RogSoft NotePad+
Version 1.11
Copyright (C) 1996-1998 Rogier Meurs

Document revised at: 1998-01-18
 
This document best viewed with NotePad+

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Please read the installation instructions! 
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NotePad+ is a free drop-in replacement for Windows 95/NT 4.0 notepad, which eats standard notepad for lunch!

Features:

- No more file size barrier under Windows 95
- Opens multiple files
- MAPI enabled to send files through e-mail
- Drag-and-drop of selected text
- User-definable fonts & colors, Open- & Save dialogs Filters
- Smarter hot keys
- Numerous other improvements over standard notepad. 


Contents of this file:
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1. Installation
2. Uninstallation
3. The Story
4. Tips & More Information
5. Version History
6. Known Problems
7. Credits
8. License & Disclaimer 


1. Installation:
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Upgraders from an earlier version: delete the NotePad+ key in the Registry before installing. It's located at:

	HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\RogSoft\NotePad+

Use RegEdit or any other Registry Editor to delete this key.

COPY the standard Notepad program file (notepad.exe) from your Windows directory into a temporary directory. Then place the executable file from the distribution archive of NotePad+ (also named notepad.exe) in your Windows directory, confirm the overwriting of standard Notepad.

Now, rename the old notepad.exe in the temporary directory (for example, rename it to Notepad Original) and move it back to your Windows directory (that's necessary for the uninstall).

Make sure that you:

- COPY, not move, the old Notepad out of the Windows directory first before dropping NotePad+ in;
- don't rename the old Notepad before dropping NotePad+ in.

This is necessary to prevent Windows from changing the path or name of the associated executable to the temporary directory or new name. Looks like there's is some object-orientation in the Windows 95 GUI after all. :) 

Users who have an anti-virus program running in the background ought to
re-inoculate the notepad.exe file before they launch the program for the first time. 

After installing, associate your preferred file types with NotePad+ (in Options/Preferences/Associations), to get the full benefits of the program. Associate at least '.txt', '.bat', '.ini' and '.reg' files by simply clicking the Defaults button, for proper operation. 


2. Uninstallation:
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In case you want to return to your old Notepad, do the following: 

- In Options/Preferences/Associations, delete all associations with NotePad+ and click OK. This will restore the exact original Windows associations for .txt, .bat, .ini and .reg files and will delete the other File type associations you had made with NotePad+. 

- In your Windows directory, delete the NotePad+ executable (notepad.exe). Rename the original Notepad (which you had backed up under a name like Notepad Original) back to notepad (or notepad.exe when you have configured Explorer to show extensions). 

- You also might want to remove Notepad+'s user-preferences keys in the Registry, but it's not necessity. They are located at: 

	HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\RogSoft\NotePad+ 


3. The Story:
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I hated the limitations of standard Windows 95 Notepad so much, that I decided to write a better one. :) 

My goal was to go beyond standard Notepad's possibilities without making NotePad+ a full-featured text-editor, in order to retain a fast executable and smooth operation in memory-constraint environments. 

The program was developed using Delphi 2.0 and is a 100% 32-bit compiled Win32 executable, no run-time libraries are necessary to run it. I hope you'll enjoy this program, and would like as much feedback as possible. 

Comments, suggestions, bug reports, fan mail, etc. are welcome at: 

	theroge@xs4all.nl 

If you have a problem, please read this document and/or the information posted on my website before writing me. I get asked the same questions again and again, chances are the answer is already in this file or on the website. 

Updates will be placed at the RogSoft NotePad+ Home Page: 

	http://www.xs4all.nl/~theroge 


4. Tips & More Information:
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You've probably noticed the behaviour of Windows 95 applications, to automatically add an extension to a file that is saved. Naturally, this has a reason. The extensions are associated with programs and you are able to open a file by just double-clicking it.

But sometimes it can be annoying, especially with files for which you prefer it would not automatically get any extension. You can overrule this behaviour by typing the filename in the Save dialog box like this: "test" (WITH quotes). In this case the file will be saved without any extension. This works for NotePad+, but also for other Win95 applications that make use of the standard Win95 Save dialog. 

