Perhaps it's a reaction to the near-obscene bloat of some full-featured word processors these days, but there seems to be a renaissance of sorts blossoming in the text editor software category, recalling the clean, nimble simplicity of the original MacWrite that shipped with the first Macs, and the early version numbers of Microsoft Word.

Tom Bender's Tex-Edit Plus, which has been my main word-crunching tool lately, just keeps getting better and better, yet the latest version 2.8 application occupies a barely-noticeable 556k on my hard drive. BBEdit sets the standard for HTML editing, and weighs in at a more portly but still reasonable 3.2 MB.

However, Tex-Edit and BBEdit are not the only text editors on the block. In this review we will look at three other text-editing programs, TextWorks 2.0, Style 1.6.1, and the hybrid SimpleText Enhancer. Each of these programs has its own particular feature emphasis. I tried out all three over the past week, to see how well they performed as a substitute for my usual Tex-Edit Plus and BBEdit workhorses. Here's what I discovered.

TextWorks Office 2.0

MacZ Software's TextWorks Office 2.0 is a suite of text editing tools for people who work with text and/or HTML code.

TextWorks features include:
• Basic text editing tools -- font, size, color and style menus, open and save features and styled text printing.
• Can open any file type.
• Can save files into any file type.
• Can export styled text into HTML.
• Built-in text file emailer.
• Personal Info Manager - insert your name, email address, postal address and more into files with a single menu item or insert them individually.
• Editing of "Read-only" files.
• Clipping opening and editing.
• Built-in HTML-editor.
• Quick creation of Stand-Alone documents which don't require a text editor for viewing.
• Contextual menu support.
• An easy-to-use Application Help.
• Self-contained manual application

TextWorks system requirements are modest:
• A Macintosh or 100% compatible.
• System 7 or later.
• QuickTime 3 or later is recommended.

TextWorks can handle three kinds of documents: text, HTML and image files.

Text Documents

TextWorks can open any file type and save into several, provides all standard Mac text tools and adds several unique ones. TextWorks supports Convert to Uppercase/Lowercase and Reverse, but does not have the Word Caps and Sentence Caps commands available in Tex-Edit Plus. TextWorks can also strip Carriage Returns and Linefeeds (see discussion below in Style section) manually, and has a document info window that shames the ones in many word processors, although it only works on saved document data.

The TextWorks text window contains a simple and useful toolbar that I might actually get in the habit of using.

HTML Documents

TextWorks has an HTML editor whose window consists of a series of buttons, a couple of pop-up menus and a text field. BBEdit it isn't, but that's hardly a fair comparison given that BBEdit costs $109 more than TextWorks, and the latter will do the job for basic html documents, as well as supporting some advanced functions like forms and tables. Breaks are added by pressing Option-Enter . Paragraphs must be added manually (except when the alignment buttons are used). I found the TextWorks HTML editor a little too manual for my tastes, and found it more efficient to revert to BBEdit for my daily morning marathon of preparing Applelinks news stories for posting. The TextWorks HTML editor has potential, but it needs some work yet.

HTML documents can be created by selecting New from the File menu and then selecting “HTML file” from the New document menu. This will cause the HTML editor to appear.

Personally, I have never liked the document type dialog that appears when you call up a new document in ClarisWorks and AppleWorks, and TextWorks is similar. One of my favorite things about text editors is their ability to bang open a new document instantly to dump something in. This dialog defeats that facilty by requiring an unwelcome extra step when you're in a hurry, and it would be great if it could be turned off in the preferences.

Image Files

TextWorks can open image files into its Image Viewer, which developer Lauri Kieksi describes as "SimpleText’s PICT viewer on steroids." It supports PICT, GIF, JPEG, PNG and BMP. Some of the formats it supports require QuickTime 3 or later. TextWorks currently does not have an image editor, but one is under construction for a later version.

TextWorks’ Image Viewer supports zooming and scrolling (with the scrollbars and the zoom menu or by using the standard image zooming and scrolling shortcuts which are present in for example Adobe Photoshop).

Text documents can be exported or converted into various file formats using the Export command, including Plain Text, Tex-Edit, AppleWorks, MacWrite II, MacWrite Pro, MS Word 5, 6, and '98, SimpleText Read-Only, RTF, HTML, and TextWorks Stand-alone. You can also export to a custom type if you know the appropriate Creator and Type codes.

TextWorks also includes some cool features unique to it among text editors.:

• The Notepad is a simple text field which saves the text it contains automatically. It can be set in the preferences to appear in a separate window instead of appearing in the main window’s sidebar.

• The Calculator The calculator, like the Notepad, appears in the main window’s sidebar or optionally in a separate window. It is a simple calculator, similar to the Mac OS standard calculator application.

