Community

I'm evaluating a copy of TextPad. I downloaded the latest version yesterday. (I've been a longtime user of PFE and am also currently evaluating ConTEXT.)

Anyhow, I'm currently doing a fair bit of Python programming. I installed one of the Python syntax files from the download page. Fine.

I also used the Configure > Preferences > Tools menu to set up a command to call the Python interpreter and pass the current file to it as a parameter in the file's directory. So that works fine. I can execute my scripts from within TextPad. Great.

HOWEVER...(you knew there had to be a however, right?)

Sometimes my Python programs need to take additional parameters (besides the current file name) and sometimes they don't. So, I wanted to set up a second tool to handle the case that I need to be prompted for parameters.

The procedure to add this is
Configure > Preferences > Tools > Add > Program
and I select the Python.exe interpreter file.

However, the screen on configuring tools says that I can rename the tools there, but I can see no way to do this. It simply gives both of these tools the same name: Python. But I would like to name one of them something slightly different.

How can I do this?

Sheila King
http://www.thinkspot.net/sheila/

Close all Textpad instances except one. *)
Configure -> Preferences, select Tools in the tree.
Next to the tree, a list of tools appears.
Click on the tool you want to rename to select that tool.
Click on the tool's name and the list item becomes editable.
Type the new name, then <RETURN>
Click on Ok
Close Textpad to save the changes. *)
Reopen Textpad - now your tool is permanently renamed *)


*) These steps are necessary if you work with multiple instances. Otherwise it depends on the order of closing them which settings are stored (each instance stores its settings when it gets closed - so the settings of the last instance will be the one to survive...)

Thanks for the prompt reply, however this doesn't seem to work.

<later...edited...deleted and retyped...>

OK, thanks. I finally got it to work.

I would say, to the Textpad developers, that this was NOT intuitive or clear at all.
You need to put some more thought into how to allow people to rename tools so it is more obvious to the end user how to go about that.

Sheila King
http://www.thinkspot.net/sheila/