Feature suggestions... (add your own)

[Marek Mänd]

I looked the pile of texteditors and I liked Textpad because it is kept simple
and GUI is more logically organized than the others.
Although some other texteditors I tried have some good aspects....

1.) Could be there a possibility having toolbar buttons, that execute macros ?
2.) Could be there a possibility, when having custom toolbar macro-tool buttons,
to define their looks using .ICO or whatever like that bitmap file ?
Seen pictures Tool 1(and that hammer picture or whatever)
isnt very self-explenatory when having lots of tools...
3.) Could there a possibility having macros-tools menu more tree-like,
I mean not linear, but tree-like having subcategories so one can better organize
the macros and distinguish between own ones and others downloaded from
contibutors... etc

4.) Clip libraries are poorly implemented by Textpad. Why isnt there a special
separator item available (I am not even talking the superior scripting power
of NoteTab) to sitinguish between of different item sets in clipbook.
Using character sequences like ------------------ for that is really awkward.

5.) I dont like that Textpad removes the workspace from MRU (most recently used)
list when the workspace file was on disquette, but at the time I tried
to load workspace the disquette wasnt in FDD. I suggest, that after
reporting hardware IO error (what TP does @now), it should ask whether
to remove the item from MRU-list...

6.) Will there be once Replace in Files feature ?

7.)... etc

[Stephan]

I'l really like to see

...attributes like bold, italic, underlined added to the syntax highlighting.

...a file tree view showing the directory structure and the files in the currently active directory. Well something like that - you get it.

...editable macros. Preferably a 'macro language' instead of just keystroke remembering. A simple language would do -for the moment, that is - but I would be _very_ pleased to have a 'real' language available (Ruby would be my favourite candidate, something like Emacs' LISP woubl be OK too). But hey, why not let the user decide what to plug in!?

That's what comes to (my) mind for the moment.

Best wishes

Stephan

[Andreas]

At least #6 is already possible.
In the replace box, select "in all documents", and the replacement action will affect all open files.
If you want to search first, use find in files, then open all, then go on as written above.

[Robbage]

I support #5 as well. I have a lot of docs on Zip disk and you can bet the zip disk isnt in the drive when I use an MRU item.. then it disappears... maybe a setting in preferences a) remove it b) leave it c) ask me
[and maybe d) remove it if it was on a fixed drive/ leave it if it was on removeable media]

[Greg Mills]

Greetings,

An option to switch between "normal" view and hex view would be nice!

Greg

[Andreas]

And - as suggested a few times to Helios - a Hex Edit instead of Hex View...

[Martin]

I'l really like to see

- a possibility to use a tool on every file opened
- Auto-Start, Auto-Open, Auto-Save Macros
- simple numeric calculations on numbers in Selected Blocks
- somethings like Ctrl-Shift-F4 to quick-close all files according to pattern
(the same as Ctrl-Shift-O for quick-opening
- folding of parts of the document

[Steve Albert]

I'll second the folding suggestion, and add another. I frequently work in a way that involves multiple sets of distinct documents -- one set for each of several projects I'm working on, or one for programs, another for documentation files, another for outputs and log files, etc. I'd like to be able to pick the context (i.e. set of files) I'm working in and have only those files appear in the document selector and in the on-screen windows. Switch contexts, and the screen display changes to show the appropriate windows for that context, and the document selector list also updates. Although I can do something similar by running multiple instances of TextPad in different windows, it would be cleaner and more efficient to have one instance running, with multiple contexts available.

[Marek Mänd]

PLUS

Once again about clipbooks (hehe TP uses term clip library, some other editors use term ... hehhehh )

However its awkward, that this clipbooks ID is integer and not a literal string.
That means when you use clipbooks from other contributors-authors,
you might get ID conflict as you already have used this ID number for
some other clipbook. Its easy to fix the situation although, but it is annoying
as it can be avoided when the string is used.

Methinks the TCL file format needs a total review.
It should be more like XML....

And specifting clipbook font like by EditPlus could be also handy...
Its somethimes hard to differentiate between clipbook items, when the
clippings are large and the font is small as it is and cannot be customized.


Seen complaits about Macros. Yes indeed they are oughful, as there is
no scripting language provided. And when it comes somedays,
then it would be upmost ridiculous to implement own-specific language.
People have enough other things in mind than learning howto program
another product in amongst of many.
JavaScript is enough open standard to build the macro language...
Fairly simple and understandable. Just things to learn would be
some by Textpad to JS language exposed specific objects dealing with
text formatting, clipboards etc...

[Andreas]

Steve Albert, have a look at
Help -> Help Topics,
select Content
Then in the tree select
How to...
Use Workspaces

[los]

I would love an windows explorer view instead of the recent document view. That way I can get to all the files in a folder.

[Steve Albert]

Andreas,

Yes, I'm familiar with workspaces, and use them. However, I frequently deal with so many simultaneous documents that I want to, in effect, have the option for multiple distinct workspaces available in a single session. (Right now, for example, I have one session holding a few dozen generated output files; another with the original set of programs to generate them; a third with the current drafts of those programs; and a fourth with 4 or 5 files that I'm using most immediately for the program I'm revising. And that's just for one project, and yes, I do need them all available simultaneously to be able to check for consistency, etc. I might need a few other sessions open, too, in case I get a phone call and need to refer to files on another project, though in that case I could probably get by with opening another session as needed.
You can think of this as wanting a meta-workspace, containing several workspaces, with the ability to switch among them in a single session. Perhaps a simpler alternative would be to allow grouping in the document selector window; make it hierarchical, so that you first pick a context (from the list you've created), and then choose among the files that fit into that context. Within the session, every open file is associated with a context. Doesn't provide quite the same functionality as keeping the contexts completely separate, with a separate window layout for each (one cascaded, one full-screen, etc.), but it would come close and probably be easier to implement.
An even simpler alternative (though again, with still less flexibility and power) would be to make the document selector hierarchical using the system's file structure as the organizing principle, with a directory replacing the "context" that I suggested above.

Steve

[Andreas]

Steve, your new posting makes clearer what you really want.
Your first posting sounded as if you did not know about workspaces. Sorry for misunderstanding.
Andreas

[Gerrit Kiers]

Dear Steve and Andreas,

I have suggested more or less what Steve is looking for in April of last year and TextPad replied with: "Thanks for passing on this neat idea. We'll probably implement it!"

Since then my fingers ache...

The whole idea is taken from a freeware program called 2xExplorer (Thanks Nikos!):

----
With a commandline option -[/S:<name>]-, alternative predefined settings can be stored and retreived from the registry. The /S option controls the registry key name. Current settings are stored in "HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Helios\TextPad 4", alternative settings could be stored in "HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Helios\TextPad_logfiles" or whatever you'd like.

I use TextPad for many purposes and most of these purposes have their own demands on the Interface of Textpad. Setting involving Window size, toolbars, use of Clip library and of Selector etc. Using different short-cuts to the program would allow me to use predefined settings for different uses.
----

As you might understand: This is not fully what Steve requested since these settings apply to different running instances of TextPad. But to be able to switch using a menu-command would be just one step further...

Kind regards,

Gerrit Kiers

[Bill Kidwell]

I would like to see an autocomplete feature. I imagine adding parameters to the syntax file so that the user could define the syntax.

Bill