Other Clever New Features
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After
the interface improvements, the cleverest new feature of BBEdit 10 is the
support for seamlessly editing text files that are stored within a .zip file.
BBEdit 10 will extract the text document from the archive and, if the user
saves changes, recompress the document in the archive. This even works when
performing a search-and-replace across multiple files.
BBEdit
10 includes a new option in the application's Quit command that preserves the
state of the workplace between sessions. This feature is independent of a
similar one in the recently released OS X "Lion" and is based on the
application's former Sleep command. Because it uses its own routines, it works
on "Snow Leopard," the prior release of the Apple OS.
BBEdit
10 also adds a color scheme management function that uses the BBColors format
to define how elements are viewed. Color schemes can also be applied language by
language.
Even
the Preferences dialog has been overhauled for BBEdit 10. It's crisp in
appearance and as well-organized as one could want. A new Setup pane allows
users to manage those parts of the configuration that aren't necessarily
user-specific, such as file filters, FTP bookmarks and Website configurations.
BBEdit
10 is available directly from Bare Bones Software's online store and through
Apple's Mac App Store. Single-user licenses are available for $49.99, with a
discounted price of $39.99 available through mid-October. There's one catch:
The Mac App Store version of BBEdit lacks the command-line tools and the
authenticated save feature that are offered in the direct download.
Bare
Bones removed these features to comply with Apple's guidelines for the Mac App
Store. The command-line tools can still be downloaded from the Bare Bones
Website, but users requiring the ability to save files that the OS sees as
owned by another user-such as system files-are advised to purchase BBEdit
directly from Bare Bones.
BBEdit
10 works well with even ridiculously large files. The demo includes a 150MB
file of text as a sampler, and Bare Bones claims that the software can handle
250MB and larger files with ease. I had no unexpected difficulties when
manipulating a 300MB file, but as always, your experience may vary.
As
text editors go, BBEdit 10 is a powerful, yet easily comprehended tool.
Although it lacks the scope of an IDE, the syntax-aware formatting and
productivity features of BBEdit allow users to focus on the work at hand,
rather than the tool.
