XANDRA  Not sure if this is a review, comment.In general this is an Excellent program,

some small but vital improvements over Apple's Tex-Edit include:

- ability to view invisibles

- columns

while still maintaining ability to copy/paste graphics and text simultaneously

however...

As much as I like this app -

I'm still desperate for Text-Edit Plus' Find/Replace.

2.Functional Styles

Is there anything out there with Tex-Edit Plus's find replace???

Till then I'm still dependant on Word.  
(Version 2.4.1)

AARGL  Waow! Now that it's localized in French, Bean is not far to substitute for old Tex-Edit Plus!

Add the ability to read or import Tex-Edit Plus format (I have, say, 200 Tex-Edit docs and it would be a pain in the arse to open/convert/save to rtf everyone of them... :-(, and I'll switch immediately.

Add a default background color for any white backgrounded document, and I worship you! ;-)  
(Version 2.4.1)

DCANNIS  The Italian translation don't work  
(Version 2.4.1)

DORKYPANTS  Another vote for Bean. It can open .webarchive files and let you get at the components within.  
(Version 2.4)

BRAMHUBBELL  I absolutely love this program. I haven't opened up Word in months.  
(Version 2.4)

DR. GIRLFRIEND  Correction to my earlier review: I tried to donate. This guy is just too sweet! He flat out refuses to take donations.

James Hoover, you are a scholar and a gentleman. Thank you for this wonderful free program.   
(Version 2.4)

DR. GIRLFRIEND  Bean is so d@mn fast, it loads before you finish taking your finger off the button!

If you want a no-nonsense, unbloated, easy to use word processing app, look no further. Bean is The One. Bean is peerless; it makes you proud to own a Mac. Along with WriteRoom, it meets 95% of my word processing needs.

Once in a blue moon, I'll open up Word to make sure everything looks right (it always does) and using Word for just a few minutes will remind all over again of why I love Bean so much.

Can't believe it's free! I donated anyway. If I ever meet the developer in real life -- he'd better watch out, 'cause I'd smother him with kisses!  
(Version 2.4)

MWSCHMEER  Another stellar update, and it's still all good! This is by far my go-to word processor. As a college professor, I truly appreciate the new Notes function--now I can easily add in-text comments with a few quick keyboard shortcuts. Yes, I'd love to see footnotes/endnotes, columns, and floating images, but as the developer points out on his web site, those features are outside the bounds of what he's attempting to do with Bean.

This is a great app, and it just keeps getting better.  
(Version 2.4)

ZACHWILL  I love Bean. I've been using it for the past 2 years as my main word processor, and I can honestly say it's one of the best freeware programs available. Great job dev!  
(Version 2.3.1)

RUBAIYAT  Nice app and getting nicer!

If it only had multiple columns and footnotes, I'd switch from iText Pro in a blink.

With floating images it would kill Pages too.  
(Version 2.3.1)

SJHA  Bean has made it possible for me finally to accept the loss of WriteNow! A brilliant programme - congratulations to the developer.  
(Version 2.3)

MWSCHMEER  Simply one of the best styled word processors for the Mac. Sure, it doesn't have all the bells and whistles of Nisus Express or even iText Express, but then, how often do you really need all the bells and whistles?

This is the right tool for writing 95% of the time if you are not in school writing documented research papers. And even then, you could probably crib along OK.

