Groups > comp.sys.mac.system > #73487 > unrolled thread

How do mac users create a blank text file where you want it?

Started by	"Adam H. Kerman" <ahk@chinet.com>
First post	2015-04-20 00:40 +0000
Last post	2015-04-22 09:09 -0700
Articles	20 on this page of 379 — 28 participants

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#73542

From	"Adam H. Kerman" <ahk@chinet.com>
Date	2015-04-20 03:01 +0000
Message-ID	<mh1q5m$3dm$19@news.albasani.net>
In reply to	#73527

"Adam H. Kerman" <ahk@chinet.com> wrote in message
mh1opc$3dm$12@news.albasani.net

> So where is the TextEdit option to simply save as ASCII text?
> http://i.imgur.com/FDYa45h.png

Thanks for the insight into the minds of the Macintosh user.

It certainly wasn't intuitive that the 'Save As' dialog for the 
default text editor had no option for saving ASCII text.

However, as you noted, there was a preference setting, which
enabled that hidden option, so now the default text editor
can actually save ASCII text.

Thanks.

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#73554

From	Lewis <g.kreme@gmail.com.dontsendmecopies>
Date	2015-04-20 03:33 +0000
Message-ID	<slrnmj8suj.1eq.g.kreme@amelia.local>
In reply to	#73527

In message <mh1opc$3dm$12@news.albasani.net> 
  Adam H. Kerman <ahk@chinet.com> wrote:
> nospam <nospam@nospam.invalid> wrote in message
> 190420152216371344nospamospam@nospam.invalid

>>> 14. Up pops a warning:
>>>     You cannot save this document with extension ".txt"
>>>     at the end of the name. The required extension is ".rtf".
>> 
>> that's because it's rtf. duh.

> So where is the TextEdit option to simply save as ASCII text?
> http://i.imgur.com/FDYa45h.png

Format menu -> Make Plain Text (Shift-Command-T, IIRC)

-- 
2+2=5 for sufficiently large values of 2.

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#73567

From	Jolly Roger <jollyroger@pobox.com>
Date	2015-04-20 04:14 +0000
Message-ID	<cpjcp8F7dq8U5@mid.individual.net>
In reply to	#73554

On 2015-04-20, Lewis <g.kreme@gmail.com.dontsendmecopies> wrote:
> In message <mh1opc$3dm$12@news.albasani.net> 
>   Adam H. Kerman <ahk@chinet.com> wrote:
>> nospam <nospam@nospam.invalid> wrote in message
>> 190420152216371344nospamospam@nospam.invalid
>
>>>> 14. Up pops a warning:
>>>>     You cannot save this document with extension ".txt"
>>>>     at the end of the name. The required extension is ".rtf".
>>> 
>>> that's because it's rtf. duh.
>
>> So where is the TextEdit option to simply save as ASCII text?
>> http://i.imgur.com/FDYa45h.png
>
> Format menu -> Make Plain Text (Shift-Command-T, IIRC)

Too simple for his simple mind.

-- 
E-mail sent to this address may be devoured by my ravenous SPAM filter.
I often ignore posts from Google. Use a real news client instead.

JR

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#73646

From	"Adam H. Kerman" <ahk@chinet.com>
Date	2015-04-20 06:57 +0000
Message-ID	<mh281d$i5o$42@news.albasani.net>
In reply to	#73567

Jolly Roger <jollyroger@pobox.com> wrote in message
cpjcp8F7dq8U5@mid.individual.net

> Too simple for his simple mind.

The two-menu sequence is as simple as we can make it, given the desire to 
save a new document *to* plain text yet also preserve the option to save 
*as* other formats.

To save to plain text:
1. Format > Make Plain Text, File > Save

To save as other formats:
2. File > Save > File Format > {other formats}

It's unfortunate these are in wholly separate menus, but I will inform 
the user of this fact tomorrow.

Thanks!

