Ulysses User Reviews

Ulysses GmbH & Co. KG

Top reviews

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Great Storage Ability

I have used Ulysses and Scrivener for years. It is a great program for synchronizing on other devices and storage.I appreciate the recent addition of tables and the limited ability I have to use images and layout. The grammar checking has also greatly improved. I used to write in Scivener but have now written my last 8 books on Ulysses. Now I can use Grammarly in Ulysses I edit as I go along. My next hope is for an excellent thesaurus.

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Denys T

15 days ago

Response from developer

Thank you so much for your thoughtful review! We're delighted to hear how Ulysses has become an integral part of your writing process and that you're enjoying features like tables, improved grammar checking, and Grammarly integration. It’s truly inspiring to know you’ve written your last eight books with Ulysses! We’re always working to make Ulysses even better, and we’d love to hear more about your needs for a thesaurus or any other features you'd find helpful. Please don’t hesitate to contact us at help@ulysses.app—your feedback is invaluable. Thank you for your continued support, and happy writing! —Andrea

Excellent writing tool

There are plenty of minimalist, focus-friendly writing apps out there, but for my money Ulysses stands out. The user interface is well-structured: it shows you only what you need to organise projects, collate your text and track progress... and then gets out of the way when you don't need it, letting you contentrate on the words. And (my favourite aspect) you get a really fine level of control over what the output looks like when you export it. I've written two books in it now, and found no need to look elsewhere.

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misha-non-penguin

a month ago

Response from developer

Thank you for your kind words and for supporting us with your subscription! We’re delighted that Ulysses helps you stay focused and gives you the control you need to bring your projects to life. It’s inspiring to know the app has been part of your journey in writing two books. Happy writing, and thank you again for being part of our community! —Andrea

wish i knew how to actually use this app?

i find this app to hold everthing I write and keep it where ever i save it within the app itself, with the other app I tried prior to this one, i would write 5 chapters save write another 5 chapters then save with the other 5 chapters, then save go back to write more and find 3 chapters up to the entire 10 written to be gone, no where to be found, disappeared without a trace, this happened with multible different apps and i just deleted all of them and seen this on read its reveiws and said why not? and tried one more time with it, and allthough i have not figured out the bulk of this app and how to use it properly as yet, I currently have 4 different books started over the last almost 3 years and it has not crashed once and still has every single letter i have typed exactly where i typed it at. my ability to utilize this app is exactly that, " My inability" not this apps. I will eventaully either figure out what i have to and finish a project within this app or i will find someone who can and ask them to do it

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BigJohn7763

2 months ago

Response from developer

Thank you so much for your thoughtful review and for trusting us with your writing projects! We’re thrilled to hear that Ulysses has provided a reliable and stable space for all your work, especially after your previous experiences. Your feedback truly means a lot to us. We understand that learning a new app can take time, but rest assured, we’re here to help! You can find comprehensive guides and tutorials on how to use Ulysses at help.ulysses.app. And if you have any specific questions or need assistance, don’t hesitate to reach out to our team at help@ulysses.app. We’ll be happy to help you make the most of the app and support you on your writing journey. Thank you again for your trust and support! —The Ulysses Team

Top marks

I've used Ulysses for a few weeks on a single project. A couple of things stand out. First, it looks good, works smoothly, specially the iCloud sync - and it's easy to learn. There's plenty of support, and when I had to ask about something, the company's response very helpful indeed. As well, I'm getting to see what the creators mean by 'an ideal writer's workspace'. It really is, somehow, a most congemnial place to put thoughts on paper. Highly recommended.

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Grandkidzfuture

3 months ago

Response from developer

Thank you for your wonderful review and for supporting Ulysses through your subscription! We’re delighted to hear that you’re enjoying the app and finding it to be an ideal workspace for your writing. Your feedback about the smooth experience, iCloud sync, and our support team means a lot to us. We truly appreciate your recommendation and are here to support you as you continue your writing journey! —Andrea

Simply great

I love the simplicity of this app. I use it for all my long-form writing. I've used it for blogging, for podcast scripting, and for writing my memoir.

For all of these tasks, the writing experience is beautifully simple and enjoyable. The organisational tools are similarly straightforward and a joy to use.

I also love the included capability to check my writing for grammar, which is a great help in my memoir.

