How do I change the file extension with TextEdit on osx?

I am teaching Python to the people I work with, and we are all mac users. I would like to be able to create files like hello.py or data.csv.

However, I do not see an option in TextEdit to save as a "plain text no-frills no-formatting non-rtf" file. When I select RTF but try to save with a .py or .csv extension, TextEdit will no do so.

Is there another text editor that comes with osx that I can use? Or, is there a way to coerce TextEdit to behave like Windows Notepad (when it comes to file extensions, etc?)

Solution 1:

TextEdit has separate plain text and rich text modes. You'll have to select Format > Make Plain Text or set the default format to plain text first.