Writing in plain text keeps your files small and safe. Using a good markdown application helps you read and organize these files easily on any computer. You can format your words using basic keyboard symbols instead of heavy menus.
Pick A Text Tool
Choosing the right application depends on how you work every day. Some programs offer a totally blank screen for focused writing, while others provide heavy technical tools to manage thousands of linked documents at the same time.
Minimal Desk Apps
These programs hide all menus to give you a clean screen for writing without any visual distractions.
Typora Clean View
This app removes formatting symbols instantly as you type them.
Typora is a unique application because it does not use a split screen. When you type a markdown symbol, like a hash mark for a heading, the software hides the symbol and makes the text large immediately. This creates a very clean reading experience. You get the benefits of plain text files without looking at raw code. The interface remains totally blank until you move your mouse to the top of the screen. This design forces you to look only at your words, making it an excellent choice for long articles.
MarkText Free App
This is an open source tool that works just like Typora but costs absolutely nothing to download.
MarkText offers a similar typing experience where the raw formatting codes disappear as you write. Because it is an open source project, a community of users builds and maintains the software for free. You do not have to buy a license to use it on your computer. It includes basic tools like a word counter and a dark mode setting to protect your eyes at night. This application is a very practical choice for users who want a distraction free screen but prefer not to spend money on commercial software.
Code Editor Tools
These heavy applications are built for programmers but work perfectly for managing massive text folders.
Visual Studio Code
This free program handles thousands of files and offers a split screen view for your documents.
Visual Studio Code is built by Microsoft and is extremely popular among software developers. It works very well for plain text notes because it can open an entire hard drive folder at once. You can see a list of all your documents on the left side of the screen while you write on the right side. It supports a split view, allowing you to type raw text on one side and see the formatted version on the other. You can also install extra tools to add spell checking features directly.
Sublime Text Speed
This editor is known for opening massive text documents in a fraction of a second.
Sublime Text is a highly efficient tool that uses very little computer memory. If you have a document with fifty thousand words, this program will open it instantly without any loading screens. It features a helpful minimap on the right side of the window, showing a zoomed out view of your entire file so you can scroll through long notes easily. While it lacks a seamless live preview, its raw speed and multiple cursor tools make it perfect for users who need to edit huge amounts of text data very fast.
Note Network Apps
These tools link your separate plain text files together to build a personal knowledge base.
Obsidian File Vault
This application connects your thoughts using links while storing all data directly on your hard drive.
Obsidian turns a basic folder of text files into a smart network. You can type the name of another file inside brackets to create a direct link between two notes. The software shows you a visual graph of how all your thoughts connect over time. It relies entirely on standard markdown files stored locally on your machine, meaning you own your data completely. You do not need an internet connection to use it. This makes it a highly secure choice for keeping private daily journals or organizing complex research projects.
Logseq Bullet Lists
This outlining tool uses standard text files to organize your daily tasks into indented bullet points.
Logseq takes a different approach by forcing every line of text into a bullet point format. This structure is very helpful for planning daily tasks or taking fast notes during a business meeting. Even though you see a list of bullets on the screen, the software saves your work as standard plain text files on your computer. You can link individual bullets to other pages easily. It is an open source tool, meaning it is completely free to use and respects your privacy by keeping information off public web servers.
Mobile Phone Tools
These applications allow you to read and write your plain text notes clearly on a small screen.
iA Writer Focus
This application offers a highly focused typing environment for your phone and tablet screens.
iA Writer is designed to remove all visual clutter from your mobile device. It features a special focus mode that highlights only the current sentence you are typing, fading the rest of the text into the background. This stops you from constantly rereading and editing your past paragraphs. The application uses a custom font that makes text very easy to read on small screens. It connects directly to your cloud folders, ensuring that the notes you write on the train sync perfectly to your desktop computer when you get home.
1Writer Phone App
This tool allows you to build custom action buttons to format text on your mobile device fast.
Typing formatting symbols like brackets or asterisks on a mobile keyboard is often annoying. 1Writer solves this problem by giving you an extra row of buttons above your phone keyboard. You can press a single button to insert a heading, add a link, or create a checkbox instantly. You can even program your own custom buttons to insert specific words you use frequently. This tool makes writing raw text on a glass screen much faster and connects easily to standard cloud folders like Dropbox to keep your data perfectly updated.
Web Browser Tools
These programs run directly inside your internet browser without requiring any software installation.
StackEdit Web App
This browser tool saves your writing locally in your web cache so you can work offline securely.
StackEdit is a highly accessible editor that opens in any standard web browser. It offers a clean split screen view, showing your raw text on the left and the finished layout on the right. What makes it special is how it handles your data. Even though it is a web tool, it saves your files inside your browser cache. This means you can continue writing even if your internet connection drops completely. When you regain your connection, you can send the files directly to your cloud storage accounts with one single click.
Dillinger Online Tool
This simple web editor allows you to export your text files directly into formatted PDF documents.
Dillinger is a very practical online tool when you are using a public computer or a borrowed laptop. You do not need to install anything or create a user account. You simply open the website and start typing your text. The program features a split screen view and connects easily to major cloud storage providers. When you finish your document, you can export it instantly as a clean PDF file, an HTML web page, or a standard text document. It is a highly reliable option for processing text files quickly.