• The Advanced Calculator is intended for users who understand and want to use the mathematical order of operation. The Advanced Calculator is basically two text fields, one contains the formula you type in, and the other contains the total. It supports brackets - ( -- ).

• File E-Mailing - TextWorks is probably the only text editor that can send files as e-mail messages right from the text editor window. You just select Send File as E-Mail from the File menu, enter the recipient(s) address, your sender address, the subject, your SMTP server’s address and a possible carbon copy recipient(s). The TextWorks email function includes a customizable e-mail address book.

TextWorks 2.0 also comes bundled with ReadOnlyConverter Version 1.0.0, an AppleScript supported tool for converting SimpleText Read-Only text files into editable text files and vice versa. This is useful if you want to create a Read-Only ReadMe file or if you want to copy, edit or save certain sections of a Read-Only file.

I generally liked TextWorks, but had a few more criticisms in additions to the ones mentioned above. It's a small thing, but I don't really care for either the application or document icons used for TextWorks, both of which are plain vanilla (actually gray) generic with just a small yellow pencil added. Style (see below) wins the day here, with its attractive multicolored text icons, followed by Tex-Edit Plus's cool Lone Star flag.

TextWorks' simple find and replace function is fast, but has none of the advanced functionality of the find and replace in Tex-Edit Plus and BBEdit Lite.

There is currently no way to change the program's default font, which I found a bit small even on my 800 x 600 PowerBook monitor, and it would be really, really small on a higher resolution monitor. Lauri says that this will be remedied in Version 2.1.

The program also currently does not support standard F-key cut and paste commands, but F-key (F1-F4) support will be added to Version 2.1.

I also wasn't able to get key combination commands (eg: command + A for Select All) to work with TextWorks' Shortcuts. Lauri says that he forgot to add handlers for Select All in the shortcut settings, and will fix that as well in the next release.

A Single User license for TextWorks is $10, a Site license is $120 and a World wide license $400. Lauri says that "additional WW-licenses are required for other planets :)"

When you register TextWorks:
• The shareware notice delay window goes away.
• You will be able to save files in the HTML editor, as well as copy HTML code.
• You will be able to send text files as e-mail messages.
• You will be able to save files into the TextWorks Stand-Alone format.
• The registration reminders that appear when you save a file will disappear
• You qualify for free updates, bugfix releases, news on MacZ products and special offers for them.

For more information or to download TextWorks, visit:
http://www.maczsoftware.com

Style 1.6.1

Merzwaren 's Style 1.6.1 by Marco Piovanelli is a scriptable text editor for the Macintosh with powerful formatting capabilities that make it a sort of mini-word processor. Style handles formatted text, in which each character can have its own font, size, style and color, and each paragraph can have its own alignment, line spacing and margins. It also lets you embed pictures and sounds within the text.

Style is also fully scriptable, so you can add your own commands by writing scripts (or having Style write them for you). Scripts can be used to automate basic actions (like capitalizing or changing text cases) or to accomplish complex tasks (like turning any document into an HTML document).

Style features include:
• Built-in XTND technology lets you import and export documents in any file format for which you have an XTEND filter (such as those in Claris/Apple/Works and MacLink Plus).
• Ability to create stand-alone "AutoViewer" documents.
• AppleScript support. Style is scriptable, recordable and attachable and supports most of Apple’s Standard Suite and Text Suite of terms, with several additions.
• Built-in hierarchical script menu for convenient access to your favorite scripts. The script menu now rebuilds automatically when you add or remove scripts.
• Multiple undo/redo.
• Drag-and-drop text editing, with optional translucent text drags.
• Optional WYSIWYG Font menu.
• Appearance-savviness, including support for non-Platinum themes.
• Basic contextual menu support.
• Optional Navigation Services support (requires Mac OS 8.5).
• Support for proxy icons.
• Support for proportional scrollbars.
• Support for Sherlock’s Find By Content searches.
• Full WorldScript awareness. Style can handle multiple languages in the same document, including non-Roman script systems like Japanese and Arabic.
• Inline input (TSM) support for users of Far East script systems.
• Support for Unicode (UTF-16) text files.
• Transparent line break conversion for Windows and Unix text files.
• Word Services support for interfacing Style to external spell checkers.
• HTML conversion scripts, now including the ability to generate UTF8-encoded, multi-language web pages.
• Balloon Help for all interface items.
• Internet Config awareness.
• Support for Marc Moini’s Smart Scroll control panel.
• Support for Frontier menu sharing.
• Support for extended print records (requires LaserWriter 8.4 or newer) for having all of your print settings stick with documents.

Style's System Requirements are:
• Version 7.1 or newer of the Mac OS, and can run on any machine supported by that version of the system, although Mac OS 8.5 or newer and a PowerPC-based machine are recommended to take full advantage of its features.

