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Growly Write
Growly Write
4.4
0.0
Growly Write free download for Mac

Growly Write

Version 2.4.9

Simple but feature-rich word processor.

4.4
Based on 17 user ratesRead reviews & comments
Free
Absolutely Free

Growly Write overview

Growly Write is a simple but feature-rich word processor.

Perhaps the word processor you've been using has 100 times as many features as you need. Or it won't work the way you want it to -- too many views or too few, and nothing makes any sense. Or it looks as if it were designed back when computers displayed text in green letters on a black screen. Growly Write is something else entirely: fresh, capable, and simple. But not too simple. The range of documents you can create in Write is staggering: multiple columns, chapters with different layouts, pictures that flow with the text or pictures that text wraps around, drop caps, tables, lists, links within a document or to web pages, borders simple and complex, and a complete toolkit of text formats. But everything is easy to find.

The section on the right of the screen shot above is the format panel. It lets you change the appearance of everything in the document, without ever getting in your way. No obscure commands, complex and ugly modal windows, tiny indecipherable icons, or hunting through menus. If you want to format something, this is the place to go. The tabs at the top let you choose what to modify: text, paragraphs, tables, lists, pictures, what have you. They reconfigure automatically to match whatever you've selected. Within each tab the properties are broken down into small, easy-to-understand groups. If you don't use styles, for example, just close the style group and you'll never have to see it again. But when you do need a certain format, you'll never have to wonder where it is. If you're just typing and you don't want to think about formatting right now, simply close the panel.

Sometimes you need to concentrate on making your document look great, but for most documents it's the words that matter most. When you want to focus on the text, use the draft view (vs. the page view shown above).

What’s new in version 2.4.9

Updated on Dec 05 2023

  • A new preference (in the Appearance pane) draws the title row of tables in a solid color instead of the default gradient. If the cells of the title row are assigned a background color, that overrides the preference.
  • Dark mode in draft view works better.
  • When you saved a document to RTF and then reopened it, some of the document properties (format panel Doc tab) might have changed.

Information

License

Free

Size

5.6 MB

Downloads

10311

App requirements

  • Intel 64
  • Apple Silicon
  • OS X 10.10 or later
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0.0

