Windows Notepad has been around for a long time. A simple text editor has been part of every version of Windows since 1.0.
But, since this editor is already 30 years old, he is not the best editor. If we count all the innovations, then one palm is enough for us.
Many apps have now surpassed it in ease of use and quality of features. But what are these applications? What do they do well? And when should you use them?
Where Notepad falls behind
I don't want to criticize Notepad too much. It has a minor attraction of your system resources, it opens almost instantly and it's still The best way take quick notes when you call or chat with a colleague.
However, if you look at some of your current competitors, you'll quickly find some glaring flaws.
For example, it can't handle newlines in Unix or classic Mac OS style text files, it lacks advanced formatting options, it doesn't support multiple document interfaces (MDI), you can't lock select, and there's no syntax coloring, code bending or macros... The list goes on.
Some third-party alternatives address these omissions and introduce a few additional features.
1. Notepad++
TL; DR: The best alternative text editor.
The best known and most widely used alternative is Notepad++. It was originally designed for coding and development, but its features have since become popular with people who just want a more powerful text editor.
Out of the box, you'll find a few extras that instantly separate it from a Microsoft product. There are line numbers, a more robust search tool, tab support, syntax highlighting, macro photography, and zooming.
Notepad++ really shines when you delve into plugins. You'll find a spell checker, an FTP client, a script executor, hex editors, and more.
To use the plugins, use the Plugin Manager (which comes with the main application) or download your preferred plugin and install it manually. Go to plugins subfolder of your Notepad++ installation, then put DLL in plugins, config file in plugin\config, documentation in plugin\doc.
2. Syncplify.me Notepad!
TL; DR: Download Syncplify.me Notepad! For word processing experience.
Notepad Syncplify.me! More geared towards people who want to use their text editor for writing rather than code and program.
When you open the program for the first time, you will immediately feel at home when you see the familiar Microsoft Office ribbon at the top of the screen. Start using the app and the similarity to Word continues: it supports drag-and-drop editing, you can customize print jobs with margins, indents, headers, footers, and search and replace history is saved for later use.
Syntax highlighting is included for 35 programming languages, but you won't find code folding, autocomplete, macro photography, or session support.
TL; DR: Anyone using Notepad should switch to QOwnNotes to stay organized.
Despite the rise of specialized apps like Evernote, OneNote, and the recently released Microsoft To-Do, some people still use Notepad for listing and organizing. Unfortunately, this isn't a problem, especially if you want to do more than make a simple grocery list.
However, if you like the simplicity of Notepad compared to OneNote, you should try QOwnNotes.
You can organize all your notes and lists into projects and subfolders (accessible from the right pane), and the app supports rich text notes, images, hyperlinks, and tables. Having folders, subfolders, and hyperlinks means you can create your own wiki.
It also includes a built-in calculator and an "Import from Evernote" tool. Oh, and did I mention that the app can even sync via Calendar Plus using AES-256 encryption?
TL; DR: The best alternative for coders and programmers.
PSPad has been a favorite among coders and professionals for years. It was first released in 2001.
Its countless features are development-oriented. There is MDI, syntax highlighting, a HEX editor, an HTML code checker, a code explorer, a macro recorder, an external compiler, an FTP client, and even templates for HTML, PHP, Pascal, JScript, VBScript, MySQL, etc.
Like Notepad++, there is a thriving community that has developed many plugins to enhance functionality. Some of them are a JavaScript package, a SQL code reformatting script, and a text-to-table adapter.
It has some useful features for casual users, including spell checking and find and replace, but you should use something else if you don't plan on spending a lot of time coding.
PSPad is semi-portable: you can download a ZIP folder that can be unzipped into any directory. There's also an installer, but it's ad-supported - make sure you don't install unnecessary software.
5.EditPad Lite
TL; DR: The cleanest replacement for Notepad.
If you're looking for a Notepad replacement but don't want an app with hundreds of extra bells and whistles, EditPad Lite is your best option.
Some features separate it from the Microsoft app, but these are small improvements rather than complete overhauls.
For example, EditPad offers a tabbed interface so you can work on multiple files at once, and there is unlimited undo/redo (rather than the single step provided by Notepad). You'll also find a more robust find and replace tool, and the app will automatically backup your work to prevent data loss.
Perhaps most interestingly, you can set the application to a file type. When you are coding you can disable word wrap, when you are writing a personal note you can disable line numbering and enable proportional fonts.
TL; DR: If you're an ASCII artist who wants a fun and quirky twist, download GetDiz.
GetDiz is not for serious coders or people who need to work for 50 different languages programming. This is primarily for people who want to make art with ASCII characters. Sure, it's a niche group, but it's also a fun group.
What makes it so good for artists? Well, it can read and create NFO and DIZ files as well as ASCII art and then save the output as a GIF file. The only downside is that the app will create the GIF using what's visible on the screen, not the full window.
Other benefits include automatic window resizing to fit file text widths, built-in URL support, and custom word highlighting.
What is your favorite notepad alternative?
