I want a fast word processor that supports RTF and simple outlining formats. By fast, I mean quick to open, scroll through long documents, save, and close. By supporting simple outlining, I mean that it provides automatic formatting for multiple outline levels, not that it lets you nimbly juggle outline entries, as Notemap does.

MS Word is too slow.

The popular text editors--like EditPad, UltraEdit, and NoteTab--don't support RTF and simple outlining.

I though there might be other text editors that I have overlooked, or perhaps simpler word processors, like Atlantis, that might do it, but I am not familiar with any of them. Any suggestions?

Gary

Give OmniOutliner a try. The Pro version has a very good automatic styling and formatting system, and it can be used as a word processor, including printing as you'd expect from a word processor (i.e. without outlining gadgets, if you want). It can also export to MS Word and there are scripts that allow it to export to the LaTeX publishing system, if you're an academic.

Your request got me reminiscing about the good old DOS textmode days and an awesome outliner called PC-Outline. I did a quick google search for "folding editors" and found EControl. It is advertised as a syntax editor, but it supports outlining and the ability to expand/collapse outline entries. It doesn't do RTF unfortunately. But it is blazingly fast... and free.

http://www.econtrol.ru/index.html

What's nice about EControl is that you can define your own "lexer" (syntax/lexical analyzer). So if the default behavior for plain text files doesn't work for you, you can customize it and configure EControl to behave they way that YOU want it to. You can easily define your own control codes/characters to change the way EControl works.

I've got a few projects on various burners, but time permitting I just might dig into creating my own outliner/organizer lexer/profile for it. It is amazingly quick.

Search in these archives under "word processor". There are a couple of threads that examine Word alternatives.

Jack

KeyNote might work for you. It is more or less a two-pane outliner, outputting in RTF. As you get to know the program, you'll discover various ways of using it. I use it all the time, occasionally opening as a single frame which works just like a RTF word processor. Sadly, KeyNote is no longer supported, but I find it capable of most tasks I assign to it. It's free.

Tom

Corel WordPerfect is the only program I can think of that might meet your criteria.

Stephen R. Diamond wrote:

Corel WordPerfect is the only program I can think of that might meet your criteria.

Is WordPerfect so much faster than MS Word? I've never tried it, and I'm surprised to hear it.

For simple everyday text work, I'm unwilling to wait for Word to crank up. I often use a text editor (EditPad Lite), but it is frustrating that I can't structure a list of ideas into a simple outline just by hitting tabs and returns. And bland text editor output is no fun to look at or read, that's why I want RTF. With RTF, you can give text shape, making it possible to add meaning and emphasis, let alone making it easier on the eyes.

If WordPerfect is fast, I'll try it. Right after I try working KeyNote into the mix.

Gary

Keep your eye on Jarte Plus 3.0. It is in beta release now. It is not a sophisticated wordprocessor -- no footnotes for instance. But it has a lot of features for a simple RTF editor, including tables. One of the new features is called "Auto Outline." I haven't tried this -- it's only available in the Plus version, which costs $19 US, as opposed to the free version -- but it promises the functionality you are looking for, I think.

http://www.jarte.com/download.html

Steve Z.

I use KeyNote for organizing personal data, but it isn't really an outliner... at least not in the traditional sense. That is why I suggested EControl. Unfortunately, there isn't a nimble, RTF-capable, (single pane) outliner. :-(

Well, I just broke down and bought the Plus version of Jarte -- had to try the outlining. And, I'm glad to say that it works really well. It isn't quite fully functional in the Beta version, but here is a link to the help file regarding outlining:

http://www.jarte.com/help_new/creating_outlines.html

I asked the developer if it was okay for me to post the link and he said yes, but to let everyone know that the documentation isn't complete, and that the beta version does not have the tab or backspace keys implemented yet... so you can only demote and promote the outline headings using the indent and unindent commands at this time.

Steve Z.

If you just want a simple rich text editor, why not use Outlook Express. It's free. The editor is simple but functional, and you can organize your documents in as many folders as you wish.

Just my 2 cents.

If you want something really powerful as outliner/grid/rich text editor, I recommend SQLNotes at www.SQLNotes.net

sracer wrote:

there isn't a nimble, RTF-capable, (single pane) outliner. :-(

It might be worth looking at Ecco (now freely available) in combination with the "eccoext" add-on program (also free). I've always thought Ecco was a pretty nice one-pane outliner, and recent versions of the eccoext program allow copying an Ecco outline with formatting to RTF or HTML. Granted, Ecco's formatting is basic, but this might be an option for some.

See http://tech.groups.yahoo.com/group/ecco_pro/ for info.

