I've come up with a useful (at least in my opinion) plugin, specifically designed to quickly insert special characters into the document. It's like the Windows Character map, but with filters.
To explain this plugin, let me give you an example of how it works.
You select a capital A in Notepad++. You then select the option from the menu (not sure yet what to call it). A window appears with a capital A in a field at the top, and a bunch of buttons below it with captions such as "Á","Ã","Á", and "A". You press one of these buttons, and the highlighted A in Notepad++ is replaced by the caption of the button.
It doesn't necessarily have to be a single character that you highlight. For example, you might highlight "Á" in the text, and it would bring up the same options.
It works by grouping short pieces of text for the purpose of filtering. All of the above options, for instance, are variations of a capital A, and therefore highlighting any of them tells it that you want to look up all the other variations. If you highlight a capital E or variation of it, you would get a different set of options.
You can also type your text directly into the field at the top of the window and it would update the button captions in real time.
You don't have to have any text highlighted to use it; it will insert the text at the cursor position instead.
The groups are configured in an .ini file, so you can add to or modify it to suit your own needs.
The coding is 99% finished, and I plan to release it next week some time. My #1 issue is: What should I call the darn thing? Any ideas?
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Any objections to me calling the plugin "CharM"? I figure it I keep this one nice and basic and mainly use it for substituting single characters or character codes, the name is pretty good. It is, after all, intended to be a type of character map.
Thanks, deus-ex, for the suggestion.
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All of these are good ideas, assuming it's used like the Windows character map. And while that's the intended purpose, it can potentially be used in other ways as well. Since it's configurable, you could set up any number of groups.
Here's an example:
You're working on your novel, and you're currently writing a scene of dialog. You highlight the word "said" and it gives you options such as "declared", "replied", "shouted", and "asked".
Really it's just a way to quickly replace one piece of text with another.
Any ideas for names that take into consideration its potential other uses?
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Oh man, who wants to use a "substitute"? It sounds negative in any way! Another suggestion, call it "SubTexter", that's a tough name, if you like it more. Everything else, sounds ugly.
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A lot of these suggestions are pretty good, but they're either too specific (they assume the plugin is going to be used for single characters), or they're not descriptive of what the plugin does.
I know in one sense the name isn't a big deal, but because it's pretty much the only thing that I can't change once I upload it, I want to make sure I get it right the first time.
I think I'm just going to go with "Substitution" as the name of the plugin. Any objections?
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The Plug-In is not meant to always substitute, as far as I understand, but to offer lists of variations for a single character or whatever combinations of characters (words), either by meaning or appearance (smilies, for anyone's sake) and the like.
So I would very much like not to use the word Substitution, but I can't yet look for an alternative in some list...
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Substitution doesn't sound very nice to me. The name doesn't even spark a light for me as to what it does. I find the already suggested "CharMap" to be quite descriptive and catchy.
My own suggestion would be:
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
"CHARt", while not beeing as descriptive but rather a sneaky abbreviation of "Character chart" or "Character table".
Another one would be "CHARli", short for "Character List".
Or how about "CHARm" (Character Map). :)
And then there is "ChImp" (Character import). :D
______________
Best regards,
deus-ex
If you would like to refer to this comment somewhere else in this project, copy and paste the following link:
I've come up with a useful (at least in my opinion) plugin, specifically designed to quickly insert special characters into the document. It's like the Windows Character map, but with filters.
To explain this plugin, let me give you an example of how it works.
You select a capital A in Notepad++. You then select the option from the menu (not sure yet what to call it). A window appears with a capital A in a field at the top, and a bunch of buttons below it with captions such as "Á","Ã","Á", and "A". You press one of these buttons, and the highlighted A in Notepad++ is replaced by the caption of the button.
It doesn't necessarily have to be a single character that you highlight. For example, you might highlight "Á" in the text, and it would bring up the same options.
