Author Topic: AceText - text & clipboard manager (for coders, writers, etc.) (Read 73280 times)

mitzevo · « **on:** August 05, 2006, 12:02 PM »

Basic Info

App Name	AceText
App URL	http://www.acetext.com
App Version Reviewed	2.0.2 - 22 July 2006
Test System Specs	Windows XP (Home), 60GB HDD, 1024MB Ram, P4 4GHz
Supported OSes	Windows 9x, ME, NT4, 2000 and XP
Support Methods	E-mail. Has a very good help file.
Upgrade Policy	free minor updates and bug fixes.
Trial Version Available?	Yes! I'm using it now! I wrote this review in it! 30 Day Trial; start up nag/splash and some functions disabled.
Pricing Scheme	$39.95 - 1 User License
Author Donation Link	None.
Screencast Video URL	None.

ClipHistory - Unlimited Cut, Copy and Paste

All Collections - Instantly Search All Your Clips

Recycle Bin - Rescue Deleted Information

Intro

This is is very cool. It's an information manager.. well, a text information manager, make that plain text

Which I think this makes it consistent to work with. You can write/paste/import notes, to-do lists, ideas, thoughts,
projects, any text in AceText and save them in a Clip/Collection. You can sort all clips by folders
to arrange them nicely and neatly.

But wait.. that's not all.. It's other power (one of the many few) is also a being a GREAT clipboard extender..
any power user needs one of these, and AceText is the program to use! This is an invaluable tool.. The text
handling operations you can do a far and forth.

Who is this app designed for
This app. is for people who have text going thru their clipboards/boxes obsessively.. people who need to store
all their text/code/notes/ in one place (you can encrypt Clips/Collections), basically any text goblin.

The Good

Well I work with text ALOT. I mean it, I do! This tool is one of my fav. apps pretty much. I can create entire
projects in this thing. I store all txt/code in here - saves having many .txt, etc. files with single
notes/ideas/snippits of code etc.

+The interface is very clear and appealing to the eye. (not as funky as editpad pro

)

+The Clipboard functions are a powerful aspect of this program which helps with your text operations immensily.

Coding, writing, keeping notes, writing lyrics, collecting information, collecting links.. and more, you can do it all
with this program.

I used to have a lot of .txt files for each note or piece of code/text I had.. I store it all in AceText now.

+You can search all clips! Really great feature.

+Read and Publish RSS Feeds

Needs Improvement

I don't really know of any needed improvents yet. Maybe some one can help me out here..
I haven't really used it for that long. Only 5 days now with trial.. haha. But I know it's a program I
am going to invest on.

Why I think you should use this product

You should use this product because it's your text god! No seriously, any power user will consider this one of the
MUST HAVE POWER TOOLs.

How does it compare to similar apps

There alot of other apps in this catogary (PIM).
This one is a coders/writers dream. The interface is professional, nice and easy to work with -
no icons/colours/etc. that distract you from your task at hand.

Easy to learn how to use.. The help file is very informative and teaches you how to use the program with ease.

The Clipboard history function only saves text which is consistent with being a hardcore text manager program.

Conclusion

AceText is a powertool for text handling.. a powertool for coders, writers, information collecters, and any one
working with text.

I give AceText a solid rating of 9/10

Links to other reviews of this application

Google: acetext review OR reviews

Download site reviews.. with site quotes.. Note really worth linking.. (what?.. I only checked the first page of results

)

tomos · « **Reply #1 on:** August 05, 2006, 12:38 PM »

hi mitzevo,
nice review!

do you know which functions are disabled in the free version ?
Just curious

I'm going to try it out anyways, sounds like it could be a replacement for Evernote which I've been using less & less of late.

Ahhh ... just noticed its a trial version, (not a free version then?)

mitzevo · « **Reply #2 on:** August 05, 2006, 01:04 PM »

Ok, I added "30" day trial to top of review.

As for EverNote, it sounds (and looks) like a good general note keeper.. with ton's of features, and etc.

AceText is more for coders/programmers with focused features.

Perhaps some one can write an official review for this category of tool and review both AceText and EverNote.

edit:

Wow guys, I never even saw this topic: General brainstorming for Note-taking software

Alot of good discussion on this type of software.. but still I think AceText is for the advanced user!

