NOTE: IF you use the iOS app of MacJournal, keep in mind that the Mac version 7.x series onward is NOT COMPATIBLE, nor will it ever be. The dev has taken back control of MacJournal from Mariner and has NO interest in updating their iOS app. I.E. keep a copy of v6.2.2 around if you want to sync the Mac version with the iOS version. That's the ONLY way to do it. Kinda sad, but that's the facts.
MacJournal was ground-breaking and still is an amazing application. I'm so glad to see that Dan Schimpf has kept it alive. These days, you'd get (you DO get) developers asking for subscriptions for apps half as good, and this is free. I'm so hoping that development will continue.
Thanks for the quick update, Dan (and don't abandon High Sierra IF YOU CAN OR explain to me what the bloody hell has 10.14 that 13 doesn't have; maybe Metal support?)
Was (will) it NECESSARY to drop the support to High Sierra?
It's a serious question because I still have to know which advantages it has (disadvantages A LOT: like in this case, it stops to be compatible with THE BEST System Utilities and programs (opps… yes-yes, I know: now they call them 'apps' … wurgh…).
I have lost all but the first sentence of the last 3 blog articles I entered into MacJournal. I have version 7.0.1. I have loved this software but these are huge losses for me and I will have to stop using it.
NOTE: IF you use the iOS app of MacJournal, keep in mind that the Mac version 7.x series onward is NOT COMPATIBLE, nor will it ever be. The dev has taken back control of MacJournal from Mariner and has NO interest in updating their iOS app. I.E. keep a copy of v6.2.2 around if you want to sync the Mac version with the iOS version. That's the ONLY way to do it. Kinda sad, but that's the facts.
I was worried: why no one is rating this little gem? Why no updates? Well, I was happy to see it not 'abandoned' and I (who use it by when it was created!) will consider by now my duty to 'review' it in the collaborative attitude to help to make it easier, nicer, a pleasure to be used, not just as 'own journal' but also as a kind of open book gathering own thoughts, meditations, lessons had by life and experience, visions, ideals, an intellectual heritage.
What Is This v6.2.2? -> Dan Schimpf, the developer of MacJournal, took back his software from Mariner. He released v6.2.2 in February, 2019, as a transitional version to his now FREE version 7.x. You can find Dan's website at: - - https://danschimpf.com - - HERE are the RELEASE NOTES for v6.2.2: -> 6.2.2, A bridge to a new generation 22 February 2019
• Fixed an issue with iOS sync with trashed entries.
• Fixed a hang exporting entries without any text to PDF.
• Improved behavior of the font name and size toolbar items when selecting text with multiple fonts in it.
• Added hidden pref to hide the exit and autoscroll buttons in Focused Editing.
• Fixed issue formatting some links in HTML.
• Fixed a potential crash when exporting some books.
• Fixed title pages for "Case Wrap" and "Digest" book templates.
• Fixed a problem where entries without any text would not show up when printing without starting a new page for each entry.
• Fixed crash changing an icon in macOS High Sierra.
• Added hidden pref to add a paragraph spacing for pasted text.
• Improved performance for large backups to individual files.
• Fixed a problem importing related files to an entry when that entry is also in a smart journal somewhere.
• Added a way to play audio attachments from the attachments popover.
• Fixed an issue that could cause iOS syncs to fail.
• Fixed an issue exporting a book to PDF that would end up with blank PDFs.
• Added a way to import entries from DayOne. - -> IMPORTANT: Dan Schimpf will NOT be supporting the iOS app for MacJournal ! ! ! Therefore, if you want to continue to use the (somewhat buggy) iOS app with your Mac, you'll need to use MacJournal v6.x to do so! v7.0 is iOS syncing illiterate. BEG and PLEAD with Dan to support the iOS app! I have already done so. Please add your voice!!!
MacJournal 7.x is out and its free. The original developer has taken it back over. You can learn more about that from his website. https://danschimpf.com.
HI All.
I just got a new macBook Pro and my very early version 1.11.2 of MacJournal has disappeared . ALLl my writings are . WHERE? I can not seem to retrieve them in the new MacJournal except a couple. I DO not want to loose all that writing. Suggestions?
I have it on my IPHONE and it's still operational. Might I somehow dump all that writing into the new on on my mac and if so, how might do that.