Steve,

Jarte certainly looks great, it it's fast. I wonder how long before Jarte 3.0 passes the beta stage. It looks like it took two-and-a-half years between Jarte 2.5 and the beta for 3.0, which has been out since at least February. The CNET review of Jarte 2.5 noted some concerns: "due to its organizational scheme, it's not as immediately intuitive as other programs in this class.... [Also,] it can't save files in any version of Word later than 95. In some tests, the application had no trouble opening complex Word files, but in others it crashed." But the CNET Download.com users liked it just fine.

I'm going to try it. I'm really hoping it proves to be fast-launching. I also hope they can iron out 3.0 soon, because I will likely buy the Plus version.

Thanks for the suggestion.

Gary

Gary N wrote:

I want a fast word processor that supports RTF and simple outlining formats.

Gary,

This may be too simple but have you looked into using Google Documents? I don't know about you but I keep my browser open most of the time. Starting a new document can be pretty quick. Needless to say its extremely light. Its outlining capabilities aren't stellar but it does do simple things.

Tom S.

I think Word is faster in executing functions, but on today's computers, I don't know anyone can tell the difference. But on startup speed, I find WordPerfect much faster. I have WP 9 installed and Word 2003. On a warm startup, WP is at least twice as fast as Word. It takes 3 seconds (rounded to whole seconds), as opposed to 6 or 7 for Word. [I have observed startup time generally is mostly a function of program size, but perhaps others can reply on this more technically.] Word's startup slowness annoys me; WP is fast enough not to annoy. I think startup speed may be the only WP feature I prefer over Word. (I think Word 2007 might be a little faster than Word 2003, but I don't recall for sure.)

In any event, WordPerfect is your only real alternative, although others would seem to disagree.

Gary N wrote:

Stephen R. Diamond wrote:
>Corel WordPerfect is the only program I can think of
that might meet your criteria.

Is WordPerfect so much faster than MS Word? I've
never tried it, and I'm surprised to hear it.

For simple everyday text work, I'm
unwilling to wait for Word to crank up. I often use a text editor (EditPad Lite), but it
is frustrating that I can't structure a list of ideas into a simple outline just by
hitting tabs and returns. And bland text editor output is no fun to look at or read,
that's why I want RTF. With RTF, you can give text shape, making it possible to add
meaning and emphasis, let alone making it easier on the eyes.

If WordPerfect is
fast, I'll try it. Right after I try working KeyNote into the mix.

Gary

Gary,

I have two suggestions:

1. TextMaker is a Word compatible word-processor from german company Softmaker that also makes PlanMaker, an Excel compatible spreadsheet. They are both competitively priced and do what they claim to. TextMaker is said to have better file compatibility than any other Word compatible applications and to load Word files faster than Word itself. As far as I have tried it, it seems true on both counts. I only had trouble with certain files in Greek which unfortunately is my working language. More at:
http://www.softmaker.com

2. My second suggestion is to use a previous version of Word, ideally Word 6.0/95. On an modern PC you will find it lightning fast.
The main benefits are:
+ No compromises re editing features, in particular tables, which most RTF editors seem to suffer from.
+ Specialised plug-ins such as the equation editor and the organisation chart.
+ Outlining same as current Word for most purposes; the only thing missing AFAIK is the document map.
+ Spell-checking, thesaurus, the lot, integrated in the application.
The main disadvantage is that it may not be possible to install two versions of Word on the same machine. Ideally you should start by installing the older version and see whether installing the new version allows you to keep the old.

Cheers
alx

Alx,

TextMaker has become a top-tier word processor, but the one Word functionality completely missing is outlining. As to an earlier version of Word, one probably should consider the layers of security updates to versions that MS currently maintains and what their absence from the legacy programs entails. (However, I don't actually know the status of Word 6. Perhaps it is currently maintained.)

Alexander Deliyannis wrote:

Gary,

I have two suggestions:

1. TextMaker is a Word compatible word-processor
from german company Softmaker that also makes PlanMaker, an Excel compatible
spreadsheet. They are both competitively priced and do what they claim to. TextMaker
is said to have better file compatibility than any other Word compatible
applications and to load Word files faster than Word itself. As far as I have tried it,
it seems true on both counts. I only had trouble with certain files in Greek which
unfortunately is my working language. More at:
http://www.softmaker.com

2. My
second suggestion is to use a previous version of Word, ideally Word 6.0/95. On an
modern PC you will find it lightning fast.
The main benefits are:
+ No compromises re
editing features, in particular tables, which most RTF editors seem to suffer
from.
+ Specialised plug-ins such as the equation editor and the organisation
chart.
+ Outlining same as current Word for most purposes; the only thing missing
AFAIK is the document map.
+ Spell-checking, thesaurus, the lot, integrated in the
application.
The main disadvantage is that it may not be possible to install two
versions of Word on the same machine. Ideally you should start by installing the older
version and see whether installing the new version allows you to keep the
old.

Cheers
alx