A: From basic plain text editors to advanced word processing applications, there are many programs available to view and edit text documents. Several options for the Windows, Macintosh, and Linux platforms are listed below.
I've been using Notepad for years now and swear bye it. A lot of people would; however, I recently came across Atom.My question is simple. Cost: Free (MIT Licence) Developer: GitHub. Atom is described as: A hackable text editor for.
I've tried so many code editors in the last couple of months and I have to say I enjoy Adobe Brackets the most. It never crashes (unlike Atom). Installing Atom adds two command line commands - atom and apm. The first one runs the application itself while the second is the Atom Package Manager that's used to add and remove various components from the package listing. While these features can be set up with other editors as well, Atom takes care of them out of the box. Atom is one of the best code editors for Windows that you can download for free. No matter whether you want to write simple HTML/CSS or PHP, Java, etc. – everything is possible in Atom. The first noticeable thing about Atom is the user interface. It has a neat and clean UI that makes everything smooth and easy for a newbie.
Windows
| Company | Program | Price * | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| AbiSource | AbiWord | Free | Cross-platform, open source word processing program similar to Microsoft Word; supports advanced page layouts and text formatting. |
| Apache | OpenOffice Writer | Free | Fully equipped word processor that supports formatting, styles, and AutoCorrect; can import images and diagrams. |
| Atlantis | Atlantis Word Processor | $35 | Customizable word processor designed for creating rich text documents and eBooks; supports RTF, MS Office, and OpenOffice formats; also available in a free 'lite' version. |
| Boxer Software | Boxer | $60 | Supports macros, color syntax highlighting and printing, HTML editing support, and Regular Expression searches. |
| Carolina Road Software | Jarte | Free | Free word processor based on the Microsoft WordPad word processing engine; expands beyond the WordPad feature set; saves documents in a format compatible with both Word and WordPad. |
| CodeLobster | CodeLobster PHP Edition | Free | IDE that supports syntax highlighting and autocomplete for PHP, HTML, JavaScript, and CSS; also includes a PHP debugger for locally validating PHP code. |
| ConTEXT | ConTEXT | Free | Freeware text editor developed for software developers; includes syntax highlighting for many programming languages. |
| Corel | WordPerfect | $299 (w/ WP Office) | Advanced word processor developed by Corel Software; can be used to create reports, letters, resumes, and brochures; included as part of WordPerfect Office. |
| ES-Computing | EditPlus | $30 | Text editor, HTML editor, and programmer's editor; syntax highlighting for HTML, CSS, and scripting languages. |
| Flo's Freeware | Notepad2 | Free | Basic text editor based on Microsoft's Notepad application; includes programming features such as custom syntax highlighting, regular expression search/replace, and bracket matching. |
| Fookes Holding Ltd. | NoteTab | $39.95 | Versatile text editor designed to be a replacement for Notepad; can be used for text-processing and well as editing HTML5 and CSS3 files; includes a real-time word counter for SEO purposes. |
| Geany | Geany | Free | Lightweight text editor that also serves as an integrated development environment (IDE); supports syntax highlighting, code folding, auto-completion, and auto-closing of tags. |
| GitHub | Atom | Free | Open source 'hackable' source code editor that supports custom themes and language-specific IDEs; includes context-aware auto-completion, syntax highlighting, and code navigation features; supports Teletype for collaborating on code with other developers. |
| HamsterCoders | Write! | $19.95 | Cross-platform, minimalist text editor designed to create notes, to-do lists, writing projects, and texts of any kind; has all the common word processor features packed into a clutter-free interface. |
| Helios Software | TextPad | $30 | Supports custom commands and macros and efficient find and replace commands. |
| IDM Computer Solutions | UltraEdit | $99 | Multiplatform editor that can be used for coding HTML, PHP, Perl, Java, JavaScript, and HEX files; includes FTP and SSH/Telnet support, code folding, syntax highlighting, and Ctags support. |
| Just Great Software | EditPad Lite | Free | Compact general-purpose text editor; has a tabbed interface for working with multiple files; includes an advanced search and replace feature that supports regular expressions. |
| Microsoft | Notepad | Free | Plain text editor included with Windows XP that can open and create new text files; does not support any text formatting. |