Any help would be greatly appreciated.
jeanne
IMPORTANT: MacJournal is now at version 7.0, FREE and available exclusively HERE:
https://danschimpf.com
DO NOT BUY IT! Mariner now have nothing to do with MacJournal. It has been returned to its original developer as of March 1, 2019. Here is new information from Dan Schimpf:
"A message about the transition from Mariner Software
"Hello everyone! After a long and productive relationship with Mariner Software, MacJournal is returning home to be distributed here by its original developer. There are a few important details that will have to change as a result. First of all, MacJournal will be distributed exclusively on this website for now. The versions on the various App Stores will be removed as current App Store rules do not allow us to transfer them. Secondly, MacJournal will be distributed for free, just as it was when it got started almost 18 years ago. Third, there is a new version out today! You can see details for version 7 on this site and download the release now. Prior versions running on systems that can support version 7 will see an automatic update later this week. And finally, since support will also be back to a single person, support via email will be constrained. I will try to get back to everyone that writes, but there could be some delays so I thank everyone for their patience in advance. I'm excited about this next chapter of MacJournal and about the new release!"
There is no information about MacJournal for iOS at this time. Theoretically, it is, or will be, no longer available. The iOS version still sort-of works but has detrimental bugs that make it annoying to use, the worst of which is when it shoves the body of entries directly under an entry's header text, creating chaos. Please contact Dan Schimpf if you'd like him to revive the iOS version. I certainly do! It used to be one of the best cross platform text writing and editing solutions.
My first impression of MacJournal 7.0 is that it is excellent! I'll be reviewing it as soon as MU catches up with these changes. I see no point in posting a 7.0 review until that time.
This may be of interest to some MacUpdate readers, as MacJournal seems abandonware here.
MacJournal 7 - danschimpf.com
<< After a long and productive relationship with Mariner Software, MacJournal is returning home to be distributed here by its original developer. [...] Secondly, MacJournal will be distributed for free >>
High Sierra and above, there is also a v6.2.2 for Mavericks and above.
It does not work with Tumblr. Perhaps it is the page's problem since none of the tested applications, including the official AppStore, works. It does not allow you to identify yourself, and therefore neither publishes nor downloads any of your blogs. As long as they do not check it, the program is useless.
Hi, I just love the icon feature in MacJournal. I love images and hooking one to each Journal is so fun. However, they are sooo tiny! i would like to make them bigger to enjoy them more - kind of like you can make the icons bigger in the Mac dock. HINT, HINT!
No updates since 2016. I bought this app a long time ago and abandoned it after getting tired of bugs in the iOS app. (Using it on both Mac and iPhone was important to me, so iOS usability mattered in deciding what to do with the Mac version.) I'm glad I abandoned it and got the personal data out before the app stops working. It is a class case of why I won't use this type of app again. Day One, etc. are all "roach motel" when it comes to storing your personal data. It's best to keep my personal thoughts in plain text files stored in an encrypted disk image. People waste so much time moving from one app to another every time someone decides to abandon an app like this. Always make sure your data is accessible outside your app.
No updates since 2016? This app used to be regularly updated and improved once upon a time. Alas, it’s interface now seems outdated and ‘clunky. in comparison to other alternatives. (I know 2016 isn’t that long ago, but I’m pretty sure version 6 has been out for a while before then).
Use it every day. Brilliant. Does exactly what it says it does on the tin. As far as I can tell it is the only Mariner app that is regularly updated and spiffed up. And that applies to the iOS version for iPads and also the iOS version for iPhone apps.
My version (6.1.x) uses the old unpatched Sparkle framework. Visited their site but their SSL certificate has expired since 2 weeks ago. Doesn't look good. Better be extra careful these days.
I use Apple Notes for this. I create folders for months and years, title my days with the date and make my entries using bullets. Backup is automatic, and it can be shared with other devices with iCloud. Notes now allow sorting in various modes (Latest version of El Capitan). It also allows the attachment of documents and graphics. I also have a "Services" as a contextual menu a keyboard shortcut that enters the current date as the title with a single keypress. What more do you really need? Besides that it is already free and installed on every Mac running OS X.
Just erased all data except for 2 entries. Erased or deleted thousands of phone numbers and other info. I have backups. That is IT. Together gets better. Nvalt is best. Thank goodness for NValt.
Simpe = better.
Is it just me or do the 'pages' in MacJournal jump and move in jerky fashion when you try to place the cursor in certain places? I keep a lot of notes and often-used stuff in MacJournal but I always have to be careful of the page jumping around, often winding up in another area altogether.
My "go-to" has lately been nvALT to store such notes because it's simple and solid, but no longer in development. I'm leaving MacJournal behind because, with all its bells and whistles, it comes up short for blogging and note-keeping.
