Typed 1.0

Yet another minimal text editor, though this one’s offering Zen…

Ever since distractionfree writing environment WriteRoom appeared, developers have tried to find the perfect balance between features and control, enabling writers to concentrate without clutter, yet not feel hemmed in by limitations.

Typed has a keen sense of design, yet doesn’t overpower. There’s a minimal user interface, but you can display word/character counts, choose backgrounds and typefaces. For writing, markdown support and associated keyboard shortcuts make structuring documents a breeze. We thought we’d hate Zen mode, designed to boost concentration and focus with a fullscreen window and soundtracks. But the bundled soundtracks are mostly very pleasant, drowning out background noise without being distracting.

So Typed is good, but is it better than its main rivals? That’s tougher to answer. Byword costs half as much, is superior for adding markdown elements (such as links), has a typewriter mode, paragraph focus, publishing to blog services as an add-on, and more flexible fonts.

But Typed has a superior find-andreplace, nicer (if more limited in choice) typography, and handy way of exporting selected text to HTML rather than an entire document.

So it’s a dead heat between Typed and Byword, and Typed’s twee yet endearing addition of inspirational quotes to blank documents nudges it just ahead. Craig Grannell

Typed manages to fuse minimalism and usability, with some character too. We liked it the more we used it.

To improve your workflow, it’s best to remove distractions and Typed offers a very clear and focused interface.