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145 points itkeman | 1 comments | | HN request time: 0.223s | source

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!

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JTyQZSnP3cQGa8B ◴[] No.42792182[source]
What's wrong with TextEdit on macOS?

It's good that you made an alternative but it's not serious. I need to run Firefox, enable JS, reload the page, there is no "top menu" or install button, the open/save button does nothing, I can't choose my own fonts, and I guess it doesn't work if I don't have an internet connection.

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dspillett ◴[] No.42792351[source]
(Not OP, but I did read the information they wrote.)

> What's wrong with TextEdit on macOS?

Nothing wrong as such, but does it match the “cross-platform” description?

> Firefox … the open/save button does nothing

As per the readme, it is using an API that is not yet supported in Firefox for local file access: https://caniuse.com/native-filesystem-api

> there is no "top menu" or install button

That is meaning the browser's menu. Perhaps there is better terminology that should be used here. The readme does show a screenshot of it, so it seems clear from that to me. The install option is found there.

> and I guess it doesn't work if I don't have an internet connection.

Also in the readme: “Installable as a PWA”, which I think implies offline support, given it doesn't have sync features so has no reason once installed that way to talk to the wider network.

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JTyQZSnP3cQGa8B ◴[] No.42793390[source]
> does it match the “cross-platform” description

Yes, it's a plain-text editor too. The files are compatible with the Commodore 64 if you need.

> not yet supported in Firefox ... implies offline support ...

It implies a lot more stuff than all the other pre-installed plain-text editors on every other OS.

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1. dspillett ◴[] No.42793752[source]
> It implies a lot more stuff than all the other pre-installed plain-text editors on every other OS.

I read it as promising Notepad features with anything else it mentions as extras, not more features it doesn't mention from other text editors.