Sep 11, 2017. Word processing powerhouse Ulysses recently switched to a subscription model, prompting many users to look for alternatives. The app was previously a separate purchase on Mac and iOS, but it now costs $40 per year to use it on all devices. If you owned the previous version, that goes down to $30 per year. Find the best programs like Ulysses for Mac. More than 30 alternatives to choose: Scrivener, Montage, Celtx Script and more.
Your Mac is smart – it has an app for each of your actions. Clicking on a text doc will open Pages and playing media content will take you to QuickTime. But what if you could make it even smarter by choosing the apps responsible for all actions? Well, you can.
How to change default programs on a Mac
To customize defaults for specific files:
- Right-click on a file.
- Select Get Info > Open with.
- Click on Change All to make the selected app default.
Similarly, you can replace defaults for other utilities on a Mac. To pick a custom email client, go to Mail Preferences, select Default Mail Reader and click on the app in the drop-down menu.
Setapp apps that replace Mac’s defaults
Change default application, replacing them with more cutting-edge alternatives and see how your casual Mac environment evolves into an incredible space for productive work. Here’s an ideal app switching plan:
![Alternatives Alternatives](https://static.macupdate.com/screenshots/235548/m/ulysses-screenshot.png?v=1596121619)
Simplified activity monitoring with iStat Menus
So here’s the truth about Activity Monitor – it’s just too complicated. You have to sit and scroll through tons of data to figure out why your Mac is misbehaving or how to optimize battery use. In contrast, iStat Menus is a minimalist app that adds only 9 icons to your menu bar. And guess what, they give you all the insights about Mac’s performance in seconds. Look no further.
QuickTime alternative: Elmedia Player – take better care of your media content
The default media player on Mac is called QuickTime – a simple, free solution that handles Apple’s preferred media formats seamlessly. So when you get a new Mac and want to play any content, QuickTime would be the program that opens your media file – in case the file is supported.
If you’re already thinking about an alternative that supports all types of files, including AVI and WMV, we don’t judge you. In fact, we have a good suggestion. Elmedia Player supports virtually any type of media content as well as allows you to download files from YouTube and watch online videos without ads.
A custom dock on a Mac with uBar
Dock is big. Of course, this part of your screen is super important, but not exactly functional. Look at your Dock right now. Do you need all the items you see there? Most likely, 10% of the Dock apps are those you used yesterday and forgot to hide. uBar makes your Dock shrink, adding lots of precious space to Mac’s screen. Customize the look of your custom dock once, enjoy an improved Mac environment always.
Finder alternative: Enhance file management with ForkLift and DCommander
Your starting point to everything on a Mac. That’s how you can describe Finder. It could seem you're so used to Mac’s native file manager, there’s no chance you ever betray it. But with extra features at stake, think twice.
The beauty of ForkLift, an alternative file manager app for Mac, is that it’s pretty similar to Finder in terms of the flow. Only with extra capabilities. You can customize file visibility, compare files right from the toolbar, and create presets for renaming files.
Another alternative to the old good Finder is DCommander. If you’re looking for a pro-level file manager with superior batching capabilities, this is the one. From checksums to HEX viewer, the app gives you all the details about your files. The interface might look overwhelming for a beginner, but it’s worth mastering.
Personal assistance on a Mac in human terms
Lacona is basically an ideal version of Siri – faster, more accurate, and customizable. Unlike Mac’s default virtual assistant, Lacona has excellent natural language processing capabilities. This means you can ask anything in plain language –from launching an app to reminding you about someone’s birthday – and get an answer instantly. Ensure your Mac gives you the best assistance possible.
BusyCal, a better version of Mac’s Calendar
A superb substitute for Apple’s native Calendar, BusyCal adds all the perks you’ve been missing in the default app. Integrate live weather forecast, fully customize the feel and look of a calendar, add graphics and to-dos.
While BusyCal clearly wins in functionality, it’s also pretty expensive if you buy a single app – $49.99. There’s an option to test the calendar with a free 30-day trial or get it as a part of Setapp’s subscription.
