Mastering Ezine and Email Formatting with TextPad

Getting Started with TextPad

TextPad is available for a free evaluation download at TextPad's official website. The software might seem a bit complex to configure initially, but once you understand the process, it becomes straightforward. Here are the steps to set it up:

• Navigate to 'Configure' from the top menubar, then select 'Preferences'.
• A dialog box will appear. Choose 'Document Classes' (Click the little '+' to the left of that category to expand it).
• Click on the word 'Text' within the list of choices in that section.
• The right-hand part of the dialog box will change. You should see a field at the bottom right labeled 'Word break at column number'.
• Check the box to the left of that statement.
• Enter 60, 65, or any number of characters per line you prefer in the box to the right of the statement. The industry standard is typically 65 characters, but I prefer 60.
• Click 'OK' to save your settings.

With these steps, your TextPad should be correctly configured.

Using TextPad for Formatting

There are a few things to keep in mind while using TextPad:

• To apply the formatting to each document, you need to activate the button that resembles a backward 'S' or a 'squiggle', located on the second to top row of the menubars.
• If you paste text that was previously formatted with more than your set number of characters, it will highlight the 'funny' breaks, which you can manually correct, or it will automatically format the new text you type.
• It may seem obvious, but you must save the document in TextPad first to apply the breaks before you copy and paste the text to your email program or your online message posting box for ezine distribution. Saving adds necessary code for the hard line breaks. If you do not save your work first, it may look correct in TextPad, but it will not format correctly when sent by email.

Alternatives to TextPad

If you find TextPad challenging to use, there are alternatives available. Ezine Assistant is a program that also offers line break setting facilities. You can download it from here.

FormatIt is an online formatting tool that you can access here.

For a comprehensive online tutorial on formatting, which includes screenshots on how to use TextPad, visit this link.

Happy formatting!