HTML5 Based Text Editor for Ubuntu Linux - GWrite!

The world wide web loses its meaning and purpose if the "contents" is only readable by either humans or computers. Thus the purpose of HTML (which is the basic framework of web pages) is to make the contents readable for both computers and humans since computers are still our slaves who's purpose is to search and structure the data so we can access them as efficient as possible (poor buggers :D).

Since its introduction, HTML has undergone 5 major "updates" and the recently introduced HTML5 is the newest version that brings a lot of changes (such as advanced multimedia support, etc).

Anyhow as said before, HTML is actually a way of representing data thus by using it as the framework, we can build pretty awesome (meaning powerful and features rich :P) applications with somewhat minimal of efforts (since we already have the basic layout from HTML for rendering the data, etc).

A quick picture not to make you bored with my little rambling :)...

For instance, the standard text format (.txt) cannot handle images or anything other than text. That's why we have word processors that have both the container format + a framework of their own for inserting/deleting pictures, links or other advanced things which the basic text format is unable to "understand".

But what if we could build a universal format that understand all these things, images, text, links, graphs, videos, audio, tables, etc ... well a web page such an app, isn't it? it can display these things by default. Why?, because it uses HTML as the "engine". So since HTML is an open "language" anyone can easily use its framework and build an advanced text editor (as with this case) or anything that's supported by the HTML protocol (sort of) with ease and that's what GWrite is all about!.

I'm sorry it took this long ... but I got all excited ;-).

Anyhow let me give you some of its features first...

*. Based on the HTML5 mark-up language and the UI is written in GTK+ toolkit.

*. Very simple window yet has a lot of features. *. Even supports "MS Doc" word processor container format!.

*. Insert text and make them: Bold, Italic,Underline, Change font size, Highlight text, etc.

*. As said before, unlike with a "traditional" text editor, you can insert pictures, tables (not the ones with chair and stuff :P), URL (links), HTML codes, LaTeX math expressions, etc.

*. View the text source in pure HTML or the usual humanly read version (without the codes, etc).

*. Add styles such as: Different headings, Bulleted/Numbered lists, Div tags, Block quotes, etc.

*. Undo & Redo.

*. Find and replace.

*. Word counting support.

These are among few of its main features to mention. Although it won't show any file other than in HTML or MS Doc by default but you can easily open text or other files by changing the attributes to "All files" in the open file window.

You can install GWrite in Ubuntu 11.04 Natty Narwhal, 10.10 and 10.04 (may even support 11.10, didn't check though) by simply entering the below command in your terminal window.

sudo apt-get install gwrite

So, if you're looking for an opensource, HTML5 based rich text editor (with excellent features I might add) that can be used in Ubuntu or GNU/Linux in general, then GWrite is a bloody excellent utility without a doubt!. Enjoy.

How to Install GVIM (a powerful text editor) in Ubuntu 11.04 Natty Narwhal, 10.10 and 10.04?

GVIM is the graphical "implementation" of the command-line text editor (an IDE actually) called the Vim. Although may not certainly be as "connected" as with the GNU EMacs, but Vim text editor also has a quite long history with GNU/Linux thus it comes pre-installed by default in almost all the GNU/Linux distributions.

But for the obvious reason of not having a GUI, Vim (which is also based on another editor called "Vi") is not that popular among the typical GNU/Linux users but other advanced boys and gals such as system administrators still use it quite often since it allows us to edit any text (+ editing programming language code files) file without having to log-into a graphical user interface to this day nonetheless.

In short, it a GUI written using the GTK+ tool-kit (aimed at Gnome desktop, but you can use it in any desktop you want), but since it uses the Vim as the "engine", you'll be getting almost all of its features in a very user-friendly graphical environment!.

Main features...

*. Change font (size, bold, italic, etc).

*. Find and replace.

*. Undo/Redo.

*. Automatic spell checking.

*. Open multiple windows by splitting the window by horizontal or vertically.

*. A "file explorer" of its own which lets you locate and load files to the window for editing.

The "command-line" type, file explorer to the left...

*. Line numbering support.

*. Text wrap.

*. Send to print... are among the features that interests the standard users.

As mentioned, Vim is actually a programmer friendly text editor, thus GVIM also lets you do other things like Syntax editing, set compilers, "Make" files (compiling), etc which are again, not that useful for the usual users.