It seems alot of these type of applications exist/are being created.. Just like any other category of software.. we need to find the best of the best.. the one with the most useful features, etc. this ofcourse means we will need to make sub cats.. i believe its the only way seeing they each have different features and are based for different type of activities. but they all have one thing in common - taking notes, saving text and from there each program pretty much has it's own features or similar features of each other.. I say you don't really need all that..

It's logical.. seperate content from design (AceText; no UI eye candy custimization, etc.) and you get the job done faster and efficiently

.

tomos · « **Reply #3 on:** August 05, 2006, 02:02 PM »

Okay I'm probably going to go a bit off topic here,
&\or because ..
me, I'm about as opposite as you can get from a programmer (!)
but!
I am interested in some sort of clipboard "Manager" that also saves txt notes - I've been using PowerPro's clipboard menu feature for the clipboard bit but dont find it that great.

Curiously, I've only now seen Mouser's Clipboard Help & Spell
Maybe I'll check that out first

regards, tom

rjbull · « **Reply #4 on:** August 07, 2006, 03:59 AM »

I am interested in some sort of clipboard "Manager" that also saves txt notes
-tomos (August 05, 2006, 02:02 PM)

If that's all you want, try the free version of ClipCache (1.41). A copy can be found at http://www.woundedmo.../win32_freeware.html

The latest, shareware version is at http://www.xrayz.co.uk/

tomos · « **Reply #5 on:** August 07, 2006, 05:03 AM »

cheers!

mitzevo · « **Reply #6 on:** August 07, 2006, 06:43 AM »

AceText has one of the best txt clipboard managers.. you can save clips as .txt and do lot's of other things.. Why don't you try the trial version of AceText..

Carol Haynes · « **Reply #7 on:** August 07, 2006, 01:08 PM »

I would love to see a new version AceText'n'stuff that includes RTF, HTML and Graphics capabilities. Given that it is so text based I think JG is unlikely to develop in this way but it could be kind of neat if he did.

danielburs · « **Reply #8 on:** August 18, 2006, 12:49 AM »

Cool! How much memory does it use to run in background? and how much disk space does it take up?

I have about three programs like this (wikdpad, infomagic, and evrnote) - but I never use them. I end up copying things to Google desktop's scratch pad or regular text files - then I can never find them! Evernote doesn't support non-latin characters, and they are all heavy in memory...

There are a lot of discussions about/like this on 43folders.com forums...

eschen · « **Reply #9 on:** August 18, 2006, 02:14 AM »

Curiously, I've only now seen Mouser's Clipboard Help & Spell
Maybe I'll check that out first
regards, tom
-tomos (August 05, 2006, 02:02 PM)

Tom, I recommend to check Clipboard Help & Spell, first. I bought AceText long time ago, because I started with EditPad (when it was only Freeware) - so it was a good idea to buy its brother, too. For me (as a programmer ;-)) the clipboard management was the most interesting thing with AceText.

When I started a new job in the mid of 2006 I had a look at DonationCoder again, because I needed a new download of the FreeRAM XP Pro. Aside I had a look at the other stuff and found Clipboard Help & Spell. After some weeks of work I've to say that this free tool does the job much better than AceText according to clipboard management.

Regards Rainer

mitzevo · « **Reply #10 on:** August 20, 2006, 09:02 AM »

How long since you've used the latest version of AceText, quite a while I bet

Why don't you look at the newer versions, it may have improved quite alot from "a long time ago" if you know what I mean.

allen · « **Reply #11 on:** September 10, 2006, 09:29 PM »

I've been an unwavering fan of AceText since the very day version 1.0 was released. As a fan already of EditPad Pro and other JGSoft applications, I found its editor/interface familiar and therefor comfortable. It has a great featureset for text workers -- which is the singel demographic catered to by the entire line of JGSoft products. After nearly a decade with ClipMate -- the unarguable grandfather of clipboard extenders -- AceText was able to shift my allegiance.

Version 2 of AceText, free to all registered users, is a natural evolution of the program that, among other things, introduces the ability to not only download/read rss feeds but publish them. (Not just create, but automatically upload and maintain them online).

It's not a viable solution for those simply looking for a clipboard extender that handles both graphics and text, it's (in my opinion) the best option for those whose primary concern is text. Collection management is brilliant, the editor is solid, and it's 100% portable. Version 2 even offers a painless means of copying it to your portable device so you don't have to do so manually.

