Texting has its ups and downs. On the one hand, it’s a fast and convenient mode of conversation that everyone uses. On the other, it’s still slower and more prone to typos than typing by a traditional keyboard. Wouldn’t it be great to get the best of both worlds?
The mass texting software can be uninstalled like any other application. For Windows users: Navigate to the Add or Remove Programs tab in the Control Panel, locate the TextMagic software and click the Uninstall button. For Mac users: Drag the app from the Applications folder into the Trash. Choose Finder -> Empty Trash to permanently delete the app.; Now you are ready to send text messages. Download and install TextNow - free text + calls in PC and you can install TextNow - free text + calls 5.62.0 in your Windows PC and Mac OS. TextNow - free text + calls is developed by TextNow, Inc. And listed under SOCIAL. Install mysms on your phone and text from your tablet and PC. Mysms SMS app is available for Android phone & tablet, iPhone, Windows, Mac and iPad.
Well, it’s possible!
The answer is to send SMS texts directly from your computer, which enables you to type your messages in less time with fewer typos, plus it allows you to take advantage of certain advanced tools like text expanders. And best of all, there are several different ways to make this happen.
- Download for Windows (64-bit) Download for Windows (32-bit) Download for Mac.
- Best messaging apps for Mac If you're looking for a better way to connect all of your chat apps on Mac, like GTalk, Facebook Messenger, and Twitter, you've come to the right place.
Here are some of the best and easiest ways to send an SMS text message from your Windows PC for free.
Textfree
Pinger is the company behind Textfree, a mobile and web app that facilitates the sending of free SMS texts by providing you with a U.S.-based phone number. These messages are regular SMS messages, so you can send them to anyone, even if they don’t use a Textfree app.
Other supported features include group messaging, MMS photo messaging, international messaging, and voicemails.
Pinger offers an awesome standalone app called Pinger DesktopPinger Desktop - The Best Desktop Texting Application [Mac OSX & Windows]Pinger Desktop - The Best Desktop Texting Application [Mac OSX & Windows]Over a year ago, I introduced MakeUseOf readers to Textfree. Since then, a lot has changed. I still use Textfree to this very day, and the entire application has been rebranded as Pinger. If you...Read More, but recently decided to cease acceptance of new Pinger Desktop accounts due to a greater focus on mobile apps instead. Fortunately, it’s similar enough to Textfree Web that you won’t lose out on much with the latter.
Texting is free to the United States, Canada, and these international countries.
Pushbullet
Pushbullet has been a fan favorite app for a couple of years now. It started out as a simple way to forward notifications and transfer files between your mobile device and your desktop computerThe Fastest File Transfer Methods Between PCs and Mobile DevicesThe Fastest File Transfer Methods Between PCs and Mobile DevicesPC-to-mobile files transfers are easy to do. This article covers five fast transfer methods between PCs and mobile devices.Read More, but has recently evolved into something much more.
In late 2014, Pushbullet added the ability to send SMS texts from your computer through your phone. Then, in 2015, they expanded the feature so that messages are synced across all of your devices and you can have full conversations regardless of which device you’re on at the time.
As of now, the feature is guaranteed to work as long as you’re using Pushbullet on Android 4.4+ as well as the Pushbullet Chrome extensions or the Pushbullet desktop app.
MightyText + GText
MightyText is an awesome little app that can synchronize an Android smartphone’s messages with Android tablets and any of the mainstream browsers (Chrome, Firefox, Opera, Safari, and IE). It’s very useful and worth checking out if you haven’t alrady.
But for the purposes of sending an SMS from your desktop, you’ll need to install a secondary Chrome extension called GText. This extension modifies your Gmail inbox with a Compose SMS button (but first you’ll have to authorize the extension to access your inbox).
Learn more by checking out our overview of sending text messages with MightyText and GmailGtext From MightyText: Send SMS From Gmail, Using Your Android Phone NumberGtext From MightyText: Send SMS From Gmail, Using Your Android Phone NumberRead More.
AirDroid
Like Pushbullet and MightyText, AirDroid is another app that makes it easy to check your SMS texts from your computerHow to View and Send SMS Text Messages on Your ComputerHow to View and Send SMS Text Messages on Your ComputerWant to view and send text messages with your computer? These apps and services let you access SMS without your Android or iPhone.Read More. It works by synchronizing your devices together, allowing you to read and write SMS texts right from your computer in real-time.
