Pronounced "Nice-us"
Nisus Writer Pro 3.1 (and Nisus Writer Express 4.1) were just released and added several non-English localizations. We are interested in adding additional translations, so more people can enjoy using Nisus Writer in their native language.
If you might be interested in helping out, please let us know. You can contact us any way you like, including an email to the following address:
This is purely volunteer work. We aren’t able to pay for the translation, sorry.
We have received a fair amount of email asking us if our applications will be ready for the new Apple Silicon based Macs. The answer to this is that we will be ready when the first of the new machines are released near the end of 2020. Personally I am excited to see what the future will bring with these new Macs.
We also receive quite a bit of email regarding macOS Big Sur and compatibility with Nisus apps. We have done some testing and so far it seems, apart from cosmetic issues, our apps are compatible with Big Sur, pending the final release of the new macOS.
For the latest news on both of these issues, please keep your eyes on this blog and, if you haven’t already, subscribe to our newsletter.
Nisus Writer Pro offers an ideal writing environment and great features for academics, like:
Did you know that we offer a discount for students, teachers, or anyone who works at an academic institution?
All you need to do is write to us and provide proof like a photo of your student ID, or write from your school’s email address (.edu, for example). Once we receive your email we’ll send you a link to purchase.
Even if you’re not familiar with the term, you almost certainly know how to use steppers. They are those little up and down arrow buttons you see next to numeric controls on your Mac. For example, you’ll see steppers next to the paragraph spacing controls in Nisus Writer:
As you probably already know (or can guess!) clicking the arrow buttons changes the spacing by ±1 point.
What’s new in Nisus Writer Pro 3.1 and Nisus Writer Express 4.1 is an enhancement for steppers that refines how they react to clicks. By holding down a modifier key as you click, you can increase or decrease the adjustment amount:
• Hold the Control key to trigger smaller changes.
For example, the font size will change from 12 points to 12.1 points.
• Hold the Option key to trigger larger changes.
For example, the paragraph spacing will change from 6 points to 12 point.
The adjustment amounts are sensitive to context and ruler units. For example, changing the paragraph indent using the Option key may result in a difference of ±1 centimeters vs ±0.5 inches.
There are a few mnemonics to help you recall which modifier key does what. You will notice that the relative order of the Control/Option keys on your keyboard matches that of the minus/plus keys. This is in harmony with the Control key triggering smaller changes (minus), and the Option key triggering larger changes (plus). Another way to think about it is that the Control key gives you greater control over the measurement, since the adjustment is finer.
We hope this improvement helps you dial in exactly the measurement you want, and reduces some repetitive clicking.
Nisus Writer Pro users often write in and ask us how they can increase the font size of comments in their document. The good news is that it’s easy to change the font size (and other formatting) of all comments in your document en-masse.
Whenever you add a comment to a document, Nisus Writer Pro will automatically apply a paragraph style called “Comment” to your new comment. By default this single style controls the formatting of all comments in your file. So to change the font size of all comments you need only edit this style like so:
1. Switch to your document’s style sheet, eg: use the menu View > Style Sheet
2. From the list of styles on the left, select the “Comment” paragraph style.
3. Edit the style’s formatting by using any available tools, eg: the menu Format > Size, the Character palette, etc.
In most situations that’s all you need to do. Once you switch out of Style Sheet view you should see that all your comments have been updated to account for the edited style’s formatting.
Manual Formatting and Comments
One potential complication is manual formatting, which is merely formatting that is not enforced by a style. In other words, the formatting was applied directly to text. That kind of formatting will override formatting in the “Comment” paragraph style.
This is an infrequent occurrence for comments, but you may encounter it in files imported from other apps. If your comments don’t react to your style changes, you may need to remove manually applied formatting. Luckily that’s easy too.
To remove manual formatting from all comments in your document:
1. Place the insertion point (caret) inside any comment.
2. Select the entire comment using the menu Edit > Select > Select All.
3. Use Select All again to expand the selection to all comments in your file.
4. Remove all overrides via the menu Format > Remove Formatting Except Styles.
After removing all non-style formatting, the formatting enforced by your “Comment” style should shine through as intended.
Lulu.com has posted a review of Nisus Writer Pro.
As a Mac based word processor, Nisus Writer seems like a solid investment if you want a feature rich writing tool that can also perform most of the formatting and page layout functions you need to publish. It’s not as potent as Scrivener for research or plotting out a story, but Nisus Writer’s focus on being a writing tool shows.