You can install GVIM in Ubuntu 11.04 Natty Narwhal, 10.10 and 10.04 by using the below command in your Terminal window.

sudo apt-get install vim-gtk

But, just like with GNU/Emacs, this is not for everyone. For instance, if you enter its settings window, then almost all the settings are activated using commands! rather than graphical tools.

But still, if you usually deal with a lot of Syntax editing or HTML/XML editing... then GVIM is a fast and feature-rich front-end to the original Vim "engine" nonetheless.

But as a final verdict, in my humble opinion, if you're looking for something to replace the Gedit type text editor for instance, then you should have a look at something like the Leafpad or Mousepad or even the awesome FocusWriter will certainly suite rather than the GVIM. 

How to Install Scribes (awesome Text Writer!) in Ubuntu?

I've used reasonable amount of text editors under GNU/Linux and I gotta tell you, there are few that were quite unique and made some impressive impressions on me :) which you don't see that often.

In that sense, Scribes not is only an awesome text editor but it also has a very unique GUI + a notification system that's quite a pleasure to work with. As said, this is not the "usual" text editor's behavior that you get from the "others" :).

It has no menus whatsoever, so the main window looks pretty clean and hassle free which really helps when it comes to typing stuff. As you can see in the below screenshot, if you want to make it's tool-bar visible, then you just gotta move your mouse hover over the right-edge of the Scribes window (the "Red" area, also known as the "trigger area"), then it'll reveal the tool-bar which I think is pretty cool :D.

And whenever, say while saving your text automatically or doing changes, it'll display then as notifications which are shown in the bottom section of the window too.

With the tool-bar "on", btw, you can also change the location of this "trigger area" as well..

Although this will depend on the personal taste, but usually a lot of people just hate "notifications" (at least I am) because they're almost always so distracting and pain in the a*$. But in my experience, while using Scribes, not only those notifications are useful (since they give you live info on what's going on, etc) but the developer have done an excellent job of making sure that they don't distract you!.

Main features...

*. Change text font and size, bold/italic, etc.

*. Enable/disable spell checking.

*. Jump to paragraphs.

*. Supports a huge list of file types (such as XML, HTML, Java, C#, C/C++, etc). All you gotta do is just load the appropriate "template", this heavily helps it to "understand" the file thus letting you edit it without breaking any codes (obviously). So it's kinda of a programmer's tool too.

*. Change themes.

*. Search, search and replace. 

*. Built in printing support.

*. Undo/Redo.

*. Plug-in support (by using plug-ins/add-ons, you can easily expand its features. For instance, I heard that there's a separate plug-in that adds a side-bar, etc).

*. Simple yet totally non-distractive notifications.

*. Indentation... are just a few to mention.

But remember, Scribes is actually designed to act as a hassle free text writing app (excellent one!) rather than an editor. For instance, if you usually want to make text bold/italic or change its font, yes, you can do that. But since it doesn't have a menu or those functions are not in the tool-bar, I think you this will not be the most efficiency one for that sort an activity.

So will this be able to replace the "usual" text editors such as Leafpad, Mousepad, etc. The simple answer in my opinion is: NO!. It won't because that's not its purpose. 

Anyhow, you can install Scribes in Ubuntu 11.04 Natty Narwhal, 10.10 and 10.04 by using its PPA rather than the Ubuntu repositories which are according to the developer, are "old and broken". So put the below commands in your Terminal window to install it, as usual.

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:mystilleef/scribes-daily

sudo apt-get update

sudo apt-get install scribes

So, if you want a minimalistic text writer rather than an editor with as little distractions as possible, (still retaining a beautifully designed, efficient GUI of course) ... then Scribes is one heck of an app!. Enjoy.

How to Install Geany (text editor & a basic IDE) in Ubuntu?

If you're looking for a powerful, features rich text editor, then Geany is an excellent application. Yes it's a text editor, but after installing it and seeing its features + according to her developers, it's actually more than just a text editor. It's a basic IDE (integrated develop environment) that can be used to edit/create and compile programming codes, so it's more of an "editor" for programmers.

But because it requires very little space (about 2MB of downloading size!) and has a lot of features aimed at editing text entries... if you're looking for a powerful text editor, then heck ya!, give Geany a try... because she deserves it! :).

Main features...

*. Change font size, type, etc.

*. Wrap text.

*. Show/Hide line numbers.