I'm sure I'm not alone when I say that this is simply one of the best free pieces of software out there. It is one of the first apps I install on any Mac I use; I even carry it around on a thumb drive for when I am away from my home Mac (note to developer: might want to make an option to save/use the preference file from a local directory).  
(Version 2.2)

MAC66GRAPHICS  Very buggy on an Intel Mac Pro Desktop. Image disappeared when pasted from one page to another. Then Text disappeared when opening window on desktop. I would like to use this for at least note information from www pages, but will have to wait until the bugs are fixed. I LOVE Swift Publishing for mini word processor, followed by Apples Pages.  
(Version 2.2)

KRIS  I just installed Bean and I want to leave text edit behind. Bena is so user friendly!  
(Version 2.1)

REPEATER75  I started using Bean before the 2.0 betas and thought it was a good Text Edit replacement but as of 2.1 I'm using it instead of Word about 75% of the time. Let me tell you, if you get tired of waiting on Word 2008 to load, look no further than Bean. Unless you have complex layout needs, this little gem is a joy to use and runs lightly on the resources. Thanks very much to the dev for this great tool.  
(Version 2.1)

ELEMENTNINETY3  I had MS Office on my 13" MacBook before the hard drive failed (shame, really). I've had to use TextEdit since then, and have on many occasions thought about using a free word processor instead, but decided against it because I didn't think there were any good ones out there that would do much more than TextEdit.

Clearly, I was wrong.

Bean has completely changed my view of things, and I would never go back to MS Word now. I just love the interface, the Inspector, and the freedom it gives me. Five stars for sure.

Dev: If you could make a spreadsheet app to go with Bean, I'd grab it in a heartbeat. The only thing I miss about Office now is Excel. Ah well, I suppose...  
(Version 2.1)

FREE_DEVELOPMENT  I love this app and use it every day. I have one problem though. Whenever I try to insert a photo, nothing shows up, and sometimes makes other things disappear. I've tried dragging and dropping, as well as going to edit>insert>picture. Please help  
(Version 2.0.4b)

KRIONI  Whoa!

Powdered Bean is correct about what happens. To replicate this bug, do the following:

1. Open some document with a bunch of text.

2. Highlight some of that text (try a line or two). Note what text FOLLOWS the text you highlighted.

3. Open the Find/Replace dialog by pressing command-F.

4. In the Find: field type in the first word of what is highlighted.

5. In the Replace with: field type in XXXXX

6. Hit Replace.

What gets replaced is NOT just what matches the "Find" text. Instead, the entire highlighted text is gone, replaced by XXXXX (in my example here).

Interestingly, this is what happens in TextEdit as well. The problem is not with Bean. In fact, theoretically, this is what SHOULD happen. Reason? The Replace button is supposed to replace the currently highlighted text. The button is NOT Find-and-Replace, it is merely Replace. A 'Replace All' on the other hand, is designed to Find-and-Replace all occurrences.

So, what Powdered Bean discovered is NOT a bug, but a somewhat confusing feature common to most editors. Certainly to editors that use Apple's text engine.  
(Version 2.0.4b)

POWDERED BEAN 2  Hello JNRH,

I'm sorry, but Bean doesn't act like TexEdit in this situation.

In Apples TextEdit, if you have some text selected and do a search & replace, the selection is ignored and instead the whole text gets edited, but in Bean the whole selected text gets deleted, no search & replace, Bean simply deletes the selected text!

That's the difference, TextEdit just ignores the selection and searches & replaces in the whole document, - but Bean _deletes_ the text selection (means: the selected text isn't there anymore, no search & replace in the whole text like in TexEdit, Bean _deletes_ the selected text.)

What is that good for?

Yes I can undo Bean's behaviour, but what's the reason for deleting the selected text in that situation? If I want to delete some selected text, I usually use the delete command - I don't expect that "function" in search & replace...

Well, maybe my english is to bad to make clear were I see the problem.

Anyway, thanks for your reply.

Mac OS 10.4.11, PPC  
(Version 2.0.4b)

POWDERED BEAN 2  Hello HAMPST,

many thanks for your tip, that works, but nonetheless it is a svere bug.

In Apples TextEdit, if you have some text selected and do a search & replace, the selection is ignored and the whole text gets changed (also not a very Mac-like behavior, I think), - but nothing will be lost like in Bean.

If it is somehow against Apples legendary logic of usability to search just inside the selection if the user has made a selection, then this kind of logic at least should not lead to data loss in any application, wether it is based on Apples Textkit or not.