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#73756

From	Jolly Roger <jollyroger@pobox.com>
Date	2015-04-20 14:46 +0000
Message-ID	<cpkhq6Fg4haU18@mid.individual.net>
In reply to	#73646

On 2015-04-20, Adam H. Kerman <ahk@chinet.com> wrote:
> Jolly Roger <jollyroger@pobox.com> wrote in message
> cpjcp8F7dq8U5@mid.individual.net
>
>> Too simple for his simple mind.
>
> The two-menu sequence is as simple as we can make it, given the desire to 
> save a new document *to* plain text yet also preserve the option to save 
> *as* other formats.
>
> To save to plain text:
> 1. Format > Make Plain Text, File > Save
>
> To save as other formats:
> 2. File > Save > File Format > {other formats}
>
> It's unfortunate these are in wholly separate menus, but I will inform 
> the user of this fact tomorrow.
>
> Thanks!

There is no such thing as File > Save > File Format > {other formats}.

-- 
E-mail sent to this address may be devoured by my ravenous SPAM filter.
I often ignore posts from Google. Use a real news client instead.

JR

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#73536

From	"Adam H. Kerman" <ahk@chinet.com>
Date	2015-04-20 02:54 +0000
Message-ID	<mh1ppn$3dm$16@news.albasani.net>
In reply to	#73503

nospam <nospam@nospam.invalid> wrote in message
190420152216371344nospamospam@nospam.invalid

> change that in the app's preferences before saving. 
> it's a dumb design to put it there

That's what needs to be done!
Thanks!

TextEdit > Preferences > New Document > Format (o) Plain text]
Open and Save > When Saving a File: [x] Add ".txt" extension to plain text files

It was unintuitive that I couldn't "Save As" ASCII text
by default, but this worked just fine.

It even converted the RTF document to portable ASCII text, 
which now means that the original file is also fixed.

Thanks.
I'm done with this thread other than to answer questions
and respond to each post. 

Thanks again.

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#73540

From	Jolly Roger <jollyroger@pobox.com>
Date	2015-04-20 03:03 +0000
Message-ID	<cpj8j4F5p92U13@mid.individual.net>
In reply to	#73536

On 2015-04-20, Adam H. Kerman <ahk@chinet.com> wrote:
> nospam <nospam@nospam.invalid> wrote in message
> 190420152216371344nospamospam@nospam.invalid
>
>> change that in the app's preferences before saving. 
>> it's a dumb design to put it there
>
> That's what needs to be done!
> Thanks!
>
> TextEdit > Preferences > New Document > Format (o) Plain text]

So you refuse to install TextWrangler because it's not your computer,
but you don't mind at all changing the preferences on the machine. Makes
complete sense.

-- 
E-mail sent to this address may be devoured by my ravenous SPAM filter.
I often ignore posts from Google. Use a real news client instead.

JR

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#73651

From	"Adam H. Kerman" <ahk@chinet.com>
Date	2015-04-20 07:01 +0000
Message-ID	<mh288a$i5o$43@news.albasani.net>
In reply to	#73540

Jolly Roger <jollyroger@pobox.com> wrote in message
cpj8j4F5p92U13@mid.individual.net

> So you refuse to install TextWrangler because it's not your computer,
> but you don't mind at all changing the preferences on the machine. Makes
> complete sense.

I was blindsided.

I'm sorry I changed the preferences, and I have already said I will 
change them back tomorrow when I see the person again.

I was wholly unaware that changing the preferences actually *disabled* 
the ability to save as other file formats.

I had intuitively thought that changing the preference merely *added* the 
capability to save as plain text; hence, it was a complete shock that 
changing the preferences actually deleted (temporarily) functionality for 
the user.

Given that the preference method stinks in that regard, I will switch the 
preferences back to the default as soon as I can.

I will explain to the user the fact they have to utilize two different 
menus, one to save to pure text and a different menu to save to various 
other formats. It won't make any sense logically, but at least it can be 
done.

