Forum (+ features?) for TextEdit?

Question

Howdy all -
a) I'm looking for the appropriate forum for asking questions about TextEdit. I used the community serach box for identifying the appropriate community, but it gave no results in response to "TextEdit" or "Text Edit".
b) Is it possible to change defaults in TextEdit such as:
     i) size of new document window i.e. Zoom command;
     ii) %-zoom level;
     iii) # of recent documents in "File > Open Recent";
     iv) contents of header and footer?
I live and die by TextEdit because it meets most simple word processing needs (e.g. for meeting notes, course notes, lists, ideas, citations, study guides etc); opens damnfast; generally avoids all issues of compatibility when it comes to collaborations; offers better non-English language support than either Pages or Word (specifically right-left language and bi-lingual text support, e.g. Arabic & English on the same line) etc. So I am not really interested in changing programs over these issues unless the suggested programs do all of the above equally well (or better) and are cheap / free (!! - don't want to waste anyone's time here :-D).
I'm aware that one can create an application-specific shortcut for the % zoom-in found at the bottom-right corner [only visible in wrap-to-page mode] (> System Preferences > Keyboard > Keyboard Shortcuts > "+" > TextEdit > zoompercentage% > Desired Short).
Similarly for the Zoom feature found under the Windows > Zoom (or the green circle in the upper right-hand size) it is possible to create an application-specific short cut; however, unlike its behaviour in other applications, it does not optimize the page for the % zoom-in selected. Rather, it optimizes the page size assuming one is working at 100%, only.
[[[ Side note for those who wish the green circle maximized the page size (i.e. full screen) instead of optimizing it (i.e. as large as the content requires, up to full screen): in many applications, if you push option-click green circle, it'll maximize the window. This doesn't work in all applications though, e.g. TextEdit! (I've tried it in Chrome, Mail, iTunes, Safari etc. and it works in all of them) ]]]
As for the other defaults mentioned, I haven't a clue. Any & all suggestions welcome and appreciated!
c) Despite its relatively good bilingual support, I have a recurring issue with TextEdit when toggling between English and Arabic keyboards. Every once in a while, when I toggle back to English, it changes the font to Lucida Grande, despite the fact that I've set the default to Baskerville. This seems to happen if I modify any part of the text created with one keyboard while in the other keyboard setting (e.g. if I have too many spaces after the last Arabic word and use backspace on the English keyboard and then start typing, the font changes). Generally if I just switch between the two without ever making mistakes (!!) it doesn't happen (or at least not often).
Any advice would be greatly appreciated (including where pre-existing TextEdit discussion might be found)!
All the best,
Rax

Answer 1

So I think I have finally discovered possible solutions to all of these issues myself and just thought I would share it in case anyone else was interested. The solutions are posted under each cited question below:
a) I'm looking for the appropriate forum for asking questions about TextEdit. I used the community serach box for identifying the appropriate community, but it gave no results in response to "TextEdit" or "Text Edit".
Right - this is it.
b) Is it possible to change defaults in TextEdit such as:
     i) size of new document window i.e. Zoom command;
The default size of a window in TextEdit can be set under the TextEdit preferences for a new document (TextEdit > Preferences ... > New Document > Window Size). The potentially confusing / misleading units of "characters" for width and "lines" for height do not specify anything to do with the document settings, only the actual program window. Also note that you cannot (so far as I can tell) have default "Wrap to Page" selected at the same time.
     ii) %-zoom level;
I did not find an alternative solution to the program-specific shortcut outlined in the question.
     iii) # of recent documents in "File > Open Recent";
I found this one by complete accident - stumbling about System Preferences. Go to System Preferences > Appearance > Number of recent items, there there are drop-down menus for the number of recent Applications, Documents and Servers, up to 50. It is applied across the board. Am a little surprised no one on the forum suggested this!
As for the header / footer info, I was not able to find any means of controlling that info - only how to turn it on/off in printing.
Ultimately my solution for being able to open new TextEdit documents that are the appropriate size (i.e. easily readable & appropriate point size) was to deselect "wrap to page" default, set the appropriate window size for a document in 150% zoom as the default and set similar / related shortcuts for wrap-to-page & 150% zoom. Along with the increased recent docs menu - it means managing documents in TE is that much faster.
If anyone has other ideas / solutions to these or any of the other issues mentioned in the first post, I'd still be very interested.