I'm sure not everyone knows the trick you mentioned here and therefore Bean should not behave like that.

Unwanted deletion of data is a very critical thing.

Besides that Bean is a great app.

My big thanks to the developer.

Merry christmas to all.  
(Version 2.0.3b)

POWDERED BEAN  Search & Replace shows a SERIOUS BUG here:

If I have some text selected and try to search & replace something inside the selection then nothing gets replaced, instead the whole selected text gets completely deleted!

Realized that only after some search & replace actions, now a lot of written text is lost.

Tested and found the same error in the non-beta version Bean 1.3.3.

What's that?

Anyone else having the same problem?

Using Mac OS 10.4.11 PPC  
(Version 2.0.3b)

BRUTHIAUX  Bean is a very good word processor but I have one problem with it. I live in Asia so I use A4 page format, not US letter. The problem is that all Word documents I open in Bean get reformatted to US letter. Even when I change the format back to A4 through Page Setup and save that, the document opens in US format again. What am I missing? Or is this a bug in the software? Thanks if you can help.  
(Version 2.0.1b)

FYREFLYE  Easily one of the very best free applications for Mac.  
(Version 2.0.1b)

MACSTERDAM  I can't believe this is free. For me, Bean has replaced Word and TextEdit for about 95% of the writing I do. Best feature for me is how it handles full-screen writing.

Thanks very much!!  
(Version 1.3.3)

OILCONSUMER  great for writing plain text!

if it had more features maybe i would be able to leave MS WORD once and for all (such as shapes) but that may ruin the simplicity so... :S

but anyway, very good application :D  
(Version 1.3.3)

JOMAMA7366  I absolutely love this program. It has everything that TextEdit lacks in terms of features I want. I've actually started using this little program instead of Microsoft Word.

For users who want to WRITE, and do not need a lot of bells and whistles, I highly recommend checking out this great program.  
(Version 1.3.3)

MACBLISS  Bean is a fantastic text editor. It's options are well thought out and highly useful like the full screen view, alternate display colors, float window, and back up. Great job. To think the developer wasn't a programmer before he started Bean is amazing. One thing I'd like to suggest as one other review shared, is a custom background color for new documents, whether they be RTF or text. Or a way to open up new documents in alternative display colors - with the default blue background and white text, would be a nice in the interim.  
(Version 1.3.3)

WILMA  GREAT little program!

Bean is small, fast, very stable, and it's simple and easy to use.

It also includes some great features. Among my favorites:

+ A slider that zooms the text size (handy when you want to see the monitor from farther away).

+ An RTF format that can be read by virtually any app (including some Classic apps that can't read TextEdit's RTFs).

+ Various toolbar and ruler options, which can be hidden or shown via menus and Preferences.

+ Automated switching between straight and curly quotes (very useful when working with dictation software).

+ Multiple levels of Undo -- a NECESSITY when dictating.

I do most of my typing with MacSpeech Dictate. Bean is my favorite app to use with it. I tested a bunch of word processors for dictation, and Bean had the best combination of speed, low CPU use, low memory use, and features. By creating some global commands for formatting (such as Italicize That, Boldface That, and Underline That), I can do the same tasks Dictate's built-in commands allow in TextEdit, but with a much better interface.

For simple note-taking tasks, Bean is much easier to use than other word processors. Check it out for yourself -- it's fun and it's FREE!  
(Version 1.3.3)

FONZO  Thanks a lot for the updated international version!  
(Version 1.3.3)

FITS  could someone, please, tell me how I insert/delete footnotes in the text?

I haven´t found any clue/link to footnotes in the bar menu neither in the help.

Thanks in advance.  
(Version 1.3.2)

WASTED MY TIME  -

Bean is great!

Possible enhancements:

- Convert multiple spaces to one space (I often type two or more spaces if I write fast.)

Search & Replace is such a long way for that correction. A shortcut for that (maybe ctrl-alt-apple-space) would be great.