Still a nice, if overdone, app. Simple for me is better. For me.
Okay, so I love this app. I've been using it for years. But I am frustrated that the last few updates have all just really been bugged out. The update that I paid to do a year ago- came with some weird glitch that affected all of my color-coding. Then today I just updated to the latest version, and every single button is blank. They work, but they're totally blank- kind of a pain if I want to do ANYTHING. MacJournal, I am torn. I use your Journal more than any other writing program I have, but every update I've done has only caused me grief.
6.14 hangs on first launch, requiring Force Quit. Completely Uninstalling MacJ, downloading a fresh copy from Mariner's website, entering my registration number (accepted) the program hung again, Force Quit again.
OS X 10.10 YOSEMITE
--
iMac (21.5-inch, Mid 2011)
Model Identifier: iMac12,1
Processor Name: Intel Core i5
Processor Speed: 2.5 GHz
Number of Processors: 1
Total Number of Cores: 4
L2 Cache (per Core): 256 KB
L3 Cache: 6 MB
Memory: 16 GB
Boot ROM Version: IM121.0047.B1F
SMC Version (system): 1.71f22
This release (v6.1.3) seems to allow spotlight to index entries and tags inside multiple journal categories once again. Thanks guys for finally bringing this (important to me) feature back to life.
I've been a MacJournal user since 2009 and find it indispensable when storing away random thoughts, info, and tips inside an efficient and easily searchable database.
Ugh. I don't know what happened between MacJournal 5.x and MacJournal 6.x, but for some inexplicable reason it steadfastly refuses to download posts from either my Blogger account or my Tumblr account, repeatedly insisting that the blog server "could not be found" or "does not exist"...even though both accounts work fine in my web browser (yes, I even made sure to log out of all of my other Google accounts before trying with Blogger), and both accounts work perfectly in MarsEdit.
Searching for help on the internet yields links to support forum posts from people who've had similar problems in the past, but those are 404'd because Mariner Software has basically deleted their support forums. To add insult to injury, Mariner's new Knowledgebase is completely useless in resolving this issue. Nor is it helpful in providing easy steps for adding external blog accounts to MacJournal, a process which is still opaque, awkward and clunky for users (as opposed to MarsEdit, where it's direct and dead simple).
MacJournal is still a very solid app for offline journaling, but for any kind of online blogging, it's frustrating and nigh-useless to me.
The current link to the download is 404-ing. Apparently, we have to go through the marketing ringer in order to directly download it (versus updating from inside MacJournal). Here's the only URL I have found so far. BEWARE the fine print check boxes!
https://marinersoftware.com/products/macjournal/#open-download
Complexity abounds here, but it's still my go-to app for all things great and small. Stable and reliable. "Search" never seemed to work for me too well but that's probably me. Good stuff.
MacJournal is wonderful, I've been using it for many years but I'm starting to wish for a real update. It's been a l-o-n-g time since the last major update and the interface is looking a bit out-of-date. I wish MJ would take some interface cues from Evernote which looks really good but I don't use because I refuse to use cloud services for private information. Plus Evernote doesn't have anywhere near the features of MJ such as timed locking, encryption, wifi sync, text tools, blogging and much more. I love it, but please update!
Does anyone know if MJ 5.2.8 is compatible with OS X Mavericks? I did a quick search of the home page and the FAQs on Mariner's site but didn't come up with anything helpful.
Thanks.
Awesome update! I would say that version 6 is way better then version 5 which was already a very good product. The different ways to view the dates of your entries are outstanding, the ability to mark your entry by your mood is a nice touch, more space is now set aside for writing in, the icon for each entry is helpful, etc.
If you read some of the negative reviews they will talk about how loading your journal online is a problem. I haven't tried this myself but I think this is ok, in fact I prefer for it not to work. I heard an interview with Oprah where she said she didn't want to load any of her journals online since there would always be people smarter then her who knew how to break into them. I think this was a wise thing to say. I keep a journal since there are things I want to keep private and I don't want anyone to read. The more difficult for those people to break into my journal the better. If blogging is so important to the people who gave this product one star maybe they just need to look around at other software that is really designed for blogging rather then trying to use a journal app to blog. I wish I could write a 5 star review to go up against the people on the MAS that gave it one star.
That being said here are a few little tweaks I would love to see in version 7.
- Make tagging easier, that little tagging box is way to small I can only see about 2-3 tags at a time. Perhaps tagging should work with Mavericks tags but the tags would somehow have to disappear when I lock the journal. Hmm, maybe that wouldn't be possible?
