GetDiz

Many downloadable ZIP archives have DIZ and NFO files included within them. GetDiz is a freeware Notepad replacement which can display ASCII art correctly while maintaining an incredible speed, ease of use and small size.

Pros: GetDiz is a full functionality text editor. It is a full featured replacement for Notepad on Windows and supposedly faster that Notepad. It is very easy to use. The tabs on the interface that implement the cut, paste, save functions makes everything very easy to use. You can not only handle the text files but also the special variations like the DIZ and NFO. DIZ files describe the files within a Zip archive. Not very common now but these were in use for distributing files via BBS. The file-id.DIZ provided system administrators with descriptions of the files uploaded into the BBS. The NFO files typically used to be pirated software including release notes and even the identity of the group of pirates distributing the software.

Text drag and drop, format functions such as line joins, lower case, uppercase are some of the newer edit functions available. Save and save as features are useful too. Several language versions are available. Redo, delete lines, insert date/time has been added in the latest version. Auto copy can be selected to clipboard, you could trim the string before copy. The program displays ASCII art correctly too. Save as a GIF image is a handy option quite often. There is a large set of options available. These include color selections, focus setting, show line numbers in addition to the auto-copy etc. talked about earlier. An optional USB-Stick installation is also possible. It is not only a freeware, it can be distributed freely too.

Cons: Nothing adverse noticed. The support for DIZ and NFO are not very useful now. Support for NFO files may even be questionable as that will encourage piracy.

Overall: The application does its job very well and is easy to use. This is certainly a 4 star package.

GetDiz is a Notepad replacement that offers a wide range of features while maintaining incredible speed, ease of use, stability, and small size. Besides standard Text Editor features, GetDiz can display ASCII art correctly. ASCII art is a graphic design technique that uses pieces of printable text defined by the ASCII standard character set alongside with proprietary extended characters. The term is also used to refer to text-based art in general. ASCII art is often found in DIZ and NFO text files, which in turn are included within ZIP and RAR archives. Among with correct ASCII art display, GetDiz offers you the possibility to save any .txt, .diz or .nfo files as GIF images. An optional USB-Stick installation is also possible.