If you were a “ definitive ” Mac exploiter , you sure enough remember NotePad , the eminence - keeping lotion that shipped with the Mac OS for years . Although quite limited , it was popular with many people as a way to cursorily enter simple notes .
If the results of asearch on VersionTracker.comis any denotation , practical notepads are still quite pop . However , many of the options are more - ripe applications for notation - pickings , data - direction , and outlining . In my on-line traveling , I have n’t found too many that are really a modern equivalent for NotePad — something with an easy - to - usage user interface , a just lineament set , and a low price . Garrett Murray’sxPad 1.2.5 ( ) is one of the few , and as of the current reading , it ’s now spare . ( James Dempsey cite xPad in a late Creative Notes clause . )
concord to the developer , “ xPad is a individual solvent replacement for Stickies , NotePad , Scrapbook and TextEdit . ” Although the latter claim might be a stretch , given TextEdit ’s advanced functionality in Tiger , xPad is indeed quite flexible . The latest version LET you produce notes with full RTF reinforcement , paragraph format ( including dash , tablet stops , spacing , and tilt ) , and character - level data format . you could also perform non - neighboring selections — choose some school text in one part of a document , hold down the Command key , high spot schoolbook in another part of the document , and then execute action on both survival .
But I ’d have a bun in the oven those feature from any “ notepad ” program these days . What I like about xPad is that , like NotePad , you could put in multiple notes ( consult to as document in the port ) , but , unlike NotePad , xPad give you a act of useful organizational tools . For example , a Documents drawer gives you quick accession to any greenback , and you’re able to name and categorize each musical note and see the date each bill was last change . you may also assort note by name , day of the month , or category . An Info draftsman shows the current note ’s name , class , macrocosm and qualifying dates , as well as a parole count .
It ’s also light to get message in and out of xPad . Of course , dragging an image or textual matter press clipping , or text from another app , into the xPad window slip in it into the current note , just as you ’d expect from a Mac app . But drag a text , RTF ( rich text format ) , or RTFD ( fat schoolbook format directory , basically an RTF file with inclosure such as images ) file from the Finder into xPad imports that document as a new note ; the original file remains untouched . Conversely , dragging a notation from the Documents draftsman to the Finder exports that note as a new RTF or textual matter filing cabinet ; the format is determine by your pick in xPad ’s predilection . ( you may instead use the Import and Export program line in the File fare , if you prefer that approach . )
you could also export xPad notes directly to the Notes feature of late iPods . check that you ’ve enable — via iTunes — disk - exercise mode for your iPod ; choose the desired note(s ) in the Documents drawer ; and then decent - penetrate on any of those notes and choose Send ToiPod namefrom the resulting contextual card . The note(s ) will be copied , in plain - text data format , to the Notes feature on your iPod .
Another nice touch is an opaqueness setting that lets you see behind xPad ’s window while you ’re typecast . And you’re able to quickly change to a particular xPad note from another coating via xPad ’s Dock menu .
One drawback of xPad is a lack of Spotlight support ; you ca n’t search the subject of your xPad notes . I also found the Undo program line to be a routine modified ; for instance , you’re able to unmake change to textual matter — type or deleting , for example — but you ca n’t undo certain format changes , such as highlighting or striking through text . Nor can you untie the activity of deleting a short letter . Finally , when you throw from one note to another , you lose your “ shoes ” ; the next time you switch back to the original Federal Reserve note , the view , and the cursor , will be back at the top .
Still , these minor flaws do n’t deepen the fact that xPad is a considerable rise over the original NotePad and a not bad utility for those who do n’t need a sinewy ( and expensive ) outliner or data point - management app .
xPad 1.2.5 require Mac OS X 10.2 or later , although more features are usable in 10.3 and 10.4 . xPad is a Universal double star .
