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Question

Typewriter scrolling from bottom of the screen?

Feb 8, 2014 1:39AM PST

Looking for a writing application/word processor that resembles closely a typewriter. What I mean by that are the following:
1/ A full-screen mode where only the page is visible, and there are two wide dark stripes (preferably black) at the seams.
2/ While typing, the cursor stays at the bottom of the screen. Just like the ribbon which stays where it is in the case of a typewriter. Well, not exactly the same as the cursor can of course move from left to right as I type but it has to switch back to the leftmost position of the bottom line once a line is full. If I have to type new words in any part of an already existing text, it doesn't matter: the cursor should always stay at the bottom of the screen. This feature is important because that's the way to keep the words I'm pounding out closest to my hands. The further up the screen, the larger the distance between my typing hands and my words, the more I have to raise my eyes and the more the experience is that of watching a screen and not actually writing. (For those interested, the importance of keeping the hand close to your words is one of the most interesting findings of research into the haptics of writing.)
Have tried a lot of writing applications (Darkroom, Focus Writer, OmmWriter, Q10, Rough Draft, Scrivener, Write Monkey, Zen Writer) but none of them has this "screen bottom typewriter scrolling" feature. Surprising as it sounds, it's still Microsoft Word that comes closest to what I want. It's not that difficult to turn Word into a distraction-free writing tool:
- switch to full screen mode,
- in settings: remove headers and footers in print view, choose the "black" template,
- also in settings: set start page at the bottom.
This way I can start typing my text at the bottom of the page and develop my text from there. HOWEVER, this works only if my cursor is at the end of my text. If I chose to add new text somewhere, then I'll be no more at the bottom of the screen. I can still NAVIGATE in the text to have the section I'm reworking lowered to the bottom of the screen, but that's a bit complicated.
So what I'm looking for is an application that has all the usual features of a distraction-free writing software PLUS an option to have the input line fixed vertically, at the bottom of the screen. Could call that "actual typewriter scrolling", huh?

Discussion is locked

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Answer
When I read this I think XYWrite.
Feb 8, 2014 1:44AM PST

I didn't see that listed and no, I don't recall if it does the typewriter but when folk ask for distraction free writing, this is the title I know about.

All the graphics drop away...
Bob

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Download and install XYWrite...?
Feb 11, 2014 9:46PM PST

Many thanks for your comment.
I have visited a number of XYWrite sources and looks like it's pretty difficult to have a complete install package. I'll try to deal with it though.

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Answer
Probably not the answer you want, but it works
Jun 6, 2014 1:54PM PDT

You can make Emacs do this with some Elisp coding. I realize that this answer is not the right one for the majority of writers, but if you're into Emacs, you can get it to simulate pretty much any sort of behavior.

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Emacs
Jun 7, 2014 6:49AM PDT

Never heard of Emacs, but will give it a try.
Thanks for the idea!

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Very long learning curve
Jun 7, 2014 8:12AM PDT

It takes some months (yes, months) to get up to speed on Emacs and Elisp programming. That's why I say it's not for most writers. It is an effort that will be rewarded for years and years to come, but at first it can be quite daunting and overwhelming, and I would guess there is a high dropout rate. Best of luck to you, be sure to use the tutorials on emacswiki if you decide to give it a try.

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Answer
back to WordStar?
Jun 7, 2014 8:27AM PDT
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Only for Game Of Thrones authors?
Jun 7, 2014 8:28AM PDT

Control+Y !