Notepad replacements

Notepad is good because text can be copied/pasted into other places (a forum post for instance) and the spacings and paragraphs will stay as written. Writings can also be saved at any time. There isn't really any need to use a replacement for Notepad but some of them offer enhancements that might be thought worthwhile.

Jarte http://www.jarte.com/

Jarte is really a proper word processor but it can be set up as a plain text editor, which is what Notepad is. The advantages it has over Notepad are:

* A spell checker.
* Word count.
* Duplicate word checker (the the for instance)..
* The paid version of Jarte underlines spelling mistakes as they are typed.

DocPad http://www.gammadyne.com/docpad.htm

DocPad has so many more functions than Notepad that it would take forever to list them all. Most might not be used. This too incorporates a spell checker (dictionary has to be downloaded and installed separately). Not only that but it can audibly read whatever text has been typed into it.

I usually use Word

Yes but Word automatically formats text...these are ways to copy your text unformatted

Yes, Word can be used but a plain text editor such as Notepad (or one of the mentioned replacements) can have its place too. As Malcolm says, text written into a plain text editor doesn't have the formatting that Word (or other word processors) place on the text.

Using a plain text editor is possibly more suitable for typing text that will be subsequently pasted into an e-mail or a forum.

When the written text is copied and then pasted into an e-mail or forum post, the spacings of sentences and paragraphs will most often look just the same as it was in the plain text editor. This isn't always the case if the composition is done in a word processor because this places its own text formatting on the composition.

This is typed in WORD, and pasted in, nothing wrong with this as far as I can see.

No worries Andsome. It's whatever you're happy to use. :) However, I'd still maintain it is sometimes better to use a plain text editor. I too have MS Word installed but have a preference for using Jarte (a Notepad replacement) for the purposes described. In fact, since it includes a spell checker, I use it for nearly everything computer related. Only use Word if I want to print a decent-looking letter.

I sometimes visit forums where the text in posts can be one or more of the following..

Bunched up.
Paragraph spacing is non-existent.
Paragraphs are too far apart.
Don't fill the entire space allowed for posts.

I think some cases of this are likely to be because text was copied from a word processor and pasted into a forum. The poster hasn't sorted out the misplaced pasted text before hitting the 'Post' button. Might be wrong but I reckon that's probably the reason.

Absolutely right Mart that sums it up nicely 

Not sure what is wrong with my word. Do a milion line topic. Try to copy and paste. Nah da. Two annoying little thingies that I can't move. Just trying something else notepad