Configuring gnotepad can be done entirely through the Preferences Dialog. There should never be any reason to edit any configuration files by hand, except in the most extreme circumstances.
The Preferences Dialog is accessed through the Options Menu, or the Prefrences button on the main toolbar. The Preferences Dialog uses a notebook format, where each page of the notebook represents configurable options related to a certain aspect settings of gnotepad.
Appearance Settings affect mostly appearance related options, and not functionality.
Note that the current settings will always be the one that is selected by default on any page of the Preferences Dialog.3.1.1.1 Toolbar Settings
The "Raised Buttons" option is only available if you are using GNOME, or if you are using GTK+ versions 1.1 and up.3.1.1.2 Document Tabs
The Document Tabs can be positioned differently: Top, Bottom, Left, or Right. There is no difference in usage in any of the positions; this is purely an aesthetic setting.3.1.1.3 Message/Status Bar
One can elect to show or hide the message bar. However, it is not recommended since the message bar is used to show information status messages to you while gnotepad is running.
Document Settings represent options which directly affect documents opened in gnotepad.
3.1.2.1 Autosave
If autosave is enabled, gnotepad will automatically and periodically save any opened files that have been modified. The interval of time is specified in the "Autosave Minutes" entry. A value of zero disables this option.3.1.2.2 Recent Document List
gnotepad maintains a list of most recently opened documents and can be accessed through the File Menu. The maximum number of documents in this list can be specified here. A value of zero disables this option.3.1.2.3 Wordwrap
When a line of text exceeds the width of the gnotepad window, gnotepad can visually wrap lines on a word boundary so that words will not appear to be truncated, and then continued on the next line. Note that gnotepad does not insert a line break.3.1.2.4 File Backup
When saving a file, gnotepad can make a backup