Notepad is one of my favorite programs on Windows, which is why Microsoft has always included it in every version of Windows that ships with Windows 1.0, which was almost 30 years ago. Not only does it have a long history, but it also maintains a clean and simple interface. Notepad is a simple text editor that can come in handy when you don’t need to format the text in your document.
However, there are times when a few additional features can make a text editor much more useful, but not redundant. Microsoft Word is what I consider overkill as it is basically a word processor, not a text editor. In this article, I’ll share the 10 most popular Notepad alternatives and why they might make your life a little easier.
Notepad ++
Notepad ++ is probably the most popular text editor used outside of Notepad. It has many features that make it a great solution for simple and complex tasks. If you just want Notepad with a couple of extra features like line numbers, improved search, multi-tab interface, spell checker, and more, then you can just use Notepad ++ right out of the box.
However, the main features of Notepad ++ that make it really useful are syntax highlighting when writing code, syntax folding, concurrent editing, autocomplete, WYSIWYG for printing, and more. This tool is very popular with programmers and supports a range of languages ??including C, C ++, C #, Objective C, Pascal, HTML, and XML to name just a few. Notepad ++ is also under active development and they release updates quite often.
EditPad Lite
My second favorite should be EditPad Lite, because it looks more like Notepad than Notepad ++. It doesn’t highlight code syntax like Notepad ++, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing, especially if you’re not a programmer. I would recommend this program over Notepad ++ to those looking for a Notepad replacement but don’t care about code highlighting features. This program is also regularly updated.
Here are some of the strengths of EditPad Lite that make it a better text editor than Notepad:
– Allows you to open many text files at once (unlimited)
– Includes advanced search and placement function better than any other editor
– Includes a feature called “Clip Collection” that stores a list of text snippets for later reuse
– Auto save and auto backup features so you never lose your job
– Unlimited undo and redo, even if you save the file
PSPad
PSPad is another tool that is geared more towards programmers and therefore includes features like syntax highlighting, built-in FTP client, macro recorder, user-defined highlighting, full HEX editor, built-in CSS editor, etc. < / p>
As far as the usual text editor features go, PSPad includes spell checker, auto correct, text distinction, find and replace, multiple tabs, etc. I mentioned a little higher than some other editors because it was recently updated. However, PSPad is ad-supported, so you have to be careful when installing it because it will ask you to install other programs during installation. You have to hit Decline about 4 times, which is a little annoying.
Notepad 2
Notepad2 literally looks pretty much the same as Windows Notepad except for a few additional features like syntax highlighting for multiple web languages, regex search and replace, rectangular selection with mouse, long line marker, auto indent, parenthesis matching, etc. D.
Notepad2 is the best option for those who need Notepad with a couple of additional options plus the ability to write rich code in languages ??such as HTML, PHP, ASP, JS, CSS, Java, SQL, Perl and others. The program hasn’t been updated since 2012, but still a decent option.
TED Notebook
TED Notepad is a basic text editor with a simple and straightforward interface. It has all the basic text editing features like line number and multiple undo / redo, file changes, auto save and restore, etc.
Plus, it has a great search feature, persistent clipboards, autocomplete, and tons of text conversion tools. Overall, I really enjoyed using TED Notepad and was surprised at its usefulness.
DocPad
DocPad is a newer application that is a good alternative to Notepad. It is more focused on text editing features and is not suitable for coders. It supports bookmarks, block indentation, character conversion, drag and drop support, print preview, file history, find and replace, skin resizable user interface, trim trailing spaces, word wrap, and more.
I have this program higher in the list because it supports the latest operating systems and has a good set of features.
ATPad
ATPad hasn’t been updated since about 2010, but it has a nice interface and good features. This is actually most useful if you need to work with multiple files in a tabbed interface. It has all the basic text editing features like line numbers, word wrap, bookmarks, displaying spaces, unlimited redo / undo, text snippets, etc. No setup required.
NoteTab Light
NoteTab Light is not the most powerful text editor, but it is a great Notepad replacement. The program is intended to be a text editor and coding tool, but the free version does not include syntax highlighting and only supports HTML and CSS.
In terms of text editing, it supports snippets of text, pasting to the clipboard, calculations in text, and variable width fonts. Unfortunately, the free version lacks several key features such as spell check, word count, print preview, and multilevel undo / redo. Since many free alternatives have these additional features, I list them towards the end of the list.
GetDiz
GetDiz is a notepad replacement app that is slightly different from other text editors. By default, the background is dark blue and the text is white, although this can be changed in the settings.
As the name suggests, the program displays DIZ and NFO files with advanced functionality, and the program can display ASCII art as well. You can also save text, DIZ or NFO files as GIF images.
FluentNotepad
FluentNotepad is a notepad replacement that should look like Office with a ribbon interface, but it’s pretty simple. Since it hasn’t been updated since 2010, I don’t recommend this program too strongly. Also, there is only one tab in the ribbon UI and the developer hasn’t added anything else after that.
The only thing it can do is syntax highlighting for 10 programming languages ??and opening multiple tabs. It doesn’t have many functions for editing text and few functions for working with code.
So these programs are probably enough for anyone to find a suitable replacement for Notepad. It basically boils down to whether you need syntax highlighting for coding or not. If you are using another program not mentioned here, let us know in the comments. Enjoy!
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