Notepad emulator

[WT Sharpe]

Notepad is one of my most frequently used applications on my Windows PC. The thing I love most about it is that it does NOT retain formatting when I copy and paste from other applications or websites. That comes in very handy at times. It doesn't allow pictures or mixed formatting. It's very limited, but those very limitations can be very useful in many situations.

Does anyone know of an app for iPad that emulates the plain and simple MS Notepad? I've searched the Apple App Store and the Internet and all I can find is apps with various additional bells and whistles.

[Dylrob]

I can't make a personal recommendation, but what I can tell you is that what you're looking for is a plain text editor.

[WT Sharpe]

Originally Posted by Dylrob

I can't make a personal recommendation, but what I can tell you is that what you're looking for is a plain text editor.

Exactly.

[JSWolf]

For Windows, I suggest dumping Notepad and switch to Nnotepad++. Notepad++ is really really good and Notepad is so-so.

[eschwartz]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

For Windows, I suggest dumping Notepad and switch to Nnotepad++. Notepad++ is really really good and Notepad is so-so.

Notepad++ is my second-favorite Windows editor (after gvim ) but it isn't nearly as wonderful in context, the context of which can be seen in the first post -- WT Sharpe likes Notepad for its simplicity and ability to scrub formatting.

For those features, MS Notepad is hard to beat, since it is bundled with the OS. Sure, you can manually install programs that... do the same thing, plus extra unneeded features.

[JSWolf]

Notepad++ does everything WT wants and then some.

[eschwartz]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

Notepad++ does everything WT wants and then some.

But right now MS Notepad is doing everything he needs... he doesn't need the extras...


On a more useful note, my google-fu turned up this: Lifehacker: PlainText Is a Simple iOS Text Editor that Syncs with Dropbox

iOS: PlainText is a free Dropbox-synchronized text editor for iOS with a paper-like interface, focusing on doing one thing well rather than a laundry list of features.

It's hard to write if you can't focus. PlainText's really straightforward and simple interface removes any unwanted distractions and let's you just write on your iPad, iPhone, or iPod touch. Although PlainText doesn't focus on features, there are a few that are worth noting.

...

[WT Sharpe]

I wanted a plain text editor for my iPad, and I think I've found one. It's called, creatively, "PlainText." Free, but $2.99 removes the ads, which so far haven't been a problem, especially as they appear at the bottom of the screen, which, when typing, in covered by the keyboard.

In Windows, I see no reason to change from the plain and simple NotePad. When I need to get fancy, I can always open up MS Word, or if I don't need that many options, WordPad.

[Dylrob]

Originally Posted by WT Sharpe

I wanted a plain text editor for my iPad, and I think I've found one. It's called, creatively, "PlainText." Free, but $2.99 removes the ads, which so far haven't been a problem, especially as they appear at the bottom of the screen, which, when typing, in covered by the keyboard.

In Windows, I see no reason to change from the plain and simple NotePad. When I need to get fancy, I can always open up MS Word, or if I don't need that many options, WordPad.

Well, I apologize for being a bit pedantic, but there's more to a plaintext editor than a lack of features. Plain text is a distinctly different format from the Rich text documents produced by programs such as Word. It's commonly used to store code; for example, every single bit of HTML, Javascript, CSS, and PHP used to produce this web page is stored inside of various plain text documents. And so naturally the more advanced editors are mostly geared towards this.

[FlorenceArt]

There are many plain text editors for iOS, including the one that comes with the OS, called Notes. I wonder why you're not using that Tom?

Simplenote is free and ads-free on iOS. I used to use it a lot, but since it changed to a "clean" iOS7 look I have taken a dislike to it. One good thing about Simplenote is that it's a cloud service, so you can access and edit your notes from anywhere using a web interface (with non-intrusive ads, last time I looked).

I currently use Drafts, which is a bit expensive for an iOS app, but I like it. It's mostly meant as a "drafts central" where you can type your texts and then send them to the clipboard or to various apps or cloud services. Probably not what you want...

I also used ActionNotes for some time, mainly because I liked the look of the interface. I abandoned it when I decided that plain text notes were not enough for me to manage my work notes.

Another app I liked but abandoned in the end is Notebooks. It can manage both formatted and plain text, and I liked the interface for typing plain text. However the rest of the interface is a bit clumsy, which is why I gave up on it ultimately.

Currently my preferred notes app is Evernote, but I don't think it would correspond to your requirements.

[WT Sharpe]

Originally Posted by FlorenceArt

There are many plain text editors for iOS, including the one that comes with the OS, called Notes. I wonder why you're not using that Tom?...

I don't like Notes because when you copy and paste, Notes retains the formatting as well as any hypertext links and any pictures that are embedded in the original source.

There are times when that's inconvenient; especially on a iPad.

[FlorenceArt]

Oh, does it do that? I thought it was plain text! Yes, I can see how that would be annoying if you don't want the formatting.