Apple Mail alternative: Replace your default email client with Canary Mail
Half the workday. That’s an average estimate of how much time people spend in their email apps. If you think about it, your productivity pretty much depends on your email flow and the tools supporting this flow. Apple’s default email client does a good job in case you’re not bombarded with emails every day. If you have to act on most of the emails though, you might want to change the default. And get Canary Mail.
The app aligns your inbox with daily tasks – a get-things-done solution. You can drag emails right from the inbox into a to-do list or follow-ups, as well as track read activity. Integration with Dropbox, Google Drive, and iCloud makes it easy to transfer data. To accelerate your email workflow even more, you can store ready-to-use templates and signatures in the app.
CleanShot for clean screenshots
If you’re a Mac user, Command-Shift-4 is the extension of your hand. Keyboard shortcuts for taking screenshots in macOS are relatively easy to keep in mind. So you don’t have to puzzle about how to capture a portion of the screen, a menu, or a window.
But that’s just a fraction of what you can do with screen recording software. From annotations to custom wallpaper, there are tons of other goodies to benefit from. CleanShot is a small app that has most of them. Apart from the basic screen recording toolkit, CleanShot adds a special superpower to your menu bar – you can toggle desktop icons and set any background for your screenshots. The app also has a Quick Access Overlay menu, which allows you to edit, save, and share your captures right away.
Archive Utility alternative: Create, split, and protect archives with Archiver
Just in case you didn’t know, there’s Archive Utility on your Mac – a small hidden tool that allows to create and expand archives. But more importantly, there’s a world-class app that does way more. Here’s what you get with Archiver if you use it instead of the default utility:
- RAR, Stuflt, Zip, and many more archive formats available in one click.
- Preview archives and selectively unzip specific files.
- Create split archives.
- Protect sensitive data by encrypting your archives.
- Unpack multiple archives simultaneously.
Alternative to Time Machine: Get Backup Pro to backup like a pro
Launch Time Machine, click to backup, hope your data is safe. That’s how we’re used to protecting files on a Mac. Bad news: If you rely on the default utility only, your data might be in danger. It’s always better to use at least two tools, so that when you’re backing up to an external drive with Time Machine, there’s also a utility for running regular backups. Or, you can use Get Backup Pro. The app allows to decide which units to backup as well as runs scheduled procedures – two birds with one stone.
Apple Notes alternative: Distraction-free text editing with Ulysses
Like most word processing programs, Apple’s native Pages have one drawback – they fail to get a creative into the right flow. Writing is a fragile process and requires a perfect environment. The things like font customization, distractive menus, and folders kill all the vibe. Ulysses helps you get rid of the problem by switching to a plain text editor that’s all about you and your creation. Write non-stop, format, and publish right from the app.
From a Mac file opener to a ZIP reader, the choice of replacements for Apple’s defaults is huge. The curated collection we’ve brought to you in this article is a great place to start if you want to upgrade your Mac’s capabilities – get the whole pack with a Setapp subscription or test specific apps for free.
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Ulysses Apps
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For years, the default note-taking recommendation has been Evernote and OneNote. After all, both are popular offerings with several note-taking features and are available on all platforms. That is changing quickly with time, though. Evernote increased the price and tried to implement a controversial data policy. Also the app feels so dated on iPhone now.
With Microsoft OneNote, I still face sync issues occasionally, which is not acceptable in 2019 for my work. The other options, such as Apple Notes and Keep Notes are too basic, to begin with.
Thankfully, we have two excellent note-taking apps on the Apple iOS platform — Bear Notes and Ulysses.
Both the apps are highly acclaimed and come with beautiful UI and tons of features. Let’s compare them to see which note-taking solution suits your daily usage.
App Size
Bear Notes weights around 27MB, while Ulysses will take around 88MB of space on the phone.
Download Bear Notes for iOSDownload Ulysses for iOS
Cross-Platform Availability
Both the apps are only available on Apple platforms. They have native app support for iPhone, iPad, and Mac. You won’t be able to access it on Android and Windows.