Thank you Paul@Lulu for your thorough review of Nisus Writer Pro.
Spring is gone, and I don’t think many of us will miss it. It’s now summer, a time of warm weather, lounging around (socially distanced of course), and SummerFest savings!
SummerFest is a collection of independent software developers who are creating great tools for organizing, writing, and delivering your thoughts and ideas. These are tools created with care, and refined by experience. This is high quality software, on sale now for a limited time.
As part of SummerFest, you can save 25% on InfoClick and the newly updated Nisus Writer Express and Nisus Writer Pro by using the coupon SUMMERFEST2020 at checkout in our store. You can also save at least 25% on the other apps in this year’s SummerFest by using the same coupon. There is a great collection of software this year, and the official SummerFest page has all the details.
We are happy to announce the release and immediate availability of Nisus Writer Pro 3.1.
Nisus Writer Pro 3.1 is a significant update that:
The complete list of fixes can be found on our Nisus Writer Pro release notes page.
Nisus Writer Pro 3.1 is available now and is a free update to all users of Nisus Writer Pro 3. You can update from within the app using the menu Nisus Writer Pro > Check for Updates, or download from our Nisus Writer Pro update page. Mac App Store users can download the update directly from the Mac App Store app.
For those who have not purchased the upgrade to Nisus Writer Pro 3, you can do so from our store for only $45. Users of Nisus Writer Pro versions 1 and 2 are eligible for upgrade pricing. A full version is available for $65, or $55 for academic users.
Upgrade pricing is not supported on the Mac App Store. If you would like to upgrade a previous Mac App Store purchase you can do so using these instructions.
Nisus Writer Pro 3.1 requires macOS 10.11 or later.
Submitting your app to Apple for sale on the Mac App Store is always a roll of the dice. You never know if your app will sail through the App Store review process in a matter of hours, or if you’ll be dealt a setback that takes you days to resolve.
These days App Store review delays and outcomes are pretty good. There’s still the occasional significant setback, if Apple decides to disallow the use of certain system resources that were previously permitted. Finding replacement solutions and rewriting your code can be non-trivial. But mostly there are minor changes to make, if any.
During a recent App Store review, we were given a strange request: please submit a video of your app using the Touch Bar. In all the years we’ve been releasing on the App Store we’ve never been asked for any kind of video before.
We do indeed support the Touch Bar in Nisus Writer, but its basic usage is obvious; you press buttons to take built-in actions like creating a new document tab. Some of our available Touch Bar items are actually straight from Apple and macOS, like the ability to fix spelling mistakes in your text. It didn’t make any sense that Apple would need a video to confirm this. They could simply test the Touch Bar during review like any other feature.
The only aspect of Touch Bar support in Nisus Writer Pro that’s more involved is a unique feature that lets you create custom Touch Bar items. You can turn any menu into a new Touch Bar icon.
This is nice if you have certain commands that you want to access frequently.
Whatever the reason for Apple’s unexpected request, there was no getting around it. You can’t release an app on the App Store without approval. We were going to have to make this video.
I don’t currently have access to a MacBook with a Touch Bar, now that I’m working from home full time because of COVID-19. Luckily there are other ways to interact with the Touch Bar, like the simulator in Apple’s developer tools, or the Touché utility app that allows anyone to use the Touch Bar on any Mac.
Ultimately it didn’t take long to produce the video and pass review, but it was strange. Jumping through Apple’s hoops and satisfying their fancies is just something you have to accept if you’re developing apps for their devices.
There are times, for whatever reason, that you need to find the license for your Nisus app. For example, you would like to upgrade to the latest version of Nisus Writer Express or Nisus Writer Pro. Perhaps you’re moving to a new computer and you need to install a fresh copy of InfoClick. How do you find your license?
Our Nisus License Lookup Tool, located on our main support page, will allow you to find your license and have it emailed to you. You just need the email address you used when you purchased your Nisus application and you will receive an email containing your license.
Sometimes you need to fix text with the wrong letter case. Maybe you copied text that’s all uppercase letters, but you need lowercase letters (eg: change “EXAMPLE” to “example”). Nisus Writer has two ways to help you convert such text.
Character Conversions
Most often you will want to do a one-shot conversion of your text using the menu Edit > Transform Text. For example, using the To Lowercase command. That will convert the underlying characters to their lowercase counterparts (eg: “A” to “a”) at the single moment in time when you activate the command.
