NW Pro and the iPad Pro Revisited

Everything related to our flagship word processor.
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cashdollar
Posts: 17
Joined: 2011-11-27 09:05:10

NW Pro and the iPad Pro Revisited

Post by cashdollar »

I know this topic has been brought up a couple of times since the release of the iPad. I suggested in the past creating an iPad app focused on editing as earlier iPads didn't strike me as particularly good as productivity devices. I think with the iPad Pro and access to the file system coming with iOS 11 that is changing rapidly. I think in relatively near future the lack of an iOS app will become a hinderance to productivity for some of us. I write/draft everyday in NW Pro on my Mac. I would love to have the option to use NW of on going projects/document on my iPad Pro as well. As apple's iOS system and hardware gets more capable is there any chance this happening? As much as I use NW Pro now, I'd use it even more if it was available for the iPad Pro. Thanks
ptram
Posts: 280
Joined: 2007-10-21 14:59:09

Re: NW Pro and the iPad Pro Revisited

Post by ptram »

I've found that exporting to DOCX from Nisus and Pages is a solid way to exchange even complex documents. Shame this is not immediately evident.

Paolo
cashdollar
Posts: 17
Joined: 2011-11-27 09:05:10

Re: NW Pro and the iPad Pro Revisited

Post by cashdollar »

Thanks, for your reply. There are a number of options to convert or open the NWP docs, but I'm hoping for a more effortless workflow. Time will tell if the Apple productivity eco-system will grow with the new iPad Pro and iOS 11, but it looks to me like it might finally be a legitimate alternative word processing producitivity solutions. I'd like the option to effortlessly access my NWP docs on both my iPad Pro and my Macs. I'm not sure the resources needed or the resources available, but I'd certainly be willing to pay for an iPad app and a NWP 3 app if needed to make them work seamlessly.
cashdollar
Posts: 17
Joined: 2011-11-27 09:05:10

Re: NW Pro and the iPad Pro Revisited

Post by cashdollar »

Thanks, for your reply. There are a number of options to convert or open the NWP docs, but I'm hoping for a more effortless workflow. Time will tell if the Apple productivity eco-system will grow with the new iPad Pro and iOS 11, but it looks to me like it might finally be a legitimate alternative word processing producitivity solutions. I'd like the option to effortlessly access my NWP docs on both my iPad Pro and my Macs. I'm not sure the resources needed or the resources available, but I'd certainly be willing to pay for an iPad app and a NWP 3 app if needed to make them work seamlessly.
ptram
Posts: 280
Joined: 2007-10-21 14:59:09

Re: NW Pro and the iPad Pro Revisited

Post by ptram »

I wouldn't find, having to use the DOCX conversion for exchange, a real problem. At least, not for those who are already exchanging data between iWork and Office.

The only thing I would like to see in NWP is a transparent way of doing the conversion and sending the converted file, in a single step. This is what Pages does with the Share > Send via Mail > Word format command, both on the Mac and the iPad. It would be just an option more in NWP's File > Send > Attach to a new message command.

As for doing office duties on the iPad, I'm already doing them. Not the bigger works, but the everyday document editing and calculation can be done. Reports can be exchanged between NWP and Pages on the iPad, without apparent issues.

Paolo
cashdollar
Posts: 17
Joined: 2011-11-27 09:05:10

Re: NW Pro and the iPad Pro Revisited

Post by cashdollar »

Thanks again for the response. I understand that converting files is trivial, but it's not frictionless, and that's what I'd like my Nisus workflow to be. Where 10 years ago converting files back and forth, sending them via email, compressing them with stuffit or copying them to a cd or a syquest drive was considered reasonable in order to share or transport documents. It's not anymore. I was reminded of how much things have changed a couple of weeks ago when I finally decided to make my Yojimbo database available on all of my regularly used devices (2 computers, an iPad Pro and an iPhone). For modern apps it's a matter of downloading/installing the apps and logging in and everything's there. Today that's the standard. To access my Yojimbo data I had of course download and install on the PC's and tablet, login in on the computers and do a local sync to the iPad. But to make some of the data available to my iPhone I had to install and sync it to a 3rd machine with a persistent internet connection, a static IP, and configured Apache server. Then I had to go through the database to ensure that only non personal data was visible. A decade ago that would be a reasonably standard setup for a prosumer who wanted mobile access to their data, but now it seems ridiculous. I agree that exporting as .docx to a drive accessible to an Apple mobile device is no big deal, but it means I'm thinking about documents and not my writing.

