TextDrop Review, Online Writing Software with Dropbox Sync

As a blogger, I have been using a lot of online writing software for the last 4 years. Although I have been using Simplenote until recently, I have always been looking for better alternatives. This review is about a new online software called TextDrop that I came across recently.

Before I review TextDrop, I need to share two of the most desirable features that I expect from a good online writing software.

First a Smooth and fast sync with Dropbox.

Dropbox, a wonderful cloud service for file synchronization, is at the center of all my writing projects. All my blog posts, memos, and book plans are stored in Dropbox. therefore, any online writing software to be useful must have the ability to sync with Dropbox folders.

Second, full screen mode for fewer distractions.

I’m used to using full screen mode in software like writeroom, iAwriter and Scrivener. A clean, white screen with no menus or other windows helps me focus on writing.

Among many web-based writing software, Simplenote has been my choice mainly because of its excellent Dropbox sync. Now I have been using the software for more than 2 years.

However, Simplenote did not fully meet my requirements, namely the two features mentioned above. Although it syncs with Dropbox, Simplenote can only access one Dropbox folder that you must designate in your settings. Since I have a lot of text files in different Dropbox folders, I’m seriously limited in terms of choosing which files to work on when using Simplenote. Also, it doesn’t have full screen mode. There is simply no way to hide the left panel that contains the list of documents.

Therefore, I have been looking for an online writing program that can offer access to all Dropbox folders and full screen editing mode. And I found a solution in some brilliant software called TextDrop.

Main features of I find very useful are the following.

First, can access and sync with all Dropbox folders.

The left pane of TextDrop displays a list of documents. You can easily move between parent folders and subfolders because lighting works like Windows Explorer or Mac Finder. Syncing between TextDrop and Dropbox is fast and reliable. If you’re not sure which copy to use between TextDrop and Dropbox, the software prompts you to make your choice, which is a great way to prevent data loss.

Second, TextDrop has full screen editing mode.

TextDrop’s full-screen mode isn’t as good as distraction-free writing software like Writeroom or Writemonkey. While this software primarily uses a black background and green fonts as its default theme, TextDrop only offers a blank screen and black font. But it is still usable. You can hide the left panel by dragging it to the left to have a full screen editing mode. If you’re using Windows, you can also hide all top menus by pressing the F11 key on your browser.

Third, it has a simple design with minimal options.

TextDrop’s editing screen has no settings to change or enlarge fonts. Actually, there is nothing to do with text formatting with this software. The only options available are sharing documents via Dropbox and publishing them to a public Dropbox folder. In the past, this would have been considered incomplete for a program. However, these days, with many minimalist writing programs like iA Writer and OMM Writer having hardly any options, this seems more like a developer’s best move to avoid writer distraction. By the way, if you need larger fonts, you can get them using your browser’s built-in key combination. In my case, I just enlarge the characters using Control + Mouse Scroll Up in my Chrome browser.

Fourth, Texdrop has powerful search features with Omnibar.

TextDrop uses the Omnibar located at the top to create and retrieve files. What this omnibar does can best be explained by saying that it works like the top bar in Notational Velocity, the famous minimal text editor for Mac. If you type certain words, the following list shows documents that contain the same words. Creating a new document is easy. Type certain words and press Enter key, then you will have a new blank document.

Fifth, Markdown real-time preview is it availabe.

TextDrop supports real-time markdown preview. To the right of the editing screen, you have another window. This is a Markdown preview. All discount symbols are displayed as real-time formatted text. If you use Markdown frequently, this will come in very handy.

Although TextDrop is good software as it is now, there are any improvements I would like to see.

First, the word count needed Word count is one of the most important features for writing software. Even minimalist software like iAwriter has word counts.

Second, additional topics for the screen will be welcome. The editing screen could look better and be more useful if some themes were added, such as black background and green fonts, as used in other distraction-free software.

Third, ability to create or delete folders it is necessary. Currently, TextDrop can only create and delete documents. You can’t do anything with the folders.

While it lacks some features, TextDrop excels at the main tasks required to perform a web-based writing software, such as fast cloud syncing and easy writing. I highly recommend TextDrop for those looking for a good online writing tool.

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