Notepad++ and programmer's editors

[leonej_dt]

Personally, the only thing I find Notepad2 useful for is writing assembly. And even I, a confessed Real Programmer (in what is considered to be the bad sense of those words), don't write much assembly these days.

If you can play The Dance of Eternity (Dream Theater), then we shall make a band.

[MattPenner]

+1 for PSPad. I used to use Notepad++ but I do a lot of regex and this support was really lacking in N++ at the time. Plus, sometimes I would do quick edits on websites when I didn't have my development computer. PSPad has a built-in FTP connection so that I can edit files directly on the server. This saved me from doing the whole dance of downloading a file in another program, editing it in N++, uploading it and checking the changes. The only thing I find lacking in PSPad is the syntax high-lighting isn't always true and it would be nice if it had better "Intellisense" type help. Sometimes it puts the closing brackets or parenthesis for me but I have to arrow over it. If I type it myself it adds an additional one rather than skipping over it like most advanced editors do.

[janus toendering]

Nobody has mentioned VIm and Emacs. Learning curves are quite a lot steeper but both editors are very powerful and customizable. They both have versions for Windows.

[Sterling Camden independent consultant]

I love that one. Of course, all joking aside, real programmers use vim.

Contains coding, but not narcotic.

[Sterling Camden independent consultant]

I use the console version of vim, even on Windows. It's just snappier.

Contains coding, but not narcotic.

[Adriaan Davel]

If it can do Intellisense it is a good editor :) I don't even ponder writing code in editors without Intellisense, for just editing text files I have found NP++ 100%

____________________________________________________________ Be brave little warrior, be VERY brave

[Jwalant Natvarlal Soneji]

I have used UltraEdit, Notepad++ and PSPad; and personally felt Notepad++ and PSPad good, cause they are free and open for plug-ins. Definitly the robustness of UltraEdit is comendable.

SQL.NET

[da808z]

TextPAD rocks! If you're going to do ASP.NET or ASP however, Visual Studio 2008 Express is free and does the tips while typing thing. I don't know any free/shareware stuff that does tips while typing for PHP etc. My workplace has DreamWeaver which can do it for html/css while typing, but it costs $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$.

[Flynn Arrowstarr Regular Schmoe]

I generally use PFE[^] for all-purpose file editing and reading. Of course, PFE hasn't been updated since 1999, but it works great even in Windows 7 64-bit. The main feature I like is it remembers where you left off in a file. Great for my game walkthrough files and general text editing (no syntax highlighting or Intellisense). For scripting (JavaScript/VBScript, PHP, etc.) I use SourceEdit[^]. No project management features or Intellisense, but lots of syntax highlighters are available. Both are free and work for everything I need. For anything heavy-duty, I use Visual Studio Express. :-\ Flynn

[Mike Winiberg]

I use SLickedit (in Brief mode, natch 8) ). I'm - very slowly - trying to fix the netbeans IDE so that it can be configured for Brief mode, and then I will probably go over to that entirely for Java/PHP/C++ on non-windows platforms, but stick with Slickedit, as Visual Studio's editor makes punched cards look efficient (and yes, I have used punched cards, and paper tape...)

[User 2966909]

I use ViM. It's simple, it's fast, it's scriptable, it's flexible, it's powerful, it's geek, it's cool, it's everywhere and it's charityware. The only problem is you need to learn a bit. But anything aside is just a toy.

[Sami P]

Try Sublime Text, you won't regret it. The way it handles multiple selections and the ease of creating plugins (through a simple python API) makes it the best tool in my setup, by far.

[Hardik Varma]

I've tried using both simultaneously in the past, and NP++ surpasses NP2 in every aspect for any task that I've thrown at the two of them (including reading plaintext files).

[mrt_doulaty]

I'm using it as an editor for typesetting TeX and LaTeX documents. It is better than any other editor for TeX, including commercial ones, like WinEdit.

[Charles Keepax]

Personally, I have always favoured Notepad++ and Ultraedit; they are both great editors. Lately I have been getting into Vim and finding it quite awesome. The learning curve is a nightmare, but its shaping up to be quite powerful. Still haven't decided if I would make it my go to editor yet though.

[Nagy Vilmos]

I use notepad++ day in, day out. You'll need to get it configured to suit you, but it is not a hard chore. Once you have it set up it is a very good code editor, WITH NO INTELISENSE! Woo hoo!

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Panic, Chaos, Destruction. My work here is done. or "Drink. Get drunk. Fall over." - P O'H

[MannatWork]

I've been using Multi-Edit since before Windows - I'm actually still using a pre Win95 16-bit version :-\ and except for Visual Studio I have managed to stay pretty much ignorant of other editors. Having said that, I think it's the bee's knees, but of course, this old version is really showing its age. Even at that, the worst thing I can say about it is that an upgrade to the current version would cost $200 (essentially the new purchase price). The other thing is that it's strictly a Windows program. I've wondered about Jedit, which looks like it might have a lot in common with Multi-Edit, including a built-in macro language, but is available cross-platform. I could be tempted into using a program that works the same under both Windows and Mac OSX. Plus, it's even open-source and free. I just haven't had the motivation and time to dig into it. One big red flag for me with Jedit is is that it's written in Java, and most Java apps I've used exhibit some behaviors which are very jarring for a long-time Windows user (who hates having to reach for the mouse when editing text). Does anyone have any informed opinions on Jedit or any other similar cross-platform programmer's editors?

[davidh1968]

Another vote for UltraEdit. Wonderful multi-programming-language tool. Great for simple text file viewing/editing on up to projects, development, custom highlighting, etc. They constantly add features yet responsiveness rarely diminishes. I paid for the "lifetime upgrade" years ago and have never regretted it nor looked back. -David

[John Perryn]

TEXTPAD has the lot... http://www.textpad.com/