Text Display Conversions
Instead of converting the underlying letters, Nisus Writer can also display a converted version of your text. In this way your text remains unchanged; it’s just the display that changes on screen (and in PDFs and printouts).
You enforce such display conversions using the menu Format > Letter Case. Commands on that menu operate like other kinds of text formatting (eg: bold font) in that they are continual. If you retype the text to which that formatting is applied, what you see immediately undergoes the same transformation. The newly typed text will be converted for display automatically, without reapplying the command.
Typically these kinds of display conversions are employed via styles. It’s nice when (for example) your headings have consistent uppercasing, no matter what’s been typed in your document. This also makes it easy to change your mind– just edit your style and all your text will be updated as needed automatically.
Small Capitals
One very popular kind of text display conversion is small caps. That’s where all letters in your text are displayed using capitals, but lowercase letters appear smaller:
Nisus Writer supports small caps for all text and fonts. Proper typographic small caps will be used if a font provides them. If a font lacks typographic small caps Nisus Writer will synthesize their display by shrinking the font size like so:
The above screenshot shows a “faux” small cap for the Zapfino font. It’s somewhat surprising that Zapfino lacks typographic small caps considering all its other font features like crazy ligatures.
You might wonder, what are proper typographic small caps? Aren’t all small caps just shorter versions of uppercase letters? Typographic small caps may have been customized by the font designer, usually so the small caps are more distinctive. Here’s a screenshot showing Adobe Garamond Pro:
The small caps F (rightmost blue) may look like it’s simply a smaller version of the capital F (leftmost yellow), but it’s not. The middle image above shows a shrunken capital F overlaid on top of the small caps F. You can see the small caps F is actually quite a bit heavier.
Hopefully this shows you some of the many ways Nisus Writer can help you process your text and the intricacies involved. If you have any questions please let us know by commenting below, joining our forum discussion, or contacting us directly.
Lorem ipsum is the standard text placeholder that typesetters, web designers, and other weirdos use to test text layout. It dates from the 1500s, when an unknown typesetter jumbled pieces of Cicero’s De Finibus Bonorum et Malorum (“On the Extremes of Good and Evil”) to use in a type specimen book. Things didn’t work out so well for Cicero, but lorem ipsum has survived for several centuries.
Lorem ipsum is fine for general use. If you are a Nisus Writer Pro user we offer a macro that will let you produce all the scrambled Latin your heart desires. However, if you’d like to add some zip to your ipsum, there are several variations to spice things up a bit.
Here are some of my favorites:
Are you kidding? This one is great. All the bacony goodness you can stand. Here is a sample: “Bacon ipsum dolor amet drumstick filet mignon jowl, shoulder corned beef brisket ground round beef ham ball tip andouille flank tenderloin.“
Since I chose one with meat it’s only fair I chose one for vegetarians: “Veggies es bonus vobis, proinde vos postulo essum magis kohlrabi welsh onion daikon amaranth tatsoi tomatillo melon azuki bean garlic.“
Yar! Do I really have to explain this? “Prow scuttle parrel provost Sail ho shrouds spirits boom mizzenmast yardarm.“
Hipsters. They really do exist. They even have their own ipsum generator: “Etsy truffaut yr sartorial, ramps cray pour-over farm-to-table cred authentic meh retro salvia put a bird on it artisan. “
Pretty straightforward here. Everything you have ever heard in every meeting ever. Try to stay awake while reading this: “Cloud strategy market-facing message the initiative or player-coach nor can you champion this that jerk from finance really threw me under the bus.“
If you have a cat, you know this is what they are thinking when you think they are being adorable: “Lay on arms while you’re using the keyboard spread kitty litter all over house cats woo paw at your fat belly hunt by meowing loudly at 5am next to human slave food dispenser.“
Legal gibberish, just like the End User Agreements we never read: “To make sure the software is provided in the code itself as the Maintenance section of LPPL to apply to the terms and conditions of Section 2.1 with respect to a third party.“
This is another favorite. Choose between seven different classic literature passages: “They now walked on in silence, each of them deep in thought. Elizabeth was not comfortable; that was impossible; but she was flattered and pleased. His wish of introducing his sister to her was a compliment of the highest kind.“
Monocale ipsum is… well, just look at it: “Monocle ipsum dolor sit amet winkreative sleepy exquisite international Fast Lane Melbourne first-class quality of life cosy.“
Now we are talking. All the cheese with none of the crackers: “Cream cheese stilton macaroni cheese. Cheesecake pecorino taleggio cauliflower cheese fondue cauliflower cheese pecorino croque monsieur.“
Bonus ipsum: Chuck Norris Ipsum
Yet another favorite of mine. Yes, it’s silly, but it’s Chuck Norris! “Chuck Norris doesn’t read books. He stares them down until he gets the information he wants. There is no theory of evolution. Just a list of creatures Chuck Norris has allowed to live. The quickest way to a man’s heart is with Chuck Norris’ fist.“
This is just a small sample of the many interesting takes on lorem ipsum. If you have any favorites please leave a comment below. We’d love to hear from you.