Another thing is that Windows 95 applications (including NotePad+) can save a file with the particular extension you want it to have, just by typing in the file and extension in the Save dialog box. For example: "file_id.diz" (WITH quotes) will save your file with the extension '.diz', not '.txt', regardless of the Save As Filter that is selected. Therefore, even though '.txt' is the default extension in NotePad+, specifying your own extension in the Save-dialog box -and placing the filename in quotes- will save your file with the extension you want it to have.

The quotes are not necessary if you save a file with a particular extension that is registered in Explorer. But as a rule of thumb, remember that placing a file with a specific extension in quotes always works. Win95 makes _some_ simple things more complicated than it was in the DOS-age, I hope this information will clear things up. 

To make use of the e-mail functionality of NotePad+, you have to have a MAPI-server installed.

If you have Microsoft Exchange (Windows Messaging) on your system, it will act as your MAPI server by default. Here is a list of other programs that could be your MAPI server and how they should be activated in order to act as such: 

- Outlook Express: go to Tools/Option, on the General tab make sure the following options are checked:

	'Make Outlook Express my default e-mail program'
	'Make Outlook Express my default Simple MAPI client'

Outlook Express is the e-mail/news program that comes with Microsoft Internet Explorer 4 and it works with NotePad+. 

- Eudora: go to Tools/Options/MAPI, set 'Use Eudora MAPI server' to Always.

Eudora is a professional e-mail program which works with NotePad+. A functional and free version can be found at: 

	http://www.eudora.com/eudoralight 

NotePad+ cannot send mail via Netscape, since it doesn't support MAPI. 

About file sizes: NotePad+ has a theoretical limit on file sizes of 20 MB. However, loading files over 500 kB to 1 MB may be slow. If you frequently need to open files that are in that range (or larger), NotePad+ may not be the best editor for your needs. For files up to somewhere in the 500-1000 kB range however (depending on your particular system and perception of speed), NotePad+ is fine. 


5. Version History:
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Versions with an increased number at the end of the version number are mainly bug fixes. Versions with additional functionality will have an increased number directly after the dot. 

For example, 1.1 has more functionality than 1.02, while 1.02 has no significant extra functionality over 1.01. You can always check out the NotePad+ Home Page for the latest version. 

1.0 September 17 1996:
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First release. 

1.01 September 18 1996:
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Fixes 'Invalid data type for Alternative' error. 

1.02 September 25 1996:
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Fixes bug in Fonts/Colors preferences. NotePad+ would change fonts/colors for current session of application even though the Preferences box was cancelled after you had messed around with the Fonts/Colors preferences. (You would only have noticed this if you used the fixed/proportional switch after closing the Preferences box.) 

Fixes bug where Find function would not highlight first string found (very irritating!). 

About dialog now checks under what OS the application is running. Skips System Resources when running under NT (NT has unlimited system resources). NotePad+ is now fully NT capable.

Reduced program executable's size by >70kB(!) by removing an un-needed source code unit that Delphi had automatically added when I was trying some things out before the first release. 

Several other (minor) bug-fixes and adjustments. Polished the program a bit more. 

1.1 October 30 1996:
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- Bug fixes:

A new file will now be created at start-up if this option is checked in the Preferences. This bug unfortunately sneaked into version 1.02. Interesting to note is that this bug is by far the most reported one. :) 

Send box now displays text as it should when the Windows Display setting is set to large fonts.

Changed a number of things in the Properties box and other places in order to solve the problems that some of you are having when running NotePad+ while Windows is set to use Large fonts. I'm not able to reproduce these problems, but the screen shots you people sent me where enough to convince me that this is a real problem. Since I'm not able to test the results of the changes I made (the problems with Large fonts strangely enough don't occur on my system) I urge you to give feedback on the results.
 
Changed behaviour of Replace button in Replace Dialog. Instead of finding and immediately replacing the text to find, it will now find the text on the first click, and replace it on the second. 

I made some changes to the program to prevent the irritating updating of the Windows desktop that occurred when opening and creating files. 

The Open Dialog will now only follow the path (when 'Follows Path after Open' is checked in your Preferences) when the Open Dialog itself is used to open a file. Opening of files by, for instance, double-clicking will leave the Open Dialog path to what it is. 

- Added/changed functions: 

Made optimizations to speed up the creation of the edit windows, maximizing/restoring windows and switching between files. 

Double clicking on a file while NotePad+ is already running will now result in opening of the file in the already running instance of NotePad+ instead of a new instance that would be started.