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zkarj

4 months ago

Response from developer

Thank you so much for your wonderful review! We're thrilled to hear that our app is helping you with such a variety of projects, from blogging and podcast scripting to writing your memoir. It's fantastic to know that you find the writing experience simple and enjoyable, and that our app's tools and features are useful for you. Thank you for sharing this with others and supporting our work with your review and subscription! Happy writing! —Andrea

A great experience for non-serious writers with money to burn

There are great things about this app. It is genuinely a joy to use but here are the things that hold it back from being a consideration for those serious about writing:

- Impossible to effectively save or back up your projects. (projects being anything in the Ulysees project format)
- Asks for an expensive subscription model without delivering anything worth subscribing to (no roadmap, no improvements, no attempt to improve on the basis of online feedback)
- Mac/IOS only. Will only sync to iCloud in 2024?!
- Several people online have lost weeks/months of work from poorly designed software updates

In short, your projects are not saveable, they cannot be effectively backed up, and you will be locked into a subscription payments in order to access your work.

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Is That Engelbert Humperdinck?

6 months ago

Response from developer

We appreciate your feedback and your acknowledgment of the positive aspects of our app. We are happy to hear you enjoy writing with Ulysses! As we understand your concerns, we'd like to address them in order. • In regards to saving and backing up projects: Of course, you can create manual backups in addition to the automatic backups Ulysses creates at regular intervals and the copy of your work that will be stored in your personal iCloud account if you utilize the iCloud section of your library. Find more information here: ulys.app/backup If you're encountering difficulties with saving or backing up your projects, we're here to assist you. • Regarding Ulysses being a subscription app: While we understand the preference for single-purchase apps, transitioning to a subscription model was a carefully considered decision. It's crucial for sustaining Ulysses' quality and supporting ongoing development. For more details, please visit ulys.app/move. Since we switched to subscription, we're proud to announce that we've developed highly requested features. Recent additions include tables, math support, widgets, and projects. Visit ulysses.app/features for a full list. Additionally, we offer discounts for students and academic staff to support users with low income. Please feel free to apply if you are eligible. • Ulysses is available exclusively on Mac and iOS platforms with synchronization via iCloud Drive. Unfortunately, we don't have any plans to bring Ulysses to the Windows or Android platform, at least not in the foreseeable future. The main reason is we simply don't have the time and resources to develop it. In addition, there are technical limitations: Windows and Android don't support many of the core features of Ulysses such as iCloud, Apple's text layout system, etc. Windows is also quite fragmented, which makes testing and developing an app much harder. That said, we do have an open ticket to port Ulysses to web-based platform and I’ve counted your vote for that feature. We are currently collecting use cases for such a feature and would be interested in yours if you’d like to share it with us. Kindly get in touch with our support team. • As to synchronization options, you can also embed an external folder and use Dropbox to sync your content. For more information, please take a look at the following guide on our website: ulys.app/external • Regarding sync issues, while some users encounter them, content loss is very uncommon. If sync problems arise, typically after OS updates when users get logged out of iCloud by Apple as a security measure, the library may appear empty. However, following the steps outlined in our iCloud FAQ (ulys.app/icloud) usually resolves the issue, restoring users' work. Furthermore, our app creates automatic backups at regular intervals to keep your content safe. These backups are stored locally on your device and not subject to sync. • Finally, we want to clarify that users aren't locked into Ulysses. Even without an active subscription, you can always access your work and export it to all available formats. However, once the subscription expires, Ulysses becomes read-only, preventing users from editing existing documents or creating new ones. We hope this clears things up. If you have more questions, feel free to reach out to us at help@ulysses.app. We're here to assist and appreciate the chance to address your feedback. —Andrea

An excellent app for writing anywhere and organizinf your workflow

Essential to my workflow. Love the way everything is available on every device and that you can create smart folder using tags. It makes it very easy to move pieces through the writing process. To move a piece from the Notes folder to the Writing folder, to Review, to Published I just update the tags.

This one is a bit niche, but I love the fact that I can write in Ulysses and publish direct to Ghost. Saves so much time.

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MuddyDogs

8 months ago

Response from developer

We're delighted to hear that you appreciate Ulysses' cross-device accessibility and organizational features. It's an honor to be considered an essential part of your workflow! We're also glad that our integration with Ghost has saved you valuable time - facilitating the journey from Notes to Writing, to Review, and finally to Published. Thank you for sharing your experience and supporting our work through your review and subscription. Your support means a lot to us! — Andrea

Impeccable

If you're looking for simplicity of design and weight of performance, this text editor is unsurpassable. From the clarity of its organisation - your entire library folllows you on every device - to the clarity of its presentation, Ulysses is worth every penny of its annual subscription price. What is it, a decent London coffee per month?

