Since I posted a review of MS Wordpad, I've found a new text editor which makes Wordpad pale by comparison. No longer are HTML and CGI files associated with Wordpad for ease of use. Indeed, html files no longer need be associated with anything bar a web browser, but I think that's partially because I'm now using Win2K (it appears in a submenu of a file's right-click menu, automatically). But that's another epinion.

Allow me to introduce you to the new love of my life (Sorry hubby dear...) - Editpad. Thank you to the person who introduced me to it. How did I ever cope without it....


So, what's this Editpad got that has made you so loopy?

It's extremely well designed. It had more features, but definitely does not use up more of your computer's resources, especially when you need multiple files open at the same time.

This is its best feature - the ability to open multiple files in the same window. Unlike Wordpad and Notepad, which require multiple instances of the program running in order to open multiple files, Editpad manages lots of files in its one window. And if you need to look at more than one file on screen at once, you can open a new editor window for that file.

Not only this, but it does not barf at files with the same name (from different directories), which my cynical side suspected it might do - anything that good must be broken somewhere right? Well, if it is, I haven't found it yet. (And my apologies to it's developer(s) for assuming the worst!).

Hand-in-hand with this is the ability to Search and Replace through all open files. Hooray! This, to a webmaster like me, is an absolute godsend. Talk about reducing the time to do a job (and the strain on the cut'n'paste fingers!)


So what else has it got?

It needs anything else?

Well, it can do everything that I said Wordpad can in my earlier review, including the ability to open any file, and displaying unix-generated files properly.

It handles words the same as Wordpad as opposed to Notepad - selecting by double clicking/Ctrl-shift-arrow selects the actual word, not the portion of text between the first space to the left and the first space to the right. But it can do more too.

It can insert the current date and time into your document - in one of 5 different ways.

You can switch between word wrap on and off very fast - either with a button on the toolbar, or ctrl-b. (The latter isn't an advantage, though.)

You can save all open files at the same time.

Files which have been changed are indicated by the Save button changing colour from grey to blue, and the icon on the filename tab changing. This is extremely useful.

It keeps a long list of previously opened files accessible via a submenu, but also has the ability to remove obsolete files from that list. Yeah!

You can convert spaces to tabs and vice-versa, change the case of the whole document (or just your selection) to Title Case, UPPERCASE or lowercase (a feature I used to load MS Word to use), and even apply simple cryptography using ROT-13 (swaps all letters for the one 13 along in the alphabet).

Oh, and it has a sense of humour!


And your favourite is...?

Apart from finally having something which handles multiple files with associated search and replace ability, the most useful, handy, natty, and above-all convenient feature is under the "Export.." option in the File menu. It will export the file as Unix format, ie a line feed only at the end of each line. (DOS/Win uses a carriage return and a line feed, usually. This makes CGI scripts barf on Unix systems.)

And for those Mac-lovers out there who are forced to use Windows on occasion? It can even export files as Mac format - with just a carriage return at the end of each line.


Well, does it have anything you don't like?

Nothing major, and nothing that even slightly outweighs the added benefits from this handy little tool. My one slight niggle is that Ctrl-B, which I am used to toggling the Bold flag, is now "Break Lines" (ie word wrap on and off). But I'm coping!


Sorry, Wordpad... Get out of my toolbox, you've been replaced.



Recommended: Yes