Text editor instructions

Objective

One of the aims of this class is to transform the Egyptian Gazette into an interchangeable format that everyone can use. To do so, we must begin with plain text documents, which contain no hidden extra code. Word processor documents (.doc files, for example) can only be opened with word processors. Plain text documents can be opened with all and any text editors. That’s what we want to use. For more detailed background on plain text editing, see this plain text tutorial.

What program should I use to edit text?

Your computer already contains a plain text editor that should work fine initially. TextEdit is loaded on Macs, and Notepad is bundled with Windows. But there are an awful lot of other text editors out there that offer enhanced features. These instructions are for Atom.io, a free open source editor that you can download and run on any platform.

How do I format plain text?

1. .txt is the simplest way to format plain text.
2. .md (Markdown) allows simple formatting.

What other features of Atom should I know about?

• Markdown Preview - under the “Packages” menu, you can open a window that shows how your Markdown text will look when formatted.
• Soft Wrap - under the “View” menu, you can toggle soft wrap, which will allow you to see long lines of text on your screen.