All you need is the AirDroid app on your Android smartphone. Then, you can synchronize using the Windows client or the AirDroid web client (or the OS X client if you also have a Mac lying around somewhere).
But what’s great about the latest version of AirDroid is that it’s about more than just synchronization. It has a bunch of advanced features that make it easy to manage your entire smartphone remotely, including: mirroring the device’s screen on your computer, answering or rejecting calls, file transfers, contact list management, and more.
Text App For Windows And Mac Laptop
Learn more in our overview of AirDroid 3 featuresHow Do I Manage My Android From My PC? Meet AirDroid 3How Do I Manage My Android From My PC? Meet AirDroid 3For a seamless connection between your Android and your PC or Mac, you've got to try AirDroid 3. You can even mirror your device's screen to your computer!Read More. Be aware that some advanced features (like unlimited file transfers or remote access to the mobile camera) are only available in AirDroid Premium, which starts at $1.99 per month.
Google Voice & Google Hangouts
Do you remember Google Voice? It peaked in popularity a few years ago, but it’s still around and still quite useful — not just for setting up call forwardingHow To Set Up Call Forwarding With Google VoiceHow To Set Up Call Forwarding With Google VoiceRead More, but also for a bunch of other neat uses5 Awesome Things You Can Do With Google Voice5 Awesome Things You Can Do With Google VoiceBlog from your phone, call Canada for free or use your computer to make free phone calls. Google Voice isn't the easiest Google service to explain to non-techies, partially because it can be used for...Read More like sending and receiving texts.
That’s right. As soon as you claim a Google Voice number, which only takes a few minutes at most, you can start sending SMS texts from that new number. Seriously, it doesn’t get much easier than this.
You can also send SMS texts through Google Voice using Google Hangouts. Not only is Hangouts one of the best Android messaging appsThe Best All-in-One Messaging & Calling App for Android: Google HangoutsThe Best All-in-One Messaging & Calling App for Android: Google HangoutsWhat if there was one app that could do it all? Meet Google Hangouts for Android.Read More available, the new Hangouts web clientGoogle Finally Made a Hangouts Web App & It's Worth ItGoogle Finally Made a Hangouts Web App & It's Worth ItFor the longest time, Hangouts on desktop was a nightmare. Now, it has got a major update on the web in the form of an all new dedicated web app.Read More is sleek, beautiful, and worthwhile. To get it working, you’ll have to enable Google Voice integration in the Hangouts settings.
Note: Google Voice is only available to residents of the U.S. so international users will need to resort to another service instead.
Microsoft Outlook
Did you know it was possible to send SMS texts using Microsoft Outlook? The process is a little more involved than some of the solutions offered above, but as long as you can get it up and running successfully, it works well enough — especially if Outlook is already part of your regular toolset.
The easiest way is to set up an account with a third-party service that supports the Outlook Mobile Service (OMS) protocol. Fortunately, this can be done through a painless step-by-step wizard within Outlook itself.
In the ribbon, navigate to the Home tab, then click on New Items, then select Text Message (SMS). This will launch the wizard that configures your Outlook account with a nearby third-party service.
Mac Text Messages
Note: This feature is only available in Microsoft Outlook 2010. It was removed in Microsoft Outlook 2013. Also, some services may charge a fee on top of any mobile carrier fees you might incur per text message.
Online Text Message
There are so many “free SMS text” services on the web that it would be impossible to list all of them to satisfaction. However, we’ve covered a few of them in our list of free online SMS servicesThe Best Ways To Send A Free SMS OnlineThe Best Ways To Send A Free SMS OnlineIn an era where smartphone ownership is becoming the majority, it’s hard to imagine someone who can’t (or won’t) send out text messages. When was the last time you knew someone who didn’t have a...Read More so check them out if you prefer an on-demand method with very little hassle (e.g. no account creation).
Online Text Message is one of the better ones but it comes with a few caveats. It’s quick and painless to use, but you must be at least 18 years old to use it legally. It also has a less-than-ideal privacy policy that will scare away most privacy freaks.
Long story short: In exchange for using this free service, Online Text Message collects your email address, phone number, and IP address. Messages are also limited to 100 characters. That’s the price to pay for instant convenience.
Sending Text Messages Is Easy
You have so many options and we’re confident that at least one of them will work out well for you. Give them all a try, though, and let us know which one you end up liking the best. As for me? I’m particularly impressed by the ease of use from Google Voice and Google Hangouts.