It works by grouping short pieces of text for the purpose of filtering. All of the above options, for instance, are variations of a capital A, and therefore highlighting any of them tells it that you want to look up all the other variations. If you highlight a capital E or variation of it, you would get a different set of options.
You can also type your text directly into the field at the top of the window and it would update the button captions in real time.
You don't have to have any text highlighted to use it; it will insert the text at the cursor position instead.
The groups are configured in an .ini file, so you can add to or modify it to suit your own needs.
The coding is 99% finished, and I plan to release it next week some time. My #1 issue is: What should I call the darn thing? Any ideas?
Any objections to me calling the plugin "CharM"? I figure it I keep this one nice and basic and mainly use it for substituting single characters or character codes, the name is pretty good. It is, after all, intended to be a type of character map.
Thanks, deus-ex, for the suggestion.
Just give it a name and let's have it! :-)))
Mark B
Patience. Or should I say, impatience, since I just finished uploading it. And yes, it's called CharM (pronounced "Charm").
I'll start a new thread with a link, but in the mean time, you can find it on the Notepad++ plugins project page.
Quite a charming plugin. ;)
Thank you, fidvo.
_____________
Best regards,
deus-ex
SpecialCharacters?
CharacterMap?
CharExpand?
CharacterExtension ?
CharacterWizard ?
CharMap++
CharFX ?
Don
Sounds a little like Sprankle, which has an awkward interface.
Whatever you call it, I look forward to it :-)
Mark
All of these are good ideas, assuming it's used like the Windows character map. And while that's the intended purpose, it can potentially be used in other ways as well. Since it's configurable, you could set up any number of groups.
Here's an example:
You're working on your novel, and you're currently writing a scene of dialog. You highlight the word "said" and it gives you options such as "declared", "replied", "shouted", and "asked".
Really it's just a way to quickly replace one piece of text with another.
Any ideas for names that take into consideration its potential other uses?
Multiple Chars, in its simplicity true for both intended uses, as opposed to Multiple Choice.
Synonym Plug-In?
Similar (To) Plug-In?
S(i)mile Plug-In...
Wow ... good idea.
I'm waiting for it.
I use texter.
Texter does a good job as well.
Symbols++ ?
StringMaster ?
StringGrabber ?
I'm leaning toward "Text Substitution" or something like that. It's a little long, but it's the most descriptive of what it does.
I could shorten it with a variation like "Text Sub", "Text Substitute", or just plain "Substitution".
Are there any of these that people like (or hate) in particular?
Alternative...
Alternator
Alt+ernator...
Oh man, who wants to use a "substitute"? It sounds negative in any way! Another suggestion, call it "SubTexter", that's a tough name, if you like it more. Everything else, sounds ugly.
NppTextitude?
ascii
ascii-map
A lot of these suggestions are pretty good, but they're either too specific (they assume the plugin is going to be used for single characters), or they're not descriptive of what the plugin does.
I know in one sense the name isn't a big deal, but because it's pretty much the only thing that I can't change once I upload it, I want to make sure I get it right the first time.
I think I'm just going to go with "Substitution" as the name of the plugin. Any objections?
Like...
Is Like...
The Plug-In is not meant to always substitute, as far as I understand, but to offer lists of variations for a single character or whatever combinations of characters (words), either by meaning or appearance (smilies, for anyone's sake) and the like.
So I would very much like not to use the word Substitution, but I can't yet look for an alternative in some list...
Various...
Variation...
Substitution doesn't sound very nice to me. The name doesn't even spark a light for me as to what it does. I find the already suggested "CharMap" to be quite descriptive and catchy.
My own suggestion would be:
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
"CHARt", while not beeing as descriptive but rather a sneaky abbreviation of "Character chart" or "Character table".
Another one would be "CHARli", short for "Character List".
Or how about "CHARm" (Character Map). :)
And then there is "ChImp" (Character import). :D
______________
Best regards,
deus-ex