Questions tagged [textedit]
The built in text editor with Mac OS X. It started on NEXTSTEP, and was then included as a replacement to SimpleText when Mac OS X shipped. The project is also open source.
203
questions
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30 views
TextEdit not responding after zooming in
Recently, i noticed TextEdit on macos bigsur(M1 chip) taking more than 3GB ram and is not responding after I try zooming in.
Even though my .txt wasn't very big(just 4KB, barely 50 lines of text). ...
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9 views
TextEdit can't save RTF documents on 10.14.6: “The plug-in returned an error”
I wrote an RTF document in TextEdit and I get errors when I try to save.
In fact, I can't use TextEdit to save in any other format but TXT, all return the same, vague error. I think I pinpointed it ...
0
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1answer
23 views
Fixed tab-spacing for TextEdit on Mac
Is there a way to set a fixed number of spaces for a tab indent? If not, can someone recommend a program that is simple like TextEdit, but also does have fixed tab spacing?
2
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2answers
141 views
Changing character encoding from Unicode to Ascii
I need to convert the character encoding in some text files created by a third-party app on my MBP Catalina 10.15.6. I'm in unfamiliar waters here, so please indulge my ignorance. Also, please note ...
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32 views
Textedit, Pages, Numbers all crashing
Out of the blue this morning all these apps are hanging on the most basic operations, I can't open anything with Numbers, Pages I can create a new document and type a couple of line and that wont save,...
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0answers
40 views
Where is Metadata of Encoding in Plain Text Saved from TextEdit
TextEdit allows for plain text .txt files to be saved with a particular character encoding:
Is there any meaningful change to the file's metadata and if so, how do you see it?
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15 views
Mac OS 10.15 TextEdit will not save edited documents “The document “1969 GREYHOUNDS email ref.txt” could not be saved”
The problem does not seem to occur on the machine hard drive (when saved to the desktop); only on mounted server drives.
A variant on the message is: "The document “1969 GREYHOUNDS email ref test ...
3
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0answers
427 views
How can I stop macOS from converting three dots “…” to a single threedot character “…”? [duplicate]
note: the first set of three dots in the title is definitely three separate dots, and the second is one character when I select it during editing. However viewing the posted in Safari both select as a ...
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2answers
516 views
What happens when you paste an app into TextEdit?
In the past, I have pasted apps into TextEdit, which would show something like the following. I always thought that this was a convenient way to store app icons (as .icns files), in case I ever wanted ...
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9 views
Expected behavior of Textedit <Saving files> Encoding preferences
In TextEdit preferences, I keep <Opening files: Automatic>, and change the other setting to <Saving files: Unicode (UTF-16)>. What's the expected behavior of this setting?
(Existing files ...
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1answer
44 views
How do I set the on-screen zoom level in OS X TextEdit?
I want to set the zoom level in TextEdit to a precise value so that the on-screen display has the same size as the printout. The "Zoom in" and "Zoom out" controls are too coarse ...
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41 views
recovering textedit crash
My laptop was low on ram and I just had a message saying that TextEdit crashed. TextEdit had multiple windows opened and I see that they are all gone, replaced with a single blank untitled RTF ...
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1answer
27 views
Text encoding problem with old files not newly created ones
MBA running 10.13.6
I keep a lot of plaintext Notes in a shared DropBox folder, synced between an iMac (also 10.13.6) and my MBA.
The programs I use to access those notes (The Archive and nvALT) ...
2
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1answer
65 views
In Textedit, is there a way to save all open files at once?
In Textedit, is there a way to save all open files at once?
As of now, I have to save them one-by-one. I wish there's a Save All option, or is there some hack-ish Way through the command line or ...
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1answer
355 views
Text Edit - Save RTFD as RTF
As per my understanding the file format RTFD > RTF > TXT file i.e. a text file can hold a subset of content and formatting compared to RTF and similarly RTF can hold a subset of content and ...
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25 views
Is there an app etc. that can save and restore the exact sizes and positions of windows?
Is there an app etc. that can save and restore the exact sizes and positions of windows on Mac?
The use case I have is using TextEdit windows with one window corresponding a note type. I have one ...
