important update: Since the introduction of User Account Control (UAC) in Windows® Vista/7/8/10 you will need permission to create/edit a file in the folder in which TabPad is run. If you chose the default folder during installation you will not likely have permission. All operations using Windows® WordPad will not work, which includes the first two options on the Edit menu, previewing a Print operation in WordPad, as well as the default location for 'Export to a File' (you would have to manually choose a new location). To avoid these problems move TabPad.exe to a new folder for which you have permission.
important update: Before using the hot key feature please refer to Hot Key(s) below. The default hot key Windows+T is no longer available in Windows® Vista/7/8/10 and will need to be changed on the General tab of the Options dialog box for these versions of Windows®.
Tip Messages
To receive tip messages, ensure that 'Display Tip Messages' is checked on the Help menu. Tip messages are displayed when you need them. You may or may not receive tip messages depending on what features of TabPad you use.
Each tool button has a ToolTip which describes it's function. To view a ToolTip, simply position your mouse over the button. Every tool button has a shortcut key combination associated with it. The shortcut is indicated (in brackets) as part of the ToolTip.
Each tab you insert is called a Page. To add a new Page; select 'New Page' from the File menu, or use the Ctrl+N shortcut.
To quickly access a Page using a shortcut: if a Page tab has the focus, then, for example, pressing H will bring you to the first page starting with the letter H;
if a Page document area has the focus, then you can press F6 (set focus to the tabs) then H,
or use Ctrl+Shift+H.
In the preceding example, if there is more than one page starting with the
letter H, then repeat the shortcut to cycle through all the pages starting with
H. Other keys you can use to navigate pages include; LeftArrow,
RightArrow, Home and End (while the tabs have the focus), or Ctrl+Tab and
Ctrl+Shift+Tab (at any time).
The red dot on a tab indicates the current Page. A yellow dot indicates a
Page has been modified. The yellow dots will remain until you exit TabPad.
After selecting a Page, to return focus to the document area you can use any
of the following keys: DownArrow, UpArrow, Tab, PageDown, PageUp, Ctrl+Home,
Ctrl+End, or Ctrl+A (Select All).
To change the color of a button; 1.) select 'Customize Colors - C' from the View menu 2.) position the mouse over the button 3.) when the cursor has changed to a 'C' (the letter C within a black circle), click on the button to change it's color. To change multiple buttons to the same color, simply hold down the Alt key while clicking on the buttons (Alt+Click). The document area color can be changed using the same procedure. When finished customizing colors, reselect 'Customize Colors - C' from the View menu to return the mouse cursor to normal.
There are five buttons for changing font color. These buttons have the captions 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5. Pressing one of these buttons will change the selected text to the same color as the button. You can change the color of these five buttons as described in Customizing Colors.
All tool buttons are accessible using the Alt key. If the button has only one letter, then that letter is used as the shortcut key. All buttons that have more than one letter have one which is underlined. For example, the UCASE button is accessible using Alt+A, because the letter A is underlined. This makes font formatting a snap. For example, you can use Alt+B, +I, +A, ++, +3, +T, without releasing the Alt key, to bold, italic, make uppercase, increase font size, change color, and bullet the selected text.
COMMON SHORTCUT KEYS - TOOL BUTTONS: Common shortcut keys used in other applications, such as Ctrl+B (Bold) and Ctrl+F (Find), will also work in TabPad. These shortcuts are indicated (in brackets) as part of the ToolTips.
COMMON SHORTCUT KEYS - EDITING: Common editing shortcut keys used in other applications, such as Ctrl+Z (Undo), Ctrl+X (Cut), Ctrl+C (Copy) and Ctrl+V (Paste), will also work in TabPad. Or if you prefer, these edit operations can be performed by Right-Clicking on the document area, then selecting one from the menu.
ALTERNATE SHORTCUT KEYS - EDITING: TabPad provides the following editing shortcut keys: Alt+C (Copy) and Alt+Insert (Paste).