You can drag PICTs and images in several other graphics formats (including GIF, JPEG, PNG and PhotoShop) to a Style document, provided you have QuickTime 3.0 or newer.

If Style finds a folder named Style Scripts in its application folder, it adds an iconic Script menu to its own menu bar, whose items reflect the contents of this folder. Choosing a menu item causes the corresponding script (which must be saved as a compiled script) to be executed. Once you execute a script, it is cached internally so that it will load faster the next time you choose it.

The Style Scripts folder can be an alias to another folder, and the scripts can be modified while Style is running. Changing the contents of the Style Scripts folder itself (or of any subfolder) causes the menu to be rebuilt.

The Claris folder that comes bundled with Style contains the XTND software you need to import and export documents in foreign file formats. If you have a folder named "Claris" in your System folder already, do not just copy the new Claris folder to your System folder, or you’ll delete your existing XTND translators. Instead, install the new translators that come with Style directly by copying them to the “Claris Translators” folder in your existing Claris folder.

To use XTND translation services on a PowerPC-based machine, you need the XTND Power Enabler shared library. You can either leave this file in the Style folder, or move it to your Extensions folder.

The translators bundled with Style are: MacWrite 5.0, MacWrite II, Scriptable Text Editor, Style and TeachText/SimpleText. The Style translator isn’t needed by Style itself, but allows other XTND-aware applications to read Style documents, preserving character and paragraph formatting. The Style and the Scriptable Text Editor translators are one-way translators, i.e. they work only for import, but not for export. The other translators, on the other hand, are two-way.

The XTND Translator List, located in the Preferences folder, contains information needed by the Claris XTND System. Marco says that sometimes this file may become corrupt, and that if this happens, you may find that Style crashes soon after launch. The fix is to delete the XTND Translator List and let Style build a new one.

That may have been why my PowerBook, which is usually very stable, crashed hard several times when opening Style documents. I have not had time yet to sleuth out the conflict or corruption. However, you can turn off XTEND support in the Preferences dialog, which is what I did provisionally. Style also demanded that I rebuild my desktop after installation before it would open documents by dropping them on its icon in the Application Manager palette. After the rebuild that function worked fine.

Plain text is not quite the transparent lingua franca among different operating systems that it should be. For instance, DOS/Windows uses pairs of control characters known as CR/LF (for Carriage Return / Line Feed) to separate lines of text. The Unix convention is to use LF characters alone, while, Macintosh applications use CR characters alone. If Style detects the use of Windows- or Unix-style line breaks when opening a text file, it will automatically translate them to Macintosh-style line breaks, and convert them back to their original style when the document is re-saved.

This is doubtless a lot more convenient for many users than Tex-Edit and BBEdit's manual CR/LF conversions, although personally I prefer manual control over such things.

One cool feature in Style that is not to my knowledge supported in any other text editor is multiple undos -- one of the things I miss most from my favorite word processor, Nisus Writer. In Style, hitting command+Z twice in a row undoes the last two editing actions, instead of undoing and immediately redoing the same action.

Style has a very clean text window with no toolbar. The script-based HTML converter editor is rudimentary but works well Style's ability to strip HTML tags can be a very useful feature. If you're into keyboard shortcuts, Style has a lot of those built in. See the list that comes with the program documentation.

One feature missing in Style that I would find it difficult to get along without is a word count function.

Style is distributed as shareware ($10). If, after a trial period of 30 days, you decide to keep it, you must register by paying the $10 shareware fee.

For more information or to download a trial copy of Style, visit:
http://www.merzwaren.com/style/

Simple Text Enhancer

The SimpleText basic text editor (originally known as TeachText) is included with virtually every Mac, and bundled with many third-party applications, but it has a very limited utility. I use it mainly as a quick viewer for PICT files, and as the default app. for screenshots.

SimpleText Enhancer is a shareware product that adds both a substantial list of new features and a function Tool Bar/Palette to SimpleText while maintaining SimpleText's ease of use. Some of the features included with SimpleText Enhancer aren't available in some word processors.

SimpleText Enhancer's tool bar is much more extensive and elaborate than that of any other text editor and even some word processors. Whether this is a good thing or not depends, I suppose, on how you feel about tool bars, but since all of STE's added functionality is accessed through the tool bar, you gotta have it to use this program. At least there are two tool bar format options, and it can be "window-shaded" with a mouseclick.

SimpleText Enhancer is also bundled with a File Converter Utility. By simply dragging a ReadMe file onto the converter, you can convert a read-only file into editable text. This enables you to copy, print, or edit any part of a ReadMe document as well as create a clippings file. You may also use the File Converter to create your own ReadMe files.

