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If you dont write all the time, then you probably dont need a full-featured word processor, such as Microsoft Word () or Apple Pages (). But you still may want a flexible tool for handling text that lets you compose rsums and recipes, letters and flyers. You know what? You already have one: Apples TextEdit.

This text app comes as part of OS X, and can meet many of your writing needs. It doesnt offer advanced page layout features such as columns and image wrap, but it does provide most of the fundamentals.Simplicity comes with benefits, too. TextEdit is sleek and fast. It takes a half-second to launch, and it doesnt lag even if you have a document containing hundreds of pages. On top of that, TextEdit can save documents to Apples iCloud, so if you have a desktop Mac and a laptop, you can work on your documents at home and know theyll still be at hand when youre on the road.

Still need convincing? Here are six TextEdit tips that show off what this free, easy-to-use program can do.

TextEdit offers a zoom feature with two sizes: tiny and huge. Not very practical when you want to write something and see other windows on your Mac. You can access it from the View menu: Actual size is the size of the page set in File > Page Setup. You can also choose to Zoom In (Command-Shift-. [period]) or Zoom out (Command-Shift-, [comma]), but unlike most word processors, you cant pick a zoom percentage.

Theres a top-secret gesture, however, that lets you fine-tune TextEdits zoom. Just pinch on a trackpad, either inward or outward, to zoom in smaller increments. (Sorry, theres no way to do this with a mouse.) With a bit of practice, youll find the right size, and it will be a lot easier to work with your TextEdit documents.

If you need to make a lista to-do list, or an outlineyou can choose from a number of list styles from the Format > List menu. You can also choose list styles from the List bullets and numbering button in the toolbar. (Note: You need to be in Rich Text mode to make lists. If you dont see a toolbar with formatting buttons, choose Format > Make Rich Text, or press Command-T.)

But if you just want a simple list that uses hyphens, or if you want to do some quick brainstorming and then format your list later, heres a tip that will save you a lot of time. Press Option-Tab, either at the beginning of a line, or at any location in a paragraph, and that text will change to an indented list paragraph preceded by a hyphen. When youve finished brainstorming, select all your list items, then choose Format > List to choose another type of bullet or numbering.

If youre writing a document that has links to webpages in it, its often best that these links be active; when the reader clicks them, you want the webpage to open in a browser. But, if you paste a link in TextEdit, it wont be active.

To make an active link, paste the link and click or select it. Then right-click or control-click and choose Make Link. TextEdit will know that youve clicked a link, and willconvert it into a blue, underlined, active link.

This works for links in any of the following formats: macworld.com, http://www.macworld.com, or http://www.macworld.com.

Read this article:
Six great TextEdit tricks