| Microsoft | Visual Studio Code | Free | Also called 'VS Code;' free, open source, multiplatform code editor developed and maintained by Microsoft; includes IntelliSense, which autocompletes code based on the context, such as local variable types and function definitions; supports syntax highlighting for multiple languages. |
| Microsoft | Word | $229 | The most common word processor in the world; part of Microsoft Office. |
| Microsoft | WordPad | Free | Basic text editor included with Windows XP; supports text formatting and rich text (RTF) files. |
| Mitchell | Textadept | Free | Minimalist, cross-platform text editor optimized for speed; extensible and customizable with Lua; automatically detects the syntax of over 100 programming languages |
| Notepad++ | Notepad++ | Free | Source code editor that supports several programming languages; designed as a Notepad replacement; based on the Scintilla edit component. |
| PSPad | PSPad | Free | Freeware programmer's editor that supports HTML, XHTML, PHP, ASP, JavaScript, C, Perl, and other languages; includes syntax highlighting and rich text formatting. |
| Orangeline | Araneae | Free | Text editor designed primarily for Web development; supports syntax highlighting for HTML, XHTML, CSS, XML, JavaScript, PHP, and Ruby; also includes a browser preview feature. |
| SciTE | SciTE | Free | Free source code editor based on the Scintilla source code editing component; supports key commands for navigation and editing. |
| Sublime HQ | Sublime Text | Free | High-performance text editor for writing code and markup; unique features include 'Goto Anything' for easily jumping to functions and 'Multiple Selections' for renaming several variables at once. |
| The Document Foundation | LibreOffice Writer | Free | Full-featured word processor included with LibreOffice; designed to be simple, but is also powerful enough to create complete books with indexes, contents, and diagrams. |
Macintosh
| Company | Program | Price * | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| AbiSource | AbiWord | Free | Cross-platform, open source word processing program similar to Microsoft Word; supports advanced page layouts and text formatting. |
| Apache | OpenOffice Writer | Free | Fully equipped word processor that supports formatting, styles, and AutoCorrect; can import images and diagrams. |
| Apple | Pages | Bundled with macOS | Word processing and page layout program that supports text and document formatting; included in the iWork suite, along with Numbers and Keynote. |
| Apple | TextEdit | Free | Included with macOS; can edit documents in plain text or rich text mode; supports HTML and Microsoft Word formats. |
| Bare Bones Software | BBEdit | $199 | Professional HTML and text editor; supports syntax coloring and function navigation; AppleScript, Perl, and Unix scripting support. |
| Bare Bones Software | TextWrangler | Free | General purpose and programmer's text editor; supports advanced text formatting, syntax coloring, and 'grep' searches. |
| Bean | Bean OS X | Free | Free, open-source text editor for Mac OS X; designed to make writing convenient, efficient and comfortable; supports rich text styles and various types of page formatting. |
| GitHub | Atom | Free | Open source 'hackable' source code editor that supports custom themes and language-specific IDEs; includes context-aware auto-completion, syntax highlighting, and code navigation features; supports Teletype for collaborating on code with other developers. |
| HamsterCoders | Write! | $19.95 | Cross-platform, minimalist text editor designed to create notes, to-do lists, writing projects, and texts of any kind; has all the common word processor features packed into a clutter-free interface. |
| IDM Computer Solutions | UltraEdit | $99 | Multiplatform text editor that can be used for coding HTML, PHP, Perl, Java, JavaScript, and HEX files; supports syntax highlighting, FTP and SSH/Telnet, code folding, and Ctags. |
| MacroMates | TextMate | $51 | Advanced text editor for the Mac developed primarily for programmers; includes customizable syntax highlighting, foldable code blocks, word completion, and search and replace. |
| Microsoft | Visual Studio Code | Free | Also called 'VS Code;' free, open source, multiplatform code editor developed and maintained by Microsoft; includes IntelliSense, which autocompletes code based on the context, such as local variable types and function definitions; supports syntax highlighting for multiple languages. |
| Microsoft | Word | $229 | The most common word processor in the world; part of Microsoft Office. |
| Mitchell | Textadept | Free | Minimalist, cross-platform text editor optimized for speed; extensible and customizable with Lua; automatically detects the syntax of over 100 programming languages |
| NeoOffice | NeoOffice Writer | Free | Word processor included with the NeoOffice application suite; based on OpenOffice.org, but designed specifically for Mac OS X; can open Word, WordPerfect, StarWriter, and other types of documents. |
