Plain-Text Editing Is Now Fancy
It's been a while since I've written about text editors and it's about time to do it again because my favorite text editor just became a lot more colorful. Maybe you think color for a text editor is silly and maybe I would have agreed with you. Until this week.
Several years ago, I realized UltraEdit was indispensable, so I bought a non-expiring license that pays for all updates forever. Then I realized that UltraEdit Studio offered some additional capabilities that were helpful and I upgraded from UE to UES.
If you're a programmer or someone who needs to analyze data, you absolutely must have a text editor. But if those tasks aren't in your job description, what's the point? The point is that if you write anything (books, magazine articles, Web commentaries, blogs, letters to your mother), a text editor might help you to be a better writer.
Our brains work in two modes: Creative and Critical. Or Writer and Editor. Maybe Writer and Designer. The trouble with a word processor such as Microsoft Word, or WordPerfect, or LibreOffice Writer is that the creative/writer part of your brain can be hijacked by the critic/editor/designer part of your brain. You notice a red squiggle under a word, or you stop to think about whether something you just wrote should be set in boldface or italic.
None of that matters when you're writing. Get rid of distractions and you'll create a better article. You'll still need to edit it, but that should happen when your mind is in editor mode. And you'll still need to design the output, but that's a task for a time when your brain is in designer mode.
If you're writing, just write. Period. And that's what a text editor can help you do. (I wrote this article in UltraEdit Studio.) In UltraEdit, I can't set text in bold or italic. There's no option to create indented text blocks, hanging paragraphs, or indents.
So if you need to write, I encourage you to try a text editor. UltraEdit is my favorite, but there are free versions of text editors, too: J-Edit, Notepad++, and even the Windows Notepad editor. Those who need more than just basic text editing should definitely consider UltraEdit (or UltraEdit Studio).
What's New
The first and most obvious change is the new version's themes. If you think this is just silly eye candy, try the new version for an hour or two and then switch back to the old version. You might change your mind. But what else is now possible?
You might be distressed by the typeface shown on the document illustrated here. This is not an UltraEdit function. I have found that the DPCCustomMono typeface works well for what I do. The typeface is provided by Distributed Proofreaders. If you don't like it, you can use any typeface that you prefer.
Programmers will immediately notice the additional benefits that themes offer. Skin UltraEdit to match your style and preferences, and that includes the ability to modify the default syntax highlighting. Any word files you add will pick up the colors you specify in your own personal settings.
"Layouts" are closely related to themes. UEStudio has supported multiple layouts and profiles for a long time, but the new version provides 3 default configurations: power user with lots of icons, balanced, and clean (a minimalist approach). A problem with earlier versions allowed updates to overwrite configurations, but now a new Layout Manager allows you to retain configurations from one version to the next.
There's a full list of changes on the UltraEdit Studio website.
Free for All
Most of the software discussed here are commercial applications, ones that you pay for, download, and install. But numerous free applications exist -- some as free versions of applications that have more powerful paid versions and others that are just simply provided at no cost. Occasionally I like to describe some of those hidden gems because -- with no advertising budget -- these applications are all but invisible. With Thanksgiving just around the corner, now seemed a good time to thank the developers for some of these applications.
I include in this list applications that solicit or accept contributions and encourage contributions if you find that the application provides a useful function for you.
Filezilla
Although I use Dreamweaver to create the TechByter Worldwide website and although Dreamweaver has a built in FTP application, I don't use it. Instead I upload each week's updates with Filezilla. One of the reasons that I use Filezilla is its ability to allow a text file on an FTP site to be edited in a text editor.
This is important because sometimes an idea for a segment occurs to me when I'm not in the office. So I type the notes or sometimes the first draft of the full article in UltraEdit and then use Filezilla to upload it to my FTP server. If I decide to make additions later from some other location, all I have to do is connect to the site, select the file, and choose Edit.
Granted, there are other ways to accomplish this using one of the free online file storage applications, but I used Filezilla to edit files before online file storage was available.
As an FTP client, Filezilla is an outstanding choice because it handles plain FTP (not recommended because everything is sent in plain test) as well as both secure protocols, SFTP and FTPS.
https://filezilla-project.org/
Libre Office
Libre Office isn't Microsoft Office. The developers in Redmond and elsewhere have created a remarkable suite of applications, but it's overkill for many people. Libre Office has nearly as much functionality as its Microsoft counterpart, but it's free.
If you depend on Microsoft's Visio or Publisher, you'll want to stick with Microsoft Office. Libre Office can retrieve graphics from Visio and Publisher, but it can't edit the documents themselves.
