UX Write 1.0 Brings Desktop Class Word Processing to the iPad

| Posted on |

Australian startup, UX Productivity has announced the release of UX Write 1.0, a brand-new word processor for the iPad, iPhone, and iPod touch. UX Write is designed to accommodate high-end professional authoring tasks, and supports many features that are normally only found in desktop word processors.

UX Write facilitates working with large, complex documents such as reports, theses, and books. It supports styles, cross-references, automatic section numbering and table of contents, extensive formatting options, figures, and tables. It uses HTML5 has its native document format and can also export to PDF, ensuring documents can be viewed on any operating system or device. Synchronization of files between a user’s computer and device occurs automatically, thanks to built-in Dropbox support.

Additionally, UX Write also includes features designed to make typing on the iPad’s on-screen keyboard a smoother experience. Auto Correct’s “fixes” are always highlighted for the user to confirm or change, keyboard gestures can be used to move the cursor and select text, and common punctuation and formatting keys are added to the regular keyboard.

UX Productivity’s founder, Dr. Peter Kelly, explained the motivation behind the app as follows: “I think the iPad is a great device, but as a professional academic, none of the existing word processors came anywhere close to meeting my needs for writing research papers and books. I realized this was a market gap just waiting to be filled, so I decided to start work on UX Write. Nine months later, I’m proud to have the first version available to users.”

According to Kelly, this is just the beginning of what he intends on being an ongoing journey. “There’s a number of features yet to be added – including bibliographic citations, an equation editor, as well as Microsoft Word and LaTeX support. But these are all in the pipeline and will be coming soon.”

Video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PaPO5jH73M0&feature=player_embedded

UX Write Features:

• Styles
– Styles let you focus on the content of your writing and worry about the formatting separately. You can adjust the formatting for all paragraphs of a particular type (such as normal or heading) by editing the appropriate style, and the document will automatically be updated to reflect the change. In comparison to “ad-hoc” formatting of paragraphs on a case-by-case basis, styles make it much easier to achieve a consistent appearance throughout your whole document.

• Outline editor
– UX Write includes an outline editor that lets you easily navigate through large documents and re-arrange sections or subsections. An outline represents the structure of your document, based on all the headings. Simply tap a heading in the outline view to jump to that part of the document (particularly useful for large documents), and use the editing mode to re-arrange entire sections just by dragging them around with your finger.

Numbering and cross-references
• UX Write automatically numbers all section headings, figures, and tables. You can add cross-references to these from anywhere in your document, and the numbering and references will always be kept up-to-date whenever content elsewhere in the document is added or re-arranged.

• Automatic text reflow
– As with most e-book readers, UX Write automatically adjusts the text layout based on your screen size and orientation. It also lets you change the text size to suit your viewing preferences, without affecting the font size settings in the document itself. These features make reading a more comfortable experience on the small screen, especially on the iPhone. You can easily see what the printed version of the document will look like by using the PDF export option.

• Extended keyboard
– UX Write extends the iPad’s keyboard with an extra row of keys including cursor movement arrows and common punctuation symbols such as dashes, colons, and quote marks. The bracket and double quote keys are “smart” – they toggle between open and close bracket or quote depending on where you are in the text. The layout of the punctuation keys has been carefully designed to closely mirror the positions of these keys on a regular keyboard.

• Painless file synchronisation
– UX Write makes it super-easy to sync documents between your iPad, iPhone, and computer, with full support for both Dropbox and WebDAV servers. Syncing is automatic; you don’t have to do a manual “import” or “export” each time you change a file. And if you’re running the Dropbox client for Mac or PC, a document you save in UX Write will automatically appear on your computer within about 10 – 20 seconds – without you having to do anything.

• Printing and PDF export
– Using iOS’s Airprint feature, UX Write lets you wirelessly print your document directly from your iPad or iPhone. You can just as easily generate a PDF document and save it to your Dropbox or WebDAV account or send it via email, all without leaving the app. You can also open either the original document or the PDF version in any other compatible application you have installed.

• Built on the latest web technologies: HTML5, CSS3, and WebKit
– The native file format of UX Write is HTML, which means you can view and print your documents in any web browser, and easily publish them online. UX Write is based on WebKit, the layout engine from Safari and Chrome, so your documents look exactly the same during editing as they will when viewed in a browser. Automatic conversion between HTML and Markdown format occurs when copying and pasting text between UX Write and a text editor. In the future, support for editing both Microsoft Word and LaTeX files will also be provided.

UX Write is available on the App Store now.

Device Requirements:
* 3/4Gen iPhone, iPad, or 3/4 Gen iPod touch
* Requires iOS 5.1 or later
* Universal app optimized for display on all iOS devices
* 3.5 MB

UX Write 1.0 sells for $14.99 USD (or equivalent amount in other currencies) and is available worldwide exclusively through the App Store in the Productivity category.

This is the first public release of UX Write. This product is under continuous development with many more features planned for upcoming releases. You can view the product roadmap at:
http://www.uxproductivity.com/

UX Write 1.0:
http://www.uxproductivity.com/

Purchase and Download:
http://itunes.apple.com/app/ux-write/id538278306

YouTube Video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PaPO5jH73M0

Video News Release:
http://prmac.s3.amazonaws.com/live/45159.m4v

App Store:
http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/ux-write/id538278306?mt=8’

Links above take you to retailer's website. MacPrices is a verified Apple affiliate.