or subscribe to our newsletter for more updates.

Mac App Store Update

4/23/2015Posted inNisus Writer Pro, TipsNo Comments

Now that we have released Nisus Writer Pro 2.1.1 (NWP) we would like to update you on our efforts to add Pro 2.1.1 to the Mac App Store (MAS).

We tried very hard to add Nisus Writer Pro 2.1 and 2.1.1 into the MAS. Unfortunately, we are having technical problems with Apple’s developer tools. Currently we are unable to even submit application updates to Apple for review. However, we are working with Apple developer technical support to resolve these issues. Unfortunately we have no idea when NWP 2.1.1 will finally be available in the Mac App Store.

In the meantime, Nisus Writer Pro 2.1.1 will allow MAS customers to use version 2.1.1 by following these steps:

  1. Do not delete the MAS copy of NWP from your Mac. Leave it in its existing location (most likely the Applications folder).
  2. Download NWP version 2.1.1 (download the .zip version only).
  3. Unzip Pro 2.1.1 and leave it on your desktop. Do not put it in the same folder as the Mac App Store version or it will overwrite that version.
  4. Launch NWP version 2.1.1.
  5. Choose the menu Nisus Writer Pro > Licenses…
  6. Click the button “Enter License…”
  7. NWP will try to automatically detect and import your MAS receipt from the Applications folder.

If NWP does not automatically detect your MAS receipt, you will need to hold down the Command key when clicking the “Enter License” button in step #5. That will trigger NWP to guide you through the process. Once you’ve successfully imported your MAS receipt, you no longer need the copy of NWP obtained from the MAS.

Hopefully we will work through the problems with Apple and get Pro 2.1.1 into the MAS soon. Here’s hoping!

Nisus Writer Pro 2.1.1

4/17/2015Posted inNisus Writer ProNo Comments

We are very happy to announce the release of Nisus Writer Pro 2.1.1. This new version increases stability and fixes a few issues that have been found since the release of Nisus Writer Pro 2.1. The complete release notes for Nisus Writer Pro can be found on the Pro release notes page.

Nisus Writer Pro 2.1.1 is available now and is a free update for existing customers of Nisus Writer Pro 2. You can update from within the app (from the “Nisus Writer Pro” menu select “Check for Updates” and follow the instructions) or you can download the update from the Pro download page.

For those of you who don’t own Pro 2, you can purchase for $79 or upgrade for only $49 from our store. We also have a three license Family Pack for $99.

Nisus Writer Pro 2.1.1 requires OS X 10.7.5 and higher.

Nisus Writer Pro 2.1.1 Beta

3/25/2015Posted inNisus Writer ProNo Comments

After the release of Nisus Writer Pro 2.1 we discovered a few bugs that we felt we should fix sooner rather than later. So instead of waiting we decided to release a beta version of Nisus Writer Pro 2.1.1.

This version fixes a problem where licenses in certain instances were not detected, an issue with choosing a new Document Manager folder that is a subfolder of the existing Document Manager folder can incorrectly delete a whole folder, if the user chooses to migrate files. There are also fixes for various sandboxing bugs and other minor issues.

You can download this beta from our Nisus Writer Pro 2.1.1 beta page.

For your own sanity please remember that this is a beta release and still in development. Bad things can happen to valuable documents, so please use copies and appropriate caution.

We hope to have the final version of Pro 2.1.1 released very soon. We’ll announce the release in our newsletter and on this blog.

Nisus Writer Pro 2.1 Released

3/17/2015Posted inNisus Writer ProNo Comments

We are very happy to announce the release of Nisus Writer Pro 2.1.

This new version contains the following fixes and additions:

  • Added support for Mac OS X autosave, where changes to all opens documents are saved regularly.
  • Added support for Mac OS X document versioning, where a user can browse and revert to older versions of any document.
  • Added support for iCloud.
  • Nisus Writer Pro is now 64-bit.
  • Other bug fixes, improvements, and macro language enhancements.

The complete release notes for Nisus Writer Pro can be found on the Pro release notes page.

Nisus Writer Pro 2.1 is available now (coming soon to the Mac App Store) and is a free update for our customers who already own Pro 2. You can also update from within the app (select “Check for Updates” from the “Nisus Writer Pro” menu and follow the instructions).

For those of you who don’t own Pro 2, you can purchase from $79, or upgrade from Pro 1.x for $49 from our store. We also have a three license Family Pack for $99.

Nisus Writer Pro requires OS X 10.7.5 and higher.