*. Find, find and replace.

*. HTML/XML tag auto-closing.

*. Word count  (one of my favorite features).

*. Add/Remove comments.

*. Zoom in-out, full screen view.

*. Supports plugins.

*. Date/Time insert... are just a fraction of its features to mention.

Although as said, it has a lot other programmer related functions such as compile, make, command-line output, execute, set file-type according to your programming language (C/C++, Java, Pascal, Fortran...), etc type features but since it's beyond the scope of this post and since I ain't a programmer, it's best to stick with what I know :D.

It has heck of a "preferences" window... :)

Anyhow, you can install Geany in Ubuntu 11.04 Natty Narwhal, 10.10 and 10.04 (perhaps in other older versions too) by using the below command.

sudo apt-get install geany

It will be available via the "Programming" sub menu in Main applications menu in Gnome classic or just press "Alt" + "F2" and put the below command into the box and press enter.

geany

That's it. But as you can see, if you're a professional writer who's looking for a hassle-free professional text editor, then I think you'd better end-up with something like the Pyroom (awesome) or Focus writer. Either way, it's your choice mate!. Good luck :). 

How to Install Mousepad in Ubuntu 11.04 Natty Narwhal, 10.10 and 10.04?

Mousepad is the default text editor that comes with the Xfce desktop environment. In my humble opinion, if you use Gnome then you should only install it if you want a more simplified, hassle-free text editing environment because to be honest, Mousepad does not allow the users to do a lot of customizations and doesn't have that many features either (well I guess it's kinda its purpose since Xfce is meant to be light-weight).

But if you're searching for a simple, fast loading text editor then Mousepad is pretty decent app. It's actually based on another text editor called Leafpad (which is the LXDE desktop's text editor) but again it's even more simplified than the Leafpad it self, personally I prefer Leafpad over Mousepad.

Main features...

*. Although slightly slower than the Leafpad but loads faster than Gedit for instance.

*. Save text files in different formats.

*. Print preview.

*. Undo/Redo.

*. Change font/size.

*. Word-Wrap.

*. Find and replace text.

*. Show/Hide line numbers.

*. Auto indent.

It doesn't even has an "options" window which usually lets you configure few things such as tool-bars or customize other features but it certainly is not a game changer :). But if you're a serious writer then this is not something that I think you'd be quite happy with either.

You can install Mousepad in Ubuntu 11.04 Natty Narwhal, 10.10 and 10.04 by using the below command in your Terminal window.

sudo apt-get install mousepad

That should do it.

How to Install FocusWriter (Professional Writing Application) in Ubuntu Linux?

If you're a professional writer who'd like to have a simple text editor or a professional writing to be precise with minimal of distractions, then you'd find most of the built in ones that come with almost all the GNU/Linux desktop environments to be a bit of a pain in the as* :).

Although I'm not blaming the developers by any means since they've done an excellent job of creating all purpose, easy to use text editors of their own (such as Gedit, Kate, Leafpad, etc) but as said since the needs of a "true writer" is a bit different than with most of us, thus most of these applications may not simply meet your needs.

Now I've already talked about an excellent one recently which is known as Pyroom but it lacks few things such as no built in spellings checker and other few advanced options. But that being said, if you're looking for a very minimalistic writer app then it's pretty darn good.

But if you're looking for a much more closer to professional writing application for GNU/Linux, then Focuswriter (written in Qt toolkit) is simply an amazing application.

This is in the "windowed" mode... by default it runs in Full-Screen...

Main features...

*. Not just for GNU/Linux actually, this is a cross-platform utility thus you can use it under MS Windows, Mac OSX as well.

*. Has a built in spell checker which as said something that most other applications don't have these days.

*. Find and replace text.

*. A lot of built in text editing features such as - screen alignments, add smart quotes, bold/underline/italic/strike through/, change font, size and colors + redo/undo, etc.

*. Switch between full screen and windowed mode by pressing the "F11" on your Keyboard.

*. Customize the look-n-feel by changing background colors, font colors, etc.

*. Few built in language support.

*. Printing support.

*. Save in different formats.

*. Add a third party dictionary.

*. Save text automatically (you'll have to enable it via the "preferences window").

*. It can even output typewriter sounds! :)... these are just a very few of its features to mention.