OTHER SHORTCUT KEYS: F5 (Refresh Document Area).
You can insert the date and/or time using the DATE
tool button. The date/time format can be customized on the Text Editing tab of the Options dialog box.
| Here are some examples of Date Format: | |||||||
| mmm dd, yyyy | Oct 16, 2001 | ||||||
| mmm dd/yy | Oct 16/01 | ||||||
| mmmm dd, yyyy | October 16, 2001 | ||||||
| dd mmm, yyyy | 16 Oct, 2001 | ||||||
| \Date: dd/mm/yy | Date: 16/10/01 | (here, "Date: " is included as a prefix **) | |||||
| Here are some examples of Time Format: | |||||||
| hh:nn:ss AMPM | 02:37:48 PM | ||||||
| h:nn AMPM | 2:37 PM | ||||||
| hh:nn:ss | 14:37:48 | ||||||
| - hh:nn:ss | - 14:37:48 | (here, " - " is placed at the beginning to separate the time from the date) | |||||
| Ti\me: hh:nn:ss | Time: 14:37:48 | (here, "Time: " is included as a prefix **) | |||||
important update: Since the introduction of User Account Control (UAC) in Windows® Vista/7/8/10 you will need permission to create/edit a file in the folder in which TabPad is run. If you chose the default folder during installation you will not likely have permission, and the template file would not have been created there (without warning). To benefit from the features of the template file move TabPad.exe to a new folder for which you have permission.
ABOUT THE TEMPLATE FILE: After an
installation of TabPad is run for the first time, a file named "template" (with no extension) is
created
on disk. Each new page is created from this template file. Thus, all default formatting (*1*) comes from this file. In addition, when the CLEAR
button is used on a selection of text, formatting (*2*) is returned to
the defaults used in the template file. The template file can be deleted
at any time to return the defaults to what they were at installation (this can
be done within TabPad by choosing 'Reset Template File' from the Edit menu ).
*1* Changing any of the default formatting can be done in the same manner as
demonstrated in the
default font example below.
*2* The formatting that the CLEAR
button utilizes from the template file
are: font type, size, bold, italic, underline, strikeout and color, as well as indent and tab stops.
All other formatting in the template file is ignored when the CLEAR button
is used - thus, UCASE, lower, Proper,
bullets, etc., are not affected.
DEFAULT FONT: To change the default font; open the template file in your word processor (this can be done within TabPad by choosing 'Open Template File' from the Edit menu), select the new-line character (using Shift+RightArrow or Shift+End), change the font, then save the file (with no extension). Important: Do not use Save As - the word processor may add an ".rtf" extension to the file. If this does happen, then simply rename the file in Windows® Explorer.
When formatting text on a Page it is important to remember that the new-line character - the 'space' at the end of each line (selected using Shift+RightArrow or Shift+End) - holds font formatting which is transferred to the next line when you press Enter. Sometimes, to get the desired result you may have to select the new-line character and use the CLEAR button to return font formatting to the defaults used in the template file. To avoid having the font formatting transferred to the next line; instead of using Enter, use DownArrow. To do this you will have to keep some blank lines at the bottom of the document. This is best done by entering some blank lines in the template file.
Use the TEXT tool button to paste the contents of the clipboard
with the original formatting removed **. This will insert the text into the current page
wherever the cursor is. The raw
text pasted will then take on the format of the font at the point at which it was inserted.
This is particularly useful when pasting text from a web page. Sometimes if you paste formatted text
from a web page (using Ctrl+V, for example) several lines of text will be pasted as one continuous
line.
** You may be more familiar with the term 'Paste Special', available
in some word processors - which is generally found on the Edit menu, and
would take about 4 keystrokes (or clicks) to complete. TabPad's TEXT tool
button simply makes this feature more accessible.
For example, if you have copied some text from an email and want to remove the ">" characters - that are sometimes inserted in front of each line when an email is forwarded - you can do this with the BULLET tool button, using the following steps: 1.) set the appropriate options in the Bullets section on the Text Editing tab of the Options dialog box 2.) with the desired text selected in TabPad, press the BULLET button to remove the ">" characters 3.) if you don't need the bullets, use the BULLET button again to remove the bullets.