Libre Office applications open more slowly than Microsoft Office components. There's no ribbon and the interface bears a striking resemblance to applications from the 1990s, but the functionality is present.
Although Libre Office can read and write files in Microsoft's formats, I recommend sticking with Microsoft products if your work requires that you share the writing and editing of documents with others in a way that each participant must work on the file several times. On the other hand, if there's only a single transition involved (to or from Libre Office), everything should work as expected. In fact, I know people who move documents between systems many times without a problem, so the danger is minimal.
Libre Office includes equivalents for most of the Microsoft Office components: Writer (Word), Calc (Excel), Impress (Powerpoint), Base (Access), and Draw (Microsoft doesn't really have an equivalent program). Libre Office has no application that would take the place of Microsoft's One Note.
Bulk Rename Utility
At first glance, you might be inclined to run from the room, screaming. The Bulk Rename Utility has one of the busiest screens I've ever seen and that makes it intimidating. Beyond that, maybe you're wondering why you would want a bulk rename utility.
File names created by digital cameras are horrible, nothing more than a string of letters and numbers. Maybe you'd like to rename all of the images from an event with the same name and a sequence number. That's what a the Bulk Rename Utility does.
The screen appears to be complicated because there are so many options. If all you want to do is manually select a batch of files and rename them so that they include an event name and a sequence number, all you need to do is select the files and then (1) Type the event name you want to use for the file name, (2) add the numbering you want, along with any padding, (3) confirm that the files will be renamed in the manner you wish, and (4) click the Rename button.
http://www.bulkrenameutility.co.uk/
What's In There?
CPU-Z is a free utility from CPUID (as in central processing unit ID, not a misspelling of "cupid") provides information about what's inside the computer, including the CPU, memory, the main board, and more.
But it also acts as a shill for DriverAgent, a system that claims to check the computer for outdated device drivers, download them, and install them. The link from CPU-Z goes to a "free scan" option that identifies outdated drivers (some of which may not be outdated) but then won't allow you to download them unless you pay.
Even worse, the application you have to download for the free scan attempts to trick users into a "standard installation", which includes the AVG antivirus application.
Many of the people who have tried DriverAgent give it low ratings and, because of that, I recommend CPU-Z with caution. Still, if you stay away from the Check for Driver Updates and Check for BIOS Updates buttons, it's safe enough to use and does provide useful information.
Mount an ISO as a Virtual Drive
I can already hear the questions: What's an ISO file and why would I want to mount it? An ISO file is one of several formats used to create a disc image. If you have an ISO file, you have 2 options for using it. You can burn the file to a CD or DVD or you can use a program such as Virtual Clone Drive to mount it.
The ISO might be an installation file because some software developers provide their files in ISO format. The user then burns the file to a disc to install it. Or maybe you'd prefer to skip that step and just install the application from the ISO.
In the case I've illustrated here, I have an ISO of a video. I can't play the ISO directly, but I can mount it and then it appears to be a DVD that the VLC Media Player can use.
http://www.slysoft.com/en/virtual-clonedrive.html
Encrypt Data You Want to Keep Private
Chances are good that you're not a terrorist or a spy, but there's probably some information on your computer that you would prefer to keep private. A good example would be financial records that would be a problem if a thief found them after stealing your computer.
Desktop computers aren't stolen very often, but they are sometimes stolen. Notebook computers are common targets of thieves, mainly because they can be converted quickly to cash. But if the thief is smart, he'll first look to see if there's any useful data on the computer.
And if you keep proprietary business data or government data on your portable computer and it's not encrypted, shame on your IT manager!
TrueCrypt is free and it can be used to encrypt an entire computer or just specific directories (as shown here).
After encrypting the data, gaining access to it involves mounting the encrypted data as a drive letter and providing the encryption password.
TrueCrypt is relatively easy to use, but it's important that you read and understand the instructions. If you make certain assumptions about how TrueCrypt works, you will do more than just encrypt your data: You will destroy it.
Edit Plain Text
I write about text editors occasionally. I like them because they're what you need if you write a program or a script, but also because they're handy for the first phase of writing for publication. You're not distracted by formatting considerations at a time when formatting should be the furthest thing from your mind.
UltraEdit is my favorite text editor because of its versatility, but it's not free. If you need a plain text editor and you're on a $0 budget, take a look at Notepad++.
When I'm working on someone else's computer and I need a text editor, Notepad++ is what I download and install.
A Free Image Viewer that Handles Even Raw Files
Everybody has a digital camera today. That may be overstating the case slightly, but cameras are now embedded in phones, computers, and tablets (even smaller models). Some people even have cameras that are just cameras. Even the current crop of phone-based cameras are capable of producing technically good images. But how do you sort through them?
