Less is more with back-to-basics text processing

Some knowledge workers are dumping heavy duty word processors like Microsoft Word and switching to plain text file editors and other simple editing tools instead.

Plain text appeals to geeky types partly because it is a lowest common denominator. It always travels smoothly between applications, operating systems and devices. The same can’t always be said for Word documents. For example, large numbers of Word 2003 users still struggle to read the docx files created by Word 2007 despite MIcrosoft’s free conversion tools.

Text is compact, efficient, quicker to search and easier to manage than word processor documents — geeks often write small programs to merge, sort and otherwise process text files.

It helps that they often already spend large parts of their working life manipulating plain text files — the format is widely used for many of the settings and configuration files.

Text-editing programs are far simpler than word processors. Many have been around for 30 years or more with roots in the pre-graphical-user-interface computing world. They often use esoteric keyboard commands — writing memos and other notes this way may look scary to non-technical types, but it isn’t much of a stretch if you’ve used the same tools to handle your everyday technical tasks for a decade or more.

There’s an added bonus to simple text editing; the applications often bypass the computer mouse. Given that mouse movements are one of the most troublesome sources of strain injury, switching to more keyboard-oriented writing tools can make a lot of sense for those technical types who spend hours hunched over their machines.

Ergonomics

Similar ergonomic concerns go some way towards explaining why some professional writers are also turning their back on conventional word processors. However, this group has another concern: modern word processors are often  busy-looking. It can be hard to concentrate on writing the words when there are so many distractions.

It’s tricky, but the old Dos favourite WordPerfect 5.1 can be shoehorned into working with Windows XP. Making it work with Vista is more of a challenge. A small but vibrant user community at WP Universe provides tips and even drivers to make the software work with modern operating systems and hardware.

You’d need to buy WordPerfect. Two recently developed applications channel its spirit for free. Darkroom and Q10 are both stripped down text editors designed to provide distraction-free writing.

Darkroom fussily requires Microsoft .Net 2.0, which may be a dealbreaker for some, while Q10 mainly gets on with the job, but I did detect some beta-software strangeness with both programs. Perhaps for now, this is a trend to watch rather than follow.

There’s a useful review of Darkroom, Q10 and a number of similar programs at bweaver.net.