Useless. Ugly and useless. (UPDATED)
Written: Dec 06 '00 (Updated Dec 07 '00)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Does what it's supposed to do. Oh, and a time-date stamp. Woo.
Cons: No customization, line counting, or anything else useful.
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| aconover's Full Review: Microsoft Notepad |
Notepad just isn't that great. Sure, you can use it when you have to jot out a little note or whatever, and I suppose it can be used all right to edit HTML or some other non-macro-intensive language. But it definitely has some major disadvantages in the text editing department.
First of all, the font. God, I hate System. It's the ugliest font anything could possibly be in! Compare the following two lines of text:
Roderick Chisholm's essay "Human Freedom and the Self" employs the premise that humans are responsible without any justification for its validity.
Roderick Chisholm's essay "Human Freedom and the Self" employs the premise that humans are responsible without any justification for its validity.
Which one was easier to read? This is what Notepad's font looks like all the time: bold bold bold. And you can't change it! I know that these are just text files, but there's no excuse for a total lack of any level of user customization. Notepad also doesn't include an option to retain a tab-indent from line to line -- an extremely useful feature for any programmer.
Update 5/7: I'm using the Windows 95 version of Notepad, and have verified that the Windows 98 version also cannot change the font -- however, I have gotten comments that later versions can. If so, kudos to Microsoft for updating their software. However, I am still rating the Windows 95/98 version, and therefore will not change my opinion.
Notepad also lacks a line-numbering function. When you're editing code or HTML, this is probably the most important features you can have -- and Notepad omits it. It does include a Time/Date stamp, however. Hooray! A time/date stamp! I can't tell you the number of seconds that time/date stamps have saved me. To think of how long I had been writing down dates by myself! What a putz I was.
Finally, Notepad can't open files larger than... well, larger than any useful file. I've literally seen webpages that say, "I had to break this page up into four pages because Notepad couldn't make a bigger file." Why go on using a program if it makes you do this?
Look, go download EditPad. It's just as small and fast, allows you to customize the things you need to, including fonts and tab retention, can open multiple documents without launching multiple instances (also very useful if you're programming), has a line-counter right in the status bar, and can open files of a reasonable size. It's also freeware, and quite robust. Don't limit yourself with lackluster Microsoft accessories any longer! Go, go!
Recommended:
No
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Epinions.com ID:
aconover
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Location: Annandale-on-Hudson, NY
Reviews written: 38
Trusted by: 7 members
About Me:
Kickin' it emo style, baby.
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