I originally posted this with the faint hope that one of the Nisus folks might comment on whether it's possible, probable, or likely as Apple hardware lines begin to blur that we might finally see Nisus come to at the very least the iPad Pro.
Last edited by cashdollar on 2017-07-21 04:40:06, edited 1 time in total.
nisusjpl
Posts: 1
Joined: 2017-07-19 22:29:33

Re: NW Pro and the iPad Pro Revisited

Post by nisusjpl »

Although I just now joined the Forum, I have been using NW Pro on my Mac for a long time. However, on the iPad, I still haven't found a solution that really appeals to me, not Word, or Pages or anything else I have tried.
I see that Mellel has recently come out with a word processor for iOS that is supposed to be compatible with their Mac version. Although I have no plans at present to switch to Mellel on the Mac, I am hoping that if a small company like RedleX believes there is a big enough market of potential Mellel users who would be prepared to pay US $20 to buy their iOS product, that might be a sign that the iOS word processor market is ripe for a NISUS entrant as well. I know this issue has been flogged to death over the years, but as pointed out in this thread, iOS is becoming more and more powerful and capable, and it is frustrating to not have a complete Mac-iOS NWP workflow. Lastly, if RedleX can overcome whatever technological challenges exist in creating an iOS word processor compatible with their Mac version, is it unreasonable to expect that NISUS would be able to do so as well?
MacSailor
Posts: 290
Joined: 2003-04-03 08:38:41
Location: Linköping, Sweden

Re: NW Pro and the iPad Pro Revisited

Post by MacSailor »

nisusjpl wrote:Although I just now joined the Forum, I have been using NW Pro on my Mac for a long time. However, on the iPad, I still haven't found a solution that really appeals to me, not Word, or Pages or anything else I have tried.
I see that Mellel has recently come out with a word processor for iOS that is supposed to be compatible with their Mac version. Although I have no plans at present to switch to Mellel on the Mac, I am hoping that if a small company like RedleX believes there is a big enough market of potential Mellel users who would be prepared to pay US $20 to buy their iOS product, that might be a sign that the iOS word processor market is ripe for a NISUS entrant as well. I know this issue has been flogged to death over the years, but as pointed out in this thread, iOS is becoming more and more powerful and capable, and it is frustrating to not have a complete Mac-iOS NWP workflow. Lastly, if RedleX can overcome whatever technological challenges exist in creating an iOS word processor compatible with their Mac version, is it unreasonable to expect that NISUS would be able to do so as well?
+1
Peter Edwardsson
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pbasswil
Posts: 18
Joined: 2015-09-21 08:44:00

Re: NW Pro and the iPad Pro Revisited

Post by pbasswil »

Although there are exporting/importing work-arounds that are functional for getting texts back & forth between OS X and iOS,
it's equally true that there are a many other apps that can round-trip simple formatted texts. In fact, Evernote works great, if your formatting/navigating needs are modest.

The reason we use Nisus Writer is because it's a feature-rich, über-convenient environment. We each of us have different needs and depend on different NWP features.
It's highly disappointing if your favourite feature(s) is/are stripped out of the document by the time you return to Nisus on Mac.

I depend on Heading styles to also function as Outline and Navigation in Nisus. It's the axis of my entire work-flow – I flit around between sections, continually. This isn't the philosophy of most other word processors, but it works great for me.

My laptop went in for service recently, so I saved my current, l-o-n-g, work-in-progress in multiple formats so I could carry on on my iPad.
I couldn't find an iPad app that listed my headings as a navigable outline. I could've invested the time to convert them manually (it's a long doc); but when I returned to my Mac, would I have had to reconvert them? I guess so.

Not wanting to mess up my NWP file, I just put my major work aside during the repair. It was the least annoying option; but a drag.
Honestly, the only reason I'm still working in Nisus is that I'm so damn comfy in it, and I don't want to invest the time to readapt to other software.
MichaelGli
Posts: 18
Joined: 2015-08-28 22:00:43

Re: NW Pro and the iPad Pro Revisited

Post by MichaelGli »

I too am very comfy with Nisus, but my changing work environment forces me to use a pad, so sadly I'm now converting my core docs to MS Word and learning to live once again with that inferior program.

So not having a pad version does not just mean that Nisus loses pad business, it means that Nisus loses desktop business as well.

(It's a bit deja vu: I began using Nisus in 1988 or 9 but had to leave it in the 90s because Word's outline processing was so valuable to me. I came back about 5 years ago and had almost totally rid my life of MS Word...)
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