If you’re still looking for more ways to make your SMS life easier, consider these alternative SMS apps for Android and these Android SMS scheduling apps, both of which will improve your overall smartphone experience.
Looking for additional messaging options? Take a look at these self-destructing apps and sites for secure messaging5 Self-Destructing Apps to Send Secure Messages or Stay Organized5 Self-Destructing Apps to Send Secure Messages or Stay OrganizedIf you want to ensure your data isn't stored anywhere, use these self-destructing apps to send sensitive information.Read More.
- Give a try to my new project DesktopSMS (DesktopsSMS Lite for Android, DesktopSMS Client for Windows PC). Native Windows app, no registration needed. Feedback would be appreciated. Thanks.
- I used to use MightyText but now they have a 250 messages per month limit with their free service so now I use PushBullet. Thanks for the article!
- I use Pushbullet, works like a charm. If I leave my phone in another room and I get a text, it shows up on my pc and I can answer it from my pc.
We all use text editors to take notes, save web addresses, write code, as well as other uses. Every operating system comes with a default, basic text editor, but most of us install our own enhanced text editors to get more features.
In this article, we’ve gathered links to many different text editors used for different purposes. You can use text editors for basic text editing and taking notes, writing programming code, producing LaTeX documents, writing a book, among many other uses.
Notepad and WordPad Replacements
Are you looking for more capabilities than the default Notepad in Windows? Would you rather use a graphical text editor in Linux, rather than the built-in vi? There are many options for useful text editors out there.
Some employ a tabbed interface, such as Jarte (which is based on the WordPad word processing engine and integrates easily with WordWeb), EditPad Lite (which also has the automatic backup), and Notetab Light (which can also calculate the value of mathematical expressions entered in the program). Jarte, EditPad Lite, and Notetab Light are all only available for Windows. Jarte is also available as a portable program.
Typically, Vi is the default text editor in Linux operating systems and it’s a keyboard intensive program with no graphical user interface (GUI). A good text editor for Windows that has hotkeys available for its 312 text-processing functions, innovative features, and timesaving tools is TED Notepad, which is also available as a portable program. Emacs is also available for both Windows and Linux, and is customizable. It also includes a file compare utility and a file manager. You can also add Org-mode to Emacs, which is a personal information management and outlining tool. If you prefer text editors with GUIs, Vim and gEdit are both good options and are available. Vim is essentially the graphical version of Vi. For help editing text files in Vi or Vim, see our Beginner’s Guide.
GetDiz is a Notepad replacement for Windows that allows you to edit many text files quickly from within Windows Explorer and has enhanced functionality for dealing with DIZ and NFO files. It can also display ASCII art correctly. Another ASCII text formatter for Windows is TextMorph, which can also convert text to and from HTML and clean up emails (remove all the “>” symbols, etc.), and search and replace by words or multiple paragraphs.
Programmer’s Text Editors
There are many text editors that provide useful functionality for programmers. Most support syntax highlighting for many programming languages, multiple document editing, and are extendable with plugins. Some also allow editing of remote files through FTP.
PSPad not only supports syntax highlighting, but also matching bracket highlighting for most popular programming languages. It also has a hex editor, macro recorder, and a differencing tool. PSPad also easily integrates with the free version of the TopStyle CSS editor. Notepad++ also supports bracket highlighting and macro recording. It also supports syntax folding and is highly customizable through plugins using the included plugin manager. Both PSPad and Notepad++ are only available for Windows.
The cross-platform (Windows, Linux, and Mac OS X) editor, jEdit, supports syntax highlighting for over 200 programming languages and auto indent, as well as a differencing utility, an FTP browser, and block selecting. It is also extendable using plugins and macros, and there are hundreds of plugins and macros available through the built-in plugin manager feature.
Programmer’s Notepad for Windows supports syntax highlighting using schemes, both built-in and user-defined, code folding and outlining, a tabbed interface with multi-level split views, and the ability to export to HTML (using CSS) and RTF.
If you like the Vi editor in Linux, but prefer a graphical editor that also serves well as a programmer’s text editor, Editra and Komodo Edit are good options. They both provide Vi emulation, as well as support for syntax highlighting in many programming languages and code folding. Editra has a tabbed interface, allows block (un)commenting and (un)indenting, and is extendable using the built-in plugin downloader/installer. Komodo Edit supports background syntax checking and contains a toolbox with shell command integration, macros, and code snippets. Both Editra and Komodo Edit are available for Windows, Linux, and Mac OS X.