As is standard with JGSoft applications, it's actively developed. Fixes (and improvements) are frequently deployed and the support is friendly, swift and thorough. For my needs, I can't complain.

rjbull · « **Reply #12 on:** September 11, 2006, 04:19 AM »

the ability to not only download/read rss feeds but publish them.
-allen (September 10, 2006, 09:29 PM)

I've never used AceText or RSS feeds, so what do I know... But as a bystander, this sounds like creeping featuritis. I mean, what's wrong with a really good clipboard extender, that they have to add (apparently) irrelevant and (presumably) bloating features???

allen · « **Reply #13 on:** September 11, 2006, 05:20 AM »

Actually, it's hardly creeping featuritis. It's like this--with version 2.0, the datea format used by AceText was migrated to xml -- in and of itself, that pleased me as the prior data format was difficult to work with with external applications/scripts. The xml files are much easier to parse (or create). From there, the ability to read and write xml files is inherent, so why not give it the ability to read/write a popular web technology?

You've never used AceText, so you'll have to trust me on the fact that it's light, fast and efficient. The rss reading/creation integrates elegantly into it without any negative impact on the application. Rather than being dedicated new features, they're mere extensions of the technology already present in the application.

Carol Haynes · « **Reply #14 on:** September 11, 2006, 06:41 AM »

You've never used AceText, so you'll have to trust me on the fact that it's light, fast and efficient. The rss reading/creation integrates elegantly into it without any negative impact on the application. Rather than being dedicated new features, they're mere extensions of the technology already present in the application.
-allen (September 11, 2006, 05:20 AM)

I can second that - it is light and quick (though I don't use it for RSS etc - I hadn't even noticed it could do that

)

allen · « **Reply #15 on:** September 11, 2006, 06:49 AM »

The RSS read/write is integrated very unobtrusively -- you'd miss it if you weren't looking for it.

It's all handled via folder creation. When making a new folder, two new folder types have been added in version 2.x. RSS Reader and RSS writer. If you select RSS Reader, you can input the URL for the feed. If you go with RSS Writer you can specify an ftp server to publish it to.

As for RSS reading, I made a little script for converting an opml from your rss reader into an AceText collection. It can also convert an AceText collection to an opml. I like to dump my opml into acetext when I'm going somewhere -- put acetext on my usb drive and have all of my feeds right there for offline viewing and updatable when/where the net is available.

Carol Haynes · « **Reply #16 on:** September 11, 2006, 06:55 AM »

Neat ... thanks

rjbull · « **Reply #17 on:** September 11, 2006, 09:24 AM »

From there, the ability to read and write xml files is inherent, so why not give it the ability to read/write a popular web technology?
-allen (September 11, 2006, 05:20 AM)

So adding the RSS features was in fact very little extra cost. I see, thanks.

it's light, fast and efficient.

I still use ClipCache 1.41 (last free version), and it's good enough for me; seems fairly light. Also does images, but that's something I seldom use so I don't know if it does it well.

KenR · « **Reply #18 on:** September 11, 2006, 01:58 PM »

Does anyone have any thoughts on the relative advantages and disadvantages of AceText,
Clipboard Help and Spell, and ClipMate?

Thanks, Ken

allen · « **Reply #19 on:** September 11, 2006, 05:09 PM »

CH+S is simply a clipboard extender that can preserve files -- and as such, it's one of the best true clipboard extenders, in my opinion. I especially love it's quickpaste menu -- brilliant configurable auto-cleanup procedures. I often have it running alongside acetext for the QuickPaste alone. AceText and ClipMate, on the other hand, emphasize data storage and manipulation primarily and include clipboard monitoring in the suite. (AceText especially falls into this, with clipboard monitoring being a feature, not the backbone, of the application.)

The two I've used the most are ClipMate and AceText -- in that order. I was a user of ClipMate from version 2 or 3 onward. I can't say anything truly bad about it -- the reason for my switch was one of personal taste. AceText's design better suits my own personal needs and methods.

