Plain text files are the simplest form of text file. They don't contain any formatting, just the text characters themselves. You can make plain text files with TextEdit by opening a new TextEdit document and then selecting Make Plain Text from the format menu. When you save a plain text file, by default it will be given the file name extension .txt (e.g. untitled.txt).
Word documents are not plain text files, since each Word document actually contains a whole lot of background information besides the text itself that enables all the many formatting options that Word can do. For this reason, they are given a different file name extension: .doc (e.g. untitled.doc). The Append Text... action will not work with Word documents. Unlike a plain text file where some text can simply be attached to the end of a file, in a Word document the text has to be inserted into the middle of the complex data structure of the file at just the right spot. That spot changes based on what formatting options have been used on the file, what version of document it is, and a whole host of other factors. If the Append Text... action tried to attach text to a Word document and didn't insert it at just the right place in the data structure, it would corrupt the whole document and render it unreadable. On Nov 6, 11:20 pm, sammie1177 <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > can you please tell me what you mean by "plain text files"? Is that > word docs? > > Thanks > > Sam > > On Nov 6, 9:22 am, "Jon Stovell (a.k.a. Sesquipedalian)" > > <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > It only works on plain text files with the txt extension. > > > On Nov 6, 2:59 am, sammie1177 <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > > > I am having problems appending text in Quicksilver. I have the text > > > manipulation plugin turned on. Then I use a period to enter text, > > > followed by append text , and finally I picked a text edit document. > > > However the text is never in the doc. > > > Can anyone tell me what I am doing wrong. Does Quickslver no longer > > > let you append text? I just cant believe that. I have tried everything > > > I can think of. Watched tutorials on You tube, but cant get it to work > > > > Any help would be great. > > > > Sam
