Often, we use apps like word processors or text editors for no other reason than that using them has become a habit, & that other people also use them. That doesn’t mean they’re the only ones available. Left wants to be the alternative to one of these, something as established as Microsoft Word. It’s fresh, clean & minimalist, & especially focused on Web standards like markdown.
The default theme is meant for those of us that spend hours crafting documents. It’s a black background with light gray text. It’s easy on the eye & causes less eye strain than traditional editors’ themes.
Among Left’s most unique & interesting features is the ability to create markers by beginning your lines with #, ## or –. You can open a text file by dragging it to the app or with control-o, & save it with control-s.
The app is touted as a “distractionless” writing tool & has an auto-complete feature, writing statistics, a synonyms dictionary with 12.465 commonly used words, a speed reader & a markup-based navigation bar. The speed reader function is activated selecting some text & hitting control-k, which will show you each word in the lower part of the screen so you can read faster.
It also has the following useful keyboard shortcuts:
- tab autocomplete.
- ctrl o open.
- ctrl s save.
- ctrl S save as.
- ctrl ] Jump to next marker.
- ctrl [ Jump to previous marker.
- ctrl + Make text bigger.
- ctrl – Make text smaller.
- ctrl 0 Reset text size.
- ctrl shift n Clear.
- ctrl shift del Reset.
Left is free-open source software, although the makers will ask you for a contribution if you download it. It’s available for the most used desktop operating systems: Linux, Windows, & OSX.
App development is led by Montreal, Canada-based illustrator & designer Rekka Bellum.
– This is a startup profile based on publicly available material & not a review –
Image Credit: Left
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