NeoPad: Pre-Alpha Version Released

[Veedems Veteran]

Well, I thought I would throw my hat into the arena and start work on a new project branded with the Neowin name. I have taken some time off from NexNote and have started on NeoPad. What is it? A replacement for Notepad for those of us who always wind up with quite a few instances of it open. Below is a screen shot of what I have so far. I still need to code in the find and replace functions and get the open and save functions going. I also need to figure out how I want to go about saving settings whether in the registry or in an xml file which I am partial ton and I need to quickly add in cascading and perhaps a toolbar. Of course all this means I need to try to gain some artistic talent and get some icons drawn up.

Drag and drop support is already up and running fully and so is font settings and the overall basic functionality.

It still has a ways to go, but I thought I would start getting your imput now on it. Remember, this is going to replace Notepad, for me at least, so it needs to stay light. I will not bloat it with too many features.

(the title says mypad, I know. It has gone from mypad to penpad to neopad)

Edited May 26, 2004 by bangbang023

[xxdesmus]

looks good...i will be watching this ;)

[eithyia]

Settings in the registry = bad, settings in an XML file = excellent. As for the editor, looks good; but what are you planning on bringing to the table that doesn't already exist?

[Adrian]

looks nice, maybe have an option for syntax highlighting?

[mercuryx013]

Looks great! Can't wait!

[Veedems Veteran]

Settings in the registry = bad, settings in an XML file = excellent. As for the editor, looks good; but what are you planning on bringing to the table that doesn't already exist?

I don't know what does exists and what doesn't. Just like with NexNote, I refuse to use any of the other apps out there that do something like this for the simple fact I want it to all be my ideas and not trying to catch up to someone. In the end, I will put in whatever i need to make my work more efficient.

[AJerman]

I love how I just started to type on the wrong keyboard....

Anyway, looks good so far, and I agree with the previous comment, save all your configuration data to XML files in documents and settings\user\application data ;)

[Veedems Veteran]

I love how I just started to type on the wrong keyboard....

Anyway, looks good so far, and I agree with the previous comment, save all your configuration data to XML files in documents and settings\user\application data ;)

Well to keep it simple first, I will just have one global file in the app directory. As time progresses, I will start with that.

I'm not shooting down any ideas, I just don't want to clutter up the work load before the basic stuff is ironed out.

[Frank]

What is wrong with putting the settings in the registry?

[Veedems Veteran]

Nothing is wrong with it, but it's just a little messy. An xml file is very accessible and so much easier to remove all traces of.

[Veedems Veteran]

jsu tto show you some prgress, here is an early version. Consider it pre-version 0.1 so don't expect too much. Opening and saving works, drag and drop to open a file works and a few other things, but settings are not saved yet and find hasn't been implemented. I would like your thoughts on it though so I can see wha teneds to be changed or whatnot.

NeoPad.zip

[Si Veteran]

jsu tto show you some prgress, here is an early version. Consider it pre-version 0.1 so don't expect too much. Opening and saving works, drag and drop to open a file works and a few other things, but settings are not saved yet and find hasn't been implemented. I would like your thoughts on it though so I can see wha teneds to be changed or whatnot.

(Y) Looks good!

The startup time was a bit long though - I assume that is because of .net?

[Veedems Veteran]

(Y) Looks good!

The startup time was a bit long though - I assume that is because of .net?

actually, startup was long because I left it in debug mode lol.

[mooodi]

definatlly..find a way 2 speed up startup...

or ..lol try this...

you could make it so it uses an edited version of notepad...but with changed icons and..it you just tab the "Edited Notepad" windows..

[Si Veteran]

actually, startup was long because I left it in debug mode lol.

:laugh:

[eithyia]

What is wrong with putting the settings in the registry?

Everything!

What happens when you uninstall the application, and it doesn't wipe out ALL of it's registry settings, like 9 out of every 10 programs? What happens when you reformat and want to retain program settings, but can't export all the keys from the registry, because you don't know where they all are? I don't need my registry getting fat and bloated from updated entries that I have to clean out because the program developer is too lazy to wipe out their own data! Likewise for not having an option to save settings to a file!

The end user should never have to suffer because of a lazy coder.

Settings stored in a nice file outside the registry are beautiful -- it means you can uninstall and wipe the program at will, back up settings at will, and best of all, not have your registry filled with anymore crap than it already is.

[Redestium]

You might want to contact somebody like FOOOD for your icon work.

[Veedems Veteran]

You might want to contact somebody like FOOOD for your icon work.

Thanks but I like doing it all myself. I'll probably go with standard icons at the beginning.

[xplatinum]

Everything!

What happens when you uninstall the application, and it doesn't wipe out ALL of it's registry settings, like 9 out of every 10 programs? What happens when you reformat and want to retain program settings, but can't export all the keys from the registry, because you don't know where they all are? I don't need my registry getting fat and bloated from updated entries that I have to clean out because the program developer is too lazy to wipe out their own data! Likewise for not having an option to save settings to a file!

The end user should never have to suffer because of a lazy coder.

Settings stored in a nice file outside the registry are beautiful -- it means you can uninstall and wipe the program at will, back up settings at will, and best of all, not have your registry filled with anymore crap than it already is.

Agree 100%

I format very often and I like my settings to remain in an ini/xml file within the app's directory.

[bonobozoot]

I am going to lurk in here until I see the step-by-step working versions that bangbang posts. :p :ninja:

[Veedems Veteran]

lol. I wanted to do alot of work today but I suffer from a really short attention span and haven't been able ot get myself to do much. Sorry guys, but thanks for all the support. BTW, I am in now way trying to outdo other Neowin branded apps. I know some may feel like I am, but that's not my intention at all.

[Veedems Veteran]

btw, I just added in the feature where double clicking the toolbar's empty space opens up a new tab. Thanks to weenur for showing me how to grab the mouse coordinates.

[00seven]

still looks like a not bad app from the screenshots, is there a skinning ability?

[Tim Dorr Veteran]

Wish there were .app bundles on the PC. You can store settings, theme-able resources, even extra programs all inside the application itself using an .app bundle on the Mac. Is there any thing like that which could be used for settings in this program?

[nickg78]

Very good app. I stored MyNotes.exe in Windows\System32 folder,

so I can run it by clicking

Start->Run->mynotes :)