Anne Cuneo

3/4/2015Posted inGeneralNo Comments

We are sad to report the death of a longtime devoted supporter of Nisus Software Inc, and an active participant in our forum, raising good questions and offering sage advice.

My colleague Mark Hurvitz and his wife had the opportunity to meet Anne in September of 2010. She graciously took them around her neighborhood in the old town of Zurich. Anne was widely knowledgeable and deeply thoughtful. She will be sorely missed.

Anne’s life and death were noted in this lengthy article (in French).

As Mark said in his forum post, “May her memory be for a blessing.”

LLAP

2/28/2015Posted inGeneralNo Comments

Today we lost Leonard Nimoy. You can read obits here and here.

I was affected by it, no question, but I’m not quite sure why. I’m not a huge Star Trek fan, nor was I particularly inspired by him. I do think he was a great actor, and a pretty stand up guy (the less I say about his music career the better). So I can’t quite figure out why news of his passing saddened me.

Maybe it’s because, despite having been typecast to a certain degree as Spock and supposedly resisting it (the man wrote a book called “I Am Not Spock“) he later embraced it (he wrote another book called “I Am Spock“) and was able to laugh at himself and enjoy his life.

In the end, I think Leonard Nimoy was a nice man and maybe why that his passing makes me sad. There aren’t too many nice guys in his chosen business, or in the world in general, and we need more of them in this day and age.

Live long and prosper, Leonard.

Yosemite Compatibility

10/17/2014Posted inInfoClick, Nisus Thesaurus, Nisus Writer Express, Nisus Writer Pro1 Comment

Now that OS X 10.10, or Yosemite, has been released it’s time we talk about compatibility with the new OS and our products.

We ran many tests with the release version of  Yosemite and our current release versions of Nisus Writer Express, Pro, Thesaurus, and InfoClick. We have not found any issues: they all seem to be working as they should.

So if you are one of the brave early adopters of a new OS, feel free to use the latest versions of our apps with confidence. They should work as expected. However, if you do run into an unexpected problem, please let us know by sending feedback from within our apps or write to our support team. Your fellow early adopters will thank you.

Take Control of Automating Your Mac

7/22/2014Posted inNisus Writer Pro2 Comments

We know our users are a sophisticated bunch. A great many of you know keyboard shortcuts and other time saving methods to make quick work of tedious tasks. But did you know that there are dozens of shortcuts that will make your computing life easier? Well, that’s why the ridiculously busy Joe Kissell of TidBITS fame has written a book that reveals OS X’s many shortcuts, and examines the utilities and applications that go further, offering concrete examples and extensive lists of possibilities.

Take Control of Automating Your Mac is written for ordinary people like me, but everyone can take advantage of the tips, tricks, and tools that will help you with automating tedious, and not so tedious tasks. Plus, there is a nice section on Nisus Writer Pro.

There is a nice section on Nisus Writer Pro, but there are many other tips and tricks

You can purchase Take Control of Automating Your Mac for only $15 from the Take Control store.

So if you would like to save time and money (there are coupons for the utilities mentioned in the book) and learn to boss your Mac around, buy Take Control of Automating Your Mac and make your Mac work for you!

InfoClick Named Macworld Gem

7/16/2014Posted inInfoClickNo Comments

InfoClick was reviewed recently on Macworld and named a Macworld Gem. The review, titled “InfoClick review: Find what you’re looking for in Apple Mail” Dan Miller calls InfoClick “… essentially a supercharged search tool for Mail” and in his conclusion says “… if you find yourself constantly searching for (and not finding) messages in Mail, InfoClick could make your life a lot easier.”

You can read the entire review at the Macworld site.

Nisus Writer Pro 2.0.7 and Nisus Writer Express 3.4.6 Released

12/6/2013Posted inNisus Writer Express, Nisus Writer ProNo Comments

Mavericks. The gift that keeps on giving. So much so that we are still finding issues. While we were at it we fixed a few other bugs and we decided to put out new versions of both Express and Pro.

Therefore, we are happy to announce the release of Nisus Writer Pro 2.0.7 and Nisus Writer Express 3.4.6. These new versions are available now for purchase at our store and the Mac App Store.

These new versions contain the following fixes and additions:

  • Fixed: when running on OSX 10.6 (Snow Leopard), could crash in certain circumstances.
  • Fixed: lang: improved automatic hyphenation for non-English languages.
  • Fixed: soft hyphens now transfer from Nisus Writer to Word properly.
  • Fixed: lang: when running on OSX 10.9 (Mavericks), could be very slow to show the list of languages.
  • Fixed: images: editing an equation externally (eg: in MathType) now refreshes image correctly.
  • Other bug fixes, stability improvements, and macro language enhancements.

