If there’s anything wrong with Dropbox -- and we’re not saying there is -- it’s that its friendly, free file storage is a little too reliant on outside apps. Getting an edited Pages file from our Mac to our iPad and back to our Mac, for example, is a multi-step affair: 1) open Dropbox; 2) export the file to Pages; 3) make changes; 4) email the file to our Maclife.com address; 5) open the file on our Mac; 6) save; and 7) overwrite the old file on our Dropbox account.

There has to be an easier way. And Notesy for Dropbox has found it.

Like iCloud for Notes (well, if Notes did more than one thing and didn’t default to Comic Sans), Notesy for Dropbox is deceptively powerful. Even without the over-the-air synchronization, the note-taking app offers a variety of options, including a live word count, screen-orientation lock, numerous font and color choices, customized view settings, and Markdown previews. But let’s face it: Notesy wouldn’t have earned a spot in our “Writing” folder if not for the second half of its name.

While you find just the right color combination, you can count on Notesy to keep track of every word.

As soon as the first note is created, Notesy creates a specific Dropbox folder that automatically syncs with your account. Files are instantly saved once the blue “Done” button is tapped, and edits made elsewhere -- either in Notesy on another mobile device or in TextEdit on your Mac -- are quickly reflected, including any changes to the filename (such as adding “revision”).

All notes are formatted as TXT files for easy sharing, so remember to save them as such when using Word or Pages on your iMac. A surprisingly powerful built-in search lets you find files quickly once your folders -- that’s plural; Notesy also allows subfolder creation for keeping things extra-organized -- start filling up. (Believe us, it won’t take long.)

Link and sync, and you’re ready to write.

The bottom line. About the only criticism we could find is the inability to navigate our Dropbox account. After all, it’s called Notesy for Dropbox, not Notesy for Part of Your Dropbox Account. That, and the unformatted TXT files get a little tiresome, especially since Notesy includes so many font options. But if you’re tired of importing and emailing notes around your iPad just to keep things current, Notesy will be your best friend. And you’ll want to delete Notes entirely -- or at least banish it to a deep, dark Home screen.