Frequently Asked Questions
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What does the NoteTab icon represent?

Fookes Software, the company that produces NoteTab, is based in Geneva, Switzerland. The white cross on the red background represents the Swiss flag.


How do I get rid of the splash screen?

You can disable the splash screen by unchecking the "Show Splash Screen" option in the Options dialog box.


What is the upgrades policy?

Minor updates and maintenance releases are free for users of the corresponding major version. In other words, if you purchased NoteTab Pro v4.00, all updates up to v4.99 inclusive are available for free. Major upgrades (version 5.*, 6.*, etc.) are available to registered users of previous versions at a 50% discount. However, the upgrade is free for those who purchased the corresponding version of NoteTab 120 days prior to the release of a major upgrade.


Can I replace Notepad with this editor?

Yes! If NoteTab is correctly installed, you will find a command called "Replace MS Notepad" under the Help menu. When you choose that command, NoteTab will first rename Notepad by adding the extension ".MS" to the program file. Then, it will copy a special little program called NOTEPAD.STB to the Windows directory and rename it NOTEPAD.EXE. Whenever this program is executed, it launches NoteTab instead of Notepad. If you want to restore MS Notepad after this operation, just use the command "Restore MS Notepad", which is also available under the Help menu.

Note that this feature may not work properly under Windows 2000, XP, and ME, due to the Windows File Protection (WFP) monitoring system, which checks for changes to system files.


How can I get a print preview?

NoteTab currently does not integrate a print-preview function. However, there are two excellent utilities we can recommend for this task. Both of them provide print preview and, if you want, let you print multiple pages per sheet so you can save a lot of paper. FinePrint™, from Single Track Software, is the easiest to use and also the most flexible. This Shareware program can be downloaded from the following Web site:

http://www.fineprint.com/

TxtPrint, from Örjan Råberg, is Freeware. Unlike FinePrint, it only handles text files. The easiest way to send NoteTab documents to it for printing is by using the TxtPrint library available from the Clipbook Repository at the NoteTab Web site. TxtPrint can be downloaded from the following link (download size 74 KB):

http://www.notetab.com/ftp/txtprinten10.zip



When I save a document as FILENAME.EXT, it becomes FILENAME.EXT.TXT

All programs using the standard Windows file dialog boxes do this. In fact, the default extension is added by Windows, not NoteTab. If the extension you are using is is associated to a program or is listed in the dialog's file-type list, then the default extension is not added. You can add any extension to the list by opening the Options dialog box and then activating the File Filters tab. Another method to avoid appending the default extension is to enclose the file name in double quotes (for example: "MyFile.1999").

Microsoft added this behavior with the introduction of long file names. You can now have file names like the following:

   MyFile.1999.txt

The .1999 is not considered as being part of the extension. And if you type

   MyFile.1999

in the File dialog box and ".1999" is not listed as a file extension (or associated with another application), then Windows assumes it is part of the file name and name does not have an extension – hence it adds the default extension.


How do I specify a default directory for opening and saving files?

There is an option in the Options dialog box on the Files tab that lets you choose the default open/save directories.


How do I associate specific extensions with this editor?

There is a tool in the Options dialog box on the Associations tab that makes it really easy to associate file extensions or undo associations. Add extensions to the list to create an association or delete an extension to undo the association.


The link is not opened in my browser when I click on it!

You must hold the Control key down and double-click on the link to open it in your browser. However, if you set the menu option "Tools | Quick Open Links", you only need to double-click on the link without holding the Control key down.


NoteTab does not load the whole file!

The file probably contains one or more null characters. By default, NoteTab treats the first null character it encounters as the end of the text. To change this behavior, you can set the "Filter Binary Codes" option which you will find on the Files tab in the Options dialog box. When this option is set, any null character NoteTab encounters when loading a file is converted to the substitute character (also defined in the Options dialog box). You will be able to load the full content of any file when this feature is enabled.


My Word processor file looks funny in NoteTab and some text is lost!

Files produced by word processors are usually not saved as plain text files. They contain all sorts of control codes that only the word processor that created them (or compatible programs) can understand. Word processors use those special control characters to store text formatting information (bold, italic, line spacing, paragraph alignment, etc.).

The NoteTab editor only understands plain text files (that's why it is so fast compared to a word processor) and will display the special control characters as funny symbols or rectangles on the screen. Some of the control characters may be interpreted by NoteTab as signaling the end of a file. This explains why such files are rarely fully loaded in the editor.

Unless you really know what you are doing, you should not edit or save such files with NoteTab. Doing this may render them unreadable to your word processor!


NoteTab Pro: where have all my fonts gone?

Unlike NoteTab Std, NoteTab Pro cannot use variable-width fonts. It therefore limits your choice of fonts to those that are fixed-width. This design is imposed by the input control used in NoteTab Pro. The benefits are better performance and a choice of commands/configuration options that are not available in NoteTab Std.


How can I set attributes (bold, underline, ...) for individual text elements?

This is not possible with NoteTab (or any "plain text" editor for that matter). This feature would require storing special control characters in the document. Since NoteTab is a "plain text" editor, it only saves documents as text without any control codes. Therefore all formatting information would be lost when you open the document again. If you want to format individual text elements, you will need a more sophisticated editor like a word processor.


Is NoteTab available in other languages than English?
At the present time we do not have plans for it. However, that is not to say that it never will be.


Are there plans to make a Linux or MAC version of NoteTab?
There is a possibility of NoteTab being ported to Linux if Borland-Delphi, a program that NoteTab is written in, adds support for it. There are no plans for Macintosh. Note, however, that you can run NoteTab on Macs using Virtual PC.


Where is the convenient "x" toolbar button for closing documents?

Version 4 uses a new type of toolbar which displays faster and consumes less system resources; this is particularly important as it now supports more than 90 buttons. Unfortunately, the little "x" button was no longer usable as it caused conflicts with the new toolbar. You can, however, add a standard "Close Document" button.


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