To make the above behaviour possible, I made NotePad+ what's technically called a DDE-server. Explorer now communicates with a running instance of NotePad+. It was necessary that the associated file types with the original Notepad were updated to implement DDE. That's why I made an Associations tab sheet in the Preferences box where you can associate files with NotePad+ in an easy way. 

Dropping a file on the executable (shortcut) or using Send-To, will now fetch the long name for the directory (as was already done for the file name in these cases). Win95 seems to pass the DOS file name and path when you drop a file on the executable (shortcut) icon. You should never ever see a DOS file name or path in NotePad+ now (except for the Properties box where the DOS file name is deliberately shown :). 

Under the File menu are now options to save selected text as a file, to create a shortcut of the active file and to open the containing folder of the active file. 

You can now select for yourself how many Recent Files will be kept track of, with a maximum of 16. Created a sub menu for the Recent File list to prevent the File menu from cluttering. Recent File menu now shows only file names, full paths are shown in the status bar when moving over a file name in the Recent File list. Let me know if you like this (I do :). An entry is now added to the recent file menu after a file is closed, instead of after it's opened. 

Changed status bar font from Arial to the better readable MS Sans Serif font. First item in status bar now resizes with program window. 

You can now decide for yourself whether window position, size and state (maximized/restored) will be saved after closing. It may come in handy to uncheck this option after you've found your 'perfect' window settings. 

In the Fonts & Colors box, you are now able to select the Standard Windows Color for the elements (these are the colors as defined in the Windows Display properties under the Appearance tab). So if you have Windows set up so that your windows have a yellow background with red characters (yuck! just an example :), NotePad+ will follow this behaviour when you set your colors to Window Colors.

And you can now use any color your Windows supports, using the Color Palette that was added in this version. 

Added a box where you can define your own Open- and Save dialog filters. Saving a file using the Save As function will save with the extension as defined in the selected filter. 

Added a Page Setup dialog and a new Printing component. This will let you set margins and print accordingly. I've had reports that NotePad+ produced a division by zero error when printing under NT, I hope this will be solved now with the new Printing component. 

Choose your own margin size for the edit windows. Text just looks better when there's a small margin on the left. 

E-mail the author, or visit the NotePad+ Home Page by just clicking an item under the Help menu. 

1.11 October 31 1996:
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- Bug fixes: 

Some fixes were already in version 1.1. I worked all day long fixing problems and uploaded newer 1.1's when something was fixed. There were also bugs that only appeared on some systems. It's really no fun at all to fix something that doesn't happen on your own system. In fact, it feels like an impossible task. But I've been working on it today and fortunately, these problem seem to be solved now: 

Some people were unable to add text to a document. Didn't happen on my system and a lot of other systems, so very hard to fix. I know, it must be very strange to hear the author of a text editor say: 'Editing now works' :-) But then again, as I said before, it didn't happen here and a lot of other people didn't experience this problem either. 

The large toolbar/status bar problem finally solved. Toolbar buttons and status bar font now appear at normal sizes on systems that have the Windows Display properties set to use large fonts. Also didn't happen on my system and a lot of other systems, so very hard to fix (it comes down to just try all kinds of things and ask if it works). 

The following bugs did actually occur on my system: 

When creating a file, maximizing it, creating a file again and then restoring the files would cause the inactive edit window (the one in the back) to loose it's border icons (for maximizing, closing etc). Fixed it. 

Opening files sometimes didn't work ('Could not open.' alike messages), 
when NotePad+ was started from within another program. This is fixed. 

The screen font (name & size) is now used when printing. 

The text 'Unchanged' in the Status bar stays after opening a file and will not disappear anymore. 

Thanks for the quick reports people, I hope everybody is happy now. 

Note from January 18 1998: small revision (patched binary) in order to make to following minor modifications: E-mail address and Home Page URL updated,
removed E-mail Author menu due to problems it gave (normal e-mail option still available).


6. Known Problems:
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NotePad+'s edit windows are based on the Windows Rich Edit control, which has given some problems particular to specific systems.

On systems with the MS IntelliType and/or IntelliPoint software installed (which come with the MS Natural Keyboard and MS Mouse), text can not be added after switching word wrap mode. It's hard or even impossible for me to cure this problem, since it seems to have to do with a conflict with the Rich Edit control and the Intelli.. software. All the word wrap switching function does is call the Rich Edit control and tell it to switch word wrap mode. The actual implementation is done by the Rich Edit control itself. I have send a bug-report to MS, but haven't received an answer. 

