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I presume Helios doesn't reveal its hand, but hey, why not? Just wondering if 5.0 is in the works and what we might expect if/when it happens. Thanks.

Maybe text editors like TextPad are mature to the point where there's just not much else one can do with the app except tweaks. Still, it's easy to get excited since it's so universally useful.

>>Maybe text editors like TextPad are mature to the point
>>where there's just not much else one can do with the
>>app except tweaks.

Oh, I would have to disagree - there's still plenty of things Helios could add to TextPad.

I guess the bigger problem is deciding what to add (and what adds really useful functionality), and what to avoid to not be dragged into huge featuritis and code bloat.

How about full unicode compliance/support so it's possible to read and write unicode with Textpad? Currently the so-called utf-8 support that exists is *NOT* full support for unicode. This is really annoying and it forces me to use another text editor like UltraEdit to be able to edit a file with multiple languages on it.

Hi,

scanning the enhancement suggestions should give Helios a lot of ideas. Those suggestions are even ranked. So it is very easy for Helios to find out what their users would like to see. (And some things they - addmittedly being a bit less friendly - just want to see).
That's the easy part as far as I can see.

That hard part might in fact be the decision about what to leave out of the next release (if there is one - as it has always been we users arent sure until it happens ).

And then someone needs to implement and test it, of course.

Cheers

Stephan

Because TextPad doesn't adequately support Unicode, I'm always looking for a replacement that's as good as TextPad but fully supports Unicode. So far, I haven't found one. For me, the next best text editor is EmEdit from EmuraSoft. With it you can type in foreign language characters and actually see them. Nevertheless, EmEdit is not as good overall as TextPad. Helios has created an almost perfect text editor, for me any way. As it is now, I use TextPad for everything I can. But use EmEdit when I need to include Asian languages in XML files. I would much prefer to only have one text editor. I look forward to the next major TextPad release, which I hope fully supports Unicode. I will send Helios $100 when this happens.

TextPad Rocks!

5-Aug-2007
FYI: Even though my TextPad 4.x license still works for version 5.x, I just bought a new 5.x license anyway. By doing this, I show my appreciate for the resumption of TextPad development. I also hope my purchase encourages Helios to add enough Unicode support so I can see and edit Thai and Chinese characters in TextPad documents.

As a developer I find Textpad solid and easy to use but lacking.

I have used Textpad since version 3 and I really like its GUI interface and key accelerators. It makes Textpad fast and useful.

However, now I have been waiting years for enhancements that would equal functionality that I was using with text editors (like Brief) ten years ago. Such functions as:
- Perl like regular expressions.
- Integrated method function list (could use ctags and does not have to be just methods)
- Option not to prompt to save a file that has never been previously saved.
- Visual cut-and-paste history.
- Better support for syntax (eg. Would like to better target specific syntaxes such as XML. Might require plugins).
There are lists of many other enhancment requests in addition to the ones that I would like.

I wrote enhancements for this list 18 months ago and I have still seen no hint that they, or any other enhancement, will ever be implemented. I see other people in this forum request enhancements and some who maintain lists of ordered enhancements by popularity. Lots of input and no output. No new significant releases of Textpad.

When I started using Textpad years ago it always won awards and it always was given top award over Ultraedit. Now Ultraedit has the functionality that I need but I still prefer Textpad. So I have had to choose Ultraedit.

I know that I am looking for an editor tool suiting the needs of a developer. For a developer, there are better editors. For straight text editing, I still recommend Textpad.

I am not writing this post to flame. I write my posts first in Textpad so I can easily edit and spell check before posting. But I do write in frustration that a good tool is no longer seems to be being developed.

I wonder how many other people are waiting? This post had 1083 views at the time I wrote this post. Most posts get 10's of views or a few 100's.

Is there to be a new feature release on the horizon?

I have sympathy with many of the points raised by csalsa, especially those about enhancement suggestions. I did a search on posts by helios to this forum and only came up with one hit (from 2003). So maybe the developers of TextPad have a policy of not responding to enhancement suggestions. Perhaps what we need is a list of suggestions from this forum that have actually been implemented (in detail) by TextPad over the past few years. Then we could better judge how useful the forum really is. I have a hunch that it's most useful to TextPad's competitors - they have a free online resource documenting exactly what TextPad users really want (and seemingly have no hope of ever getting). Any second-rate editor could use this information to tempt some of us away by tacking on one or two of the more popular features (however poorly implemented).

