The Bloc-notes (or Notepad ) is a basic text editor delivered with Microsoft Windows. A text editor, not to confuse with a Word processing, generates file S not comprising information of formatting or styles. It is appropriate in particular for the edition of files of configuration, of scripts or of source code HTML,… It is the editor by defect to post the Source code pages HTML in Internet Explorer.
The textual files under Windows are generally associated with the extension .txt. Among the other formats opening directly in the Scratch pad, one finds the files of configuration of extension . ini , the Style sheets .css and the command files DOS (extension .bat) and Windows NT (extension .cmd). All the other textual files can also be open in the scratch pad, but under Windows, this requires an additional stage, where one must associate the new extension to the Notepad application.
Limitations and advantages
The Scratch pad does not make it possible to publish suitably the textual files coming from systems Unix or Mac: they are mainly problems of encoding of the returns to the line. Those are coded under Windows by the characters ASCII 13 (CR for Carriage Return, carriage-return or return to the beginning of the line) and 10 (LF for Line Feed or jump of line). The systems Unix use only the ASCII character 10 (LF), while the systems Mac use only character 13 (CR). In practice, when a file coming from such a system is open in the Scratch pad, all the lines are joined and the return to the line is replaced by a character resembling a small square, which makes the text very difficult to read. It would be very simple for Microsoft to avoid this nuisance: many text editors scannent the beginning of one file with the research of the characters CR/LF, CR or LF, deduce the format used from it and correctly post it in all the cases. For the detractors of Microsoft, it is a commonplace example owing to the fact that the editor does not aim absolutely the Interopérabilité with the other systems, but to make its users dependant on its tools and formats owners (in this precise case, the Mac formats and Unix not functioning with the standard editor of Windows, Microsoft imposes its format for the exchanges with these systems).In the oldest versions (included in Windows 95, Windows 98, Windows ME and Windows 3.1), the police force used is Fixedsys. The size of the open file is limited to 64 KB and the majority of the traditional short cuts keyboard do not function. Only the textual files 8-bits can be published there.
In the versions of the Scratch pad provided with Windows NT, the short cuts keyboard currents function and the limitations of size disappeared. The program can also publish textual files using the formats Unicode (UTF-8 and UTF-16). The police force used by defect was consequently replaced by a police force Unicode, Lucida Console.
For tasks of edition of code, in particular HTML, it will advantageously be replaced by other software proposing of the functions of syntactic Coloration. The Scratch pad however preserves an advantage on many of other editors: it does not block the published file. It is thus possible to work on a file in the Scratch pad all while opening it with another program.
See too
External bonds
- notepad.org - a nonofficial site without relation with Microsoft
- TED Notepad - an alternative (Freeware)
Simple: Notepad
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