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2answers
51 views
No single shortcut to go to end of file
I'm new to Mac (10.15.5) and so far figuring out shortcuts has not been a smooth journey. Usually on Windows I would use these -
Home - Beginning of a line
End - End of line
Ctrl + Home - Beginning ...
2
votes
1answer
67 views
Find in all open TextEdit documents?
Is there any way to find a string in all open TextEdit documents (rather than just one document?) I have hundred plus such open documents, unsaved.
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32 views
Catalina - Textedit not allowing me to save files because I dont have permission
I was able to save fine in a work folder, but when I moved my textedit files to the desktop or any other folder it would tell me I can't save because i dont have permissions. I followed https://...
2
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2answers
127 views
How to stop TextEdit.app from adding extended attributes
I only recently discovered (yes, I'm late to the game) that TextEdit.app is adding extended attributes to any files I open in it. I had discovered this when I randomly had opened a shell script in it ...
0
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1answer
26 views
Recover deleted word document Help
I Had a word document which I'm unsure where it was stored. It said my desktop but I believe it was also in my icloud somewhere. I saved my work and then emailed it to myself, after emailing the work ...
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1answer
282 views
TextEdit problem after inst. Catalina
After installing Catalina, my in-built TextEdit doesn't work anymore, neither by clicking the icon nor from the application. It says
The application “TextEdit.app” is not open anymore.
Please advise ...
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1answer
624 views
Setting to open new TextEdit document window in center?
I use TextEdit regularly as a scratchpad and to open script outputs. Annoyingly, TextEdit insists on opening a new document window in the top left corner of the screen. Is there any setting I can ...
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2answers
311 views
How to change the default text editing app in Quick Look? [duplicate]
I want to customize which app is used to open all unknown plain text files from Quick Look. For example, for extension-less VERSION file, Quick Look shows Open with TextEdit:
I'd like to make VSCode ...
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1answer
32 views
Shortcut go to folder containing the file opened in TextEdit
I know that I could right click on the window title to have the folder path but the question is specifically to use a keyboard shortcut.
Maybe is there a way through the creation of an Automator ...
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2answers
147 views
Writing AppleScript to change a TextEdit document from .rtfd file to .rtf
I am using TextEdit and need the document to save as a .rtf, but when I am copying and pasting the data over, since there are small images and thumbnails, it will always save as .rtfd.
I am ...
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1answer
118 views
How to restore wrongly edited + wrongly saved TextEdit file?
Have an important text file, but I accidentally edited its content and accidentally closed it (auto saving it).
Now I have a text file containing gibberish.
How do I restore the previous version?
...
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0answers
29 views
Where can I find a reference for Apple's extensions to RTF format?
I was inspecting an RTFD file and I noticed it contained several Apple-specific directives. Where can I find a reference or explanation for all of these directives? Examples:
\appleattachmentpadding0
...
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0answers
73 views
File » Revert to Previous: Where are versions stored?
Over time you learn some tricks on your Macbook. TextEdit has this really neat feature, where it takes care of autosave and allows you to revert to nearly any prior edit stage of a document.
Question:...
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1answer
38 views
TextEdit not closing without asking me for a file name
Previously, macOS using TextEdit and other apps allow blank documents to be edited and closing them without having to save the files, even for new files that were not giving a name yet.
I have to ...
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1answer
118 views
Can we move lines in TextEdit?
Using TextEdit is there a key board shortcut to move the current line up/down? (similar to how code editors like Sublime Text works)
7
votes
2answers
349 views
Why does the font change after I paste an image in TextEdit?
Here is a simple sequence of actions in TextEdit in macOS 10.13.6 that produces an unexpected side-effect. I don’t understand why, and would like to know how to prevent it.
Create a new document in ...
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2answers
580 views
macOS Catalina beachball appears when I use TextEdit or Preview apps
I have a MacBook with macOS Catalina 10.15.3 installed.
I'm now noticing that whenever I open an image file with the Preview app, a beachball appears right about when I quit the app.
Also, a ...
