TextPad - the friendly, usable text editor
Critique the usability/user friendliness of a software program that you use frequently. Illustrate with screen shots as is helpful.
Jakob Nielsen mentions on his site that there are three common ways in which bad applications fail:
TextPad, a text editor made by Helios Software Solutions, makes none of these mistakes. I use this software nearly every day and have done so for almost five years. It is the kind of well-designed software that does not get in the way of what you need to do. It is so easy to use that I sometimes feel it was designed for me.
Solves the right problem
TextPad is an amazing tool for editing any type of text file. I essentially use it as a scaled-down integrated development environment (IDE) for my web development tasks because it allows me to get things done quickly. Most IDEs are heavy because they contain a great many tools and controls which allow you to connect to databases, to web servers, compile, deploy and debug code. Though this functionality is extremely useful and necessary for certain environments and situations, I find it unwieldy and unnecessary for most of my needs. TextPad allows me to check log files, develop code, tweak code and search for text all in the same lightweight environment.
Right features for the right problem
TextPad makes finding files and text extremely easy. It actually allows you to load an explorer control in one of the tabs so that searching and loading needed files is a breeze within the program. Also, launching the program is always just a right-click away, as the TextPad executable is always available in your context menu once you select a text file.
Makes the right features easy for users to understand
Finally, TextPad has features that make searching multiple files very quick and easy work. Their "Find in Files" feature allows you to search within subfolders, search based on case or regular expression, and even allows you to search within binary files. Along with the right features, TextPad also is able to use custom clip libraries and dictionaries which are add-ons developed by other users for specific programming languages or syntax. Clip libraries provide access to tags or bits of code that can be selected and easily added to a file. Dictionaries allow special highlighting and formatting capabilities that allow TextPad to act more like an IDE than a pure text editor. These are just a few of the ways that TextPad can be customized, there are many, many other options available under the Configure>Preferences menu.
TextPad is a software product that has been designed with usability in mind. This statement can be found in its help documentation:
Jakob Nielsen mentions on his site that there are three common ways in which bad applications fail:
"...they (a) solve the wrong problem, (b) have the wrong features for the right problem, or (c) make the right features too complicated for users to understand." (http://www.useit.com/alertbox/application-mistakes.html)
TextPad, a text editor made by Helios Software Solutions, makes none of these mistakes. I use this software nearly every day and have done so for almost five years. It is the kind of well-designed software that does not get in the way of what you need to do. It is so easy to use that I sometimes feel it was designed for me.
Solves the right problem
TextPad is an amazing tool for editing any type of text file. I essentially use it as a scaled-down integrated development environment (IDE) for my web development tasks because it allows me to get things done quickly. Most IDEs are heavy because they contain a great many tools and controls which allow you to connect to databases, to web servers, compile, deploy and debug code. Though this functionality is extremely useful and necessary for certain environments and situations, I find it unwieldy and unnecessary for most of my needs. TextPad allows me to check log files, develop code, tweak code and search for text all in the same lightweight environment.
Right features for the right problem
TextPad makes finding files and text extremely easy. It actually allows you to load an explorer control in one of the tabs so that searching and loading needed files is a breeze within the program. Also, launching the program is always just a right-click away, as the TextPad executable is always available in your context menu once you select a text file.
Makes the right features easy for users to understand
Finally, TextPad has features that make searching multiple files very quick and easy work. Their "Find in Files" feature allows you to search within subfolders, search based on case or regular expression, and even allows you to search within binary files. Along with the right features, TextPad also is able to use custom clip libraries and dictionaries which are add-ons developed by other users for specific programming languages or syntax. Clip libraries provide access to tags or bits of code that can be selected and easily added to a file. Dictionaries allow special highlighting and formatting capabilities that allow TextPad to act more like an IDE than a pure text editor. These are just a few of the ways that TextPad can be customized, there are many, many other options available under the Configure>Preferences menu.
TextPad is a software product that has been designed with usability in mind. This statement can be found in its help documentation:
"When just getting the job done is work enough, the last thing you need is to waste time having to learn yet another computer application. Your experience with other tools should be relevant to each new application, making it possible to sit down and use that new application right away."
Labels: blog assignment, Usability
posted by blondebuttercup @ 12:11 AM
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