You can install Focuswriter in Ubuntu 11.04 Natty Narwhal, 11.10, 10.10 and 10.04 by using the developer's personal PPA. Just open your Terminal window and enter the below commands.

sudo apt-add-repository ppa:gottcode/gcppa

sudo apt-get update

sudo apt-get install focuswriter

In Unity desktop you can search for "focuswriter" or put it in your command-line OR from the main application menu go to: "Applications" -> "Office" -> "FocusWriter". That's it!.

How to Install GNU Emacs in Ubuntu Linux ? (11.04, 10.10, 10.04, etc)

GNU Emacs is one of the most "colorful" parts of the GNU/Linux operating system. In fact it's actually quite older than the GNU/Linux itself (introduced around 1970s) and the one who invented Emacs is the philosopher and the founding father of the "GNU way of doing things" ... Richard Stallman. 

So what is Emacs anyway?

Emacs is mainly a very powerful real time (meaning that as soon as you make the changes to the text it appears on its window which is the most basic and a must have standard for all modern text editors anyway) text editor.

But basically the reason for it's not installed by default even after it having a "such a history" and powerful features as a text editor is because it's actually aimed at computer programmers (especially the Emacs Lisp programming fork of the original Lisp) and advanced users rather than the "usual users" (like you and me) + according to the official GNU/Emacs page, at its core lies the GNU Emacs Lisp interpretor "engine".

So it's basically a programmer's heaven, in a way :).

I ain't your "average text editor" mate! :)... (not kidding though)

But that's not to say that you can't use it as an advanced text editor, in fact it's actually one of the most powerful ones out there as well. To show you how old it is... it's current version is 23!.

Main features...

*. Editing a pure text file to HTML and source-codes such as Ruby, XML and A lot more (+ even has the ability to read PDF and postscript files!).

*. Change font.

*. Change background and foreground colors.

*. Line wrapping (wrapping long lines, etc).

*. Show/Hide text line numbers.

*. Supports almost all human languages and scripts! ("one love ... one heart... let's get together ..." ;-) )

*. Find and replace text.

*. Open and save in different formats.

*. Check for spellings.

*. Use a new or switch to a different buffer (a temporary location on your RAM where the text file is located before saving into the HDD).

*. Compile using the above mentioned Emacs Lisp interpretor, etc.

*. This might sound a bit confusing but it also has a calender of its own!, a calculator, programmable calculator, and also the ability to send/receive e-mails (using other apps, built in support via add-ons), read news, project planner, etc + even has some built in Games too!. 

The reason for this, is because: some programmers spend most of their time "inside" the Emacs app rather than doing any other thing thus Emacs is designed to act as a bit of a separate "environment" of its own + that's also why most of 'em they're single :D.

*. Encrypt and Decrypt (chosen text or an entire region, etc).

*. Version control system integration.

*. Execute shell commands. 

*. Debugger ... are just a fraction of its main features to mention!.

So as you can see this is not yours or mine's average text editor because the default GUI and it's filled without options certainly looks a bit complicated for the usual users. So it's certainly more than a text editor. That's why the desktops have created text editors of their own as well :).

Anyhow, you can install this legendary GNU Emacs in Ubuntu 11.04 Natty Narwhal, 10.10 and 10.04 (including all other Ubuntu versions!) by using the below command in your Terminal window.

sudo apt-get install emacs

Currently it has like 23MB or more in size... so be patient while it installs. Enjoy! (or you many not this time :D).

How to Install Leafpad Text Editor in Ubuntu 11.04 Natty Narwhal?

Both Unity and the Gnome classic desktop share the same text editor in Ubuntu Linux 11.04 (oh oh :P) which is called Gedit (the default text editor that comes with Gnome actually). It loads fast and has a lot of options (can even handle some HTML files) thus it's a powerful text editor without a doubt.

But if you're looking for something that's much more simpler than that, that which uses less resources, then Leafpad is the one to call for :). Leafpad actually comes as a part of the LXDE desktop (a light weight desktop for GNU/Linux) and in comparison with Gedit or many others, it has very little options (no preference window at all), one of the fast loading ones + uses very little system resources as well.


Main Features...

*. Running more than one instance is supported (new windows), although tabs are not implemented there, yet which would have been nice otherwise.

*. Search and replace words/text.

*. Change font, word-wrap and display lines.

*. Cut/Copy/Delete and Undo/Redo ability.

*. Auto indent. 

*. Open and save in few different file formats.