0
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1answer
69 views
Wrong line-drawing characters when write “tree” command output to file
Under macOS Catalina 10.15.1, Using the standard "tree" command (as supplied by MacPorts), if at the Terminal prompt I cd to a folder and then execute tree there, I get output like this:
.
├── ...
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2answers
44 views
How to set a default application to open a file in mac?
In a mac (10.14.6) I want to set the default application to files of type 'err' (i.e. files like test.err or output.err) to be TextEdit.
For that I follow the description given here, and set the ...
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33 views
Can any RTF editors have highlighting of tags and display line numbers
In MAC there is TextEdit used for viewing the RTF files.
Is it possible to have an editor(TextEdit or something else) for RTF files which highlights bracket when the cursor is placed either on the ...
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1answer
26 views
What is the purpose of the scale at the top in TextEdit
What is the purpose of the scale at the top of TextEdit.
What are various ways one can make use of that scale?
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1answer
80 views
How can I zoom in TextEdit without breaking word wrap/wrap to window?
I am using the TextEdit in the default mode i.e wrap to window mode for the rtf files.
How do I zoom in(using 2 finger zoom gesture on trackpad) to view the text without breaking the wrap-to-window ...
3
votes
1answer
102 views
Always enable Smart Quotes in TextEdit?
I like smart quotes and curly quotes (unlike most people of the internet, apparently). I'm on macOS Mojave, Version 10.14.3. I have both of these preferences turned on:
TextEdit preferences:
System-...
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0answers
29 views
Way to read multiple text files in order using TTS?
I organize many text files by tags using the Finder tag system. Sometimes I want to have my Mac speak all of these files by some tag(s). Is there an easier way of going into each text file and ...
0
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2answers
281 views
How can I execute AppleScript from Textedit?
I have the following AppleScript code in a Textedit file:
set the clipboard to (do shell script "date +%d/%m/%y")
tell application "System Events"
keystroke tab using command down
keystroke "...
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vote
2answers
491 views
How do I easily delete characters in a TextEdit document which I did not type?
I have typed a 2 page document using Apple's TextEdit on a Mid 2007 iMac running OS X Yosemite 10.10.5. After closing in RTF format and later reopening, I saw many characters (backslashes, etc.) that ...
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vote
1answer
660 views
Why can't I use Indian rupee symbol (₹) with Arial font?
I wanted to use Indian rupee symbol (₹) with Arial font, in TextEdit on macOS Mojave.
However, whenever I select the text which includes that symbol and change the font to Arial in the dropdown, ...
3
votes
0answers
353 views
How do I disable autosave in TextEdit?
The old technique for disabling autosave and re-enabling traditional text editor behavior (i.e., NOTHING get saved unless one saves it EXPLICITLY) of
defaults write com.apple.TextEdit ...
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vote
1answer
3k views
AppleScript to perform actions to text in new TextEdit document
I need to make an AppleScript that would create a new TextEdit file, type any random text, then a table would pop up and give you two options to choose font of that text, then same with colour, save ...
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0answers
30 views
Spotlight solution stops TextEdit files opening
After running the solution for Spotlight re-indexing takes too long or doesn't work I can't save or open TextEdit files on any drive. I get the error:
The document “anyfilename” could not be opened....
3
votes
2answers
303 views
TextEdit app is displaying wide borders at bottom and right corners
Suddenly the TextEdit.app is displaying wide borders on its bottom and right corners. How to revert it back so that the bottom and right borders are back to normal just like the left border?
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0answers
88 views
Text to PDF without losing/destroying the set tabs
I tried to print out a huge text file to a PDF file (DIN A4 landscape or A3 landscape). Unfortunately, every way I try, I always lose the formatting of the tabs I used for tabbing some tables with the ...
8
votes
3answers
19k views
How can one save a file as plain text in TextEdit? [duplicate]
I'm not seeing an option to choose plain text encoding (.TXT extension) when saving a file in TextEdit.app in macOS. My documents seem to all be rtf - rich text format.
How can I change this?
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1answer
48 views
How can I create text-based aliases? (Local hyperlinks?)
I need to use deeply-buried files/folders on a hard disk at work. I can create aliases, which is helpful. An alias gives me an icon that I can double-click to open the original. But I would like to ...
