CopyWrite is the project management tool for writers. Word processors are for layout, CopyWrite is for writing. Whether you're working on a novel, an article, a thesis or a book report, CopyWrite is flexible yet simple enough for writers of all kinds. Any creative process is inherently messy - writing especially - keeping organized means finishing faster. CopyWrite helps you write better.
This review was originally posted on VersionTracker.com.<br />I liked Copywrite, I really did. However, after reported bugs went unfixed and suggestions were not implemented... not to speak of no update since May 2006, I started looking around... and found Scrivener! It has everything and more that is missing in Copywrite, starting with footnotes, outlines, structures, tables, and image support. Yet it is very simple. Sorry Bartas Technologies, but I've moved on.
Simple, efficient product !
llathieyre
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This review was originally posted on VersionTracker.com.<br />Perfect for writers. No distractions. Only the essentials.
_Not_ for layout design !
Missing hierarchical outlining support
yogi1
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This review was originally posted on VersionTracker.com.<br />This is a great application, whether you're outlining a college paper or writing the next great american novel. The one major missing feature: hierarchical outlining support. This is crucial for creative projects, and since I wanted to use this software to organize a novel, I can't use it until this is added.
Also, documentation could be better.
Nice start, but not ready for prime time yet
jrmarcum--2008
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This review was originally posted on VersionTracker.com.<br />I purchased CopyWrite and began adding pieces of a book I'm writing. Working in Microsoft Word was very cumbersome, and this program got my attention right away because of the potential for organizing and moving pieces around. The program has some wonderful features that make it much nicer than Word to work in, like the full screen mode. However, it is critically flawed due to the fact that you cannot change the order of the elements of the project. For example, if you want to move things around and set up your own heirarchy of order, forget it; once something is created, that's the order that you are stuck with until you export it. That makes the program more frustrating that Word, and unusable until this is fixed. I have contacted them to make sure I wasn't doing something wrong, and was told that this is a long overdue feature that was planned, but alas it is still missing in this update.
Outstanding
bkocik
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This review was originally posted on VersionTracker.com.<br />
As another reviewer said, it's not often an application is so good (or bad) that I feel compelled to speak about it. CopyWrite is one of those few exceptions. I've been using it for about a year now, and I consider it to be the most nearly-perfect niche application I've ever owned. I've tried out several similar applications in the same market, and while some of them are quite good, none of them have ever been able to match up to CopyWrite. It does an excellent job with everything it's designed to do, and the price is simply amazing. Far and away the best $30 I've ever spent, and I will not hesitate to purchase it again when new major revisions come out (the minor revision updates are free after your initial purchase).
Outstanding
bkocik
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Summary
This review was originally posted on VersionTracker.com.<br />
As another reviewer said, it's not often an application is so good (or bad) that I feel compelled to speak about it. CopyWrite is one of those few exceptions. I've been using it for about a year now, and I consider it to be the most nearly-perfect niche application I've ever owned. I've tried out several similar applications in the same market, and while some of them are quite good, none of them have ever been able to match up to CopyWrite. It does an excellent job with everything it's designed to do, and the price is simply amazing. Far and away the best $30 I've ever spent, and I will not hesitate to purchase it again when new major revisions come out (the minor revision updates are free after your initial purchase).
a great tool for writers
ursa9
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This review was originally posted on VersionTracker.com.<br />I've been using CopyWrite for more than a year now, upgrading when new versions are available. Since the beginning, this little tool has been a writer's dream come true.
I write for a livingâ??from technical pieces for big corporations and government agencies to books and more creative worksâ??and I've not found any software app that more completely meets the needs of the writing process than CopyWriteâ??and for far less than programs like Word cost.
Just to have the ability to track all documents in a project from a single panel is magnificent enough, not to mention the version-tracking (and version-protecting) features. The notes and status windows give me immediate access to the information I need, both for the document I'm working on and the project as a whole. Additionally, the export feature is wonderful for exporting finished documents for final layout and desktop publishing, and for sending draft RTFs and Word docs to clients for review.
CopyWrite is not perfect, but it is getting better all the time. Even the handful of features I might like to see in upcoming versions aren't must-have items but are more tools that I'd like to mess around with to see if they might (or might not) be useful to me. Bartas Technologies (the makers of CopyWrite) are always open to feedback about their product and to suggestions for new features.
I don't frequently post reviews of software products, yet I've written Bartas at least twice in the past year to let them know how great their software is. As far as applications for writers are concerned, this is by far the best $30 I've ever spent.
a great tool for writers
ursa9
Pros
Cons
Summary
This review was originally posted on VersionTracker.com.<br />I've been using CopyWrite for more than a year now, upgrading when new versions are available. Since the beginning, this little tool has been a writer's dream come true.
I write for a livingâ??from technical pieces for big corporations and government agencies to books and more creative worksâ??and I've not found any software app that more completely meets the needs of the writing process than CopyWriteâ??and for far less than programs like Word cost.
Just to have the ability to track all documents in a project from a single panel is magnificent enough, not to mention the version-tracking (and version-protecting) features. The notes and status windows give me immediate access to the information I need, both for the document I'm working on and the project as a whole. Additionally, the export feature is wonderful for exporting finished documents for final layout and desktop publishing, and for sending draft RTFs and Word docs to clients for review.
CopyWrite is not perfect, but it is getting better all the time. Even the handful of features I might like to see in upcoming versions aren't must-have items but are more tools that I'd like to mess around with to see if they might (or might not) be useful to me. Bartas Technologies (the makers of CopyWrite) are always open to feedback about their product and to suggestions for new features.
I don't frequently post reviews of software products, yet I've written Bartas at least twice in the past year to let them know how great their software is. As far as applications for writers are concerned, this is by far the best $30 I've ever spent.
Excellent software.
fdavison1957
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This review was originally posted on VersionTracker.com.<br />I've read several people having crashes, etc. I've experienced none of these problems. CopyWrite has been a solid foundation for my writing. I have MANY hours invested in several novels and countless articles (some published, some not), all written with CopyWrite. Even when I've made some dumb mistakes with my data, I was easily able to recover with the automatic backup feature. The Goal Meter and the full-screen editor with its hide-away controls are two of my favorite features. This app is a daily companion I could not live without. Someone said (I think here at VersionTracker) that software that claims to make you 'write better' is bull**** ... I think that person missed the point. It won't make you a better writer it helps you with the PROCESS OF WRITING. In that goal, Bartas was a resounding success. Their support is fast and very detail-oriented and they constantly hint at improvements to come. Having used it awhile, I can vouch for the fact that they do regularly update and improve it. I STRONGLY recommend any professional writer try this software out.
Not for me
humhum
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This review was originally posted on VersionTracker.com.<br />There are some elements I like about CopyWrite, for example the document selector in the bar which also, conveniently, gives a count of words. That is a very handy feature. It is also pleasant to be able to hide the document browser, the toolbar, and the sidebar: that gives you focus on the main text.
But there are many things which I do not like. The FullScreen Mode, for example, seems to be a work of haste to keep up with the competition (read Ulysses, MacJournal, DEVONthink). Moreover, it crashed a couple of times, too, when I tried it out (having changed the background color). And it could not open my document either: corrupted.
I don't like the sidebar with the notes, either: it is the standard Apple sidebar, but looks uneven as it is less high. Then CopyWrite does not support international keyboards fully, at least you cannot really write from right to left in semitic fonts for example.
But the crashes bothered me most of all.