Slate1.0 Build 1

Text editors can be used for different types of activities, including writing source code for various programming languages. Default Windows text editors don’t come with a great deal of flexibility, but there are tons of alternatives out there like Slate which let you work in an intuitive interface, and process HTML files.

Lightweight and easy to use

The visual design is easy enough to comprehend by individuals of all levels of experience. Most of the space represents the edit area, while all functions you work with are found in an upper toolbar. Sadly, the text pad is not fitted with a ruler, or line numbering, which is a shame considering you can edit HTML files as well.Tab support makes it possible to work on multiple projects at a time. Loading files can’t be done through drag and drop though, so you need to rely on the browse dialog. Apart from HTML however, the application can only open TXT files. The same can be said about export options.

A little rough around the edges

Although the application supports TXT as the main file type, it gives you the possibility to customize font in various ways, such as style, attributes, including color. Alignment options help you position the text in a clean mode, while several preset text strings can be used for common forms, such as greetings, date and time, subject, and more.Unfortunately, editing or creating HTML content isn’t very reliable with this editor, mostly because of the missing syntax highlighter. There are no dedicated code snippets either, and to preview content in actual browser display the file needs to be saved and opened with a dedicated viewer.

To end with

In conclusion, Slate is a lightweight text editing tool which comes as a simple alternative to the default tools Windows puts at your disposal. The lack of more HTML dedicated options has a considerable impact on practicality, but trivial tasks can easily be accomplished with it.