Jarte Plus 6.2
Released April 5th 2018
What’s New?
- Plain Text Templates
- Sort Tabs by Natural Order
- Several Bug fixes
I discovered this free word-processor when looking for a way to change the default font in Wordpad for editing plain text files (actually an XML file). I often used Wordpad for basic word-processing tasks. Notepad allows one to change the default font, but Wordpad doesn't.
The main toolbar takes up more space than necessary. The panels are opened only when you need them for formatting etc., leaving most of the space free for documents. The illustrations of the full Classic layout below shows the new toolbar with Jarte resized as narrow as it will go (664 pixels).
The height of the window can be reduced to leave just the title bar.
Jarte is a useful word-processor for small projects such as articles and reviews. Use it for anything that is not intended for print, and so doesn’t need extensive formatting. Save files in Rich Text Format and import those into PagePlus or LibreOffice if more extensive formatting is required later. The interface is different to most other word-processors, but is very easy to learn and use.
My suggestion for a more compact interface has been implemented (illustrated above), and there is a Minimal Layout mode too, with no toolbars — just menus. In this mode, the window can be resized horizontally as well as vertically so that you can have it in a tall narrow window, or a small note.
The new interface is very welcome, though most other changes are unnecessary. If I need tables or maths formulae I will use Open Office. Jarte is still an excellent choice if all you need to do is process text. It loads much faster than Open Office or Word, but it has all of the essential features for creating formatted text.
Top Features Not Found in Wordpad
• Multiple Document Interface (MDI) • Spell Check • Word count • Go to line number • Styles
• Zoom and Default Zoom • Bookmarks • Full justification of text • Switch Case • Sort Text
• Remember Workspace • Space after paragraphs • Format painter • Text Highlighter
• Switch Case • Numbered lists • Superscripts and Subscripts • Screen capture
• Clipboard manager • Middle mouse button paste • Select whole words • Insert Date/Time
• Paper colours • Install to USB Drive • Open DocX files • Typing Sounds • Always on Top
• Favourite files and folders • Bookmarks • Find and Replace in All Open Documents
• Install to USB Drive • Thesaurus (Wordweb) • Encyclopedia (Wikipedia) • Disable Typeover mode
A Few Minor Problems
Character map is a bit limited. I use Babelmap instead, which supports Unicode characters. Adding better Unicode support to Jarte would be a bonus for me.
There is no icon for saving the document on the main toolbar, although the status line changes indicator has a save icon, so it takes two clicks to save a document if the file panel is closed and the status line is off. This is not a problem if you’re used to using Control S.
Why Do I Like It?
The program is very small, so it loads almost instantly, just like Wordpad. - Any open file can be added to the list of recently opened files, or marked for opening on program launch. Favourite directories can also be saved.
- One can resume work almost instantly where one left off.
- It has enough features for serious work, but not so many that you need to visit an Internet forum to learn how to use it.
- Find and replace remembers previous searches from the current session, and the find toolbar makes find and replace very easy.
- Bookmarks can be set or removed with a click in the margin. F2 and Shift F2 find next and previous bookmarks.
- Favourite fonts can be saved, and separate default fonts can be set for Rich Text or Plain Text documents.
- The zoom level can be changed as you work and the default zoom level can also be set.
Page last updated on 14 August 2022