A few weeks ago Catalina, or macOS 10.15 was released. Since then, it seems like mayhem has followed. Catalina breaks from the past in significant ways. Speaking of breaking, it also breaks some apps. Security has been tightened. There is quite a bit going on here that users should know. Since this is on a Nisus blog, we’ll start with Nisus apps.
Nisus Writer and Catalina
Nisus Writer Express 4 and Nisus Writer Pro 3.0.3 and above are compatible with Catalina. All previous versions of Nisus Writer are not compatible with Catalina and will not be updated. If you are planning on upgrading your Mac to Catalina, you will need to update and purchase a new license.
Catalina and Other Applications
Another issue is that we are now living in a 64 bit world and much like bell bottoms, 32 bit applications are out of fashion. To be fair, Apple has been warning users for years that 32 bit apps weren’t long for this world. Now it is a reality and these older apps either need to be updated or you need to find others apps that work similarly. I can say that all of our apps are 64 bit and have been for quite a while. If you need help with this, there is a great utility called Go64 from St. Clair Software that scans your app folder to find these 32 bit applications.
If you are an Adobe user you may want to read this first and take the appropriate steps.
In any event, you may want to check with developers of apps you rely on and make sure they will work with Catalina before you upgrade. It will save you quite a bit of work.
Security
Lastly, there is a big focus on security in Catalina. It’s a different world now and the security changes are welcome. Here is an article that explains some of the new security features. Basically, Catalina is more secure by default. However, these new features are either helpful or annoying, depending on your point of view.
Look Before You Leap
These a just a few of the changes. You should also keep in mind that point zero releases of a new operating system can be buggy. Recently there was a supplemental update to Catalina that fixed a few issues. Since then there was a new release of the supplemental update. I’m not giving advice here, but I normally wait a release or two before I upgrade. By then most of the major bugs have been fixed. Let’s hope that is the case with Catalina.
All of this prose is to say that with Catalina you need to look before you leap. Make sure you know what you’re getting into before you upgrade. There are plenty of great Catalina reviews out there. Read a few and then decide.
macOS 10.15, or Catalina, has been released. For Nisus Writer users, this means Nisus Writer Express 4 and Nisus Writer Pro 3.0.3 and above are compatible. However, all previous versions of Nisus Writer are not compatible with Catalina and will not be updated.
We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause.
Nisus Writer Pro 3.0.4 contains a few important fixes that were discovered after the release of the last update:
The complete list of fixes can be found on our Nisus Writer Pro release notes page.
Nisus Writer Pro 3.0.4 is available now and is a free update to all users of Nisus Writer Pro 3. You can update from within the app (Nisus Writer Pro > Check for Updates), or download from our Nisus Writer Pro download page. Mac App Store users can download the update directly from the Mac App Store app.
For those who have not purchased the upgrade to Nisus Writer Pro 3, you can do so from our store for only $45. Users of Nisus Writer Pro versions 1 and 2 are eligible for upgrade pricing. An academic version is available for $55, and the full version is $65.
At this point upgrade pricing is not supported on the Mac App Store. If you would like to upgrade a previous Mac App Store purchase you can do so using these instructions.
Nisus Writer Pro 3.0.4 requires macOS 10.11 and is Catalina compatible, pending the final release of Apple’s latest operating system.
September should see the official release of macOS Catalina. To prepare for this we are rolling out macOS Catalina compatible updates to a few of our apps.
First up is Nisus Writer Pro 3.0.3 ($45 upgrade). This release fixes a few issues that were discovered after the release of Nisus Writer Pro 3.0.2:
There are also a few minor fixes and changes, all of which can be found on the Nisus Writer Pro release notes page.