There's no shortage of applications that allow you to view images, but one of my favorites is the FastStone viewer because it will also display photos that have been saved in camera raw format. The images shown here are all in camera raw format and are from The Wilds in eastern Ohio.
The viewer supports all major graphic formats -- BMP, JPEG, JPEG 2000, GIF, PNG, PCX, TIFF, WMF, ICO, and TGA in addition to camera raw files. It includes provisions for viewing and managing images, comparing images, removing red-eye, resizing large images for use in e-mail, cropping and color adjustments, and slide show creation (with or without music).
In other words, this would be a good value if you had to pay for it.
http://www.faststone.org/FSViewerDetail.htm
Burn CDs and DVDs
If you have an ISO file (remember those?) and you don't want to mount it as a drive, but instead create a disc that you can send to someone, you need a disc burning application. Of course, you also need a computer that contains a drive that can burn CDs and DVDs, but most computers already have that.
ImgBurn is another example of an application that would be a good value if you paid for it because, in addition to being able to create a disc from an ISO file, it can write files and folders to a disc. This makes it easy to send large files or large numbers of files to someone using inexpensive optical media.
But it doesn't stop there. ImgBurn can also convert any disc (without copy protection) to an ISO file and it can create an ISO file from a series of files and folders.
In other words, if you need to do something with files that are on a disc or with files that you want to place on a disc, ImgBurn is a good place to start.
Oh ... there's one more thing. If you have a CD (blank or not) and you want to find out everything you can about it (manufacturer, sectors, size, supported write speeds, and lots more) Discovery Mode will do that.
You're wondering why anyone would use a feature such as this to find out who the manufacturer is. After all, there's a name on the disc. That's true, but disc manufacturers often make discs for each other, but each disc contains a manufacturer ID (MID) that ImgBurn can read, so when I slip a Maxell DVD-R into the optical drive and ask ImgBurn to tell me who made it, I learn that the manufacturer is RITEK.
Unlock Locked Files
Have you ever tried to delete a file or a directory only to be told that it's in use by another process? If you can't figure out which application has locked the file, the usual solution involves closing applications until the lock is released or rebooting the computer. And if the file happens to be locked by a virus or other malware, it will probably still be locked when you restart the computer.
Good reasons exist for file locks. Microsoft Word, for example, locks a file when it's open so that some other application can't change the file at the same time you're writing it or editing it. But sometimes file locks aren't released when an application closes and, as a result, the file becomes inaccessible.
In the example I'm illustrating here, I'm attempting to delete a file that's open in Word. I can't imagine any situation in which I'd really want to do that, but it's an easy example.
When I try to delete the file, I'm told that it's locked. I can try again and again and again, but until I close the file in Word, I can't touch it. Now imagine that I've closed Word, but the file has remained locked. I don't want to reboot the computer, so I right-click the file and click What's Locking this File.
LockHunter opens and shows the owner of the lock. I'm then given the opportunity to unlock the file, delete it, or Other. The "Other" category is helpful for files or folders that appear not to be locked but still can't be deleted. Options include unlock and rename, unlock and copy, terminate the locking process, delete the locking process, and delete at next system restart.
Being able to delete the locking process can be helpful in fighting malware, but it's a dangerous option that should be used only by someone who understands the implications of the action.
Use Your Computer When You're Not There
Sometimes when I'm at the office, I need to use an application that's available on my computer at home, but not at the office. I could drive home, do what I need to do, and then drive back, but that would consume an hour or more. It's much easier if I just connect to the computer at home while remaining in the office.
LogMeIn has a free version and several paid versions. Anyone who needs to provide support for clients probably has a subscription to one of the fee-based options. But if you just need to connect to another computer occasionally, the free version is all you'll need.
When you log on, you'll see a list of all the computers you have access to.
Here I've selected a notebook computer that could be in another room, a building across town, or a hotel room halfway around the world. All you need is an Internet connection and LogMeIn will set up a secure, encrypted connection between the two machines.
Here's a screen shot of the notebook's screen on the desktop computer. You can log on and use the computer as if you're sitting in front of it. The free version is also a handy option if you have family members or friends who often need help with program settings. Instead of driving to their location, you can just log on to their computer.
Watch DVDs and Video Files
If you want to play that ISO file (remember those?) that you mounted previously with Virtual Clone Drive (or if you just want to watch a DVD that you just received from Netflix (such as Middleman, here, a show that ran for only 1 season), you need a video player. VideoLan's VLC is free and it doesn't try to sneak other applications onto your computer.