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#73740

From	Michelle Steiner <michelle@michelle.org>
Date	2015-04-20 07:34 -0700
Message-ID	<200420150734202049%michelle@michelle.org>
In reply to	#73651

In article <mh288a$i5o$43@news.albasani.net>, Adam H. Kerman
<ahk@chinet.com> wrote:

> I was wholly unaware that changing the preferences actually *disabled* 
> the ability to save as other file formats.

IT DID NO SUCH THING!!!!!!!!!

Tell the user that you can't help him because you don't understand the
Macintosh.

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#73775

From	jamiekg@wizardling.geek.nz (Jamie Kahn Genet)
Date	2015-04-21 03:36 +1200
Message-ID	<1m37lxf.pr7pvlmu9broN%jamiekg@wizardling.geek.nz>
In reply to	#73740

Michelle Steiner <michelle@michelle.org> wrote:

> In article <mh288a$i5o$43@news.albasani.net>, Adam H. Kerman
> <ahk@chinet.com> wrote:
> 
> > I was wholly unaware that changing the preferences actually *disabled*
> > the ability to save as other file formats.
> 
> IT DID NO SUCH THING!!!!!!!!!
> 
> Tell the user that you can't help him because you don't understand the
> Macintosh.

Do you think there really is a 'user'? If so - should we not try to make
some kind of humanitarian effort to save them from this dickhead's
'help'?
-- 
If you're not part of the solution, you're part of the precipitate.

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#73752

From	Jolly Roger <jollyroger@pobox.com>
Date	2015-04-20 14:50 +0000
Message-ID	<cpki1cFg4haU19@mid.individual.net>
In reply to	#73651

On 2015-04-20, Adam H. Kerman <ahk@chinet.com> wrote:
> Jolly Roger <jollyroger@pobox.com> wrote in message
> cpj8j4F5p92U13@mid.individual.net
>
>> So you refuse to install TextWrangler because it's not your computer,
>> but you don't mind at all changing the preferences on the machine. Makes
>> complete sense.
>
> I was blindsided.

No, you are just *incredibly* dense. You don't seem to be able to grasp
basic concepts very easily, and bitch and moan the entire way while
someone tries to drag you there.

> I'm sorry I changed the preferences, and I have already said I will 
> change them back tomorrow when I see the person again.
>
> I was wholly unaware that changing the preferences actually *disabled* 
> the ability to save as other file formats.

Wrong yet again. It disables nothing. The format you choose simply
changes the mode in which TextEdit operates. TextEdit doesn't display
options that pertain only to rich text format documents when the format
is set to plain text. It's really that simple. 

If you want to save a plain text document as rich text, use the Format >
Make Rich Text command to change it to rich text before saving it. 

If you want to save a rich text document as plain text, use the Format >
Make Plain Text command to change it to plain text before saving it.

It's that simple!

-- 
E-mail sent to this address may be devoured by my ravenous SPAM filter.
I often ignore posts from Google. Use a real news client instead.

JR

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#73657

From	jamiekg@wizardling.geek.nz (Jamie Kahn Genet)
Date	2015-04-20 19:07 +1200
Message-ID	<1m36y9z.10b9j2s1h1vogmN%jamiekg@wizardling.geek.nz>
In reply to	#73540

Jolly Roger <jollyroger@pobox.com> wrote:

> On 2015-04-20, Adam H. Kerman <ahk@chinet.com> wrote:
> > nospam <nospam@nospam.invalid> wrote in message
> > 190420152216371344nospamospam@nospam.invalid
> >
> >> change that in the app's preferences before saving. 
> >> it's a dumb design to put it there
> >
> > That's what needs to be done!
> > Thanks!
> >
> > TextEdit > Preferences > New Document > Format (o) Plain text]
> 
> So you refuse to install TextWrangler because it's not your computer,
> but you don't mind at all changing the preferences on the machine. Makes
> complete sense.

Maybe that is the only way Adam gets work - by fucking up user's
settings.
-- 
If you're not part of the solution, you're part of the precipitate.

