Ulysses 42 brings iPhone Duo support, a scrollable markup bar and two-sided export preview

The latest update to the popular writing app Ulysses is out, headlined by support for Apple's newest handset, with developers confirming they fine-tuned every pose and orientation and refreshed the interface, so the app looks at home on the iPhone Duo. The release also reworks the markup bar on iPhone, Duo or otherwise, in a bid to put frequently used actions within easier reach. Links and images now sit at the top level, the inline menu has been split between strong/emphasis formatting and less commonly used “mark” actions such as comment, highlight, and annotation, undo and redo are accessible via a swipe, and lists have been moved into a dedicated menu.

The editor toolbar sees perhaps the most debated change. On iPhone, it now carries a “Back” button alongside a prominent “Done” control, a shift the developers readily concede “may not please everybody”, but one they argue resolves a host of issues, adding wryly that “distraction-free writing on iPhone is an oxymoron anyway”. On iPad, users gain quick access buttons for outline, attachments, and annotations whenever those elements are available, letting writers jump straight to them without opening the dashboard.

Rounding out the release is a two-sided export preview for PDF and DOCX, a feature the team notes is particularly well suited to books, and one it credits to the Duo's book pose. Ulysses 42 also includes two smaller improvements and four bug fixes, improving the app's usability and stability.