TextPipe Standard is a program aimed at developers and programmers that want to make finding and modifying code easier than it usually is. You can test out a fully-featured version free of charge for 30 days till you have to purchase a license.
Installation & Requirements
The whole setup should not take more than a few minutes to complete. After it does, you will have to select a language from an options menu that will pop up. The program should be compatible with most Windows versions without any other software requirement.
Interface
Even the first time the application launches, you can see that it is going to be a quite complicated one. Multiple windows open at the same time, most of them offering tips on how to use the program or set this or that thing up. The Filter Wizard will throw you in the game quickly enough without you even knowing what it is for.
Of course, that can also be attributed to the program’s virtues as it wants to be able to work as soon as possible. Dealing with code is neither simple nor pretty and the developers know that. The old-school interface of the program has been kept intact throughout the years, although whether that is a good thing or not relies solely upon your own personal tastes.
What I can safely say is that a lot of effort has been put into making this program work. Buttons and toolbars are aplenty and they all come together to fill up the whole interface of the application without much room for anything elegant. Still, everything is up to par and works almost the way you want.
There are quite a few annoying things to note here, like the fact that those pop-up windows I mentioned before appear each time you launch the program. Again, this can go either way. You might be glad that the help window and the wizard are there to aid you every time but you might also be slightly irritated that you have to close the windows manually every time you actually want to get some work done.
Still, this is merely a design choice that is obvious throughout the course of running the program. Working with it might not be a pleasant experience but you will definitely get results. The processes are quick, everything is at its right place and you rarely get unexpected and unpleasant surprises from its workings. That is, of course, if you do have the level of technical knowledge required to understand and run things around there.
Pros
-Fast and reliable
-Detailed options in abundance
-Extremely detailed help wizards
-Finding and replacing code is made easy
Cons
-Technical knowledge of all terms involved is required to do anything
-Unpleasant interface
-Annoying pop-ups
Conclusion
If you are a programmer who is struggling to see the inner gears of an application, then TextPipe Standard should help you get there. Do note that everything about this program is hard and clunky to use and you are going to have an almost painless ride.
