10 Reaons Why I Use TextEdit

I was talking to somebody the other day about using Word over TextEdit. (I'm a huge fan of TextEdit) This person wasn't convinced that TextEdit is better, but I figured I would write a tip concerning the 10 reasons why I use TextEdit.


1: TextEdit Uses Less Processing Resources.

While using TextEdit, I felt as if it used less resources. Well, I tested this theory out on a Friend's Intel Mac Mini and here's what I came up with.


Word:


Pages:


TextEdit:


As you can see, TextEdit uses only a fraction of the resources that Pages and Word use. Please note that I took these pictures after I had waited 20 seconds.


2: TextEdit Uses Less Screen Space

Well, actually, TextEdit is flexible as to how much screen space it takes up. And while you can shrink down the size of Pages/Word documents, it doesn't look good. Also, Pages/Word have all those extra menus such as the inspector.


3: TextEdit Can Export As HTML or WebArchive

Yes, Pages and Word can do this. But, it's a simple matter of changing one option in the save menu. And, it's nice that it's combined with all the other great features.


4: TextEdit Can Read More File Types Than Just RTF and TXT.

When it comes to reading different kinds of file types, TextEdit does the Trick. It can read PLIST, SCPT and anything that Terminal (the command line) can write. (I'll expand on this later.)


5: Plain Text is Future Proof

Yes, while pages can export as Plain Text, it's not as easy as it is in TextEdit. Hit Cmd-Shift-T, then save. No exporting or clicking through menus. The advantage of plain text is that it is future proof. Meaning that it has been around since computers and will be around for a long time to come. Want to open a plain text file that you made on your Mac OSX 10.4 machine inside Windows 95? You can do that. If you have a Pages '08 document, you can't open it with Pages '06.


6: TextEdit Is Free

Free is a very powerful word. TextEdit is made on a mac, for a mac, and comes with a mac.


7: TextEdit Files Are Smaller.

I copied the text of this document into Pages, and saved it. It then did the same with TextEdit and Word. The result?

Word:


Pages:


TextEdit:


That pretty much speaks for itself.


8: TextEdit Takes Less Time To Open

While this may seem unimportant. I find it VERY important if I need to write something up really quick. I don't have the time to wait for Pages or Word to open. So, I click the icon and start typing. Here's the opening times on my friend's Mac Mini.

Word: 5.47 seconds
Pages: 7.37 seconds
TextEdit: .78 seconds

Please note, this is the time to get an open, ready to type into, document.


9: You Can Make Simple HTML Files in TextEdit

This kinda relates back to Exporting as HTML and being free. If I'm just messing around with learning basic HTML, I don't want to pay for BBEdit. (Or software of the same genera.) So, I write up HTML in plain text mode, then, save it as "My Super Cool WebPage.html". Then, it can be read by your web-browser of choice.

Go here if you want to learn more on this topic.


10: TextEdit Can Read Files Written By the Command Line.

I mentioned this earlier, but, if you're going to be messing around with the command line, you'll probably want to be able to read what you're writing. Well, TextEdit can do that.



That concludes my 10 reasons why i use TextEdit. Why do you use the text editor you use? Do you use TextEdit? Word? Pages? Speak out! Post a comment!