A text editor is a type of program used for editing plain text files. If you have used Microsoft Notepad in your computer, that is an example of text editor.

Text files different from word processor files [Document files created by word processors such as Microsoft Word, or OpenOffice.org etc.]

A plain text file is represented and edited by showing all the characters as they are present in the file whereas  documents created by a word processor generally contain formatting control characters which enable functions like bold, italic, fonts, columns, tables, etc.

In other words a data in text file is what you see in the display whereas in word processor files there are hidden codes along with the displayed content which changes the display and formatting as we set it to be.

Text files can contain plain text, but they are not limited to such.

Data storage Because of their simplicity text files are commonly used for storage of information. It is often easier to recover corrupted text file. Disadvantage of text file is more storage than is strictly necessary.

Not going into much technical details we come back t text editors.

Some text editors are small and simple, while others offer a broad and complex range of functionality.

Following are the many features that a typical text editor has

• Search & Replace
• Cut, copy, and paste
• Simple formatting – Line wrap, auto-indentation, bullet list formatting, comment formatting [Notepad does not have few of these features]
• Undo & Redo –This function is quite similar as in word processors . The older text editors had  only one level of edit history remembered and successively issuing the undo command toggles only the last change [Notepad still does this]  Modern or more complex editors usually provide a multiple level history such that issuing the undo command repeatedly will revert the document to successively older edits.
• Data transformation – Reading or merging the contents of another text file into the file currently being edited.

Specialized Editors

There are many types of specialized editors that are more complesx and geared to carry certain tasks. For example source code editors are text editors with additional functionality to facilitate the production of source code.

HTML editors create the plain text files that deliver web pages. Examples are Dreamweaver, E (text editor), Microsoft FrontPage, HotDog, Homesite, Nvu, Tidy, and GoLive. Many of these also  offer the option of viewing a work in progress on a built-in web browser.

You would often be using text editing to take handy notes, create a text email or create or modify HTML code and to turn word processor files into text files.

Notepad though quite basic would be your frequent companion in your online business.

Whenever I work on my computer, a Notepad window is always open.

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