Metapad v4

Metapad is a lightweight text editor built with PyQt, now compatible with PyQt6 and PyQt5 from the same codebase. It features line numbers, a clean “white-paper” UI, minimal syntax highlighting, Find/Replace, Go To Line, word wrap, and reliable printing (Preview + Direct).

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What’s new in version 4

• PyQt6 / PyQt5 auto-detect
  Tries PyQt6 first, falls back to PyQt5 automatically—no code changes needed.

• White-paper UI
  Clean light theme optimized for readability (black text on white, subtle greys for chrome).

• Print Preview & Direct Print that always show text
  Temporary palette/CSS switch ensures black-on-white output so previews aren’t “blank” even if your theme changes.

• Single-confirmation Exit
  Close confirmation handled once via closeEvent—no more “press Exit twice”.

• Robust file dialogs
  Safer cross-version options for QFileDialog (no Options() AttributeError).

• Minimal highlighter (Python)
  Comments & strings only. Keywords highlighting removed by request.

• “New File” in File menu
  Quickly clear the editor to start fresh.

• Address bar
  Shows the current file name at a glance.

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Quick start

python3 metapad.py [optional_filename]

Examples:

python3 metapad.py

python3 metapad.py notes.txt

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Features

• Line Numbers in a subtle light-grey gutter.
• Toolbar & Menus: New, Open, Save, Undo/Redo, Print (Preview/Direct), Font, Exit.
• Find & Replace (modeless): Find next, Replace one, Replace all, Case sensitivity.
• Go To Line: Jump directly to a line number.
• Word Wrap: Toggle between wrap/no-wrap.
• Status Bar: Live line/column indicator.
• Address Bar: Shows current file name.
• Font Picker: Apply a font to selected text.
• Printing:
  • Print Preview and Direct Print via Qt Print Support.
  • Ensures readable black-on-white output regardless of editor styling.
• Safety prompts: Confirmation before exiting and before replacing the current document when opening another file.

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Compatibility & Dependencies

Metapad runs with either PyQt6 or PyQt5.

• Recommended (any OS via pip):

  # Pick one:
  pip install PyQt6
  # or
  pip install PyQt5

• Debian/Ubuntu (APT):

  sudo apt-get install python3-pyqt6   # or: python3-pyqt5

If both PyQt6 and PyQt5 are installed, Metapad will prefer PyQt6.

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Notes

• Printing uses Qt’s print pipeline and temporarily switches the editor to a black-on-white palette so the text is always visible on paper/PDF.
• Minimal syntax highlighter targets Python: comments & strings only by design (keywords removed).
• Open via CLI argument or start blank and use File → Open/New.

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License & Copyright

Metapad © 2017–2025 JJ Posti <techtimejourney.net>
This program comes with ABSOLUTELY NO WARRANTY; see: http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/gpl.html
Released under GPL Version 2, June 1991.