Internet Marketing Tools
Part Seven Text Editor Basics

By Shelley Lowery

If you've spent any time exploring your computer, you've probably noticed a program called Notepad. To be honest, I never really used the program prior to developing my Internet business, as I simply used my word processing program. Now, I don't know what I would do without it. Notepad is an excellent text editor that has a variety of uses such as writing HTML, editing scripts, and writing ezine articles -- just to name a few.

Writing HTML

When designing a web site, most Internet marketers prefer to use an HTML editor to write their HTML, as it can greatly simplify a somewhat difficult process. However, using an HTML editor has its disadvantages, as they have a tendency to add a lot of unnecessary coding and may not support the latest technologies. For this reason, many Internet marketers prefer to write the code themselves with Notepad.

Although writing HTML code with Notepad will certainly be more time consuming, your code will be much cleaner and can reduce your file size considerably.

Editing Scripts

When managing a web site, scripts are used to add interactivity. They're used to perform a variety of tasks such as form processing, message boards, and database management.

When using scripts for your web site, most of the time, you will be required to edit portions of the script such as the location of Perl on your server, paths to files and variables. Any editing you do must be done within a program that won't add any special formatting. Notepad is the perfect solution. You can simply open your script within Notepad, edit to suit your needs and upload it to your server.

Writing Articles

Writing ezine articles is one of the most powerful promotional methods used on the Internet. When formatting an article for publication, you should avoid using your standard word processing program, as they do not allow for proper formatting.

As there are many different types of email programs, writers must format their articles to accommodate the majority. Some email programs automatically wrap text at a certain number of characters -- while others won't wrap the text at all. If an article isn't properly formatted, many email programs will either force a portion of the sentence to the next line, or even display each paragraph as one long line.

Articles should be formatted to 65 characters per line or less, including spaces, and written in short paragraph sections. This guideline has become the standard on the Internet, as it is a safe line-length for a majority of all email programs.

Notepad is the preferred program used to write and format ezine articles.

Although Notepad is a great little text editor, it can't handle large files and is much better suited for small jobs. You may find that you'd like an editor that is a little more powerful. I use a great program called NoteTab Pro. This powerful editor will enable you to edit large files, format your text, convert your text to HTML, and even includes a spellchecker and thesaurus.

NoteTab Pro
http://www.notetab.com/

NoteTab is available in three different versions:

* NoteTab Pro - A full version text and HTML editor. Cost $19.95

* NoteTab Light - The freeware version of NoteTab Pro. It's completely free with no ads or nag screens

* NoteTab STD - Identical to NoteTab Light, except it includes some additional features such as a thesaurus, multilingual spellchecker and more.
Cost $9.95

As stated at the NoteTab site, the NoteTab family of editors is composed of three variants. Below is a short list that explains the main differences:

The main advantages of NoteTab Light over NoteTab Pro:

  • 100% Free (no ads and no nag screens)
  • Can use variable-width fonts
  • Better support for non-Roman alphabets (e.g. Chinese, Hebrew, etc.)

Main advantages of NoteTab STD over NoteTab Light:

  • Spell checker and thesaurus
  • Clipbars -- user-made toolbars
  • Can read and write outline-type documents
  • Command for reformatting and justifying lines
  • Modify and save EBCDIC files
  • Can search/replace text in disk files

If you've been using your standard word processing program to perform simple editing tasks, consider using a text editor. You may be surprised how easy and convenient these programs really are.

Copyright © Shelley Lowery

About the Author:

Shelley Lowery is the author of the acclaimed web design course, Web Design Mastery. http://www.webdesignmastery.com And, Ebook Starter - Give Your Ebooks the look and feel of a REAL book. http://www.ebookstarter.com