Of course, even at that price you'd certainly need to be a dedicated writer, amateur or professional, to make the most of its well considered toolset. But if you're a journalist, authior, aspiring author, blogger - well, you won't go wrong with it.

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Syd_Stone

10 months ago

Response from developer

Thank you for your wonderful review! We're delighted to hear that you appreciate Ulysses for its minimalist design, excellent performance, and seamless synchronization. Your belief in Ulysses as a valuable investment for dedicated writers is greatly appreciated. Thank you for supporting our work with this review and your subscription! —Andrea

Makes me nauseous, support team is hit or miss

I've found myself worrying about the long-term useability of my Ulysses files, as I have been keeping documents in the default projects section and watch them offload themselves and download themselves again every day.

As far as I am aware, there is no way to access my work on the disk. Today I watched my entire library offload itself while I was in one of my cloud-based docuents. It is currently redownloading, a second time.

I have reached out to Ulysses to ask if their files can be used in other word processors, to ask for reassurance about what happens to my work if Ulysses were to be magicked away, and I recieved nothing but an unhelpful regurgitation of a FAQ post I'd already read about library backups.

As for offloading documents, they reccomended to turn off 'optimise Mac storage' which seems promising, but I still feel queasy at my work being stored on someone's server and not even being able to access it from Finder.

I am going to go forward using external folders where I work with Ulysses sheets that originate from Finder, not a hidden iCloud folder.

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KneeDeepInAppleTech

10 months ago

Response from developer

We sincerely apologize for the inconvenience you're experiencing. The issue of re-downloading may be related to a bug in iCloud. Have you had a chance to try disabling "Optimize Mac Storage" as we recommended? If this did not resolve the issue, we suggest going through our iCloud FAQ at ulys.app/icloud to troubleshoot the issue further. Regarding your request to open Ulysses files with other word processors, we understand your frustration and apologize if our previous response seemed unhelpful. There are alternative options available. For instance, you can use Dropbox instead of iCloud by embedding an external folder (ulys.app/external). Additionally, storing your sheets as .md files instead of .ulyz files ensures the highest possible cross-app compatibility. Please rest assured that Ulysses automatically keeps backups of your library, ensuring the safety of your work. These backups are stored locally on your device. Even without an active subscription, you'll still have access to your writing. Ulysses will revert to read-only mode, allowing you to read and export your work. However, you won't be able to make changes to existing sheets/groups or create new ones in read-only mode. If you have any further questions or need assistance, please don't hesitate to reach out to our team at help@ulysses.app. —Andrea

It's the one I use, but...

Probably most importantly - all finicky analysis of attributes aside - Ulysses is the app to which I am instinctively drawn when I want to write. It seems to just work. I’ve tried a few and, while I like Scrivener because it addresses the “complaints” I’ve made below, I’ve settled with Ulysses because of its utilising iCloud syncing. It just seems to keep me writing.

However - and I may be missing something in the WYGIWYM / WYSIWYG differentiation - I do have a couple of misgivings.

I would love a live spell-check / correction. Spell-checking is a cumbersome process.

I’m not really comfortable with the filing system. It’s possible I don’t entirely grasp the potential of the system as it stands and that it’s probably not far from the folder / sub folder / file system (akin to MacOS) that I crave, but I don’t know why it has to be expressed as “Projects,” “Groups,” and “Sheets.” rangling of longer projects is clunky.

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joejoeblogs

a year ago

Response from developer

Thank you for sharing your insights! We're thrilled to hear that Ulysses has become your go-to app for writing, and we appreciate your acknowledgment of its intuitive functionality. Regarding your remark on the difference between WYGIWYM / WYSIWYG: Ulysses utilizes a markup language instead of WYSIWYG to create a distraction-free environment by separating text writing from formatting. Markdown XL allows precise communication with the computer, and when it's time to format, Ulysses translates the tags into different formatting options with a single click, ensuring your document looks exactly as intended. If the tags bother you, consider trying the "Barely There" theme for minimal tag visibility at ulysses.app/styles/editor-themes. Regarding your request for live spell-check and correction, could you please provide additional insight into why our Revision mode, in combination with the system’s spell check, does not work for you? While our group & subgroup system works similarly to the macOS file system, our new Projects section is more like a library within your library. It allows you to focus on a single project (like a book, blog, paper) and streamlines choices specific to that project, such as a specific export style. If you have further insights or specific suggestions, please feel free to share them with us at help@ulysses.app. — Andrea