- Delete line breaks/line feeds in a selection (usefull if you get a hard formatted text with to long lines from someone) A shortcut for that

- Ability to delete points in a selection (Some people use points instead of spaces in some documents, Search & Replace can't replace points, I don't know why it can't do that)

- Standard background in another color (light grey or so) instead of white (white is so hard for the eyes on modern LCDs)

- Delete given background colors

- Save Search & Replace actions for later use (if possible)

- The Multilingual Edition is still at 0.91...

Is it hard to localize for some reasons?

Again: even in it's early state an absolutely great app, many thanks.  
(Version 1.2)

DANSILLUMINE  This is by far the best text editor I have encountered for my needs. I find it to be intuitive and streamlined. It allows for as many or as few features I need for any given preliminary writing project. The full screen mode allows me to write without the distraction of background programs or toolbars. At times it is easier for me to focus utilizing a black background with light colored text, that is a great benefit. It is also good for outlining a project without the fuss of loaded word processors. I think the Bean crew has done an excellent job of creating an editor which inspires a writer with a bad case of writers block, that is no easy task!   
(Version 1.2)

ALEX111  If Bean had columns it would be the bees knees. Despite that, it is such a neat, tidy little package - and so pleasing to use. Thanks very much!  
(Version 1.2)

MIKURO  Bean is basically an improved TextEdit. They share the same foundation. Many people are not aware that TextEdit can do some fairly advanced things like tables and headers, because the features are not well-presented in TextEdit. Bean presents them well. It also adds some features TextEdit lacks, like word count and the ability to show invisible characters (spaces, returns, etc.). Bean's interface is generally simpler and more powerful than, in my opinion.

The downside is that since Bean uses the same core as TextEdit, it shares the same basic faults as TextEdit. If you need to open .doc files, Bean will give you the same shoddy conversion as TextEdit — so you'll still want NeoOffice for that. Bean has some quirks with table editing, as well, just like TextEdit.

I like Bean. It's simple and very good for what it is. It is a not a full-featured word processor, but it's great for when you don't need a full-featured word processor — which for me is most of the time. I view Bean as a replacement for TextEdit, not a replacement for NeoOffice. If that's what you're looking for, you will be pleased with Bean.  
(Version 1.0.1)

BIGDAVE56  This is a dandy little lightweight word processor that will likely meet the basic WP needs of the "average" user who just wants to create a typo-free letter, book report, etc. Loads and runs fast, and you'll be unlikely to need to look at any documentation.

I have Pages 08 (Word is banished) and like it, but I think Bean will see some fairly regular use for quick n' simple document creation. (For one thing, it can save directly to .doc format, without having to 'export' and have two copies of the same document, in different formats.) Haven't tried the page layout features yet, but the cool 'alternate colors' mode may save eyestrain (and for laptop users, battery power).

A very nice app that the developers should be proud of.  
(Version 1.0)

PETER DA SILVA  I like it a lot just from a brief acquaintance with it. I have one comment about their web page, though... they give Word too much credit: "Bean is not a replacement for MS Word. It does not do footnotes or hierarchical styles."

Word doesn't do hierarchical styles either. The only hierarchy in Word is "next paragraph style" and tables. The same is true of Pages, by the way. If they do ever decide to add these kinds of features I hope they follow the lead of markup languages like SGML and HTML and make a hierarchy a real feature of the program, rather than something faked by the user interface the way Word and "Word wannabes" do it.  
(Version 0.9.12)

IGREG  User-friendly, fast, & free. Also, unlike the big boys, it does not install any fonts. I can not stand apps that force you to install fonts.

Basic word processor for us non-professionals who do not need to do everything. A few more basic features would be nice, but I hope it does not get bloated up as it develops. Most of us regular folk just want a word processor, so in a sense we are looking for Word Light, not Office Light.  
(Version 0.9.11)

RUBAIYAT  I love the clean simple interface and it seems to do a much better job of importing Word files with all formatting in place (but I note that some users report issues with tables).

