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 Screenshot of Bean onMac OS X | |
| Developer(s) | James Hoover |
|---|---|
| Initial release | 1 May 2007; 17 years ago (2007-05-01) |
| Stable release | 3.7.0[1]  / 16 May 2024 |
| Written in | Objective-C |
| Operating system | Mac OS X |
| Type | Word processor |
| License | Freeware[2] |
| Website | bean-osx |
Bean is aword processor for Mac OS X. Originallyfree and open source software Bean becameclosed source at version 3. However, the Bean executable is still distributed free of charge.[3] According to its author, James Hoover, Bean is not meant to replaceMicrosoft Word, but to be a lean word processor that is beautiful and user friendly. Many of Bean's operations are carried out by the underlyingCocoa framework ofMac OS X. The nameBean is a play on Cocoa and Java, two popularprogramming frameworks.
After the release of Bean 3.2.2 in November 2012, Hoover announced that "active development of Bean will cease. Bean will remain available for download at the bean-osx.com website. It may even be updated as necessary to keep the app running on future versions of OS X. Also, I'll try to continue technical support at the usual email address."[4] Since this announcement, Hoover has provided further updates and fixes for Bean, reaching version number 3.6.1 by August 2023.
The design of Bean was heavily influenced by Marten Van De Kraats' article "Lean Word Processor Specifics".[5] It is especially suitable for note taking or writing short articles because the program is highly responsive and starts almost instantly, while full-featured office suites take a much longer time to load. While Bean is not designed to compete with programs likeLibreOffice Writer,OpenOffice.org Writer, orMicrosoft Word, its feature set is complete enough to cover the needs of many users. Starting with version 3, Bean has a completely newuser interface with an emphasis on simplicity.[6]
Versions 3.1.1 and below are compatible withApple's PowerPC-powered Macintoshes. As of 2024, modern versions of Bean are compatible with Intel andApple Silicon-powered Macs.[7]
Bean has the following features:
As of version 3:
It also includes full-screen mode, which only displays the text.
The following features are deliberately missing: footnotes, pre-defined text styles, floating graphics (but it does support in-line graphics).
Bean natively reads and writes thesefile formats:
Bean imports and exports these formats:
Bean can export all of the above formats to these formats:
