Notepad++ – Best Notepad replacement

Posted on April 17, 2008 at 5:15 am

Looking for a replacement to the Windows Notepad? To the average person, the phrase text editor may not mean much. If one was to mention something like Microsoft Word, or Word Perfect, more people would understand what you were referring to. Both of these products are heavily entrenched in the software industry. They are used in business offices, home settings, and college campuses.

When asked to describe what a text editor is, my mind strays from MS Word, and similar document editing programs. I think more of a program like the built-in Notepad that is shipped with Microsoft Windows. It is very plain, no frills program for making modifications to text files. It is not the best choice, in my opinion, for publishing newsletters, creating presentations, or composing the next great best-selling novel.

However, Notepad is a very lightweight program for making quick changes to simple text files, basic HTML (web page type) files, and file of undetermined origin. The latter would be like the ones you receive from someone who just composed an awesome resume, only to have saved the file in a strange format. Notepad is a popular choice that Windows falls back on when it cannot identify the correct program to open a file with.

Granted, Notepad is handy, but it is a really simple text editor. Did I put enough emphasis on the word really? It may work for some, but for the average technical type of personality, Notepad does not cut it. Want something with teeth? Try Notepad++.

This program has been around for a few years, and it is incredible useful. The average computer user may or may not have a need for it. But for anyone that edits bulk web pages, does any type of coding, or works with PHP, among other languages, they have probably run across this nice piece of freeware.

One of the main benefits to Notepad++, and one of the more noticeable, is the tabbed interface it provides. If you use standard Notepad to open multiple files, you get a horde of open windows on your monitor. With Notepad++, each open file has its own tab. This similar in structure to how a tabbed web browser allows one to bounce between websites.

Have a need for computer language formatting? Notepad++ can help. Another pro for this software is that it contains the ability to color format a wide variety of language choices. This program can recognize everything from Visual Basic and XML, to Assembly and Fortran. Using the Language menu, the user can switch formatting as needed. Choosing one of the Languages will recolor the currently selected tab, and alter the document accordingly.

In keeping with a coding mind set for a bit, we also have a menu entitled TextFX. This menu, which houses a dizzying array of quick text editing options, gives a person the ability to make quick coding changes. In this menu, you can find selections such as Drop Quotes, Delete Blank Lines as well as Unwrap and Rewrap Text (defaults to Clipboard width).

Perhaps you have a need to convert a text file to UNIX format from Windows, or vice versa. This can be handled as well. By clicking on the Format menu, the user has these choices available, in addition to conversion between ANSI and UTF-8 encoding.

The feature I have personally used Notepad++ for, on many occasions, if for quickly editing repetitive entries in web pages.

For instance, Notepad++ is strong enough to open 50 web page files at once. Upon opening them, the user can click on Search, then Find, and enter a word, or string of words, and then click on Find in All Opened Documents. It does this with great efficiency and speed. One tab over on this small screen is the Replace option. Enter the corrected text the Replace With field, then click on Replace in All Opened Documents, and you are done.

Is Notepad++ an application that would replace Word, or Word Perfect? Not really. Is it a practical replacement for the standard Notepad? Definitely. Depending on your profession and other computer hobbies, it can make an excellent compliment to one’s arsenal of text utilities.

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Comments

4 Responses to “Notepad++ – Best Notepad replacement”

T said on : October 16th, 2008 at 5:41 pm

Does not seem to detect other encodings except for the few listed. Emeditor is probably a more powerful editor if you encounter encoding problems

UNIX Coding School » Blog Archive » unix tips [2008-04-17 15:32:48] Says:

[...] Notepad++ – Best Notepad replacement By cbrader Perhaps you have a need to convert a text file to UNIX format from Windows, or vice versa. This can be handled as well. By clicking on the Format menu, the user has these choices available, in addition to conversion between ANSI and … Online Tech Tips – http://www.online-tech-tips.com [...]
April 17th, 2008 at 9:40 am
Download Notepad ++ to make your coding easier Says:

[...] Notepad Replacement – Notepad ++ Get the latest post from Help Desk Geek in a RSS reader. Subscribe to this blog. [...]
July 15th, 2008 at 11:43 pm
Change View Source Code editor in IE Says:

[...] you ever work with code, you’ve probably used tools such as Dreamweaver, Notepad++, or PSPad. These are real code editors and allow you to analyze the code in a much more efficient [...]
March 13th, 2009 at 5:31 am