The Options dialog box can be opened from the Edit menu, or by using the Ctrl+O shortcut.
GENERAL TAB:
The option 'Prompt before Saving changes to a Page' can
be checked if you prefer to be prompted before changes are saved to each page.
Please read Saving Changes for more information on
how changes are saved.
In the Word Processor section you can specify the Name and Path of a word
processor. The Name you enter here will be used on the Edit menu, and on
the Print dialog box. Use the Browse
button to find the executable (exe) file of your word processor. When using the Browse button,
even if you select a Shortcut to the word processor (as opposed to the executable
file) the path of the executable
file will be entered automatically for you. Note: Ensure that the word
processor you choose supports the RTF standard.
In the Hot Key section you can assign a Hot Key
to recall (activate) TabPad. You also have the option of using the same hot key to minimize TabPad (if TabPad is already the active window). important update: The default hot key Windows+T is no longer available in Windows® Vista/7/8/10 and will need to be changed for these versions of Windows®.
TEXT EDITING TAB:
In the Bullets
section, the option 'Clean the following leading characters...' can be used
to remove unwanted leading characters from text when bulleting.
Letters cannot be entered in this field. To
include a Tab, simply press Tab. Special characters (such as £ or
• ) can be pasted into this field, but they must be pasted one
character at a time.
The Text Editing tab also contains the Date section where you can customize the format for inserting Date/Time when using the DATE
tool button.
The option 'Exclude the following characters...' applies to the W button (Select Word).
It does not affect the DoubleClick method of selecting a word.
With most software applications you save your work when you are finished.
If you decide not to keep your changes you close/exit without saving. This is not the best
approach for a notepad. With this in
mind, TabPad was designed to always save your changes automatically. The auto-save
feature saves changes every 60 seconds, or whenever focus is lost (whenever you switch to another application) (*1*). In the event that you
decide not to keep your most recent changes you can use the 'Revert Page'
feature (available from the File menu). Changes are also saved when you
select a page, add a new page, or exit TabPad (*2*).
*1* The auto-save feature is done in the background.
The prompt option described below (*2*) has no affect on this
feature.
*2* By default, you will not be prompted when changes are
saved to each page. If you prefer to be prompted before changes are saved to each page,
then check
'Prompt before Saving changes to a Page' on the General tab of the Options dialog box.
important update: Since the introduction of User Account Control (UAC) in Windows® Vista/7/8/10 you will need permission to create/edit a file in the folder in which TabPad is run. If you chose the default folder during installation you will not likely have permission. The default location for 'Export to a File' will not work (you will have to manually choose a new location, or move TabPad.exe to a new folder for which you have permission to avoid further problems).
EXPORT TO A TEXT FILE:
Select 'Export
to a File' from the File menu to display the Export dialog box. All items
on the Export dialog box have ToolTips. To view a ToolTip, simply position your mouse over any of the drop-down list boxes, text boxes, check boxes or buttons.
This will export all pages to a CSV (Comma Separated Values) text file. This is essentially a database, where each page is a record in the database.
The CSV text file can then be used to import all pages into another application that supports the CSV standard.
Typically this will be a desktop application that can sync with your PDA (handheld
device) - for example, Palm Desktop software. For instructions specific to
Palm devices, please read Using TabPad with a Palm™ handheld.
You can have up to 4 fields in your database. You can choose what goes in each field, and in what order.
This makes it easy to set up an export file that can be imported into another application on a regular basis without having to map fields.
In addition, you can include special data to duplicate for each page. For example, if the application you will be importing into has information grouped into categories, then you can specify a category for all
pages.
Once you have selected your settings on the Export dialog box and
created an export file, you can regenerate the export file at any time using the
Ctrl+E shortcut, or it can be regenerated automatically every time you exit
TabPad by ensuring 'Repeat Last Export On Exit' is checked on the File menu.