This release, barring unforeseen circumstances, will be the last release to support Snow Leopard (10.6). The next release will support 10.7.5 and above.

TThe complete release notes for Nisus Writer Pro can be found on the Pro release notes page. Release notes for Nisus Writer Express are available on the Express release notes page.

If you purchased directly from our store, Nisus Writer Express and Nisus Writer Pro can be updated from within the app. Select “Check for Updates” from the “Nisus Writer Express/Pro” menu and follow the instructions. You can also download the update from the Express and Pro update pages.

If you purchased from the Mac App Store open the App Store on your Mac, then click the “Updates” view at the top of the App Store window (in Mountain Lion you should receive a notification that the app has been updated and is ready to download).

So if you have purchased Pro 2 or Express 3.x from our store or the Mac App Store, please update now. You”ll be very happy you did.

Mavericks Compatibility Update

10/22/2013Posted inInfoClick, Nisus Writer Express, Nisus Writer ProNo Comments

Apple is on the verge of releasing the next version of OS X, 10.9 Mavericks. We have tested all of our currently shipping apps in 10.9 and happily we have found all of our currently shipping applications should work with no problems. That means Express 3.4.5, Pro 2.0.6, InfoClick 1.1, and Nisus Thesaurus 1.1 are all Mavericks compatible.

Hopefully that will remain once the OS is actually available to the general public. If you do run into problems please let us know.

Nisus Writer Express 3.4.5 and Nisus Writer Pro 2.0.6 Available on the Mac App Store

10/10/2013Posted inNisus Writer Express, Nisus Writer ProNo Comments

We are very happy to announce that Nisus Writer Express 3.4.5 and Nisus Writer Pro 2.0.6 are now available at the Mac App Store. I have to admit we were surprised since it has taken much longer than this in the past to get approved. In this case it wasn’t even a week. Maybe things are changing at the App Store. Whatever the case, we are glad it is now available.

To update these apps open App Store on your Mac, then click the “Updates” view at the top of the App Store window (in Mountain Lion you should receive a notification that the app has been updated and is ready to download).

The cost of Pro at the App Store is $79 while Express is $45. There is no upgrade pricing available on the App Store, unfortunately.

So if you purchased Express or Pro from the App Store, the latest versions of both apps are now available.

Express 3.4.5 and Pro 2.0.6

10/3/2013Posted inNisus Writer Express, Nisus Writer Pro1 Comment

After the release of Express 3.4.4 and Pro 2.0.5 there were a few unpleasant bugs discovered. We decided to quickly fix those issues and release a new version. Therefore, we are happy to announce the release of Nisus Writer Pro 2.0.6 and Nisus Writer Express 3.4.5.

These new versions contain the following fixes and additions:

• Improved stability by addressing several bugs that could cause crashes in certain situations.
• Fixed: lists: should be able to set list starting number for a single paragraph in the document text, ie: override starting list number enforced by styles.
• Fixed: deleting some text should persist the formatting of that text in the typing attributes, eg: text typed just afterwards should have the same attributes.
• Fixed: import: documents with certain configurations of floating content could fail to import.
• Added: palettes: holding down the Command key when clicking a palette stepper’s up/down arrows will restore the old behavior, where the first shown value is applied uniformly to the entire selection, instead of adjusting all selected values independently.
• Fixed: palettes: using a palette stepper’s down arrow should affect all selected values, even if the first selected value is at zero.
• Other fixes and optimizations.

There are a few Pro specific fixes that you can read about on the Pro release notes page. The complete release notes for Express can be found on the Express release notes page.

Nisus Writer Express and Nisus Writer Pro can be updated from within the app. Select “Check for Updates” from the “Nisus Writer Express/Pro” menu and follow the instructions. You can also download the update from the Express and Pro update pages.

Both Express 3.4.5 and Pro 2.0.6 are available now at our store and the Mac App Store. Nisus Writer Express is only $45 and the upgrade is $30. Nisus Writer Pro is $79 and the upgrade is $49. Academic versions and Family Packs (three licenses) are also available.

For those of you who have purchased through the Mac App Store, Nisus Writer Pro 2.0.6 and Express 3.4.5 have been submitted but we have no idea when it will be approved. Hopefully the wait won’t be long be we’ll see. Check back here for updates.

So if you have purchased Pro 2.x or Express 3.x from our store, please update now. For you Mac App Store customers, hang in there. Your wait should (in theory) not be too long.