.FLYINGHEAD PRODUCT REVIEW
.TITLE UltraEdit is an ultra-useful editor
.AUTHOR David Gewirtz
.SUMMARY There are a certain few Windows products that are unsung classics. These are often special-purpose products that do one thing, and do that one thing better than anything else in the world. They’re products that have been around for years and years, often more than a decade, and have been lovingly refined, year after year, release after release, adding a selective feature here, meeting a user request there, until they’re perfect examples of what a software tool can be.
.OTHER
There are a certain few Windows products that are unsung classics. These are often special-purpose products that do one thing, and do that one thing better than anything else in the world. They’re products that have been around for years and years, often more than a decade, and have been lovingly refined, year after year, release after release, adding a selective feature here, meeting a user request there, until they’re perfect examples of what a software tool can be.
SnagIt, which I [[http://www.connectedphotographer.com/issues/issue200704/00001963001.html|reviewed]] a year or so ago, is one such product. And UltraEdit, which I’m reviewing here, is another. UltraEdit, shown in Figure A, is a text editor — and, at Version 15, it’s been lovingly updated and refined for the past 15 years.
.FIGPAIR A This is the Technical Writer environment for UltraEdit.
When I reviewed SnagIt (a screen capture program), I described it as:
.QUOTE But SnagIt goes way beyond basic capture. Maniacally beyond. The Joker in Arkham Asylum maniacally beyond. "When super-villains want to scare each other, they tell Joker stories." That kind of maniacally beyond.
UltraEdit goes that far beyond being a basic notepad. UltraEdit is a completely insane, feature rich notepad/text editor and it’s simply quite wonderful.
To give you an idea of how many features this program has, the program has various pre-configured environments. So if you’re a tech writer, or a Java or PHP code, or a system administrator, or an HTML jock, you select the environment you want, and the program reconfigures itself to best fit your usage, hiding all the less relevant features and elevating to visibility all the features that you’ll likely need.
There’s no way we have space for all the features this fully crazy program offers. Here’s a summary of the categories of features:
.BEGIN_LIST
.BULLET Programmer’s features
.BULLET Database handling features
.BULLET File management features
.BULLET Printing features
.BULLET Text editing features (HTML, CSS, etc.)
.BULLET Search and replace features
.BULLET Project/workspace features
.BULLET Editor display and customization features
.BULLET Formatting features (text, XML, etc.)
.BULLET Column/block editing features
.BULLET Macro and scripting features
.BULLET Advanced configurable features
.BULLET Window management features
.BULLET Help and support features
.BULLET Hex editor features
.END_LIST
The complete feature list scrolls on for pages and pages. Go ahead. Click [[http://www.ultraedit.com/products/ultraedit/ultraedit_features.html|here]] if you want to see them all.
UltraEdit is an excellent programmer’s editor, with support for syntax highlighting, code folding, and all the rest you’d like. But it’s also a fine writer’s editor, making it possible to craft words without worrying about the underlying format of the text.
The company, IDM Computer Solutions (the founder is Ian D. Mead, so you figure out how they got their name) also offers an IDE (an interactive programming environment) for Web and code development called UEStudio. Based on UltraEdit, UEStudio adds all sorts of programmer-tool features, like debugging. We plan to look at UEStudio separately, sometime soon.
So, you want to get a feel for just how different this beast is than, say, Notepad? How about this: UltraEdit can open and edit files as large as 4 gigabytes, even if you’re only using a 32-bit version of Windows — and even if you’re not running an enormous block of RAM.
Now, obviously, not everyone needs to open 4GB files, but it’s in there. In fact, if you need a feature, it’s usually in there.
.H1 David’s shameless plea for a feature
Well — except for one feature that I’ve yet to find and as a writer, would dearly love. I spend the most of my computer time using four major applications: email, browser, text editor (yes, I write in a text editor), and programming environment. Given that I spend most of my time awake in front of the computer, I spend most of my life using these tools.
And while UltraEdit has most features I want in a text editor (and probably many more I’ve yet to discover), there’s one that I’d dearly love to see added in UltraEdit 16. Here’s what I want: I want a word count system with a bunch of incredibly useful features.
Most text editors do a word count. You select some text, go to a menu, and request Word Count. UltraEdit does the same thing. But at the bottom of the UltraEdit screen is a status bar. It indicates the line and column, and even the file size, in characters. But it doesn’t indicate the number of words.
I want a constantly updated word count at the bottom of the screen. I’d also like the option to have a nice, big window with a constantly updated word count displayed in 64 point type or bigger. That way, the word count is always very, very visible if I want it to be.
I also want to be able to define what constitutes a word for the word count. I’d like to tell the word count system not to count lines beginning with certain strings or not to count words containing certain strings. Editing systems often have markup (like HTML) and I want to count the words, not the markup.
I’d also like to set two or three alarms, so as I reach a certain number of words, a dialog pops up or a sound plays (ideally, one or the other at my choice), letting me know I’m getting near my limit. So, let’s say I’ve got a 1,000 word article due. I can set an alarm for 850 characters that bleeps, letting me know I’m getting close and it’s time to start wrapping things up. Then I can just write, and the editor can keep track of things for me. Of course, sometimes I work with the sound off, so I can really concentrate. So I’d also like the word count system to optionally flash the screen, change color, or otherwise make it clear visually I’ve reached my threshold.
And while we’re at it, UltraEdit does syntax coloring, changing the color of text for different strings. I’d like to see UltraEdit change the text color as a specific word count threshold is reached, so every 100 words, it changes colors. Let’s say I’m editing a 3,000 word article and have to turn it into three 1,000 word articles, I’d love to be able to look at my UltraEdit window and at a glance see what’s in the first 1,000 words, what’s in the second, and what’s in the third — simply by the color of the text.
And I want presets. I have completely different needs when I’m writing for CNN, for FrontLine Security Magazine, for Counterterrorism Magazine, or for Computing Unplugged Magazine. I also have yet another set of needs for when I’m editing the ZATZ magazines. I’d like to simply navigate to the Word Count item on the Edit menu, select a submenu for any of my presets, or open a configuration dialog.
And that leads me to one final question about word count in UltraEdit. Why is the Word Count item in the Search menu and not the Edit menu? Baffles me.
.H1 Should you buy this product?
One word: yes, absolutely. OK, that’s two words (see, I really do need a better word count), but yes, you should buy this product. It’s excellent and even though I’ve spent about a third of this article shamelessly begging for a feature that perhaps only I need, I can’t say enough positive things about the product. The interface does get confusing from time-to-time, but overall, it’s excellent. A five-out-of-five.
.RATING 5
.BEGIN_SIDEBAR
.H1 Product availability and resources
Learn more about [[http://www.ultraedit.com/products/ultraedit.html|UltraEdit]].
See the full list of [[http://www.ultraedit.com/products/ultraedit/ultraedit_features.html|UltraEdit features]].
Learn more about [[http://www.connectedphotographer.com/issues/issue200704/00001963001.html|SnagIt]].
.END_SIDEBAR
.BIO
