Notepad++

Notepad++ is an open-source and free tool used for text as well as code editing with support for multiple programming languages. It offers a user-friendly interface with enhanced accessibility and high-speed functionality. It is a smart combination of simplicity and advanced features, and is reliably useful for the Windows environment.

It offers multiple innovative features along with text and code editing, so you can improve readability, customize the app according to your preferences, reduce errors, and the plugin system is integrated with a built-in Plugin Admin that offers multiple capabilities to ensure an awesome and improved workflow.

What is Notepad++?

Notepad++ is a powerful text and source code editor developed by Don Ho and was released on SourceForge in 2003. It is an open-source utility and available under the GNU General Public License (GPL) 3.0 or later. It was moved to TuxFamily in 2010, and next to GitHub from 2015 to the present. 

It is an efficient productivity tool that offers enhanced speed, simplicity, and reliability for coders, editors, and writers to deliver awesome services. The Scintilla-based tool is written in C++ and uses pure Win32 and STL, and proves the best alternative to the built-in tool for Windows (7/10/11). 

Notepad++ Features

Installation & Usability

1. Download the app from the official website or SoftMany.

2. Click the “Download” button given on the page.

3. After installation, double-click the icon to launch it.

4. Navigate to the main screen.

5. Click on the ‘File’ option, and select ‘New’, or simply press ‘Ctrl + N’ from your keyboard to create a new document.

6. It works similarly to other text editors to allow you to type and edit your text in the document.

7. Save it while selecting the ‘Save’ option from the ‘File’ section, or pressing ‘Ctrl + S’ using your keyboard.

8. It is also possible to save the text into any specific file format, such as .txt, .html, .php, and so on.

Straightforward Interface

The user-friendly and straightforward interface offers the same resemblance as the built-in tool does on Windows PC. The tabbed interface is well-organized, and you can access multiple functions using the innovative toolbar. You can customize the main screen according to your preferences, including changing font size, color scheme, etc, while selecting the ‘Style Configuration’ from the Settings section. The support for multiple plugins helps to expand your functionality. 

Multi-language Support

It offers seamless support for almost 80+ programming languages to make the code editing process smooth and fast. The supported languages are C, Java, XML, HTML, PHP, JavaScript, RC resource files, makefile, ASCII art files, doxygen, ini files, ASP, VB/VBS files, SQL, Objective-C, CSS, Pascal, Perl, Python, and so on. 

Search & Replace

If you are managing text documents and want to work on any selected section, the app offers a search and replace option for your ease. You need to click on the ‘Search’ section and select the ‘Find’ or ‘Replace’ option. In addition, you also enhance the functionality while navigating to ‘Plugin Manager’, and install the plugins you want. 

Manage Multiple Files

The app enables users to manage multiple files simultaneously, so you can visualize and modify multiple files, as the adjustments on one file will apply to all selected files. You can also edit multiple files using split view in a single tab. Simply, open a file in a tab, and drag the tab to open it new pane, after tab group position, adjust the split view layout, and start editing or comparing two files simultaneously. 

Customizable Highlighting

The tool supports syntax highlighting for multiple programming languages to make reading and organizing code easy. If you don’t want to use highlighting for all selected text, as it does by default. You can disable it by navigating to Settings > Preferences > Search > Highlight all occurrences, simply turn off the option, and highlight manually only the part you want. In case of appearing the text appears in one color after syntax highlighting, make sure the file extension and supported language are under the Language menu. 

Open-source Utility

The app is an open-source utility, so you will find flexibility and versatility of content, as offered by millions of people across the world. Here, users are invited to show their skills while accessing code, tweaking it for customization, and adding their improvements to it. The entire process is free to use.

Safe & Trusted

The program proves to be one of the best trusted text and code editing programs available on the web. You need only to download it from the official, or any authentic website to avoid the imitators and scam versions. The app with lightweight capacity offers efficient workflow and handles large files or complex search tasks very swiftly. 

Pros

• Provides a tabbed interface to edit multiple documents
• Supports up to 80 programming languages
• Free, lightweight, and customizable 
• Install your favorite plugins using Plugin Manager
• Open-source and fast-performing utility
• Supports syntax highlighting to read and organize code

Cons

• Supports only Windows versions
• Outdated interface