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Show HN: NotepadJs – A cross-platform love letter to Notepad

(github.com)
145 points itkeman | 10 comments | 22 Jan 25 11:59 UTC | HN request time: 1.039s | source | bottom

As a native Windows user who switched to macOS a few years back, one thing I never got over was the simplicity and usefulness of the old school Notepad app. This app aims to recreate that very same experience, cross-platform and easily installable as a PWA.

I've been using this for personal use for around 2 years and I figured it was time to share it with the world. Criticism, issues and PRs are welcome. Thanks!

1. markatkinson ◴[22 Jan 25 13:03 UTC] No.42792357[source]▶
Wow, I am in exactly the same position. I grew up in the 90's using all the versions of Windows. Notepad became such an essential part of my workflows that even after 10 years of being on a Mac, I still mentally "reach for" Notepad. I have yet to find a suitable replacement.

Thanks for this, will take a look. (One thing that comes close is Stickies on MacOS)

replies(5): >>42792503 #>>42792590 #>>42793097 #>>42797082 #>>42797198 #
2. jmb99 ◴[22 Jan 25 13:21 UTC] No.42792503[source]▶
What makes (plain-text) TextEdit insufficient?
replies(2): >>42792660 #>>42792673 #
3. setopt ◴[22 Jan 25 13:30 UTC] No.42792590[source]▶
If you open the TextEdit settings, you can change the default format from "rich text" to "plain text", and setup other default settings if you want (font, wrapping, default window size, etc.).

After a 5min config there, I don't notice a difference from NotePad, but I was never a "NotePad power user" though. For example, never used the ".LOG" feature.

4. disembiggen ◴[22 Jan 25 13:38 UTC] No.42792660[source]▶
It refuses to open files it doesn't like the filetype of, it won't save as an arbitrary filetype, it defaults to being a variable-width font and it has a few too many bells and whistles because it's clearly meant to edit RTF files, I'd say. Sometimes you want something completely spartan.
replies(1): >>42792831 #
5. soulofmischief ◴[22 Jan 25 13:38 UTC] No.42792673[source]▶
Both Notepad and TextEdit are some of the most insufferably feature-void applications I've ever used. Even for a basic note-taking app.
replies(1): >>42793190 #
6. neilalexander ◴[22 Jan 25 13:54 UTC] No.42792831{3}[source]▶
It opens anything — the "Open" dialog will allow you to select any filetype and you can also drop any kind of file onto the TextEdit icon in the Dock to open it.

As for plain-text, you can go into the Settings and switch it into plain-text mode, which it remembers.

You can even set it not to append ".txt" to the filename when saving, allowing you to enter whatever file extension you want when saving.

7. ◴[22 Jan 25 14:19 UTC] No.42793097[source]▶
8. markatkinson ◴[22 Jan 25 14:28 UTC] No.42793190{3}[source]▶
That's part of the charm. I think I've mostly replaced Notepad with Clipy.
9. vunderba ◴[22 Jan 25 20:24 UTC] No.42797082[source]▶
Sublime seems like a good replacement - cross platform, Open anything, gets out of your way, automatic saved buffers, etc.
10. miramba ◴[22 Jan 25 20:34 UTC] No.42797198[source]▶
I would recommend TextMate: https://macromates.com

It's feature-rich, but it just shows´an empty text window on startup. Can't remember if that's the default or I configured it that way.

For larger text files I use vscode.