- The ability to browse versions of journals over time would be nice (similar to how it is done in Pages.) It looks like MJ has a feature kind of like this but it doesn't seem to work as well as it does in Pages.
- Background images - It is quite difficult to determine how a background image is going to look once you import it. If you have a photo that is high res it will only show you a small portion of the image since MJ always displays the photo in 100% view. This is a problem since most my photos are high res. Don't make me have to resize a photo every time I want to use it, there should be a more elegant solution then that.
So all in all a great update. I rated the features for this app 4.5 out of 5. Just a few little tweaks and things will be working really well.
I give MJ its due, for it has improved steadily over time. It does now successfully connect to some blog systems with ease (Blogger), though with others it still has problems. And its dependance on Atom instead of the Blogger native API is something of a let down. But more than this, one thing it doesn't do well is provide a legitimate "layout / publishing" functionality where online journaling (blogging) is concerned.
Although I am not a "journaler" per se (and not to be confused with a "journalist"), I had hoped for more from MJ in the way of online journaling. That is, formating more than just basic text to make an actual online article look like a semi-professional article. It does not. It lacks some of the basics such as tiered headers, effective indentation, floating / wrap / and gap (margin or padding) for images and other none textual objects.
Without these, the interaction between online and offline journaling is incomplete at best... and about 5 years out of date at the worst.
Oh well, Mariner, you really need to pay attention. You have the opportunity to do something that would jump you ahead of the pack and bring something to the Mac world for which it has always lagged behind Windows and Linux. Take a hint, this is your opportunity to shine, for there are plenty of basic to advanced diary and journal apps already available for OS X.
I really like MacJournal and I want to use it; however, it does not work with Tumblr as it claims to. If anyone has got it to work I'd really appreciate it if you could post the settings.
I have been using MJ for a few years now. Maybe not for its exact intended purpose of journaling or blogging. But to keep track of many things in my life.
My question here is how long will this license be good for? I worry that I will buy this version only to find Mariner putting out a new version in 3-6 months that requires me to shell out another $40.
I do love MJ...but it is not the only program I could use.
Unfortunately it would appear MacJournal is not comparable with OS 10.8.2 and or iOS 6 as it no longer syncs and the desktop application now just crashes after a few minutes of running. I hope they fix this soon as I use this software every day and at the moment it is dead in the water. Curious that it's on special right now.... I wouldn't make a commitment to it right now if you are on iOS 6 or 10.8.2 as you may be very frustrated by it.
I am a long time user of MJ, but am no longer sure I can recommend it to others. In fact, I believe the app may be at a crossroads right now (at least it is for me). While MJ is certainly, by some length, the fullest featured, most well established journaling app out there, much of the recently added functionality (especially that added from v. 5.X to 6.x) will not be useful or necessary to the average user looking for a simple journaling application. Power users looking for an app to help them multitask with multiple blogs/journals will likely still find MJ to be the best for their usage. Additionally, I find the interface to be less intuitive as major versions are released, as well.
There are a lot of journaling apps which have popped up over the last year or so, and at substantially lower prices (and with substantially better iOS complements and syncing). I would recommend strongly following the development of those apps before jumping in here. I know I am a feature update or two away from jumping to one of them, full time.
For those who decide MJ is for them, I would strongly urge you to purchase it from Mariner's website and not through the MAS, where updates can take a long, long time to be released. As an example, a Mountain Lion compatible version (6.0.5) was released to direct purchasers on 7/26. As of the date of this post - almost a month later - no MAS (and hence no ML compatible) version is available through the MAS (and with no word or updates by Mariner to its customers). Also, the iCloud syncing promised on this product long ago has yet to be implemented, so even if you want to buy the accompanying iOS apps, Dropbox is the only way to do so at this point, further negating any reason to purchase through the MAS.
Bottom line: while this may be the fullest featured journaling app out there, I no longer feel as though it's feature set is worthy of its very high price tag (relative to the other apps in the category), development of the other apps seems to be progressing at a much faster rate and purchase through the MAS will lead to frustration and delay on the part of the user. Recommended only for power users in need of a blogging/journaling app.
Be careful to update to 6.0.5. I'd to go back to 6.0.3. When I open MacJournal and close the windows, it's unpossible do have another window. Obligation to quit...
I've used this for a few months now for a record of daily work and home activities and it works well. I've tried other apps to function as diary record but this is easy to enter data and search and in particular, great syncing. It's great to have diary record on iphone on ipad that I can tag and search easily so when my wife asked me yesterday if I remembered when my daughter's last tetanus injection was (required by her upcoming school camp), I could look it up in a few seconds (and she was impressed). It's not the prettiest interface but very functional. I struggled to import previous years information but worth it in the end to be able to carry around all the information with me.