Next up are InfoClick 1.2.5 ($15) and Nisus Thesaurus 1.2. Both apps have the following changes:
Nisus Writer Pro 3.0.3, InfoClick 1.2.5, and Nisus Thesaurus 1.2 are available now on our site, the Mac App Store, and inside each app using the menu Check For Updates.
These are free updates to anyone who owns Nisus Writer Pro 3 or InfoClick.
Summer is here. Happily, so is Nisus Writer Pro 3.0.2. Out latest release contains over 200 changes in this version, including bug fixes and refinements. The entire uncut list of changes can be found on the Nisus Writer Pro release notes page.
Nisus Writer Pro 3.0.2 is available now as a free update for anyone using Nisus Writer Pro 3.x. You can upgrade any version of Nisus Writer to version 3.0.2 for only $45 through our store. Mac App Store customers wishing to upgrade to 3.0.2 can do so by following these instructions.
Nisus Writer Pro 3.0.2 requires macOS 10.11 El Capitan or later.
After a lengthy development and private beta testing period we are very happy to announce the release and immediate availability of Nisus Writer Pro 3. There are over 300 features, fixes, and enhancements, along with a lower price. Among the new features are:
• Split View, which allows you to:
○ show two or more parts of a document for simultaneous reading or editing
○ show or hide personal notes and pre-writing materials attached to your text
• Comments and tracked changes can be included in printouts and PDFs.
• Synchronized scrolling.
• Typewriter scrolling.
• Find and Replace matches can be shown as a results list, opened in a separate window.
• Faster when editing long and complex documents.
• Footnotes and endnotes are now editable in Draft View.
• Enhanced Note style options.
• Cloud sync (iCloud or Dropbox) for nearly all app settings.
• Updated Full Screen View
• Icons and other UI updated for Retina displays.
• The palette area can optionally float freely as a separate tool window.
• Palettes redesigned to improve their look, streamline behavior, and add new options.
• Much more…
The comprehensive release notes are available on the Nisus Writer Pro release notes page.
Price and Availability
Nisus Writer Pro 3 is available now at our store and the Mac App Store for the new low price of $65. You can upgrade from previous versions of Nisus Writer Pro for $45. The academic version is $55. Those of you who have purchased Nisus Writer Pro 2 from our store in the last 90 days will be upgraded to Pro 3 for free. An email containing a license number and a link to download should be arriving shortly.
Mac App Store Purchases
The Mac App Store does not allow us to offer upgrade pricing. If you would like a discounted price when upgrading Nisus Writer Pro from the Mac App Store, you can purchase version 3 from the Nisus Store by following these instructions.
System Requirements
Nisus Writer Pro 3 requires at least macOS 10.11.
More Info
For more information and to download the 15 day fully working demo please visit the Nisus Writer Pro page.
Hot on the heels of Nisus Writer Pro 2.1.9 and Nisus Writer Express 3.5.9 comes Nisus Writer Pro 2.1.10 and Nisus Writer Express 3.5.10.
These releases fix issues related to macOS Mojave: possible random crashes closing document windows, problems when customizing the toolbar, and an inability to send feedback reports when using a non-English localization on recent versions of macOS.
Nisus Writer Pro 2.1.10 and Nisus Writer Express 3.5.10 are available now and are free for users of Nisus Writer Pro 2.x and Nisus Writer Express 3.x.
If you do not currently own Pro or Express, they can be purchased from our store and the Mac App Store. Nisus Writer Pro is $79 USD. Upgrades from previous versions of Nisus Writer Pro are $49.
Nisus Writer Express can be purchased for $20 USD on our store and the Mac App Store.
Nisus Writer Pro 2.1.10 and Nisus Writer Express 3.5.10 require OS X 10.8.5 or above.
We are happy to announce the release of Nisus Writer Pro 2.1.9 and Nisus Writer Express 3.5.9, the latest releases of our powerful word processors for the Mac.
These releases fix a small number of important bugs including: crashes on macOS High Sierra when saving or loading files using certain fonts, potential crash after visiting the Language preference pane, and possibly garbled Japanese text when importing content from outside Nisus Writer.
The updates are free for users of Nisus Writer Pro 2.x and Nisus Writer Express 3.x. If you purchased directly from Nisus Software you can update now from inside the application, or download Nisus Writer Pro 2.1.9 and Nisus Writer Express 3.5.9 from our website. The updates are also available now from the Mac App Store.
Nisus Writer Pro 2.1.9 and Nisus Writer Express 3.5.9 require OS X 10.8.5 or above.