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#73570

From	JF Mezei <jfmezei.spamnot@vaxination.ca>
Date	2015-04-20 00:21 -0400
Message-ID	<55347ec8$0$54724$c3e8da3$fdf4f6af@news.astraweb.com>
In reply to	#73496

Creating an empty file:


Terminal.App (in utilities)

$ touch Myfilename.txt

done.

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#73574

From	Your Name <YourName@YourISP.com>
Date	2015-04-20 16:28 +1200
Message-ID	<200420151628038499%YourName@YourISP.com>
In reply to	#73570

In article <55347ec8$0$54724$c3e8da3$fdf4f6af@news.astraweb.com>, JF
Mezei <jfmezei.spamnot@vaxination.ca> wrote:
> 
> Creating an empty file:
> 
> Terminal.App (in utilities)
> 
> $ touch Myfilename.txt
> 
> done.

Nope, You go to the AppStore and purchase the MyTextFile document for
25c.  ;-)

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#73647

From	"Adam H. Kerman" <ahk@chinet.com>
Date	2015-04-20 07:02 +0000
Message-ID	<mh289a$i5o$44@news.albasani.net>
In reply to	#73570

JF Mezei <jfmezei.spamnot@vaxination.ca> wrote in message
55347ec8$0$54724$c3e8da3$fdf4f6af@news.astraweb.com

> Terminal.App (in utilities)
> 
> $ touch Myfilename.txt
> 
> done.

That's good to know because it's the same way on Linux.

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#73755

From	Jolly Roger <jollyroger@pobox.com>
Date	2015-04-20 14:51 +0000
Message-ID	<cpki2kFg4haU20@mid.individual.net>
In reply to	#73647

On 2015-04-20, Adam H. Kerman <ahk@chinet.com> wrote:
> JF Mezei <jfmezei.spamnot@vaxination.ca> wrote in message
> 55347ec8$0$54724$c3e8da3$fdf4f6af@news.astraweb.com
>
>> Terminal.App (in utilities)
>> 
>> $ touch Myfilename.txt
>> 
>> done.
>
> That's good to know because it's the same way on Linux.

Seriously? Did you forget OS X is Unix all of a sudden?

-- 
E-mail sent to this address may be devoured by my ravenous SPAM filter.
I often ignore posts from Google. Use a real news client instead.

JR

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#73923

From	Alan Baker <email@domain.com>
Date	2015-04-22 12:25 -0700
Message-ID	<mh8sk7$6hg$1@news.datemas.de>
In reply to	#73647

On 2015-04-20 07:02:02 +0000, Adam H. Kerman said:

> JF Mezei <jfmezei.spamnot@vaxination.ca> wrote in message
> 55347ec8$0$54724$c3e8da3$fdf4f6af@news.astraweb.com
> 
>> Terminal.App (in utilities)
>> 
>> $ touch Myfilename.txt
>> 
>> done.
> 
> That's good to know because it's the same way on Linux.

No. That actually doesn't do what you claim it does.

It creates an EMPTY file which happens to have a filename extension 
which will tell other applications that it contains text.

But in truth, it could contain JPEG image data, or any other data you 
care to name.

You really don't understand any of this stuff, do you?

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#73915

From	Alan Baker <email@domain.com>
Date	2015-04-22 12:16 -0700
Message-ID	<mh8s2h$5ao$1@news.datemas.de>
In reply to	#73496

On 2015-04-20 02:05:09 +0000, Adam H. Kerman said:

