TextMaker
TextMaker is a word processor developed by the Nuremberg (Germany) based software company SoftMaker and available as part of the SoftMaker office suite. Earlier versions were also sold separately.
Original author(s) | SoftMaker |
---|---|
Initial release | 1987[1][2] |
Stable release | 2018
|
Operating system | MS Windows, MacOS Linux, Android, Windows Mobile, and Windows CE |
License | Proprietary (commercial or freeware/registerware) |
Website | https://www.softmaker.com/en/softmaker-office-textmaker |
Some previously commercial versions of SoftMaker TextMaker were later released as freeware (SoftMaker Office 2006 and SoftMaker Office 2008).[3][4]
History
Development of TextMaker started in 1987 under MS-DOS. The program aims at utmost compatibility with Microsoft Word (adding some proprietary features like an object mode for working with frames or a simple built-in database functionality). It reads and writes its own document format (.tmd), Microsoft Word (.doc and .docx), OpenDocument (.odt), Pocket Word (.psw, .pwd), Rich Text Format (.rtf), HTML 4.0 (.htm), and plain text files (.txt). It can also open OpenOffice.org XML (.sxw) files. The standard document format can be .tmd, .docx, .doc, .rtf, or .odt.
Multilingual features include a five language translation dictionary, a thesaurus in ten languages, spell checking in 17, hyphenation in 29, and user interface in 14 languages.
VBA-compatible scripting is supported through SoftMaker's scripting language, called BasicMaker, which is part of its SoftMaker Office suite for Windows.
For mobile use, TextMaker can be run from a USB stick without changing any registry or system files of the host PC.
TextMaker 2018 is available for Windows, MacOS, Linux, and Android. TextMaker 2010 is available for Windows Mobile and Windows CE.
Latest versions
- TextMaker 2021 for Microsoft Windows, MacOS, and Linux
- TextMaker 2018 for Microsoft Windows, MacOS, Linux, and Android
- TextMaker 2016 for Microsoft Windows, Linux, and Android
- TextMaker 2012 for Microsoft Windows, Linux, and Android
- TextMaker 2010 for Windows Mobile-based Pocket PCs, and Windows CE 4.2 and later[2]
- TextMaker 2006 for FreeBSD[5] and Handheld PC 2000 (no longer available)
- TextMaker 2002 for Sharp Zaurus, and Handheld PC 2.x (no longer available)
It is the only word processor worldwide to support all these systems. Furthermore, the user interface is as similar as possible across all supported platforms; the PDA versions are full-fledged versions rather than scaled-down versions lacking much of the functionality of the desktop version.
TextMaker Viewer
A read-only version of TextMaker is available free-of-charge as TextMaker Viewer. Currently in its 2010 release,[6] it allows opening, viewing, and printing of many common word-processing formats, such as those of Microsoft Word (.doc), Office Open XML (.docx), OpenDocument (.odt), RTF (.rtf), HTML (.htm, .html) and plain text (.txt).[7]
TextMaker Viewer's license allows free unmodified distribution, even commercially.
See also
References
- Andy Updegrove (2006-07-05). "The Emerging ODF Environment, Part IV: Spotlight on SoftMaker Office 2006 (1987: Company founded; TextMaker 1.0 for MS-DOS released)". Retrieved 2010-03-28.
- SoftMaker Software GmbH. "Timeline of our software releases". Retrieved 2011-05-31.
- "SoftMaker Office 2008 now available for free". 2011-05-22. Archived from the original on 2011-05-26. Retrieved 2011-05-24.
- "SoftMaker Office 2006 for Windows". 2009. Archived from the original on 2009-03-14. Retrieved 2011-05-31.
- "No more TextMaker for FreeBSD". 2007-10-30. Retrieved 2011-05-31.
- https://www.ghacks.net/2009/05/02/document-viewer-textmaker-viewer-2009/
- http://www.officeviewers.com/