4 ms·
This is slightly off topic but might be helpful to some people who use both Notepad on Windows and TextEdit on Mac but are tired of the open document screen tha
by lotsofpizza 3y ago
This is slightly off topic but might be helpful to some people who use both Notepad on Windows and TextEdit on Mac but are tired of the open document screen that starts by default when opening TextEdit. For example, I take calls while at my Windows based workstation. When I'm starting a phone call, I instinctively open notepad and jot down notes while on the phone. I don't usually save the file but I will complete the task I wrote down and/or document the call in another program after the fact. However, when I'm on my Mac I can't just quickly open TextEdit and jot down notes. When opening TextEdit I'm prompted to open a file or click the new document button. This throws me off my workflow since I'm used to NotePad immediately opening a new document buffer to write in. I found a workaround on the Apple support forums here:
1) Quit TextEdit
2) In the Terminal, type the following command:
defaults write com.apple.TextEdit NSShowAppCentricOpenPanelInsteadOfUntitledFile -bool false
3) Open TextEdit and presto!
https://discussions.apple.com/thread/253444981?sortBy=best https://discussions.apple.com/thread/253444981?sortBy=best
- phreack 3y agoI just use Sublime Text for that. It opens immediately on all OSs
- gofreddygo 3y ago+1. Sublime user on windows and mac. Never failed me last 6 years.
- nntwozz 3y agoNice find, you can also do it like this: System Preferences > iCloud > iCloud Drive ( Options ) > uncheck TextEdit. Starting with macOS Ventura, it is System Settings > Internet Accounts > iCloud > iCloud Drive > Options > uncheck TextEdit. https://apple.stackexchange.com/questions/61406/how-to-make-textedit-open-with-a-blank-file-by-default https://apple.stackexchange.com/questions/61406/how-to-make-...
- lotsofpizza 3y agoThank you!
- safeimp 3y agoI was a longtime Windows user and used Notepad similarly. When I eventually transitioned to Apple I shifted to Notes, curious why you’d not use this in lieu of TextEdit?
- behnamoh 3y agobecause Notes is not a text editor.
- lotsofpizza 3y agoI can open TextEdit and immediately start typing within a few milliseconds. Notes opens the last note used and takes a few seconds to load. Then I have to manually create a new blank note. Also, I have to remember to delete the note when done because they're saved automatically. When I'm done with TextEdit I can easily choose not to save the file. Using TextEdit is more of a seamless process and doesn't clutter up my files while also using less screen space.
- kyriakos 3y agoI use notepad++ on windows and have open all the time. Any more I want to write down I open a new tab. Notepad++ keeps the tabs even if not saved and automatically reopens them next time you start it. Combined with search in open files feature it makes it extremely useful.
- AstroJetson 3y agoI love notepad++ and use it a lot when I need raw text. I do like WordPad since it will do fonts, embedded pictures, etc. I really hate that MS is moving things to the cloud. I'm often in places that don't have wifi/cell coverage so getting to the cloud is impossible.
- knaik94 3y agoI use the autosave and take notes plugin in notepad++ which makes it perfect for this use case. I have it set to autosave when the window loses focus. And the take notes plugin lets me set a default filename with timestamp and save directory, which I set to my dropbox. The plugin also has an option to delete all empty text files when notepad++ is closed. It feels as friction free as writing on a physical notepad with a paper and pencil.
- g-b-r 3y agoJust keep in mind that at least in the old versions it had bugs that lead to occasional loss of all the autosaved files. I don't know if they fixed them since, I haven't used it in three or four years.
- Daneel_ 3y agoThis situation happened to me, and just in case it helps someone I thought I’d mention that the files are all saved on the disk - just go into settings and look up the location of the temporary save directory. Open that in explorer and you’ll have all the temporary files available.
- 3y ago
- behnamoh 3y agoI always found that weird too! Apple should know better. On the other hand, I like that I can just quit the app and open it (even after restarting) and jump back to my __unsaved__ tabs. A gripe I have with TextEdit (an app that I love for its simplicity) is that UI elements (like font selection windows) are too small.
- imgabe 3y agoOh my god, thank you! This has been a constant minor annoyance to me since switching to a Mac. I always use Notepad as a kind of extended clipboard on Windows.
- _nivlac_ 3y agoI use this workflow on my Mac all the time and don't remember having to change this setting. Could it be because I don't have iCloud set up?
- lotsofpizza 3y agoIt seems like it is related to iCloud settings, as mentioned in another comment.
- zoom6628 3y agoGVim on windows, macvim on macOS and vim on Linux. All work the same way. Open in empty doc.
- lhamil64 3y agoSome update to Windows 11 recently made Notepad open your last tabs when opening it. This keeps throwing off my muscle memory because I'm so used to just launching notepad and pasting or typing immediately, but now that might mean typing into a random spot in some existing file. I'm guessing I can turn that off but I haven't bothered. Plus it's kinda nice to keep those random notes if I don't save them.