The very notion of a "better" alternative is subjective: the right app is the one that works for you. You should take the time to test a few different ones before building on your long-term preference.
The most important thing to take away from this article is that Notepad is outclassed and you should be able to find a more attractive alternative no matter how you use the app.
We decided to devote our today's review to simple text editors, in common parlance - notepads. Indeed, almost every user has to work with plain text from time to time, and some do it regularly. And here a simple, convenient and functional tool is required, to which the standard notepad, which is part of Windows and proudly called Notepad, cannot be attributed. May the gentlemen from Micro$oft forgive me, but soberly assessing the functionality and convenience of their creation, this notepad can be called only in one word - "squalor".For many years, roaming from one version of Windows to another, this Notepad does not undergo any noticeable changes and is currently unsuitable not only for serious work with the text, but in general for any kind of work. Therefore, as long as the gentlemen from Micro$oft treat users of their products this way, these users will have to attend to their own search for suitable tools for the job.
So, our goal today is to choose a more "tricky" notepad that is simple and easy to use, and definitely free.
Immediately, I note that there are a huge number of similar tools that meet these criteria. In this article, we will only focus on a few. If anyone has other preferences - you are welcome in the comments.
The first candidate in our review. It began its existence back in 2003 and is being developed to this day, regularly issuing new versions to the delight of its millions of fans. Such popularity "plusanuty" notebook is not in vain. To date Notepad++- this is a powerful program that has a huge number of the most "fancy" tools (and if they are not enough for someone - Notepad++ supports the connection of plugins, of which there are a lot, for any requests). One of the advantages of this editor is the ability to open several files at once, which are displayed in different tabs. Also in the program there is syntax highlighting of a huge number of programming and markup languages, support for macros and regular expressions of search / replacement, which provides this editor with tremendous success among programmers. For ordinary users in Notepad++ there are highly developed tools for editing text data and a program interface translated into several dozen languages, including Russian.
Another candidate, "weight" of only 162 kilobytes. If it seems to someone that such a "kid" is not capable of doing anything sensible, then he is deeply mistaken. Despite its size, this "baby" has more than two hundred functions for working with text, has advanced search and replace tools, supports Unicode and hotkeys, can sort strings and automatically close HTML or XML tags. Plus, Ted Notepad can switch to full screen mode and has a very advanced mechanism for working with the Windows clipboard.
In the past, one of the most popular Notepad replacements from the standard Windows distribution. Very pleasant to look at, very comfortable and moderately functional. Its capabilities will be clearly not enough for programmers, but ordinary users for home or office work will be just right. Supports several of the most common encodings (ANSI, KOI8, OEM, Unicode) with the ability to instantly convert text between them, can connect plugins and highlight syntax and something else. A very pleasant and convenient soft for home use, unfortunately forgotten by its authors - the project has been frozen and has not been updated since 2004, and it is not known whether it will be resumed. However, I still recommend to look at the program page ( http://www.astonshell.ru/freeware/bred3/) and download a trial version for yourself - it may turn out that this is exactly what you need.
In terms of its capabilities, this editor is only slightly superior to the standard Windows Notepad, but in terms of ease of use and appearance, it is head and shoulders above it. From the name itself, it becomes clear that characteristic feature are tabs in which you can open several documents at the same time. These tabs can then be combined into groups and opened with a single click (those users who often have to access the same set of text files will appreciate this). There is a simple file manager that can be tucked out of sight and easily reactivated when needed. In addition to working with tabs, the main emphasis of the program is on appearance- several themes and the ability to control the transparency of the notepad window are built into the softinka. And the ability to zoom in on text and count characters in the document being viewed nicely complement this nice, simple and convenient text editor.
Development of domestic open source programmers. Looks like the original Notepad Windows, but surpasses it incredibly in its capabilities. Supports a lot of various encodings, including Unicode. All text files can be opened for preview and then edited in separate tabs. Remembers the position of the caret in each closed document, and can do multi-level rollback changes when editing. Especially for those who find all the features of the program not enough, AkelPad supports the connection of plug-ins that perform all sorts of exotic functions that a regular notepad never dreamed of. For example, if you wish, you can teach AkelPad highlight syntax and various service information when working with program code, scripts or web pages, keep all kinds of document statistics, automatically complete the input text and do a lot of other "delicious" things.
By the way, latest version program number 4.3.5 came out just a few days ago - hurry while it's hot!
Another replacement for the standard open source notepad. Just like Notepad++, it is based on the component Scintilla, which provides this editor with a very impressive feature set. Moreover, the abundance of features does not interfere with normal work at all - most of the functions are correctly removed in various menus, and only the most necessary are left on the surface. Also, like its "flattened" counterpart, it supports syntax highlighting (depending on the type of file being edited - plain text, a web page, one of the programming languages, etc.), tag autocompletion, support for various encodings, maintaining all kinds of statistics, and much more, including such exotic things as displaying extra spaces, working with lines and blocks of text, etc.