Features That SimpleText Enhancer Adds To SimpleText Include:
• With a single mouse click you can both display all the characters -- including dozens of useful hidden characters -- included with each font on your system and insert them into your document.
• You can set all four margins when printing from SimpleText. SimpleText Enhancer can set a margin that prevents printing text over the holes in the paper that is used with binders.
• You can time stamp any file.
• You can quickly and easily create a glossary for items you use repeatedly in documents as well as items stored for future access. These stored items can be just a few words, a quotation, or several paragraphs -- you can customize the glossary to fit your needs. SimpleText Enhancer includes two glossaries.
• You can select and insert any one of several pre-configured date formats into your documents with a single click of your Mouse. (Note that the settings in your Date and Time Control Panel may cause the format actually inserted into your document to differ from the format you selected.)
• With one mouse click you can adjust your point size as well as view all available point sizes.
• With a single mouse click you get a popup list of all active fonts in their own typefaces.
• The name of the font, the point size, and the style of the text you are working with are always displayed.
• Clicking the Sort button will apply an alphanumeric sort to the selected rows in your document.
• The P-1 button prints one copy of your document, eliminating the need to navigate the Print Dialog box.
• SimpleText Enhancer includes a user-configurable Auto-Save feature which can be directly accessed from the Tool Bar's Auto-Save button.
• You can perform Find, Find Again, and Find and Replace actions directly from the Tool Bar (requires SimpleText 1.4 or later).
• A ReadMe File Converter Utility is included with SimpleText Enhancer. By simply dragging a ReadMe file onto the converter, you can convert a read-only file into editable text. This allows you to copy, create a clippings file, print, or edit any part of a ReadMe document. You may also use the converter to create your own ReadMe files.
• SimpleText Enhancer includes the ability to change a text selection to either upper or lower case.
• Both Tool Bars include a WindowShade feature and an Iconify feature (this reduces the Tool Bar to a small icon). Also, you may completely hide either Tool Bar.
• Once you display the Tool Bar that is stored in the active window's Title Bar (just click once on the S.T.E. button), you may drag it to any location you choose.
• The Tool Bar that is displayed along the right side of a window automatically appears alongside the active SimpleText window (this Tool Bar may not be moved but may be either hidden or WindowShaded). If you need to move a window, the Tool Bar will automatically maintain its proper position.

SimpleText Enhancer System Requirements:
-- A Macintosh computer with System 7.5.3 or later (supports OS 9)
-- 68020 or later processor

SimpleText Enhancer requires only about 400K of hard drive space (only about 100K if you are using one of the developer's other utilities). However, unlike the other text editors, SimpleText Enhancer adds a Control Panel to your System Folder.

I found that SimpleText Enhancer worked as advertised, and some of its features are very cool, especially the glossary, sort, find, margin setting, and print at 75% size functions -- all accessed from the tool bars.

However, there are also some annoyances. I found that SimpleText Enhancer would frequently refuse to select or deselect insertion point on first (or second or third or fourth......) mouse click. The arrow cursor flashes distractingly with every keystroke while typing in STE, and there are no word count, document info, strip CR/LF, HTML conversion, or document export functions.

I kept asking myself why I would choose the $17 SimpleText Enhancer over $15 Tex-Edit Plus, TextWorks and Style at $10 apiece, or BBEdit Lite for free, and didn't come up with any convincing answers. All of these other programs will do everything SimpleText Enhancer will and a lot more, as well as being cheaper, less buggy, and not adding overhead to your System Folder.

Users who registered SimpleText Enhancer prior to 2/1/00 can download a free updater file for compatibility with Systems 8.5, 8.5.1, 8.6, and 9.0. from the SimpleText EnhancerWebsite

SimpleText Enhancer includes a 30-day money back satisfaction guarantee and sells for $17. To download a free, fully functional 10-day demonstration version of SimpleText Enhancer, visit:
http://www.kagi.com/MacEase/simpletext_enhancer_main.html

In summary, both TextWorks and Style are very decent text editors, each with some unique features that may particularly appeal to individual users. At $10 apiece, they are a great value, and you can try them out for free. Both are less mature software than, say, Tex-Edit Plus, but I will be very interested in watching them develop. At this point, neither is likely to wean me away from Tex-Edit Plus and BBEdit however.

SimpleText Enhancer adds some cool features to SimpleText, and you can try it out for free too. If you're looking for a text editing program, my advice would be to give all three of the programs reviewed here, as well as shareware Tex-Edit and freeware BBEdit Light a try, and decide for yourself.

Moore's Views & Reviews Ratings

TextWorks - 3 1/2 out of 5
Style - 3 1/2 out of 5
SimpleText Enhancer 1 1/2 out of 5

Charles W. Moore

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March 16, 2010