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  • User Ratings

Derekcurrie
Derekcurrie
Jan 29 2024
2.4.9
4.0
Jan 29 2024
4.0
Version: 2.4.9
v2.4.10 is out.
Derekcurrie
Derekcurrie
Sep 7 2023
2.4.7
4.0
Sep 7 2023
4.0
Version: 2.4.7
Be sure to visit the dev's website for his 20 other FREE apps, including 10 games, all worth a look. I've asked MacUpdate to add them. They include: Backup, Calculator, Calendar, Checkbook, Draw, Glucose, Groceries, Journal, Notes and Photo. He's also recently created a board game.
ERNEST UNGUREANU
ERNEST UNGUREANU
Feb 6 2022
2.3.7
0.0
Feb 6 2022
0.0
Version: 2.3.7
I still don't understand why some developers give a ridiculous name to their company...
Beamy
Beamy
Aug 19 2020
2.2.6
5.0
Aug 19 2020
5.0
Version: 2.2.6
I just updated to Growly Write 2.2.6 and it works nicely on MacOS 10.11.6 • Very nice ! Thank you very much !
idlsorbo02
idlsorbo02
Jul 14 2020
2.2.5
0.0
Jul 14 2020
0.0
Version: 2.2.5
Very useful and helpful
albertop9
albertop9
Apr 1 2020
2.2.3
1.0
Apr 1 2020
1.0
Version: 2.2.3
I'm really sorry to break the consensus but Growly Write crashes on me. I'm on El Capitan (10.11.6).
AlphJack
AlphJack
Feb 9 2020
2.2.2
5.0
Feb 9 2020
5.0
Version: 2.2.2
Thanks for the Dev for providing this nice word processor. Very helpful and easy to use. Use it also on my old macmini.
Trance
Trance
Aug 29 2018
1.3
5.0
Aug 29 2018
5.0
Version: 1.3
Great free word processor, a good replacement for Bean. Ps. Version 2 is available on their website
Annie-Walker
Annie-Walker
Nov 30 2017
1.2.11
5.0
Nov 30 2017
5.0
Version: 1.2.11
Wonderful editor‼️ Everything most anyone could want in a writing program, and then some! I love the little things like "strike-through" etc. It's fast, easy on memory too. I want to say a big thank you to the developer for providing us with a program that some of us might not be able to afford without his (her?) generosity‼️ So, thanks so much for this absolutely great program my friend‼️‼️ 5 Stars‼️
Kennett
Kennett
Aug 2 2015
1.2.2
0.0
Aug 2 2015
0.0
Version: 1.2.2
Version 1.2.3 is available from the developer's web site.
Chaloots
Chaloots
May 19 2015
1.2.2
0.0
May 19 2015
0.0
Version: 1.2.2
Nothing against Growly Write (can't beat the price!) but I recently installed a surprisingly more-than-capable word processing app called TinyWord. It's available on the App Store for $1.99 It (TinyWord) is not listed here on Macupdate.
Magosilvan
Magosilvan
Apr 14 2015
1.2.1
5.0
Apr 14 2015
5.0
Version: 1.2.1
Semplice ma eccezionale word processor:
è riuscito ad aprirmi una serie di vecchi file del 1995-96 che apparivano come "File Unix Eseguibile" e ritenevo persi, dandomi poi la possibilità di editarli e salvarli in vari formati.
Il mio grazie all'autore!
Sjha
Sjha
Jan 4 2015
1.2
4.5
Jan 4 2015
4.5
Version: 1.2
I have only just discovered Growly Write but it has rapidly become my word processor of choice now that Bean is no longer actively developed. I am amazed at the number of features e.g. Table of Contents, floating graphics, chapters with individual header and footers, tables, bookmarks…the list goes on. And yet it retains a simplicity of use that is exemplary. No bloatware here. Kudos to the developer.
Spank-Me-Baby
Spank-Me-Baby
Aug 19 2014
1.1.4
4.0
Aug 19 2014
4.0
Version: 1.1.4
A most promising Word processing app I have seen so far and with the potential to do away with Microsoft Word and even the plethora of open source Word processing stuff such as OpenOffice, LibreOffice and other variants, and at a very concise size that I like to see. NOTE: I wonder whether there should be a competition to see who can make the most compact file size app with the most "useful" features possible. Call it the App Awards for best app of the year. Already I see this app is well on its way to being a serious contender. There are only three things I could only wish for in this app (and then I will be dancing in the streets with joy):: 1. Please...pretty please, could you add footnotes? Yeah, I know I am unusual person in that not everyone does research work like I do, but sometimes I truly wish I could just add some footnotes at the bottom of the page (and/or perhaps at the end of the chapter) and get these footnote numbers to automatically update as I add or remove footnotes just to make my life easier. 2. How tricky would it be to add tables to a page? You know, those little digital critters that have columns and rows and we can place text inside the cells just like Microsoft Office and many open source Word processing apps can, and even put some borders in the right places. Now that would be brilliant in this app if it could be done (someone has placed a bet over here that the developer can't do this, I think otherwise, but I'm always an optimist in these sorts of things). 3. The ability to not only add pictures to the text (which I see it can do), but if I want the picture to fill the page and move the text to the next page, then that's nice (far better than Microsoft Office which can only leave one crappy line of text at the top of the page containing the picture no matter how much of the picture fills up the page). Also, if a picture fills the whole page, to somehow get the picture to move to the next page or previous page (or any number of pages) if I make adjustments to the text in any position of the document (OpenOffice requires that I copy the picture and move it to where I want it should the text have changed in any way - a pain in the you know where). 3. Add text captions to pictures, or at the very least allow the addition of text boxes. 4. And finally, is it possible to Save As into the open source file format with the file extension .odt used by OpenOffice? I don't care too much about Microsoft Word's .doc or .docx format (although it would be nice to read and save into either of them). But, in case Growly Write goes belly up and is no longer supported, it kind of provides some future-proofing of documents created with this app. Beyond that, I would have to say three cheers to the developer of Growly Write for a good basic Word processing app. And if he/she can achieve the other stuff mentioned in my review, all I can say is, "Bloody brilliant!"