I use iText Express for nearly all my word processing/lite DTP/lite Multi-Media needs.

Whilst it is very good and has features like multiple columns, footnotes, headers, footers line counts, bookmarking, etc it is not being updated and doesn't have universal binary.

When Bean gets what iText Express has it will be a no-brainer to switch.

It is really nice to use. Like he says if opening up MsWord leaves you depressed... switch to Bean.  
(Version 0.9.11)

JSLMG  An intriguing new app! This little gem will fill some gaps in the word-processing category. It has the look/feel of Apple's Pages, but saves a .doc file as easily as NeoOffice. It is, as another reviewer here wrote, "textedit on steroids," and there's nothing wrong with that.

I first tried it out when I was in a pinch: I was editing a document encoded in an Asian language but written in Roman alphabet; NeoOffice couldn't handle it, and wouldn't wrap the lines properly. I knew that MS Word and Abiword could handle that document, but I needed something else--a WP that worked on Leopard and wasn't made by Microsoft. Bean did it... it handled the document when NeoOffice fell victim to a bug.

In short, Bean will fill a gap left by Abiword, which has not been released (yet) for Leopard. The simple interface is refreshing--many users prefer keyboard shortcuts, anyway. It's a fine start for a new app.  
(Version 0.9.11)

FERNANDOFILHO  As far as I'm concerned Bean HAS plain text support. I use it a lot too when I need to gather info over different websites. Just save a .TXT document and then open it as a template later on. The only thing I would beg to devs is to implement tabs. It would be fantastic to have Bean with tabs.  
(Version 0.9.9)

ALFREDO_TOMATO  Very nice application. Only one thing missing that I use quite a bit, and that is plain text.   
(Version 0.9.9)

THEVALRUS  Since people at my university tend to just assume you have MS Word, I was excited about this program, thinking it would allow me to stop having to fire up NeoOffice every time I wanted to read a syllabus. While it shows promise, it's not quite there yet. Importing of .doc files is really spotty: I often get page breaks in places that clearly aren't where they were in the original document, and tables are usually hopelessly mangled. Still, I'll be jumping on every point update of this app hoping these issues get fixed, because everything else about it is really nice.  
(Version 0.9.8)

FERNANDOFILHO  I work a lot with texts and I used to have a special plugin for word counting in SimpleText. As I really need word counting, Bean became the best definitive replace for SimpleText ebcause is faster and more complete. As simple as that. Can't live without Bean anymore.  
(Version 0.9.8)

ZANGIEF  I like it overall, but it's got several drawbacks:

First of all, it's horribly undocumented– wondering what kinds of features Bean has, and I get the "Help isn't available for" message, in this case help wasn't available for Bean. Great.

So next, I decided maybe what I was looking for (a way to make columns out of some text) might be in the inspector. Clicked the button, pressed the shortcut, chose it in the menu, nothing happens. I checked behind the main window, still no inspector.

Bean's interface and user-friendliness still needs work, but the thing I like about it is you can open it and just start typing… which is why I'm keeping it! Though for some things it's oversimplistic, I don't mind switching over from iWork's Pages to use Bean for some things. I feel that Pages might be a bit of overkill when I'm just typing up some kind of paper for school (I'm homeschooled, so the only thing I don't use my Mac for is math,) everything just gets typed. I feel that I'll be using Bean now for a lot of my work and I can save that extra bit of power in Pages for reports and long things.

Bean has taken word processors to a new dimension, and I'm happy to say that this is certainly something to be proud of, for users and developer alike!  
(Version 0.9.7)

ALFREDO_TOMATO  Like it very much. The only thing I would like is the option to make text into plain text. Plain text comes in handy cleaning up quoted text from the internet.