Please add support for OS X 10.8 Mountain Lion.
I rely on this app for day-to-day work and it is shirking its responsibility. At least it finally made me go to Devon Office Pro and that is great - if a little opaque, not as intuitive as MJ. The old MJ was just so good. I hanker for the elegance and simplicity of that version.
I have a request.
Could we have have the old MacJournal back? One that runs on Lion?
After V2, it got really messy. A billion features (and icons) but very difficult to use 'on the fly'.
I want to like V6. But it's hard. When I import a PDF, for example, there is no way to resize it. And V6 doesn't want to remember window sizes and positions.
Maybe a 'lite' version for those of us who are just too old to waste hours to learn about all the superfluous functions. You could even charge $19.95... I'm getting the distinct impression that to UPGRADE MJ means to get MORE FEATURES.
I think upgrading should enhance user accessibility and make the app more human-friendly. Just sayin'.
Very Nice program. Version 6 adds a lot of useful novel features: Unfortunately, the tagging procedure is not compatible with open_meta applications. This is would be a must to gather macjournal information in a working program linked by various tags
Does this update work from within MacJournal? When I click on 'check for updates' I get 'you have the latest version'...
I'm of the mind that you don't post your updates on-line until you are completely good to go.
And ... I sure do miss the old icons. Option to switch to colored icons hereby requested.
V6 is OK. My review is entirely subjective.
If I could go back in time and get a version of 2.5 that magically ran on Lion I would do it. They are all PPC versions, though.
Why? It was just so quick, and simple, and uncluttered.
I used it for addresses, emails, and not much else.
The search function worked great.
But 6 is good. I miss all the icon colors but that's Lion so it's OK... Just very very feature-rich. Tool bar options are innumerable. In the age of Adobe, that's a good thing.
I guess.
I have been using MJ since the free version. Even made a donation at that time (v.2.xx).
I have bought licenses for the version 4 & 5.
It's a very good app. Using it for data base, blogging, note taking, and much more... All over the years it has been rock solid and well integrated with the OS'(S).
Downloaded version 6. It offers some more bells and whistles some are interesting others less. Decided to wait before I pay for an upgrade. Surprise!!! MJ 5 doesn't open the .mjdoc file anymore (message: the file has been modified...). Well, I do have a backup, so the issue was fixed within minutes.
My point is: how come there's no mention about this? That's a completely unacceptable behavior. A warning should be the minimum requested. Shame on you Mariner Software. You're a bunch of M***erf**kers, or are you just part of a circus?
Well, perhaps, I have to remind you I have bought your app for my work!
Moreover one of the issue I've mentioned to you and would have liked to be fixed hasn't been done.
Time to look for another journaling app?
Most helpful
How would you rate MacJournal app?
Read 287 MacJournal User Reviews
https://danschimpf.com
DO NOT BUY IT! Mariner now have nothing to do with MacJournal. It has been returned to its original developer as of March 1, 2019. Here is new information from Dan Schimpf:
"A message about the transition from Mariner Software
"Hello everyone! After a long and productive relationship with Mariner Software, MacJournal is returning home to be distributed here by its original developer. There are a few important details that will have to change as a result. First of all, MacJournal will be distributed exclusively on this website for now. The versions on the various App Stores will be removed as current App Store rules do not allow us to transfer them. Secondly, MacJournal will be distributed for free, just as it was when it got started almost 18 years ago. Third, there is a new version out today! You can see details for version 7 on this site and download the release now. Prior versions running on systems that can support version 7 will see an automatic update later this week. And finally, since support will also be back to a single person, support via email will be constrained. I will try to get back to everyone that writes, but there could be some delays so I thank everyone for their patience in advance. I'm excited about this next chapter of MacJournal and about the new release!"
There is no information about MacJournal for iOS at this time. Theoretically, it is, or will be, no longer available. The iOS version still sort-of works but has detrimental bugs that make it annoying to use, the worst of which is when it shoves the body of entries directly under an entry's header text, creating chaos. Please contact Dan Schimpf if you'd like him to revive the iOS version. I certainly do! It used to be one of the best cross platform text writing and editing solutions.
My first impression of MacJournal 7.0 is that it is excellent! I'll be reviewing it as soon as MU catches up with these changes. I see no point in posting a 7.0 review until that time.
Steadily supported and updated.
Fast replies from support.