Also limited to some specific systems is a problem with the Find function. I've had reports that the Find function wouldn't highlight the string that is searched for, or that the Find function doesn't work beyond 32kB of text. I haven't been able to reproduce the problem (I've tested the Find function extensively on documents up to 600kB in size). Since I use the internal Find function of the Rich Edit control, the same answer applies here: I can't fix it since it's the Rich Edit control that does the actual searching. I only call the Find function of the control with the search string and the position to start as parameters, and the found position is returned. 

There is a problem with text visually disappearing when operations like switching windows are performed. This also seems to be a problem tied to the Rich Edit control, or perhaps Delphi's encapsulation of it. In NotePad+, there are already precautions taken to prevent this when possible, but sometimes (in my experience very seldom) the text may disappear. Simply scrolling up and down with the scroll bar gives you back your view. Note that this problem isn't harmful to your data, as the file isn't damaged in any way. 

There is a bug with printing while word-wrap is on. This is because the word-wrapped text is printed using a control that does word-wrapping of it's own. Solution: turn off word-wrap in NotePad+ before printing. Also: if you have problems printing when using user-specified colors try using default Windows colors. Printing doesn't always work correct when user-specified colors are used. 

NotePad+ is meant for plain text files only. It's not for binary files, files that use escape characters, etc. Chances are files with escape characters won't show up properly. It's meant for plain, person-readable text only. 

Some people have reported the colors of their applications/desktop flashing when starting up NotePad+. This is because they are using a 256 color palette in Windows. When NotePad+ starts up, the system has to switch palettes. It doesn't happen on every 256 color system, but if it happens, it's probably on a 256 color system. Solution would be to use high colors. 

NotePad+ doesn't support printing of page numbers. 

About running NotePad+ under Windows NT 3.51: it seems that the program doesn't fully operate on NT 3.51 as it does on Win95 and NT 4.0. For example, dragging on the minimized program icon does not work. Since I develop NotePad+ on Windows 95, it's very hard to cure those problems. If I would upgrade to NT (which might happen in a couple of months), it would be version 4.0. Therefore, there will be no efforts to make NotePad+ fully NT 3.51 compatible. It may sound hard, but NotePad+ just wasn't designed for, nor tested on, NT 3.51. 

Opening in a running instance does not work if you use Send-To (when NotePad+ is in the Send-To Folder) or when dropping on the executable (shortcut). Funny enough, Win95 does not use DDE when you do this. I've not yet found a way to solve this in a nice way, but if I do, it will be implemented. Meanwhile, you can easily drop on the running instance by holding the file(s) over the Icon in the Task bar and drop the load on NotePad+ after it pops up. 


7. Credits:
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Thanks to: 

- All the people who have given me suggestions, bug-reports and fan mail. 

Some components I used were created by: 

- Envy Technologies (About95)
- Erik C. Nielsen (TFileDrag)
- Bill Menees (TLinePrinter)
- Brad Stowers (TPageSetupDialog, TBrowseDirectory)
- Patrick Brisacier and Jean-Fabien Connault (TPBShellLink) 


8. License & Disclaimer:
------------------------
This version of NotePad+ is distributed as Freeware. This means you don't have to pay for this software, just enjoy it!

I've had requests of people wanting to donate regardless of the fact that NotePad+ is free. Since I can use the money very well, I've decided to accept donations. Visit my website or e-mail me for details.

You are not allowed to modify this software. You may distribute it by making it available on online-services and distribution CD's and/or other media. I would appreciate receiving a copy of the CD and/or book it will be distributed on/with. 

If you review this program for a magazine, please let me know that you've reviewed it and tell me the name and issue of the magazine. If it's a paper magazine, please send me a copy.

You may not ask money for the program itself, only for the distribution of the program. Use of this program is at your own risk.

Rogier Meurs reserves the right to release future versions of NotePad+ not as Freeware. This means future version may become Shareware, that must be registered. Although future versions of NotePad+ may become Shareware, you may always use this version (1.11) for free for as long as you like. 

Happy editing! 
Rogier Meurs
Author of NotePad+

