Writing app Ulysses updated with iPad trackpad support, keywords, material sheets and more

Ulysses, the popular writing app and Markdown editor for iOS and macOS was bumped to version 19 this morning, bringing several new features. Additionally, the developers will open a beta program for Ulysses 20 later today.

New features in Ulysses 19

Ulysses 19 now lets you mark texts or notes as material.

If you use a mouse with your iPad or the new Magic Keyboard, you’ll be pleased to know that the app is now optimized for mouse and trackpad functionality in iPadOS 13.4. The software brings support for keywords in Markdown files for improved organization.

ROUNDUP: The best free distraction-free writing apps for Mac

Your keywords are marked with a hash which lets Markdown editors interpret them as keywords as well. On top of that, the app can now recognize keywords in Markdown files and make them usable when you open them.

“Users can now manage these keywords in Ulysses, and they can create filters that list only files that are tagged with certain keywords,” developers noted.

Another welcome improvement: support for external folders in the Files app.

Material sheets is another interesting feature in Ulysses 19. With it, you can mark sheets as “material” to exclude them from export and statistics.

Marcus Fehn, creative head of the Ulysses developers:

Many of the things people write or collect in a writing app are not actually meant to become part of a final text — think of research notes for an article or blog post, or character bios for novels. If marked as material, these will automatically disappear when preparing a PDF manuscript or publishing to a blog. They also won’t be considered when calculating the progress of a writing goal.

You can quickly spot these “sheets” thanks to a visual marker.

The updated software also lets you export and import your backups. As a bonus, they’ve added new filter criteria such as “has goal“, “has note attachment” or “is material”.

ROUNDUP: The best free text and markdown editors for iOS

For a more detailed overview of all the changes and new features in Ulysses 19, and how you might want to use them, I wholeheartedly recommend reading the informative review by Ryan Christoffel over at MacStories.

Ulysses 19 changelog

Here’s a complete list of all the new features and improvements in Ulysses 19:

Ulysses 19 for iOS

The “Home Alone” Ulysses 19 update brings these improvements:

  • You can now use mice and trackpads on iPad (requires iPadOS 13.4)
  • We added support for external folders via the Files app (requires iOS/iPadOS 13.4)
  • You can now mark sheets as “material” to exclude them from export and statistics
  • You can now add keywords to Markdown files
  • We added new filter criteria such as “has goal“, “has note attachment” or “is material”
  • You can now export and import your backups
  • The WordPress preview now uses the Twenty Twenty theme
  • The Ghost preview now also uses the latest theme
  • Added SF Mono to the list of editor fonts
  • Improved initial download performance when syncing with Dropbox
  • Added a toilet paper group icon for your convenience

Ulysses for iPhone and iPad is available in the App Store.

Ulysses 19 for macOS

Here’s everything new and improved in Ulysses 19 for macOS:

  • You can now mark sheets as “material” to exclude them from export and statistics
  • You can now add keywords to Markdown files
  • We added new filter criteria such as “has goal“, “has note attachment” or “is material”
  • The WordPress preview now uses the Twenty Twenty theme
  • The Ghost preview now also uses the latest theme
  • Added SF Mono to the list of editor fonts
  • Added a toilet paper group icon for your convenience

You can download Ulysses for macOS from the Mac App Store.

Ulysses 20 beta

As mentioned, the next major version of Ulysses is already being worked on, with a beta program opening soon at ulysses.app/beta. Aside from an updated interface, Ulysses 20 will bring new attachment, navigation and dashboard experience, advanced text check and more.

If you want to help them test Ulysses 20, register your interest via the aforementioned website and fill out the form. As soon as the beta program is open, they’ll start sending invitations.

Pricing and availability

The update is free for existing Ulysses subscribers.

A subscription (monthly: $4.99; yearly: $39.99) is required to unlock Ulysses on all devices, and includes a free trial period. Students can use Ulysses at a discounted price of $11.99 per six months (the discount is granted from within the app).

For further information about the app, visit the official website.