I wrote an article last year about distraction-free text editors, but I wanted to add one to the list: AloneWriter from Craig Ritchie. If you run it full-screen the menu only appears when you put the mouse over it. But it also works nicely in a window. I particularly like the very subtle word count at the bottom of the screen.
Having said that, I really find that I am happy to use Word 2007 with its word count always visible. When I’m writing long documents, I need the Document Map feature to navigate. For work where I’m trying to structure information, I use tables a lot. It’s funny how the tools we use affect the way we think.
However, there is one feature I would like for Word: a ‘concentrate on writing’ mode. With one click, it would hide everything else on the screen, give me a cut down ribbon menu and a live word count but nothing else. More importantly, it would mask incoming emails and IM. It would much more useful than the pointless “Full Screen Reading mode.”
Windows Vista has this feature for presentations and on HP laptops there is even a button on the keyboard to put you into presentation mode. What about ‘writer mode’? Or ‘concentrate mode’?
Related posts:
{ 8 comments… read them below or add one }
That’s an excellent idea for a Word Add-in, thus, someone probably created it; however, I couldn’t easily find one.
I’m still using Word 2000, but I could create an add-in for that version. How much of the profit do you want?
I don’t need a distraction free text editor, I need a distraction free brain…
Is there such a thing as late-onset ADHD?
db
I use CopyWrite, when I need to de-clutter:
http://www.bartastechnologies.com/
Matthew, great and useful post, thanks, but it needs a bit of subbing in the first line
Not that the world needs more distraction-free writers, but I’ve really been happy with Q10 (http://baara.com/q10/).
I second the motion for a “distraction-free” mode in Word.
I just finished writing billboards, so I can’t help but observe that pencils and sketch pads have no menus…
Q10 is cool, but I can figure out how to toggle it with the other applications. Once it starts running (it covers the Windows Menu bar), I’m stuck with it until I quit. A little awkward.
@Tom Chandler: Alt+TAB works with Q10. F’rexample: you’re looking at something in application A while writing about it in Q10, just use Alt+TAB to switch back and forth between the applications.
(I’m a keyboard command lover; if I can do something without taking my hands of the keyboard to use the mouse, I’m a happy camper.)
thank you for that tip, ray
{ 1 trackback }