Utilities Windows
FromScratch
Keep quick notes and to-do lists in an autosaving scratchpad. FromScratch for Windows adds checkboxes, folding and keyboard shortcuts to a plain-text workspace.
Version 1.4.3 · Direct publisher file
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What is FromScratch?
FromScratch is a free, open-source scratchpad for notes and to-do lists you want to return to throughout the day. Type into its text workspace and changes are saved automatically, rather than waiting for a manual save. Automatic indentation, collapsible notes and checkboxes help organize the text without turning it into a separate task-management system.
On Windows, Ctrl+Up and Ctrl+Down move the current line, Ctrl+/ adds or toggles a checkbox, and Ctrl+F searches the text. F1 opens the shortcut overview. Text zoom, light and dark themes, and fullscreen mode let you adjust the writing view. The publisher documents content.txt in a .fromscratch folder under your Windows user profile as the default note file. Portable mode can put notes and configuration in a chosen location instead.
The linked EXE is the publisher's Windows setup package for version 1.4.3, released on January 5, 2019. The cited sources do not specify a minimum Windows version or processor architecture, and compatibility with Windows 10 or 11 has not been established here. This is a long-standing release, not a claim of current Windows support. The publisher screenshot illustrates the shared editor on Linux; it does not show a Windows installation.
What it offers
- Save notes automatically as you type.
- Organize text with automatic indentation, note folding and toggleable checkboxes.
- Move lines, search and replace text, and adjust text size with keyboard shortcuts.
- Switch between light and dark themes or use fullscreen mode.
- Use the documented portable mode to store notes and configuration in a selected directory.
Good to know
- The selected 1.4.3 release dates to January 2019; the cited publisher sources do not establish Windows 10 or 11 compatibility, a minimum Windows version, or the installer architecture.
- The default notes live in a local content.txt file. Choosing a cloud-synced directory through portable mode relies on a separate synchronization service, not a documented built-in cloud account.
Product images
Sources
References used for this listing. Retrieval dates do not indicate hands-on testing.
- FromScratch - auto saving scratchpad ↗Retrieved
- Kilian/fromscratch — publisher repository and README ↗Retrieved
- Release notes from fromscratch — official Atom alternate ↗Retrieved
- FromScratch, a simple but smart note-taking app | Kilian Valkhof ↗Retrieved
- FromScratch LICENSE — MIT License ↗Retrieved
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