Ace Office:for word processing 4+

I was hoping for a program that had some built in templates but it wasn’t very user friendly, if they are there I can’t find them. So I wrote out my resume using a nice font but I had to try each font to see what they looked like. It would be nice if they were written in the font on the menu so I could pick it easily. But I managed to write the document without too much trouble, so it did what I wanted for a easy-on-the-budget price.

I write for a living. For me, I need two types of word processor that are very different from each other. First, I need a a word processor that provides a simple and comfortable writing environment where the word processor doesn’t get in the way. Doc Writer Pro does this and does it well. The other type of word processor I need is one that handles the finished product—with tons of adjustments and features that allow me to move around words and paragraphs. For that, I use InDesign—probably because I’m used to typesetting books in it. (I don’t like Pages—It has never felt intuitive, and using Word feels like the word-processor version of stepping on a landmine.)

For people who need an all-in-one word processor, I don’t think Doc Writer is for you. I hope they don’t mess it up by trying to make it a tiny version of Word. But if you need a simple writing environment that feels way better than Text Edit and better than a number of the other simple word processors that I’ve tried, I would definitely give Doc Writer a try. Just don’t expect it to do everything.

This little app the perfect fit for those like myself who are seeking an alterative to Word. I've tried many others including OpenOffice but always run into the same issues that I'm trying to get free from. Though this is called DocWriter, I find it most useful for reading documents. It has the features I actually use, like setting my own default font for plain text. It allows me to save in plain text too without hassle. It has speech capability built-in, auto-save, and the ability to hide/show toolbars, rulers etc. It has a live word count and a spell checker that allows me to add words I use a lot. It allows me to turn off spell-check while typing. I've been waiting for this app to come along ever since being forced to upgrade to Word 2008 back in OS 10.7. And now, can finally cut the cord to Word altogether.

The only issue I've encountered so far is that I believe the keyboard shortcut for "spelling and grammar" (CMD-:) should open the tool itself (the box with the "learn", "ignore", etc buttons) rather than go to the nearest misspelled word.

Thank you to the Developer for this great app!

Update for v 1.0.5. Well, so much for kudos. As is often the case with updates, this one broke what was the ideal little app. Now most of the documents I try to open with it fail with the message: "DocWriter can't open this type of file 'Any Type'. Very unfortunate. Glad I had a backup of v 1.0.1!