*. Print preview (and send to printing from its window).

*. Drag-n-drog support.

That's about it. You can't change the background or any other look-n-feel of the text editor but for its purpose it's quite good, I guess.

You can install leafpad text editor in Ubuntu 11.04 Natty Narwhal, 10.10 and 10.04 by using the below command in your Terminal window.

sudo apt-get install leafpad

But as said, remember, this cannot fully replace Gedit or Kate (Qt/KDE's text editor) for instance because of the lack of few minor options but that being said, if you're looking for something that's fast like hell and minimal distractions + low on resources, then Leafpad is something worth giving a shot :). Enjoy!.

PyRoom - Python Written, Minimalistic, Distraction-free Text Editor for GNU/Linux!

PyRoom is an excellent distraction-free (it's kinda its main "theme" :D) text editor for GNU/Linux. It's written in Python and about 6.75Kb in size!, loads almost instantly and launches itself in full screen, if you're a writer who wants a text editor with minimal distractions, then PyRoom is an excellent little application.

But remember, this is not for everyone. For instance if you want an all-time-visible tool-bar and window borders with the usual buttons, etc then this is not for you. And also it doesn't have a built in spell-checker which is a must for some people (OK, I'm just talking about me :D) but I guess that for professional dudes and gals, this won't be much of a problem.

Main features...

*. Once started you can start typing right away and by pressing the keyboard shortcut ("Ctrl" + H") you can get a list of available configuration options.

*. It has a kind of a cool fade out "text tips" section right under the bottom of the borders (you know text "stuff"/updates/auto saving info, etc appears and then vanish in a cool way).  

*. Only runs in full-screen, well it's essential for its purpose, distraction-free writing, remember.

*. Has a built in GUI which lets you change things like the colors of the text, background, font, change the width/height, etc.

Preference window...

*. Can set to save your text automatically or can do so manually (using "Ctrl" + "Shift" + "S").

*. Undo and redo support.

*. Save files in new buffer or start a new buffer window.

*. Fully supports your mouse (you know so you can select, copy, paste using the mouse, etc).

Decent "mouse support" :)...

Well, that's all I have to say about that :). You can install pyroom in Ubuntu 11.04 Natty Narwhal, 10.10 and 10.04 by using the below command in your Terminal window.

sudo apt-get install pyroom

I should be thankful to Ara Pulido girly geek for this amazing little application. So thank you Ara :).

And as a final word, if you don't need a lot of options but would like to have an amazingly simple, fast loading and a bit advanced text editor (it really is in its own way) at the same time, then PyRoom is a pretty darn good "solution" without a doubt!.

Install Daily Journal In Ubuntu, "Keeping" Tasks Daily Made Easy!

The purpose of the Daily Journal app is pretty simple. If you want to keep/access your daily "notes" in a simple application that has a pretty straightforward GUI then that's what the Daily Journal is all about. In their own words it is...

"...a journal application for Ubuntu that keeps one page per day that it is use..."

So, in an another sense, it is actually a very simple Text editor, again a very simple one. You won't be getting a toolbar for colorizing or formatting your texts... but if you want to create and access your daily notes with ease then Daily Journal is pretty darn good!.

Like two days ago they released a new version which brings a very useful feature that it lacked for sometime. Which is to let the users to "navigate" their daily notes via a calender type GUI (as in the screenshot). Anyhow, if you use Ubuntu, then you can install it using a PPA channel.

For that, open your Terminal and enter the below command.

    sudo add-apt-repository rickspencer3/ppa

    sudo apt-get update

    sudo apt-get install daily-journal

Install SciTE in Ubuntu, A Versatile, Advanced Text Editor for GNU Linux

Although Gedit (the default text editor for Gnome) does an excellent job when it comes to editing texts and as a regular user, you'd rarely feel the need for another as a result. But for those of you do coding or interested in an excellent Syntax highlighting text editor, you should try SciTE at least for 5 minutes :D.

Not only a tool for programmers but because of the GUI, it can also be used as an excellent usual text editor as well. As said when it comes to highlighting text or codes, SciTE just rocks!. Although it is certainly not the only one which can highlight multiple language coding under a single file, still, it it quite impressive.

So if you run Ubuntu and wondering how to install SciTE, then open your Terminal and issue the below command to automatically install it.

sudo apt-get install scite

Enjoy!.