> nospam <nospam@nospam.invalid> wrote in message
> 190420152050160494nospamospam@nospam.invalid
> 
>> it's very easy. launch the text edit application (or equivalent)
>> and start writing, then save it.
> 
> 1. There is no text application in the menu, so,
> 2. I hit the magnifying glass and search for "text".
> 3. The first hit is Application "TextEdit".
> 4. Up comes a window saying something about iCloud dragging.
> 5. I switch the default from "iCloud" to "On My Mac".
> 6. I navigate to where I want the empty ASCII text file to be.
> 7. I hit the "New Document" button.
> 8. I paste in the desired ASCII text.
> 9. This creates a file named "Untitled - Edited".
> 10. When I press the save button, a "Save As" box comes up.
> 11. The box defaults to Rich Text Document.
> 12. There is no clear ASCII Text option, as the options are:
> a. Rich Text Document
> b. Rich Text document with Attachments
> c. Web Page (.html)
> d. Web Archive Document
> e. OpenDocument Text (.odt) Document
> f. Word 2007 (.docx) Document
> f. Word 2003 (.xml) Document
> f. Word 97 (.doc) Document
> 13. The closest thing to an ASCII text is the first.
> 14. Up pops a warning:
>     You cannot save this document with extension ".txt"
>     at the end of the name. The required extension is ".rtf".
> 
> Is this what Mac users go through every day?
> Or am I still doing something wrong (i.e., not the Macintosh way)?
> What selection is a plain ASCII text document?

An intelligent person, upon opening an application with which they are 
unfamiliar for the first time, might peruse all the menus to see what's 
what. If an intelligent person did this, then he (or she) would see the 
"Make Plain Text" command on the "Format" menu, plain as can be. This 
menu command would inform an intelligent person, that:

1. The document is NOT currently plain text.

2. That it can be MADE into plain text should the intelligent person 
care to have it so.

What a pity no intelligent person was involved on your end.

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#73942

From	Jolly Roger <jollyroger@pobox.com>
Date	2015-04-22 22:07 +0000
Message-ID	<cpqkdbF3ijcU3@mid.individual.net>
In reply to	#73915

On 2015-04-22, Alan Baker <email@domain.com> wrote:
>
> An intelligent person, upon opening an application with which they are 
> unfamiliar for the first time, might peruse all the menus to see what's 
> what.

It's hard to imagine basing your computing experience on *avoiding*
exploration. Clicking a menu on the screen is *not* asking much!

> If an intelligent person did this, then he (or she) would see the 
> "Make Plain Text" command on the "Format" menu, plain as can be. This 
> menu command would inform an intelligent person, that:
>
> 1. The document is NOT currently plain text.
>
> 2. That it can be MADE into plain text should the intelligent person 
> care to have it so.
>
> What a pity no intelligent person was involved on your end.

LOL! : )

-- 
E-mail sent to this address may be devoured by my ravenous SPAM filter.
I often ignore posts from Google. Use a real news client instead.

JR

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#73494

From	Jolly Roger <jollyroger@pobox.com>
Date	2015-04-20 01:57 +0000
Message-ID	<cpj4o2F5p92U1@mid.individual.net>
In reply to	#73487

On 2015-04-20, Adam H. Kerman <ahk@chinet.com> wrote:
> I tried to help a friend create a simple text file on
> Macintosh OSX 10.9.5 and it was very difficult.

Changed your nym yet again, I see. You're fooling nobody.

> Right clicking didn't have any option to create a text file.
> http://i.imgur.com/RkrcG3M.png

That's a silly ass-backwards Windows UI design that I am glad Apple
didn't provide in OS X. And I'm not surprised at all that you would
choose that method over any other, considering your affinity for doing
things in the most convoluted, complicated manner possible.

In operating systems that aren't as schizophrenic and brain-dead as
Windows, you don't create spreadsheets, graphics, presentations, or any
other file types by right-clicking on the desktop. Instead, you run a
spreadsheet (or whatever) program and create one that way. The same
naturally applies text files.

> Given the simple goal of 
> a) Creating a blank text file
> b) In a desired location
> c) With some indication that it's a text file
> How would a Mac user have done this task?

1. Open TextEdit (or any text editor).
2. Save the file wherever you want it.
3. There is no step 3.

-- 
E-mail sent to this address may be devoured by my ravenous SPAM filter.
I often ignore posts from Google. Use a real news client instead.

JR

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csiph-web

How do mac users create a blank text file where you want it?

Contents

#73542

#73554

#73567

#73646

#73756

#73536

#73540

#73651

#73740

#73775

#73752

#73657

#73570

#73574

#73647

#73755

#73923

#73915

#73942

#73494