| Sublime HQ | Sublime Text | Free | High-performance text editor for writing code and markup; unique features include 'Goto Anything' for easily jumping to functions and 'Multiple Selections' for renaming several variables at once. |
| The Document Foundation | LibreOffice Writer | Free | Full-featured word processor included with LibreOffice; designed to be simple, but is also powerful enough to create complete books with indexes, contents, and diagrams. |
Linux
| Company | Program | Price * | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| AbiSource | AbiWord | Free | Cross-platform, open source word processing program similar to Microsoft Word; supports advanced page layouts and text formatting. |
| Apache | OpenOffice Writer | Free | Fully equipped word processor that supports formatting, styles, and AutoCorrect; can import images and diagrams. |
| BSD | Vi | Free | Basic text editor included with nearly all Unix and Linux distributions; operates in either insert mode (for text entry) or normal mode (for typing commands). |
| Codebrainz | Mousepad | Free | A simple text editor for the Xfce desktop environment; designed for quickly editing text files; has a graphical interface based on the GTK platform |
| Geany | Geany | Free | Lightweight text editor that also serves as an integrated development environment (IDE); supports syntax highlighting, code folding, auto-completion, and auto-closing of tags. |
| GitHub | Atom | Free | Open source 'hackable' source code editor that supports custom themes and language-specific IDEs; includes context-aware auto-completion, syntax highlighting, and code navigation features; supports Teletype for collaborating on code with other developers. |
| GNOME Project | gedit | Free | Official text editor of the GNOME desktop environment; supports internationalized text, syntax highlighting, search and replace, bracket matching, line numbers, and configurable colors. |
| GNU Project | Emacs | Free | Extensible and customizable editor that includes syntax coloring; includes an interpreter for Emacs Lisp, a dialect of the Lisp programming language. |
| GNU Project | Nano | Free | Simple text editor for Linux that is similar to Pico but includes additional functionality; supports go to line / column number, interactive search and replace, and auto-indent; installed by default on most Linux distributions. |
| HamsterCoders | Write! | $19.95 | Cross-platform, minimalist text editor designed to create notes, to-do lists, writing projects, and texts of any kind; has all the common word processor features packed into a clutter-free interface. |
| IDM Computer Solutions | UltraEdit | $99 | Multiplatform text editor designed for coding HTML, PHP, Perl, Java, JavaScript, and HEX files; includes FTP and SSH/Telnet support, code folding, syntax highlighting, and Ctags support. |
| Kate | Kate Editor | Free | Text editor for KDE that includes window splitting and a multi-document interface (MDI); also supports multiple text encodings and regular expression search and replace; includes programming features such as line numbers, syntax highlighting, and auto indentation. |
| Microsoft | Visual Studio Code | Free | Also called 'VS Code;' free, open source, multiplatform code editor developed and maintained by Microsoft; includes IntelliSense, which autocompletes code based on the context, such as local variable types and function definitions; supports syntax highlighting for multiple languages. |
| Mitchell | Textadept | Free | Minimalist, cross-platform text editor optimized for speed; extensible and customizable with Lua; automatically detects the syntax of over 100 programming languages |
| Sublime HQ | Sublime Text | Free | High-performance text editor for writing code and markup; unique features include 'Goto Anything' for easily jumping to functions and 'Multiple Selections' for renaming several variables at once. |
| Tarot Osuji | Leafpad | Free | Simple text editor based on the Gimp Toolkit (GTK+) that runs on Linux and BSD; included as the default text editor in Raspberry Pi's wheezy OS; supports line numbers, unlimited undo/redo, and auto-indent. |
| The Document Foundation | LibreOffice Writer | Free | Full-featured word processor included with LibreOffice; designed to be simple, but is also powerful enough to create complete books with indexes, contents, and diagrams. |
| University of Washington | Pico | Free | Short for 'Pine composer' and is integrated with the Pine (Program for Internet News & Email) e-mail client; includes paragraph justification, cut and paste functionality, and a spell checker. |
| Vim Online | Vim | Free | Highly configurable text editor based on the standard vi editor; designed to make text editing more efficient for programmers; includes a basic Notepad-like mode called evim or Easy Vim. |
* Prices listed are estimated retail prices and may change.
