NotePad Deluxe Version 2.1

As noted in the foregoing reviews of the two text search applications, computers are wonderful for accessing and storing information, but organizing and keeping track of the data you have can be a daunting - - even overwhelming task.

In researching and reporting the news here on Applelinks, and getting data for feature columns and articles, I collect and process large amounts of text each week - - press releases; information downloaded from Web sites; my own drafts; and of course hundreds of e-mails. The e-mail clients I use do a pretty good job of managing the latter for me. As for the rest of it, my data management system, such as it is, has for some time been based on the very low tech method of dumping everything into Tex Edit documents, and storing them in a selection of folders. It's relatively crude, but it has worked reasonably well for me.

However, I am open to exploring better ways of doing things, so long as they really are better. I have experimented with file database programs from time to time, but had up to now never found one that had the capacity to do what I needed to do, that wasn't so complex that I soon reverted to mind manual modus operandi.

However, I recently found a little database program that is both simple and powerful enough that I probably will continue to use it, at least for data with a relatively short half life.

The software of which I speak his NotePad Deluxe, from Ibrium HB of Sweden. I think the name is a bit unfortunate, because it makes NotePad Deluxe sound like a slightly enhanced version of Apple's venerable NotePad, when it fact it is a much more powerful and richly featured program.

A word on a clean software design. One of the things I dislike about Microsoft software is that it scatters itself around your hard drive with a profusion of cryptically named files. I prefer applications there remain self contained, have a simple and comprehensible file structure, and that invade your System Folder only with necessary Preferences. Good examples of this type of software are iCab, Tex Edit Plus, and even Microsoft's own, late Word 5.x.

Some file database programs I've sampled were powerful enough, but have had non-intuitive interfaces and complex files hierarchies that did not appeal to me.

NotePad Deluxe, on the other hand, has a single and simple but very intuitive user interface, and stores its files in its own application folder in database documents that the user creates, names, and manages. This is neat, slick, end user-friendly.

For my purposes, I have created, for instance, a database called "News" in which I dump all the research data I collect for news briefs on Applelinks. NotePad Deluxe databases are structured on three levels, all with a in a single database metafile:
1. The database itself
2. Topics
3. Notes

You can also have Sub-topics inside Topics.

Topics use the familiar folder metaphor and iconography within the in NotePad Deluxe Browser window. Notes are analogous to documents with in a folder, but in both cases these are virtual files contained within the database metafile. In other words, you can't find NotePad Deluxe Topic folders and Note documents as separate files in the Mac OS Finder.

The NotePad Deluxe interface window is divided into two side by side "panes." On the right is the Browser, in which appear the virtual Topic folders and Note files within the active database. On the left is a text field in which data from what ever Note is currently selected in the Browser field appears. You can instantly select from among Topics and Notes by a scrolling and clicking in the Browser. You can also minimize the window and hide/show the browser side with a click.

New Topics and Notes can be created using menu commands or keyboard shortcuts, and you can delete existing notes in or topics by dragging them to the Trash icon in the interface window.

This is all clearly and elegantly integrated, and very intuitive. NotePad Deluxe also includes built-in support for an infinite number of notes, styled text, strong encryption (Blowfish), spell checking (through the Word Services system), web links, labelling, sorting, a crash recovery system, topics within topics, Instant scrollbars, other fonts/scripts in header and browser and extensive drag and drop. There is also support for find with replace, local/global text formats, quick-find, labels, lock, a floating database palette, context menus, and a useful tab ruler (real tabs) in the main window.

NotePad Deluxe supports the use of multiple databases simultaneously. Each database, where the notes are stored, is handled in a separate window. In the browser your notes can be arranged, labeled, sorted, locked, printed, encrypted, and so on.

Simple text documents can be added simply by dropping them onto the program or into the browser. Drag notes to the desktop or use the browser popup menu to export selected items.

NotePad Deluxe saves your changes automatically when you go to a new note or topic. The notes are also saved when another program is activated. To save time and speed up the program, this kind of saving is only partial. Therefore changed data could be lost (but usually not) if the program crashes.

If Save prior to program switch is checked in the Preferences… dialog, all notes will be completely saved as soon as another program is activated. The drawback with having this feature activated is that it will cause a small saving delay when switching from NotePad Deluxe to other programs.

I think one of NotePad Deluxe's coolest features is the Export TEXT command, which allows you to save the selected as:
1) a SimpleText document
2) a SimpleText Read Only document
3) a SimpleText or Read Only document depending on the lock state
4) a text document to be opened with some other program

A pop-up menu gives you a selection of file formats to choose from.

System requirements:
• System 7.5 or later
• Around 1 MB of free memory

In the several weeks I have been checking it out, NotePad Deluxe has been rock-stable, and I have not found any bugs at all.

The main annoyance I have with this singularly non-annoying program is that notes are restricted to 32,000 characters, which frequently means that I have to use two notes to contain data that I would previously have dumped into one Tex-Edit document. However, that is a minor niggle, since the ease of switching between notes on the fly largely compensates for the slight inconvenience.

I really like this little program. $25 is on the steep end for shareware, but this is such a well-engineered, thoughtfully-conceived, and obviously high-quality product, it's worth the extra few bucks. Recommended.

Direct download:
• http://www.ibrium.se/npd/NPD_latest_version.sit.hqx

For more information, visit:
• http://www.ibrium.se/npd.html

Two Text Search Tools (And You Don't Have To Index Your Hard Drive!)

FindText 1.3.6

SpeedSearch 2.0

Charles W. Moore

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