Other options include the following:
- Crimson Editor – A very small editor for Windows containing a directory tree view window
- Geany – A small and fast IDE for Windows, Linux, and Mac OS X that supports code folding, code navigation, a build system, and a plugin interface
- Notepad2 – A fast, light-weight text editor like Notepad for Windows with syntax highlighting and runs as a portable program
Microsoft Word Replacements
There are also free programs that act as replacements for Microsoft Word. They can be used as text editors, but they have more formatting features than simple text editors. You can add images and tables, change fonts and color, and insert hyperlinks.
AbiWord runs on Windows and Linux and can read and write OpenOffice.org documents, Microsoft Word documents, WordPerfect documents, Rich Text Format documents, and HTML web pages. It has advanced document layout options such as tables, bullets, numbered lists, images, styles, footnotes, and endnotes. It even has a Mail Merge utility like Microsoft Word. You can extend AbiWord with a variety of plugins, which can be selected when you install AbiWord. A portable version is also available that you can run from a USB flash drive.
Angel Writer is a small rich text editor for Windows with a high performance rate that allows you to easily create impressive documents.
Minimalist Text Editors
If you get distracted when you write by the plethora of features in text editors and word processors, you might want to try one of the so-called “minimalist” text editors out there. They are “no-frills” editors that either don’t offer any formatting features or many of the other features of modern word processors, and even third-party text editors, or the features are hidden until you want them. Without all the fancy features staring you in the face, you can concentrate on the task of writing. Below is a list of some of the minimalist text editors we found.
Text App For Windows And Macbook Air
- Dark Room– Available for Windows, requires .NET Framework 2.0, and is available as a portable program.
- JDarkRoom– Available for Windows, Linux and Mac OS X
- Q10– Available for Windows and as a portable program
- CopyWriter– Available for Windows and as a portable program
- WriteMonkey– Available for Windows and as a portable program
- Bookwrite– Available for Windows and Linux
- Scribes– Available for Linux
- FocusWriter – Available for Windows, Linux and Mac OS X, and as a portable program for Windows
You can even download Word 5.5 from Microsoft for free and run it under DOSBox in Windows.
If you want a simple text editor with the ability to count down from a set word count, try yEdit2 for Windows. If you have to write a certain number of words, yEdit2 can make it easier.
Secure Text Editors
You can also use a text editor as secure place to store private information. There are several text editors that either include encryption as a feature or are specially designed for securely storing text. Notepad++, mentioned in the Programmer’s Text Editors section above, allows you to add encryption functionality using the SecurePad plugin, which is available through the Plugin Manager. SecurePad will encrypt selected text in the current document or the whole document.
Steganos LockNote is a small, simple method for securely storing chunks of information in files. For example, if you purchase a download-only program, you can use LockNote to store the product key or serial number that goes with that program in the same folder, so you always know where to find it.
- CryptNote – Available for Windows and as a portable program
- CryptoTE– Available for Windows and Linux, and as a portable program for Windows
- NotepadCrypt– Available for Windows as a portable program
- Xint– Available for Windows
- f0dder’s fSekrit – Available for Windows and as a portable program
LaTeX Editors
Do you write a lot of scientific papers, documents, or books? If so, there are several text editors that allow you to easily use TeX/LaTeX (document markup language and document preparation system) through a graphical interface to create mathematical content and structured documents like academic articles, theses, and books.
- LaTeX Editor (LEd)– Available for Windows and as a portable program
- LyX– Available for Windows, Linux, and Mac OS X
- WinEdt– Available for Windows
- TeXstudio– Available for Windows, Linux, and Mac OS X and as a portable program on Windows and Mac OS X
- Texmaker – Available for Windows, Linux, and Mac OS X
Novel Writing Editor
There’s even an editor that’s meant for writing novels, called yWriter5, available for Windows and Linux. It breaks your novel into chapters and scenes, helping you to keep track of your work. However, yWriter5 does not suggest plot ideas, character names, or write any part of your novel for you. The creative task of writing is still up to you, yWriter5 just makes it easier.
Text From Mac To Android
One more text editor to mention is Nano in Linux, which is an easy-to-use text editor you run directly on the command line. Nano is installed by default in Ubuntu and many other Linux distros, and is easier to learn than Vi or emacs.
Difference Between Windows And Mac
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