That said, the most obvious pros of ClipMate--it's really become a full blown information manager. It's ideal for collecting text and graphics alike, organizing them in folders. It can be configured to automatically regularly backup your data, has a full search capabilities and I believe now even has (or at least they are in the works) filters for directing clips to different folders based on search criteria. You can create templates to apply when pasting, with a single click paste one item, then the next, then the next -- even adding keystrokes/delimiters between items. I (and many others, users and otherwise) consider clipmate to be the godfather of ClipBoard extenders.

The downsides to ClipMate aren't so much shortcomings as differences that are deal breakers for me. The biggest reason I made the switch, was ClipMate has become far more than I need/expect/want from it -- too big, too much. What it does, it does brilliantly. I know of quite a few people who absolutely adore it for ancestral research, writing/archiving reviews/essays, etc. The other thing, for me, was lack of portability -- ClipMate is 100% tied to the system registry. While one can import/export registry keys, it's not a truly portable application. I like to be able to take my daily apps with me when I go -- home away from home, as it were.

AceText is not as robust as ClipMate in its filters, configurability, or pasting options. Also, it handles text and text alone. It does have the core features you'd expect from a clipboard extender -- sequence pasting, text cleanup options, folders for saving data. Bottom line is that it has a good text editor (it'll be familiar for editpad users, as it's the same one therein--though obviously not as feature filled), inline spell check (as does ClipMate), and does so in a much smaller, lighter and responsive package. It's entirely portable, easily run full featured from a portable drive. Collections are stored not in a database but as xml files that can easily copied, edited, etc. from outside acetext. Clips can be simple text, fore and aft text (has two text fields, pasting such a clip will paste both and put the cursor between -- handy for web code. I have a collection I made of all xhtml tags), web clips (to associate with a URL) or even binary (If you feel like typing in 1's and 0's). For those who use editpad, it also integrates to an extent with EditPad Pro -- which can read and display AceText collections in the sidebar.

Over the years, I've experimented with a lot of clipboard extenders. I've yet to find one that I can truly say is the best and only a few I'd consider among the worst. There are a lot to chose from, many are excellent applications -- it's about finding the one that best suits your own needs/usage.

Another great option, which has recently become freeware, is ClipMagic -- what makes it stand out is its inbound filtering. No sorting things after the fact -- like your e-mail inbox, you can have them sorted as they come. It's a nice small application at a great price.

mouser · « **Reply #20 on:** September 11, 2006, 05:17 PM »

great post allen.

My motivation behind creating Clipboard Help And Spell was to create a free clipboard program that possessed the core strengths of Clipmate but was free and did some important things better (search, spelling, formatting).

allen · « **Reply #21 on:** September 11, 2006, 05:34 PM »

My motivation behind creating Clipboard Help And Spell was to create a free clipboard program that possessed the core strengths of Clipmate but was free and did some important things better (search, spelling, formatting).
-mouser (September 11, 2006, 05:17 PM)

Quick Paste Menu, Quick Paste Menu, Quick Paste Menu . . . just that feature would make a killer standalone app. Having a clipboard manager wrapped around it helps. As clipboard applications tend to sometimes lose their connection to the clipboard, having two apps comes in handy -- I've yet to have both lose touch at the same time.

mitzevo · « **Reply #22 on:** September 12, 2006, 01:18 AM »

Good to see some discussion on in here

rjbull · « **Reply #23 on:** September 13, 2006, 04:07 AM »

Quick Paste Menu, Quick Paste Menu, Quick Paste Menu . . . just that feature would make a killer standalone app. Having a clipboard manager wrapped around it helps.
-allen (September 11, 2006, 05:34 PM)

Allen,

What is actually meant by "Quick Paste Menu?"

With ClipCache, you can define a pair of hotkeys that allow you to scroll up and down through the saved clips with the program just an icon in the tray. Each time you move to a different clip, a sort of tooltip of the clip's title appears where the cursor is so you know which one you've got to. Then just press Ctrl-V to paste. Alternatively, the last ten are available by right-clicking on the icon, or pop up the main window for more features. Do you mean more/different than that?

allen · « **Reply #24 on:** September 13, 2006, 06:01 AM »

It's a feature that allows you to preconfigure quickpaste items which, in essence, allows you to apply a text replacement/cleanup filter/query on text on the fly. You can preconfigure and save them, then use them as simply as hitting ctrl alt q and selecting the one you want from a drop down.