EXPORT TO AN RTF FILE:
Unlike the text
file export above, this does not create a structured file that can be imported
by another application - this simply generates the RTF text of all pages to a
file named "print_file" (no extension) with white space between each
page. The procedure is as
follows: 1.) select 'Print' from the File menu 2.) select the 'All
Pages - without Page Breaks' option 3.) click the 'Open in...'
button 4.) if desired, use Save As from your word processor to save
the "print_file" file to a file name of your choice.
More than one installation can be used to organize your notes into multiple notepads.
Creating a new installation is a two step process.
Step 1 - copy TabPad.exe to a folder (directory) of your choice
TabPad is designed to be installed in multiple folders
(directories) simply by copying the application file
(TabPad.exe) to as many folders as you wish. The name of the folder appears in the title bar when TabPad is run.
For example, when TabPad is run from the following installations, the title
bar of each will read: "TabPad - Notes" and
"TabPad - Recipes".
C:\MyStuff\TabPad\Notes\TabPad.exe
C:\MyStuff\TabPad\Recipes\TabPad.exe
In addition, TabPad will automatically import any RTF files that reside in the same folder as
TabPad.exe (one Page is added for each RTF file). Conversely, for each Page that you
add while using TabPad, a corresponding RTF file
will be created in this folder.
Step 2 - create a Shortcut to TabPad.exe
The Windows® operating system provides a variety of Shortcuts you can use to
launch applications. The following is a list of possible ways you can create a
Shortcut to TabPad.exe. Please refer to the Windows® operating system help documentation for further instructions.
| Shortcuts (icons) to your TabPad installations can be placed... | ||||
| 1. | Directly on the desktop | |||
| 2. | In a desktop folder | |||
| 3. | At the top of the Start menu | |||
| 4. | On the Start menu under Programs | |||
| a. | in a custom folder | |||
| b. | in the Startup folder (this will run TabPad when you start/reboot your computer) | |||
| 5. | As a Quick Launch icon on a toolbar on the Taskbar (not available in Windows® 95) | |||
| - | if desired, the toolbar can be detached from the Taskbar and put on the desktop. The desktop toolbar can be made to stay Always On Top | |||
important update: The default hot key Windows+T is no longer available in Windows® Vista/7/8/10 and will need to be changed for these versions of Windows®.
You can assign a different hot key to recall (activate) each of your TabPad notepads. You also have the option of using the same hot key to minimize TabPad (if TabPad is already the active window).
HOW TO SET A HOT KEY: For example, to set a single hot key (e.g. F8); 1.) with the General tab of the Options dialog box selected, select the first part of the hot key (the drop-down list box containing Alt/Ctrl/Shift/Windows) 2.) press Spacebar to clear it 3.) press Tab to go to the second part of the hot key 4.) press F8. The hot key will take effect when you close the Options dialog box, or click on the Apply button.
KEY COMBINATIONS THAT ARE NOT AVAILABLE FOR USE AS A HOT KEY:
First, ensure that you are not attempting to use a hot key that is in use by another
program that uses system-wide hot keys. Second, you will not be able to use certain key combinations that are reserved by the Windows® operating
system, such as:
| Windows+Pause | (System Properties) | |
| Windows+F1 | (OS Help) | |
| Windows+F | (Find) | |
| Windows+E | (Explorer) | |
| Windows+R | (Run) | |
| Windows+M | (Minimize All) | |
| F12 - alone, as a single hot key | (has no apparent function, but is not available in Windows NT/2000 or later) | |
| Ctrl+Pause | (closes an open file dialog window) | |
| Ctrl+PrintScrn | (screen capture) | |
| Shift+PrintScrn | (screen capture) |
update: Key combinations that are reserved by the operating system in Windows® Vista/7/8/10 has grown to include
Windows+D,E,F,G,L,M,P,R,T,U,X,F1,Pause,UpArrow,DownArrow,0-9
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