In addition to playing standard DVDs, VLC can play virtually all video files and audio files. But that's not all. It's not even really the beginning.
VLC can be your default player for all media types, but (unlike some other players) it allows you to decide and doesn't simply claim all media types as its own.
Granted the interface is relatively plain, but it's also easy to use. If you want something fancier, you can choose an alternate start option to open a skinned view. I tend to watch videos full screen, so the appearance of the player doesn't matter much to me.
When it comes to powerful options, you'll find that VLC has about everything you'd want with lots of adjustments and effects. These include options to apply various video effects, adjust the sound with a graphic equalizer, and use the program's hot keys to control VLC's operation.
Many of the applications I've described here are provided as freeware, completely without obligation. Others are donation-ware and, I encourage you to support developers when you find a donation-ware application to be useful on a regular basis.
Short Circuits
Updating a Windows 8 Tablet to Windows 8.1
Most of the systems that I've updated from Windows 8 to Windows 8.1 proceeded smoothly, but "most" is not "all" and for the past month I've been battling with Windows 8.1 on an Acer Iconia tablet. Although I had planned to format the tablet's hard drive and reinstall Windows 8 this weekend, that turned out not to be necessary.
After I upgraded the tablet to Windows 8.1, the performance resembled that of a 1994 computer with an Intel 80386 processor running Windows 3.11. "Slow" wasn't right right word to describe it. "Glacial" came close.
A call to Acer support elicited the expected answer: Update the system's various drivers. I did that and the tablet improved from "glacial" to merely "lethargic". Copying files across the LAN was painfully slow and even low-res videos wouldn't play reliably, so I called Acer support again.
For half an hour, the level-1 technician politely told me that I should try installing some other video player and I politely told her that I had already tried several video players, all with the same results. Eventually she transferred me to a level-2 technician who understood the problem, but had no resolution for it.
On Tuesday, I found a website where several people with the same problem had discussed the issue and it seemed that one person had found a solution: A system power setting buried in one of the menus. I suspect that the first clue involved noticing that the tablet was normal when running on AC power and slow when running on battery power. That probably led the person who discovered the problem to compare power settings to see what was different between AC and battery settings.
Specifically, what I had to search for is called the Intel Dynamic Platform & Thermal Framework Settings, Low Power Mode Setting, and turn it off.
After I made that change, the system speed was dramatically improved. Tapping the screen produced a response. Programs opened quickly. Videos played.
But that wasn't enough. I visited the Acer website again, downloaded even newer drivers, and installed them. One of the driver installation procedures explicitly mentioned Intel Dynamic Platform & Thermal Framework Settings, so when the driver updates were complete and after I had restarted the tablet, I dived in to the power menu again to confirm that the Intel Dynamic Platform & Thermal Framework Settings, Low Power Mode Setting setting had remained the same.
That setting was no longer available on the Power Options menu. So apparently somebody at Intel had found the problem and decided to eliminate the problem by eliminating the setting.
I also changed the video performance settings to optimize for video quality when operating on battery power.
This incident reveals a common problem with Windows-based systems, one that those who use Apple computers don't see: On a Windows computer, the hardware comes from one of many companies and the operating system comes from another company. Sometimes one company's improvement causes problems for another company's hardware or software. Apple, because of its overbearing big-brother approach, generally doesn't have this problem.
That's not to say that Apple's approach is right. Windows systems generally have more flexibility and the components cost less because there is competition. Apple systems suffer fewer compatibility-based problems, but they don't have as much flexibility in terms of components and components that are available cost more.
Either way, computers are computers. Operating systems are operating systems. There are no perfect computers or operating systems, only choices.
SnapChat Says Facebook's Offer Is One that it Can Refuse
A couple of mid-20s developers, when offered billions for their business that hasn't yet turned a profit, said NO. The application in question is SnapChat, a photo messaging application. It was created by 5 Stanford University students and it allows users to take photos, record videos, add text and drawings, and send them to a controlled list of recipients. Recipients can view the images or videos for no more than 10 seconds, after which they are deleted from the SnapChat server.
As you might expect SnapChat works only on Apple and Android devices.
Facebook wants the technology. The Stanford guys think they can get more for the application. The service started in 2011 when the 2 primary developers Evan Spiegel and Bobby Murphy launched it.
Are billions in the hand now worth more than the potential for additional billions later? "Don't try to time the market," a common warning from stock brokers, keeps running through my mind. Stay tuned.
The Difference between "Assess" and "Asses" is Just "S".
Sometimes it's impossible not to share an e-mail error.