M-Rick
M-Rick
Jun 25 2014
1.1.3
3.0
Jun 25 2014
3.0
Version: 1.1.3
The software itself is good, but if you are writing texts in another language than English, the spelling features are not working since Growly Notes only know English … It's a pity because it seems to use the system's spelling so it should be able to support all the ones supported by the system.
Arnauld
Arnauld
May 15 2014
1.1.3
5.0
May 15 2014
5.0
Version: 1.1.3
Ok - maybe it isn't a nuclear reactor, but after using growly write for a few hours the liquid contents (in the bottle on my desk) were transformed to Heavy Water. IMHO the best free word processor.
Alex111
Alex111
May 10 2014
1.1.3
4.5
May 10 2014
4.5
Version: 1.1.3
After playing with Growly Write for half an hour, It could definitely be my replacement for Bean - and possibly a lot of Pages use too. And it's free! Thanks for all the work. (I've given it five stars for stability as I had to complete the ratings stars...)
Aargl
Aargl
May 9 2014
1.1.3
0.0
May 9 2014
0.0
Version: 1.1.3
I've just tried to open a .rtf saved by MS Word: the styles (bold, etc.) have disappeared, the spreadsheet in it is gone (treated as if columns were separate pages)! :-/ And yes I clicked on Pages view. ;-) Bean respects the document as it is…
anonymous-tapir-4715
anonymous-tapir-4715
Feb 21 2014
1.1.2
0.0
Feb 21 2014
0.0
Version: 1.1.2
What is it with Growly? They keep writing great things - for free.
priehl
priehl
May 25 2013
1.0.9
5.0
May 25 2013
5.0
Version: 1.0.9
Growly Write gives you an incredibly powerful app, almost unbelievable number of features and OH BY THE WAY costs nothing and takes up approximately 1/100th the disk space of MS Word. Additionally, Chris Mason (once led development for MS Word, "back when it was fun") responds to inquiries. When I had a problem (locked out of my personal journal), he told me which (non-personal) files to send him and shot me back a beta version of the next release. Within 24 hours, if I recall. With so many features, you will probably find yourself confused at some point. When I got stuck with formatting, not only did I get a quick response from Chris, but also one of my suggestions appeared in the next release of the amazingly extensive help documentation. From the first page of the help: "Growly Write is a word processor: it helps you create and print documents that are primarily composed of text. Write is intentionally simple, but not simple-minded. Its capabilities include: + Documents composed of one or more chapters, each of which can have different page layouts. + Multiple columns, including columns that are not all the same width. + Pictures that flow with the text, or pictures that text flows around. + Private notes that don’t print. + Simple tables and lists. + Borders around paragraphs, tables, and pictures. + View different parts of the document at the same time. + Styles for text, paragraphs, tables, and chapters. You can set up formats that you use often, apply them easily to anything of the same type, and change the formatting everywhere by changing it once. If you’re looking for a program that can create documents containing videos, PDFs, and text boxes placed anywhere on the page, check out our Growly Notes app. Write is not a note-taking program, a high-end do-everything-for-everyone word processor, or a rocket ship. There are many things we left out on purpose: - No footnotes. - No hyphenation or grammar checking. - No text boxes. - No built-in drawing tools. - No fancy view modes. - No web page creation tools. - No macros or built-in programming language. - No equation editor. - No unnecessary complications. - Nothing that can’t be useful to home, school, and small business users. Every feature in Write is something that we’ve used ourselves. At GrowlyBird, we believe that the most popular word processors went wrong by trying to fulfill every need that any user anywhere in the world might ever have, all in one package. The end result was often an unbearably ugly app that no normal person would want to use, and that many normal people can’t use. Write is something different: small and simple but capable."
Derekcurrie
Derekcurrie
Sep 7 2023
2.4.7
4.0
Sep 7 2023
4.0
Version: 2.4.7
Annie-Walker
Annie-Walker
Jan 6 2023
2.4.4
5.0
Jan 6 2023
5.0
Version: 2.4.4
zlazkow
zlazkow
Jan 6 2023
2.4.4
5.0
Jan 6 2023
5.0
Version: 2.4.4
Dcannis
Dcannis
May 21 2021
2.3.3
5.0
May 21 2021
5.0
Version: 2.3.3
Beamy
Beamy
Aug 19 2020
5.0
Aug 19 2020
5.0
Version: null
albertop9
albertop9
Apr 1 2020
1.0
Apr 1 2020
1.0
Version: null
AlphJack
AlphJack
Feb 9 2020
5.0
Feb 9 2020
5.0
Version: null
Trance
Trance
Aug 29 2018
5.0
Aug 29 2018
5.0
Version: null
Freenergy
Freenergy
Dec 29 2015
4.5
Dec 29 2015
4.5
Version: null
Magosilvan
Magosilvan
Apr 14 2015
5.0
Apr 14 2015
5.0
Version: null
Sjha
Sjha
Jan 4 2015
4.5
Jan 4 2015
4.5
Version: null
Spank-Me-Baby
Spank-Me-Baby
Aug 19 2014
4.0
Aug 19 2014
4.0
Version: null
M-Rick
M-Rick
Jun 25 2014
3.0
Jun 25 2014
3.0
Version: null
Arnauld
Arnauld
May 15 2014
5.0
May 15 2014
5.0
Version: null
Alex111
Alex111
May 10 2014
4.5
May 10 2014
4.5
Version: null
priehl
priehl
May 25 2013
5.0
May 25 2013
5.0
Version: null
Chetgw
Chetgw
May 10 2013
4.5
May 10 2013
4.5
Version: null
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Absolutely Free
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