Previewing Markdown with Marked.app

While TextBuddy isn’t designed to be a full-fledged Markdown editor, you can use it as such and preview your text using Brett Terpstra‘s wonderful Marked.app. Just choose “Stream to Marked.app” from the “Command” → “Markdown” menu. This will launch Marked (if installed) and display a live preview of your TextBuddy text as you type.

Custom Links

This feature is likely way too specific for most people, but if you have a need for it, it can be a huge time saver. From TextBuddy’s “Scripts” menu, choose “Reveal Secret Custom Links File”. You can edit this file to define custom regular expressions that TextBuddy will match in your text and link to … Read more

Working with URLs

TextBuddy can help you capture and manipulate URLs. TextBuddy captures the current Safari URL in this demo and then runs the “Clean URL” command. This lets you quickly remove tracking and advertising parameters and “clean” the URL. TextBuddy is smart and will remember which URL parameters you turn on or off the next time you … Read more

Writing Custom Scripts

Advanced users can write custom scripts using JavaScript to manipulate text within TextBuddy. From the TextBuddy “Scripts” menu, open the scripts folder. This is where you can place custom JavaScript files. (Each file must have a .js extension.) The scripts you place in that folder will appear under the “Scripts” menu and also available using … Read more

Numbers and Math

TextBuddy knows how to work with numbers and even do math. In this video, I ask TextBuddy to calculate the sum of every number it can find in the text, format them all as currency, and do a few other transformations.

Transcribe Audio and Video

TextBuddy can extract text from the sound inside video and audio files. If TextBuddy cannot transcribe your audio, you may need to adjust a setting on your Mac. Please see these instructions. Privacy Full disclosure: All audio processing is 100% local and never leaves your device. I can’t see your data. I don’t want to … Read more

Plain Text Measurement and Statistics

I’m a plan text aficionado. Can I get some statistics about what I’m writing? The info sidebar (which you can collapse if you don’t care to see it) provides live totals as you type. From the number of characters and words to whitespace, sentences, and even how long the average person will take to read … Read more

Text Snapshots and History

What if I make a mistake? We all screw up, and TextBuddy has your back because it keeps track of everything you do. (Until you quit the app.) You can view or restore your document at any point in time. Just open the history pane to review previous changes and return to an earlier version.

Capture Text From Images, Screenshots, or Your iOS Device

Extract Text From Images and Screenshots TextBuddy can extract text from any app, web page, or picture on your Mac. It’s just like taking a screenshot, except you get editable text instead of an image. The above video also shows how you can rearrange and reorder your text and then perform commands on it. Capture … Read more