PC Review: NoteTab Pro
February 16, 2001
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If you're comfortable with HTML, and don't want or need WYSIWYG,
then NoteTab Pro may be the HTML editor for you. Its many
features and clip libraries make it an excellent choice for
getting down and dirty.
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Let's face it. Many of us just work on plain, unadorned Web
sites. We don't need to add a lot of fancy stuff. So why use a
program that loads all those extra fancy features into our
precious limited memory?
I don't always need to see what the page looks like as I am
setting it up and doing so just slows the whole work process.
With NoteTab Pro, pressing [F8] will open the Web
page in your system's default browser when its time to see the
results.
Often I cut-and-paste articles to and from e-mail or other text
files. If they are written in HTML, I need to reformat them to
either match the Web page I am pasting them into or to clear the
HTML codes altogether. In NoteTab Pro, I simply highlight the
text, press [CTRL]+[SHIFT]+"T" and the
code is replaced with a clean formatted page. I can even choose
to leave the URL's in the text, if I want.
The toolbar across the top is customizable for the features
you want displayed. Unnecessary features can be removed to
keep it clean and simple. A shortcut menu accessed by a right
mouse click is also customizable. A selection of more than 90
commands can be added to either menu. The menus include features
such as configuring text case, text alignment, file operations,
search and replace, and other editing options.
In addition, four clipbars are included with the program.
These reside, one at a time, under the toolbar at the top. Two of
them are for HTML coding, one for miscellaneous utilities and the
other is a TopStyle
clipbar which creates style sheets.
The HTML clipbars are especially nice. Need to add an
image to a Web page? Place the cursor where you want to add the
code, click on the image icon on the clipbar and a window pops
up. Browse to find the image, set-up a few parameters, and the
program writes the code and automatically sets the image size.
Included also are a color picker, special character selector,
hyperlinks and list set-up, paragraph alignment codes and
JavaScript writing facilities, among other features.
One central element of NoteTab Pro is the Clipbook
Library. These are libraries that contain 'macros' which help
in the editing and maintenance of documents. Pressing
[ESC] brings up the 'active' library. Then just
click on the code you want inserted into the page. You will,
however, have to scroll down to find the appropriate code. But
after using the program for awhile, this almost becomes second-
nature. The last code used is the default next time the window
comes up. The library can also be left open on the side of the
screen for easy access. The libraries cover HTML,
JavaScript, CSS,
DHTML,
XML,
VRML,
Perl,
PHP,
Pascal, COBOL, C/C++, VBScript, foreign languages, and
mathematical equations as well as many utilities. Help is
available within the program and online for writing your own
libraries. A few libraries are included with the program. Many
more are listed on the
NoteTab Web site.
The nice part is ... they are free!
A thesaurus and spell checker are included in the program. These
important features are often overlooked. When rushing to meet a
deadline, I frequently have to enter text into a page manually.
The spell check feature helps tremendously when fingers fly a
little too fast. Words can be added to the spell checker to
customize it for your particular needs.
File management is also a breeze. Multiple files can be opened at
once. As they are opened, the files are laid on top of each other
with the file name on a tab at the top of the work area. Clicking
on the tab displays the file in the editor window. A quick
[CTRL]+[TAB] switches between open
files also. Press [F6] and a window opens down the
side of the program. From there you can browse the directory you
are using and insert files directly. Files can be saved in
several formats: DOS/Windows, UNIX, Mac, and EBCDIC.
In addition, NoteTab Pro includes many other features: links can
be opened in the default browser, mathematical expressions can be
calculated right in the document, multiple undos and redos,
documents can be sent as e-mail, word wrap, convert files between
ASCII and ANSI. The program also includes outline capabilities.
NoteTab Pro can also act as a replacement for the Windows Notepad
program. Instead of opening two programs, you can edit HTML files
and text files simultaneously, one of the advantages being that
files can be unlimited in size. Line numbers can also be shown.
The program comes in three "sizes": NoteTab Light (free), NoteTab
Standard ($9.95) and NoteTab Pro ($19.95) (All the features in
this review apply to the Pro version. The others have certain
limitations.). Don't let the price fool you. This program
acts like it costs much more. You can download NoteTab Light and
activate the features found in the Pro version for a limited time
to try it out.
| What is it called? NoteTab Pro 4.83 |
| What does it cost? US$19.95 |
| How big is it? 1.5 MB |
| Where can you get it? http://www.notetab.com/
| | System Requirements? Windows
95/98/ME/NT4/2000 or higher, 486 processor or faster, 4 MB of
free disk space, 8 MB of RAM (16 MB for NT) |
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