Existing users, 
I've just spent a fruitless, frustrating morning researching a bunch of the blog editors on VersionTracker. It seems that no one app combines the ability both to edit with ease AND connect to blog services of your choice. Yes, I know you can edit stuff online, but I prefer the ease of use of good desktop software, and need the ability to work offline when a net connection is not available.
MarsEdit has great connectivity and is the only program than will perform a 2-way sync with your blog (so you can edit either online or in MarsEdit). Other apps either take a copy of your blog if you're lucky, or don't offer any hosted blog service integration at all. (If I wanted an app to build my blog into a website, I'd choose RapidWeaver, which will handle the blog stuff well and give me a bunch of other goodies as well :)
BUT - MarsEdit will ONLY edit raw HTML. Doh! I'm fluent in HTML, but I REALLY don't want to have to worry about it when blogging. I want to focus on my content. It does allow you to paste in some preset HTML tags, and define your own, but these things fall flat if you move beyond any basic formatting. Like using bulleted lists. I find it hard to believe that web-based editors provide better visual editing than a desktop app. If the developer would add these features (download RapidWeaver's free demo & add a blog entry if you want to see what I mean), it would be a perfect app. Meanwhile, it has to be a three.
MarsEdit
Weblog editor makes weblog writing like writing email.
Version: 2.3.3
Aaaagh! Why no WYSIWYG?? Would be perfect otherwise!
Feedback Type: Review
Contributed by: SGLsurvey Friday, October 26 2007 @ 05:27 AM PDT
Product Platform: MacOSX
Used Product For: Less than a month
Recommend Product: NO
Overall Rating:
Comments
Re: Aaaagh! Why no WYSIWYG?? Would be perfect otherwise! - redsweaterdaniel
Hi - I'm the developer of MarsEdit. Thanks for your feedback. I'm glad you recognize some of the benefits of MarsEdit, and I'm sorry the lack of WYSIWYG caused you such frustration.I understand the demand for a WYSIWYG editing mode, but other features have taken priority up to now. The reason your "dream app" doesn't exist yet is probably because it's so hard to do any one of the dream features perfectly. With MarsEdit I've focused a lot on doing the blogging workflow things right, since I know how important those are to my users. I could have dropped everything and spent months adding nothing but WYSIWYG support, but I think the majority of my existing users are much happier that I added innovating features such as the Flickr integration.
It's just the way it works in software. No matter what you prioritize and choose to add first, somebody is going to be disappointed. Hang in there, and hopefully someday I'll be able to get you to help lift MarsEdit's ratings back out of the three-star zone.
Daniel
Thursday, November 01 2007 @ 07:52 AM PDT
Re: Aaaagh! Why no WYSIWYG?? Would be perfect otherwise! - redsweaterdaniel
Hi - I'm the developer of MarsEdit. Thanks for your feedback. I'm glad you recognize some of the benefits of MarsEdit, and I'm sorry the lack of WYSIWYG caused you such frustration.I understand the demand for a WYSIWYG editing mode, but other features have taken priority up to now. The reason your "dream app" doesn't exist yet is probably because it's so hard to do any one of the dream features perfectly. With MarsEdit I've focused a lot on doing the blogging workflow things right, since I know how important those are to my users. I could have dropped everything and spent months adding nothing but WYSIWYG support, but I think the majority of my existing users are much happier that I added innovating features such as the Flickr integration.
It's just the way it works in software. No matter what you prioritize and choose to add first, somebody is going to be disappointed. Hang in there, and hopefully someday I'll be able to get you to help lift MarsEdit's ratings back out of the three-star zone.
Daniel
Thursday, November 01 2007 @ 08:31 AM PDT
Re: Aaaagh! Why no WYSIWYG?? Would be perfect otherwise! - Andrew D
Very diplomatic reply! I have just started using MarsEdit and like it a lot, while also hoping for better, esp. image handling. Rather than write it all, perhaps a deal with another company to integrate features.... e.g., Skitch? I'm surprised Apple hasn't provided better support/uniformity in this area.Monday, March 10 2008 @ 10:21 AM PDT
Very simple WYSIWYG - decadence
Hello Daniel,You know what we need: Really simple WYSIWYG. i.e. sort of WYSIWYG.
You don't need to offer all the tags in your WYSIWYG, neither to add nor to display. Just don't delete our custom tags when you switch (an Ecto bugbear throughout version 1 & 2 - not sure about version 3) views between HTML and WYSIWYG.
Bold, italic, lists, code, pre. That about covers what we need from the WYSIWYG. The fancy stuff we will do in HTML for ourselves.
Approached that way, I don't think it would very difficult to add a simplified WYSIWYG mode.
Get it done.
Please.
(another license owner who doesn't use MarsEdit for the same reason)
Sunday, September 28 2008 @ 06:19 PM PDT
Aaaagh! Why no WYSIWYG?? Would be perfect otherwise! - mikepower
I've used every editor available for Macs and in the end I settled for the Firefox add-on, ScribeFire. I've posted several thousand times with it and though not perfect (and possibly not for everyone) it certainly meets all my needs.Thursday, October 23 2008 @ 03:00 AM PDT
Re: Aaaagh! Why no WYSIWYG?? Would be perfect otherwise! - redsweaterdaniel
Hi - I'm the developer of MarsEdit. Thanks for your feedback. I'm glad you recognize some of the benefits of MarsEdit, and I'm sorry the lack of WYSIWYG caused you such frustration.I understand the demand for a WYSIWYG editing mode, but other features have taken priority up to now. The reason your "dream app" doesn't exist yet is probably because it's so hard to do any one of the dream features perfectly. With MarsEdit I've focused a lot on doing the blogging workflow things right, since I know how important those are to my users. I could have dropped everything and spent months adding nothing but WYSIWYG support, but I think the majority of my existing users are much happier that I added innovating features such as the Flickr integration.
It's just the way it works in software. No matter what you prioritize and choose to add first, somebody is going to be disappointed. Hang in there, and hopefully someday I'll be able to get you to help lift MarsEdit's ratings back out of the three-star zone.
Daniel
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Thursday, November 01 2007 @ 07:46 AM PDT