These lines are now just typed in Notepad2, because the program is really convenient and, despite the abundance of functions, it is very easy to use. The only trifle is that in the latest standard versions of the editor there is no Russian interface, but there are enough Russified versions of it on the Web.
This concludes our review today. Because of the most powerful functionality, the language no longer dares to call the program just a text editor - this is already something more. That is why programmers love it so much, no less, and perhaps even more than Notepad ++, with which we began our review. Despite all the power, ordinary users who don’t need so much will find something to profit from. Very decently Russified, besides, it provides a check of Russian spelling. Has a tabbed interface, remembers the position of the cursor when editing. Naturally, it supports syntax highlighting and working with the structure of documents, macros and scripts, and much, much, much more.
To whom all this seems not enough, they can download a huge number of all kinds of plug-ins from the developer's website and even a lot of help files for various programming languages that can be connected to the program and called, if necessary, directly from PSPad. Very serious, "fancy" and, oddly enough, a very convenient editor.
We hope our review will help you choose a suitable replacement for the standard "window" notepad, which, by and large, should have been thrown into a landfill for a long time. computer history along with the dinosaurs.
Although, perhaps, a miracle will happen, and the gentlemen from Micro$oft will suddenly new version of their operating systems will present us with a normal modern notebook, which will be convenient to use? How to know...
Notepad is the default text editor in Windows 10. It is suitable for users who occasionally do basic text editing. Advanced users and programmers often use more powerful third-party applications such as Notepad++, Sublime Text, and others. You might also want to use Notepad++ instead of Notepad.
Notepad++ is a powerful open source text editor with many useful features including syntax highlighting, bookmarks, file system navigation, code folding, spell checker, themes, customizable hotkeys, regular expression search and replace and more. It is written in C++ and uses pure Win32 API and STL which provides faster execution speed with minimal program size.
The developer of Notepad++ has implemented a nice addition to the app. Starting with version 7.5.9, it is possible to make Notepad++ a replacement for the built-in Notepad text editor.
There is a special "debugger" value that you can set in the Windows registry to force Windows to run any application instead of the original one. This feature was created specifically for debugging problems, but it can be useful in many other cases. The prerequisite is version 7.5.9 or higher. And here's how it works:
- Go to link, download and install Notepad++ 7.5.9
- open command line on behalf of the Administrator.
- Type this for a 32-bit operating system and press Enter .
- For 64 -bit version you need to copy and paste this command and press Enter:
That's all. Notepad++ will now open as the default text editor on your system.
If you want to cancel this, use the following command:
Reg delete "HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Image File Execution Options\notepad.exe" /v "Debugger" /f
This will return the default settings.
That, perhaps, is all, I hope that for some of the readers the information will be useful and will find its application.
For a long time there were no such interesting programs that when you look at them you want to say “Wow, this is incredible! This is what I have been looking for!” Everything has become quite ordinary, some products appear, others disappear, but there is no special “spark” in them. But from time to time, rays of fresh and very interesting things still break into the light. And the Write editor is just such a ray that you simply cannot pass by.
It is worth noting that the key feature of the Write text editor is minimalism. Its window is a simple blank sheet, at the top of which is a menu button and tabs. This allows you to work with the current document and not be distracted by anything else - very convenient and productive. Despite its simplicity, it looks simply amazingly stylish and it is really convenient to work in it.
An important role in the convenience is played by visual animation, which is presented throughout the program.
For example, when formatting text (bold/italic/underline, change color or font size), the selected text fragment or the word on which the cursor is located remains black, and the rest of the text becomes gray. So you immediately see which element is selected and works only with it. The gray text becomes something like a background.
By the way, you can format the text either using the context or main menu with the mouse, or by surrounding phrases and words with certain characters that will turn the selected word or phrase into the desired format. For example, if you surround a word with an asterisk (*), the word becomes bold. You can learn more about this from the "Markup Helper" assistant, which is available in the main menu in the "Help" section.
While typing, the editor suggests words that you are likely to enter. If a typo is made, it immediately marks the word with a classic red wavy underline.
Separately, it is worth talking about subheadings. If you have added a subheading in the text, then the text under it can be collapsed by clicking on the dot to the left of it. This allows you to hide unnecessary elements during editing and typing. It is very convenient, as it allows you not to be distracted by extraneous parts of the test when typing.
At the bottom of the window there is a button that opens a pop-up window with statistics. It indicates the number of words and speed of typing in the editor.
And below the buttons with tips for different types text — articles, emails, tweets, and the like.
Saves the Write editor files in native wtt format. But at the same time, it allows you to export text to PDF, TXT, RTF and a number of other formats for transfer to other users who may not have this wonderful editor at hand.
But there is also an unpleasant moment - it does not support the Russian language. The same minimalism neutralizes this trouble - there is nothing special to read on a white sheet foreign language. And the spell check in the editor still supports the Russian language.
Write is great for taking notes, taking notes, and writing articles/posts. Thanks to the excellent balance of functionality and minimalism, it is really pleasant, simple and very convenient to use.
