Smile just released a new version of PDFpen for Mac. The new version adds several features including better annotations, linked files, better export options, a new “search and highlight” feature, line numbering, a new hand tool, better table of contents editing, and Asian OCR.
There’s a lot more. Indeed, so much more that I made a video for Smile.
I’m about to take a little trip. Packing for me is usually pretty easy. If I can get by on a trip with one pair of shoes, it makes my entire day. I can, however, get hung up when it comes to technology. My current nerd crisis is the decision of whether or not to bring the laptop.
For this trip I’ve really been struggling with this question. There’s a part of me that would love to leave it at home. I do a lot of computing from the iPad and I can often go days without needing a Mac. However, some days I really need a Mac. If I can leave the laptop at home, it means significantly less gear and weight.
There is also the intangible part of this equation. I just enjoy working on the iPad. I like the relative simplicity of it. I like being able to use the Apple Pencil when the mood strikes me and I particularly like the way using (essentially) a piece of glass as my computer makes me feel like I’m living in the future.
Finally, there’s a certain degree of geek thrill from putting yourself out on the ledge like that. As they say, necessity is the mother of invention and leaving the iPad at home may lead to some interesting discoveries.
Against this inclination to leave the laptop at home I always have to stop and think about what work I intend to get done and whether the iPad is up to the task. On this particular trip I’m worried because I’m still in the process of finalizing a large client transaction which means I may need to spend time with a significant number of files and some complex Microsoft Word documents. Microsoft Word is great on the iPad except when it comes to making changes to style formatting, which it can’t do. When I work on big transactions, there is lots of style formatting.
I do have the ability to remotely access my iMac at home so, in a pinch, I could perform any Mac-specific work from the road so long as I have an Internet connection.
The real problem is that we all have this list of things that are either impossible or a lot more difficult on the iPad than they are on the Mac. When deciding whether you are going to use a iPad for 10 minutes or a five day trip, we still have to go through the same calculus. Until the iPad can get closer parity to the Mac where we don’t have to go through this mental journey every time we take a trip, the iPad will never reach its full potential.
As for me, because the friction points relate to client work, I’ll end up bringing the laptop along. What kills me is how close I am to not needing to bring it. If only the iPad filing system were just a little bit more robust and if only Microsoft Word were just a little bit more powerful. I hope people at Apple and Microsoft are getting the message.
Yesterday Apple released an update for the TestFlight app. TestFlight is a tool that allows developers to release beta iPhone and iPad software to testers. At any one time I’m running several beta applications on my iPhone and and iPad via TestFlight. When I saw the update come down yesterday I didn’t think much of it.
Today, however, I have heard from several developer friends that are quite excited about these new updates. In particular, the new version allows developers to send out multiple versions of the application for testing. With the new system developers can test different versions of their app to different users or even multiple versions to the same user. This allows for better testing and comparison. They’ve also extended testing period from 60 to 90 days.
Apple has made strides in the last six months in giving developers for the iPhone and the iPad better tools. In addition to these most recent changes to TestFlight, developers can now also respond to feedback, Apple is improving search optimization, and they’ve even become more flexible with the pricing models for subscriptions.
I would very much like to think this is foundational work to create an environment where developers are more encouraged to develop professional caliber applications for iPad and iPhone. Fingers crossed.
I remember being a teenager and talking to one of the older gents in my neighborhood. At the time I thought he was ancient but looking back I’m pretty sure he was younger than I am now. Anyway, he told me that the older you get, the weirder you get. I’ve never forgot about that and it generally rings true with my life.
As I’ve been busy with MacSparky, the law practice, and my family, I’ve disconnected from a lot of popular culture things over the years. I don’t keep up with sports and I don’t watch much TV. I do, however, spend way too much time thinking about Star Wars. I was eight years old when the first movie came out and I bonded to it like a baby duck to its mama. I’ve heard all of the critiques of Star Wars and even agree with a few of them but at the end of the day, I still love it more than a grown man reasonably should.
So this week I’m taking a little trip to Orlando Florida where I will be attending the Star Wars Celebration. It’s a gathering of the Star Wars tribe where I won’t be giving any presentations or working with sponsors or any of the other things I do at most conferences. Instead, I’ll be just another guy going to sessions, making a few new friends, and geeking out.
The organizers of the event were crazy enough to give me a media badge so I’m going to take that seriously and even write a few posts here about what’s really going on in that galaxy far, far away. I’m also going to be posting photos on my Snapchat and Instagram accounts. I’ll probably also make some noise on Twitter as well.
So if you’re attending the Star Wars Celebration, please look me up. If Star Wars makes your eyes roll, please feel free to ignore my posts on the subject this week. I will tag them all “Star Wars” so you can set your filters accordingly.