If I am missing another way of doing it, let me know.   
(Version 0.9.7)

DOUGLAS_2  Great application. TextEdit on steroids. Fill my needs. I'd consider it perfect if I could globally make Table lines invisible for printing.  
(Version 0.9.6)

SQUEEKYJAM  I love bean!!! Its fast, light, and great for writing whatever strikes your fancy without distracting you with formatting options not neccessary for everyday writing needs. Thanks to the devs for such a great program!  
(Version 0.9.4a)

INFORMATIX  Well done. I trust that putting such good software under GPL will encourage more developers to join in and help with the effort.

Nice interface. Fills much of the feature gap that TextEdit leaves open even for a light-weight word processor.

I noticed that text is not rendered as good as in TextEdit and Safari: Spacing is often uneven. I hope that developers read these comments and will look into this.  
(Version 0.9.4a)

APPLEDOGX  Add paragraph style sheets and you've got a total winner.  
(Version 0.9.4a)

GREGMC  Meant to add: keep View > Fit Page Width on and it resizes perfectly with Mega Zoom.

With live word count, different font and bg colours for screen and print, Bean could just be the simple text editing app I've been craving.

It does get slow with long documents though. I opened a file that was about 25,000 words and typing became very slow.

I'll start using it in the hopes that the developer will iron out the kinks :-)  
(Version 0.9.3b)

GREGMC  Man ... check out Bean with Mega Zoom. You can get a very good full screen appearance :-)  
(Version 0.9.3b)

LIDADOR  Just downloaded Bean to read a .doc file a student sent me. File probably made in Word for Windows, crashed my Word 2004 for Mac many times, first claiming that the file had macros and then freezing Word, claiming it was a corrupt file. Maybe it was, but I still could read it with Bean, not risking getting Word macro virus or so. Bean developers are the best.  
(Version 0.9.3b)

ENRICO NENCINI  Very very nice. It would be nice if it supported the .odt format. Moreover i use NeoOffice styles way too much (for formatting, automatic index creation, automatic "next paragraph stle..), and i miss them in Bean. These are the only 2 things i am missing, so it will do for drafts and such at the moment :)  
(Version 0.9.3b)

ENDE42  I didn't see any format styles. Is it possible to define h1, h2, list… styles?  
(Version 0.9.3a)

AKROBAT  Brilliant. I've 3 Macs, two of them being old iMacs and I recently delted Office 'cause it was too heavy and bloated for my poor G3. I tried Mariner Write and Nisus but found them also too slow. Bean works great and it is now my default processor on these machines. There are improvements I could mention but for now I say well done to the developer.  
(Version 0.9.2g)

JACK DAW  Not being a fan of 'bloatware', but a big fan of lightweight & zippy WPs, this is a great little app.

I love the live word count, but especially the Apple Dictionary look-up - something more developers could incorporate into their apps.

When used in conjunction with other apps like word.services for formatting and Apple's built-in spell-check, Bean has everything I need.  
(Version 0.9.2g)

BRUTHIAUX  Great application! But for Mac users like myself who never got to like the palette idea but prefer menus from icons at the top, it suffers from the same conceptual problem that requires users to go off to the palette on the right or worse have it floating over the document and then go through one more step (select the right palette, then the right function). With NeoOffice style menus, this application would be my word processor of choice. Without it, I'll stick to super bloated, super slow NeoOffice, and wait, and wait, and wait...  
(Version 0.9.2g)

PXL  Simplistic, fast, light-weight, stylish... just plain fantastic!  
(Version 0.9.2g)

CRYPT  As a student who's been using the bloated and slow NeoOffice for the past year, I more than welcome Bean to my dock. It does all the basic things I'm looking for in a word processor and more with an intuitive, nice, and simple interface.   
(Version 0.9.2g)

MACMARIA  I've been using Bean for a couple of days and I'm liking it a lot. I'm particularily keen on the floating capability, which is great to take notes over any application (pdfs, emails, web, etc).

Definitely worth a try.   
(Version 0.9.2g)