At present I use over 30 apps of the 250+ apps that Setapp offers with my Setapp subscription. It has been invaluable to me over the last few years. I’m going to go over, briefly, some of the apps that I use with Setapp. In Part 1 I’ll note those that I use almost daily. In part 2 I’ll describe the apps that get moderate use. And in Part 3, I’ll show you some other apps that I keep around just in case I need them. Let’s start with some of my favorite apps.

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Some Of My Favorite Apps

NotePlan

NotePlan is an app that I use every day. I copy my Day One journal to it, and I keep all my important notes there, filing them using the PARA filing system. It has a wonderful user interface that’s easy to navigate. Built for the macOS, iOS, and iPadOS, it is fast and nimble.

On the left sidebar you can see all your folders contain notes, and the Daily, Weekly, Quarterly, and Yearly views of your Daily Notes. On the right sidebar you can see your calendar, which is integrated with Apple Calendar and Apple Reminders. The sync between Apple Calendar and Apple Reminders is a two-way sync so everything is always up-to-date.

It supports Time Blocking and Tasks. It excels at networked thinking, that is, it uses Wiki Links and Back Links. And markdown files take up very little storage room.

In short, NotePlan is an app that you should consider if you’d like a bulleted daily journal, tasks that can be dragged into your blocked time on the calendar, keeps your reminders in front of you, and safely keeps all those important notes in an organized file system.

Ulysses

This is another favorite app that I have been using for about 10 years. I do most of my important writing here; such as my memoir, my writing ideas, and this blog. I’m using it right now to write this article.

Ulysses is a favorite along novelist, bloggers, journalist, and academics. You notes are in plain-text markdown and it excels at organization. It is easy to organize things on a page which Ulysses calls a sheet. Or organize chapters of your book, or articles you’ve written for your blog. It is distraction free and very easy to use.

Another feature that I love about Ulysses is that I can publish directly to my blog from Ulysses to WordPress. I can even update my post from Ulysses.

If you are a writer – any kind of writer – you are going to love Ulysses. There’s many more features such as grammar and spelling check, time tracking, and tracking writing goals. It is designed for Apple hardware, and works seamlessly across the Mac, iPad, and iPhone via iCloud.

CleanShot X

Cleanshot X replaces Apple’s native screenshot tools. And adds a lot more to it. It not only does screen capturing, it is also a recording utility designed specifically for the macOS.

You can take a screenshot using the same commands that you use with Apple’s native screenshot tools. But now, after capturing the screenshot, you can view, edit, copy, pin, or drag files into other applications. It also has on device OCR, meaning it can instantly extract non-selective text from any image or video directly to your clipboard.

While recording your screen, it is also recording the audio, mouse and keystroke highlights, and WebCam overlays.

I’ve tried other screenshot apps and I always come back to Cleanshot X.

BusyCal and BusyContacts

BusyCal and BusyContacts, both made by BusyMac, mirror your Apple Calendar and your Apple Contacts. And adds many more power-user features to the apps. You can use natural language to enter an event in the calendar.

BusyCal syncs seamlessly with iCloud, Google Calendar, Microsoft Exchange, Office 365, Outlook, Fruxx, Yahoo, and standard CalDAV servers. BusyContacts syncs across iCloud, Google contacts, Microsoft exchange, office 365, fast mail, and standard CardDAV servers.

They both are just easier to use than Apple’s native apps. And since they keep in sync, what I put in BusyCal or BusyContacts shows up in Apple’s apps and vice versa.

Timing

Timing is an app that keeps track of what I do during the day on my devices. It automatically tracks what I do on my Mac, my iPad, and my iPhone. So in the morning when I am filling out yesterday’s journal entry, I open Timing, go back to yesterday’s view, and I can see all of my activities for that day.

If I have a project, I can assign all the activities for that project into a specific group for that project. Many people use Timing for billing their clients. When I was doing design work, I could see exactly how many hours I worked on a project.

The good thing about Timing is that it is automatic. I don’t have to enter anything. I don’t have to start a project and remember to end it. It just keeps track of everything. It also shows me how much time I’ve possibly wasted watching YouTube or going down other similar rabbit holes.

There are many other project tracking timers, some of them included with Setapp, but none have been as easy to use as Timing.

TextSniper

I’ve talked about TextSniper in my previous post, but I want to mention it again. Sometimes I cannot select text on the website, in a photo, on a banner, or a form. At times text is written at an angle or is so unusual that it can’t be selected. That’s when I use TextSniper.

It’s a small app but it is invaluable. A useful app to put in your digital toolbox.

Paste

Have you ever selected a word or a phrase and copied it to your clipboard, and then you inadvertently copied something else? And your first item in the clipboard is gone, being replaced by the second one. Because Apple’s clipboard only allows one clipping at a time. Welcome to Paste. Paste works on macOS and iOS.

Using Paste you can select one clipping, then another, then yet another. And they are all saved in Paste, the clipboard manager. And every one of them is beautifully displayed on a timeline when you open the clipboard manager. Webpages that you have clipped even show a thumbnail of the webpage. Text that you have captured from an app, show the app from which it was captured.

And you can even save a clipping to a folder called Useful or Useful Links, built right into the app. So it’s always there at your fingertips.

It is another app I simply do not want to do without. Once you try it there is no going back. If you are researching a project and want to collect a lot of clippings this is the perfect app to do it with. I use it every day, all day.

CleanMyMac

Want to keep your Mac healthy and running smoothly? Then you need CleanMyMac. CleanMyMac was developed by my MacPaw and has been around for many years. It is included with your Setapp subscription ($40/year at their website). I scan my hard drive with this app at least one time every week.

With one click you can start a Smart Care and scan your entire Mac hard drive for errors, clutter removal, app updates, and duplicate file removal.

One of the features I really enjoy is their Applications feature. It scans all the applications you have on your drive. From there you can uninstall any of your apps. Typical uninstalling does not remove all of the files that pertain to that application; but CleanMyMac removes anything that is related to that application.

It also has an antivirus feature that is always running in the background, keeping my Mac safe from malware and viruses.

Spark Mail

Spark Mail, developed by Readdle, is a cross platform email client available for macOS, iOS, iPadOS, Android, and Windows. It automatically groups your email into different categories: personal email, notifications, and promotional email.

It has Gatekeeper that screens new or unknown centers before they hit your inbox, letting you accept or block them. It excels at team collaboration, but also works perfectly for single users.

It has an integrated calendar that sinks with your calendars to check availability and create events directly within the app.

I have used this app often on for many years, and I’ve recently returned to it, because I find it superior to Apple’s native email client.

Bartender Pro

Ever have a menu bar that is cluttered or doesn’t work well with the camera notch on your Mac? That’s where Bartender Pro comes in. Bartender hides those unnecessary icons until you need them.

Bartender Pro is always in my menu bar and is a wonderful addition to my digital life.

Conclusion

There is a good reason I like Setapp. I love their apps and I love the value of my subscription. Just the apps that I’ve mentioned above would cost hundreds of dollars per year. I really couldn’t afford to use them, except with Setapp all of them are available to me. And whenever I need a new app for whatever reason, all I have to do is search in Setapp, and find the app that works just right for me. I feel sure that if you try it you also will see the value in it

Ciao for now, this is Randino signing off.

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