This week MacSparky is sponsored by the brand new OmniOutliner, Version 5. The new version adds several new useful features:
Saved Filters
Now you can filter rows based on different criteria: column values, status, note content, and more. You can save each filter to reference later.
Password Protection
Encrypt the documents you’d prefer to stay private. OmniOutliner can now encrypt documents with a password.
Distraction-Free Writing
Stay focused on your writing by automatically hiding the toolbar and sidebars in Full Screen mode.
Document Stats
Get a live view of statistics—rows, words, characters—as you’re typing.
Built-In Themes & Templates
A beautiful set of themes built in to the app.
There’s more including full screen improvements, dark mode, typewriter mode, and customizable keyboard shortcuts. They also have a new business model with the Pro version costing just $59.99. (I got it for half with upgrade pricing based on my purchase of version 4.)
They also have a minimal, focussed version, OmniOutliner Essentials, that is just $9.99. Head over to the Omni Group and learn all about the new version. You may even recognize that goofy voice on the product videos.
This week our favorite snowman returns to the Mac Power Users. We discuss the evolving definition of “pro” and “power user” as well as new workflows for managing text, creative uses for Keyboard maestro, managing Apple Mail and the Doc dives into the iPad.
Sponsored include:
in the most recent JD Powers survey, the Microsoft Surface edges out the iPad. This is not entirely surprising to me. I’ve been paying a lot attention lately as I go out into the public and work with my iPad about what other devices are in use. As I write these words, I’m at Starbucks with a person using a Microsoft Surface sitting next to me. That’s not unusual.
This is yet one more data point in my argument that the big problem with iPad is software. If being productive on the iPad is too fiddly, users are going to revert to their MacBook (or Microsoft Surface). WWDC can’t come soon enough.
This week MacSparky is sponsored by SaneBox, the email service that can start saving your bacon today. With SaneBox at your back, you add a powerful set of email tools that can work in just about any email client. With SaneBox you can:
Lately I’ve been getting a lot more serious about email reminders with SaneBox. When I send an email to a client or a business associate that requires a reply, I blind copy the email to 1week@sanebox.com or 2days@sanebox.com or april17@sanebox.com. Then I forget about it.
SaneBox keeps track of whether or not I get reply to that email and, if I haven’t received a reply in the designated time, it gives me a reminder. This allows me to dodge the whole process of putting tasks into my system to track email replies. I’ve been using this a lot more lately and I’m saving time as a result. As seen above, this is just one of the many features available to SaneBox subscribers.
The list goes on. Why not straighten out your email in 2017 by getting a SaneBox account and bringing a gun to a knife fight. If you sign up with this link, you even get a discount off your subscription.
America’s greatest podcast about independent workers (or at least some American’s favorite) is back this week with an interview of Greg Pierce, who’s been sticking it to a the man and making great software on his own for 10 years. This show is not just for software developers. Greg’s got lots of great common sense advice.
As time goes on, Ulysses (website) (Mac App Store) (iOS App Store) becomes more and more important in my writing workflows. At this point I’m using it for much of my books, this blog, and extended legal writing. I like the app’s clean design. (It won an Apple Design Award last year.) I also like its reliability and ubiquity on all of my Apple devices. Yesterday they released the newest version 2.8. There are several new features worth mention.
The updated version adds Touch ID security. You can now add a password to your Ulysses file and optionally open it with Touch ID. As a lawyer, I appreciate this. It’s now going to be a lot harder for unwanted eyes to see my briefs.
The new version also adds some additional automation tools via URL callbacks. Specifically, you can now set a group title and you can read from an existing sheet. That second one is interesting. As I’m increasingly using Workflow to automate Ulysses, the ability to pull data out of the database will be useful. I need to play with this more before I can share some useful Workflows but they will be coming.
Document management tools got a bump as well. Filters can now also be used to narrow down the library content according to negative criteria. For instance, you can look for documents that do not include the word “rutabaga”. You can also now see text statistics for groups and filters, which up until today was only available on the Mac version.
I met some of the Ulysses team last year at WWDC. We got in an extended discussion about, of all things, icons. I find the little icons in Ulysses useful as a visual guide as I’m working through my various banks of words. Here’s a screenshot of my MacSparky folder and its related icons.
I asked why can’t add my own custom icons and they gave me a very opinionated answer. Put simply, they don’t want anyone but their own design team putting graphics into Ulysses. As a compromise, however, they said they take user requests for additional icons very seriously. They explained they intended to regularly update the app with custom designed icons in response to user requests.
While this approach can work, they’ve got to make good on it. Today they did with several new and interesting icons to help customize your Ulysses groups. I will note that while they have rain clouds, they don’t have a MacSparky thunderbolt. Hopefully 2.9.