I greatly admire TextPad. I think it's really worth all the genuine loyalty it gets from its users. And I would like to express my own continued loyalty in hard cash by paying for a genuine upgrade to TextPad.

Don't believe I'm going to get the chance to, though.

There are responses from Helios here, esp. in relation to zridling's post from a few months back (and to some other more recent posts of his I can no longer find).

And then there's a response in the form of WildEdit which fronts a new GUI lib and, my favorite, also contains the Boost regex lib with its outstanding regex engine. Whether WE gets incorporated into TP remains to been seen. We mortal users can only guess.

I can only hope that TP's competitors are tapping into that "free online resource documenting exactly what TextPad users really want" since I'm constantly being told by wise men that competition is a good thing.

I can imagine why TP users have a bleak outlook for future versions, the latest major is getting old, I don't even remember how many years ago I paid for my TP version 4 license. On the other hand it's been good value for money, no license fee for years and years on? Then again perhaps Helios could throw us a bone by issuing a formal statement. Perhaps some comments on TP's future relation with WE? Hint, hint!

I do know that the posters here are mostly programmers. But. TP caters to the general user and Helios has even stated so. I hope they continue to do so because that single fact creates the TP interface I like so much, along with it's configurability of course!

Edited to remove a broken link

I know this is stirring the pot but....

Ultraedit 11 has just been released. Among its new features, it has improved HTML editting (which has been a major feature of Textpad).

Where is Textpad 5 with some of the excellent thoughts from this forum??? I am asking nicely.

Being slight OT I was just following up on zridling's post by checking out the Geat Software List. I was sure that TextPad used to be listed there. Has it been dropped now?

Cheers,

Steve

Very interesting UE version indeed, it's gone after the programmer market in a big way, no but's and if's about that. IMHO that leaves TP out there as the only general text editor left. Did UE give up on competing with TP in this area or is there just a bigger market to be found in programmers? Guess we will only find out with the next major release of TP. Film at 11.

csalsa wrote:Ultraedit 11 has just been released.

I'd just like to add something to this...

I prefer software that doesn't change too often. The modern forced upgrade cycle costs small businesses like mine an immense amount of money for little gain other than "percieved support".

The fact that Textpad has never caused me a problem (in daily use for over 5 years) is testament to why too much change isn't always good.

In fact on a similar level, I've just downgraded my system to Windows 2000 Professional from Windows XP Professional simply because it's immensly more stable and performs better.

This Is My Suggestion List For TextPad 5:

1 - FULL UNICODE support in write and read modus. It is a MUSS for a text editor.
2 - Automatic Braces/Brackets Highlighting. This feature is also standardized in the most modern editors i found. With TextPad you always need Ctrl-M and that is not really convenient in the most case.
3 - Supporting Syntax Highlighting in Bold, Italic and Underline (Especially Bold!)
4 - Combined Hightlighting Code Block INSIDE HTML (also, PHP, JS,ASP in HTML). Example: Crimson Editor, Notepad++, SciTE and all othe editors based on Scintilla component.
5 - Expand/Collapse blocks of text (discussed somewhere in the board)
6 - Export/Import Textpad Settings

*hope, TextPad developing is still alive*

Like so many others before me, I admire and use TP daily. But it bothers me that there seems to be no future for it. I see all kinds of great suggestions, a loyal following of users, but has there been any kind of response from them? Has anyone from Helios ever posted or replied to a message in this forum regarding the future development of TP (or lack of it)? It would be nice to have some Helios support person around on a regular basis to let us know how things are going, like many software companies have.

I can even understand a previous posters desire to minimize development for the sake of stability, but in these days where software, new languages and other technology is constantly changing, ones tools must keep up with them. I will hang on to TP as long as possible, but I won't go down with the ship.

FWIW, my personal wish list is:

1. Perl-like regular expressions (at least allow me t osue \s)
2. Improved syntax highlighting (C+HTML formats like Mason, ASP, etc) and extended token definitions (LineContinueChar, CommentChar{Alt}) or other extensions that would allow me to properly define the full syntax of a couple of languges I use.
3. Drop-down menus of undo/redo.
4. Built-in function/method list.
5. Search/Replace in a directory tree.

I know, I'm dreaming....