The companies are stating that supporting one platform keep them focused and help to bring new features to the platform quickly. Bear is working on a web version, but it’s not ready yet.
Also on Guiding Tech
Apple Notes vs Microsoft OneNote: Which App Wins
Read MoreUser Interface and Note Organization
Both the apps have followed native Apple iOS guidelines with smooth user interface and animations. By default, Ulysses takes you to the Library page which shows different sections to jump into the note.
The ability to search and add notes are at the bottom, while the ability to rearrange groups and settings options rest at the top.
Bear Notes takes you to directly to the notes page. Swipe left and you can access the notes from the hamburger menu. It displays the notes section, trash page, tags, and settings menu.
Both the apps have a different take on notes organization. Bear lets you add tags to a note, which you can access from the hamburger menu.
Ulysses’s approach is similar to OneNote. You can create a notebook section, add a sub-section, and then add notes into the respective category. Ulysses also supports a similar function called Keywords, which works similar to tags.
Note-Taking Capabilities
Note-taking options are the heart of any note-taking app. Ulysses and Bear notes have followed a different route in this category.
Talking about Bear, you can implement images, sketches, date and time, insert a differentiator, add web-links, and more.
One can also play with Bold, Italic, Highlighter, bullet points, numbers, and more. For developers, the app allows writing code lines in a dedicated code block.
Ulysses is relying on HTML functionalities. It won’t simply showcase the usual editing options on the keyboard. Tap on the x-shaped icon, and from there you can implement the usual editing options. It might seem confusing at first, but Ulysses has an excellent guide to get started.
You can change Theme, Fonts style, viewing options, and more from the settings menu. Ulysses also lets you add images, keywords, and goal while writing. It’s extremely useful for long-term writing projects or assignments with fixed word counts.
As always, both the apps support Apple’s hand-off function, from which you can start a note from mobile and carry over to Mac.
Overall, Bear wins with simple yet powerful editing options. Ulysses isn’t far behind, but it requires a learning curve.
Also on Guiding Tech
6 Best Evernote Alternatives on Android
Read MoreSync and Sharing
Ulysses and Bear Notes sync all the added content over iCloud. I did not face any syncing issue with either of them.
Ulysses wins when it comes to sharing options. The app lets you convert a note into HTML, ePub, PDF, or DOCX. And even better, Ulysses supports publishing platforms such as Ghost, WordPress, and Medium right from the app itself.
Bear is relying on the standard iOS Share Sheet menu. Tap on the share icon, and you can send the note to a contact, add it to files, print it and more. Tap on the information menu, and from there, you can see the words, characters, read time, and sharing options such as PDF, TXT, and more.
Also on Guiding Tech
#comparison
Click here to see our comparison articles pageTheme
Ulysses won’t let you change the default theme of the app. But you can play with notes theme from the settings menu. It will change the look and background.
Bear notes implement theming engine throughout the app. Head to Settings > Themes and choose from the varieties of themes.
Price
As you may have guessed, both Bear and Ulysses follow subscription route. Bear Notes costs $1.5/month, and the yearly version is about $15. Ulysses is expensive compared to its rival. It will set you back by $29.99 per year.
Take Notes Like A Pro
Civcity rome patch 1.2. As you can see from the comparison, both are excellent alternatives to current note-taking apps in the market. Bear notes are simple and more useful for short notes and quick organization through tags. Ulysses more about long-term writing and it’s more suitable for those using multiple publishing platforms.
Ilividsetup. Next Up: Apple Notes come by default on every iPhone, and it makes the app default choice for every user. Read the post below to see how it compare against the Bear Notes.
The above article may contain affiliate links which help support Guiding Tech. However, it does not affect our editorial integrity. The content remains unbiased and authentic.Read NextApple Notes vs Bear Notes: Which Note-Taking App Is Better for You
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Did You Know
Notion was founded by Ivan Zhao.