Know of an text editor that should be listed here? Suggest a program.
Updated: August 22, 2020
Notepad++ is a high end programming language editor that helps users to write and edit any language including HTML, PHP, Java, JavaScript, CSS, C, C++, Python, JSP, ASP and all the others. If you are trying to write some codes, there is no other better and free programming language editor than Notepad++. Obviously, you can use Sublime Text, which is pretty good actually but that is a paid software. And the interesting thing is Notepad++ does all the things what Sublime Text does.
The user interface, usability etc. of Notepad++ is much better than most of the programming language editors out there. For the beginners, Notepad++ helps to write HTML, C, C++, CSS etc. and professionals get help for writing other high end languages like ASP, JS. But, the problem lies here. Suppose, you have written a small piece of HTML code and want to check the preview in internet explorer. As Windows support only one version of Internet Explorer, you cannot check the preview in different versions like IE 10, IE 11 etc.
Rather than changing the user agent of your browser, here is a small trick that will assist you to check the preview of HTML in Notepad++ itself. You do not have to open any browser to preview HTML code. No matter if you have written a 20 lines code or 20k lines code, you can easily preview HTML in Notepad++.
Notepad++ comes with a lot of plugins support. This is where Notepad++ excels. By default, it comes with few must have plugins to do various things like ASCII to HEX conversion (& vice versa) etc. But, if you install other plugins, you can get more out of it. Today, I am going to use a third party plugin to preview HTML in Notepad++.
Obviously, you will get it for free and there is no hectic step to follow in order to install it. Meet Preview HTML, which will aid you to get things done. There are two methods to install it in Notepad++. You can use anyone of them.
Download and Install Preview HTML From Third Party Site
Atom Vs Notepad++
You can download the Preview HTML plugin from the corresponding plugin repository. Just head over to this site and click on plugin under Downloads section. Following that, unzip the folder and copy PreviewHTML.dll file.
Atom Vs Notepad++ Reddit
Then, paste it to here,
C:Program Files (x86)Notepad++plugins (For x64)
Atom Vs Notepad++
C:Program FilesNotepad++plugins (For x86)
Then, you can use Preview HTML plugin right from Plugins menu of Notepad++.
This is also possible to change the browser version. Just click on the edition and it will change automatically.
Install Preview HTML Using Plugin Manager
Notepad++ has a plugin manager that helps users to check plugins. You can install any plugin right from here. Therefore, click on Plugins >> Plugin Manager >> Show Plugin Manager. A popup will come out where you can find all the available plugins.
Just scroll down, find out Preview HTML, make a tick in the corresponding box and click on Install button. Within a few moments, Notepad++ will install this plugin and restart automatically. Following that, you can start using it.
Note: Most if the people make a silly mistake. They write HTML code and save it in .txt format by pressing Win + S. But, if you save file in TXT format, this Preview HTML plugin will not work. You have to save the file in .html format to get the preview.
Check out best online code editors here.
Best Code Editors For Programmers
If you need a code editor for your Windows operating system, you can check out this list-
1] Atom
Atom is one of the best code editors for Windows that you can download for free. No matter whether you want to write simple HTML/CSS or PHP, Java, etc. – everything is possible in Atom. The first noticeable thing about Atom is the user interface. It has a neat and clean UI that makes everything smooth and easy for a newbie. Like a standard code editor, it lets you open the entire codebase so that you can edit any file whenever needed. Download
2] Brackets
If you like the concept of Atom but not the user interface, Brackets will be handy for you. It offers almost all the essential features and options that might be required for a coder. On the other hand, it allows you to write any code with syntax highlighting. The best thing is that you lets you check the preview in real-time so that you can make any change whenever needed. As Brackets is an open-source project, you can download the source code and modify it as per your requirements. Download
Atom Vs Notepad
3] Sublime Text
If you are ready to spend some money to obtain the best-ever user experience, Sublime Text is probably the best option for you. No matter whether you work for a company or as a freelancer, you can use this code editing tool on your Windows 10 computer without any problem. Like other tools, it lets you open the entire codebase or the folder so that you can make all the changes accordingly. One of the best features about this tool is the search or find. Download
