- Like Notepad++ It allows you to open multiple files at a time. Switching between the opened files is easy with a click on the tab displaying a file name. At the bottom panel you can see the column and row number for locating and easy debugging.
- Notepad2 literally looks almost exactly like the Windows Notepad, except for a few extra features like syntax highlighting for several web languages, regular expression search and replace, rectangular selection using mouse, long line marker, auto indent, brace matching, etc.
- How To Get Notepad For Mac
- Notepad For Mac Os
- Notepad++ For Mac
- Download Notepad++ For Mac
- Notepad Mac Download
Windows Notepad has been around for a long time. The simple text editor has been part of every single Windows versionA Quick Look at the History of Windows in Visual FormA Quick Look at the History of Windows in Visual FormRead More since 1.0.
However, just because it’s in its fourth decade doesn’t mean it’s the best text editor. In fact, in its 30+ years of life, you can almost count the number of new features on one hand.
Many apps have now surpassed it in ease-of-use and quality of features. But what are those apps? What do they do well? And when should you use them? Here’s where Notepad falls short, plus six leading alternatives.
The bad part of it is that it is limited to Microsoft Windows and is not available on Mac OS. So, if you are someone who has shifted from Windows to Mac and is missing Notepad++ on your new operating system, here is the list for the best notepad++ alternatives for Mac Users in 2018. Notepad++ is very popular among code editors. It’s easy and customizable interface is the highlights for its success and popularity. Unfortunately, Notepad++ is not available for Mac OSsx. If you are looking for Notepad++ like program for Mac, this article will help you to find out. These are the.
Where Notepad Falls Short
I don’t want to criticize Notepad too heavily. It has a negligible draw on your system’s resources, it opens almost instantly, and it’s still the best way for making quick notesToo Lazy to Take Notes? Try These Faster Notetaking Tips InsteadToo Lazy to Take Notes? Try These Faster Notetaking Tips InsteadThere are several shortcuts you can take to capture everything from lectures to meeting minutes to to-do lists. Let's explore some of those shortcuts today with these tips for faster note-taking.Read More while you’re on a phone call or chatting with a colleague.
Nonetheless, when viewed alongside some of its modern competitors, you’ll quickly find some glaring weaknesses.
For example, it can’t handle newlines in Unix- or classic Mac OS-style text files, it lacks advanced formatting features, it doesn’t support multiple document interface (MDI), you can’t block-select, and there are no syntax coloring, code folding, or macros… The list goes on.
Some third-party alternatives remedy these omissions and introduce several additional features.
1. Notepad++
TL;DR: Best all-round alternative text editor.
The best known and most widely-used alternative is Notepad++. It was originally designed for coding and development, but it’s features have since made it popular among people who just want a more powerful text editor.
Out of the box, you’ll find several additions that instantly set it apart from the Microsoft product. There are line numbers, a more robust search tool, support for tabs, syntax highlighting, macro recording, and zoom.
Notepad++ really starts to shine when you delve into the plugins. You will find a spell checker, an FTP client, a script executor, hex editors, and more.
To use the plugins, either use Plugin Manager (which ships with the main app) or download your preferred plugin and install it manually. Navigate to the plugins subfolder of your Notepad++ installation, then put the DLL in plugins, the configuration file in pluginconfig, documentation in plugindoc. See our guide on Notepad++ plugins for help.
Download — Notepad++
2. Syncplify.me Notepad!
TL;DR: Download Syncplify.me Notepad! for a word processing-esque experience.
Syncplify.me Notepad! is more geared towards people who want to use their text editor to write rather than to code and program.
When you open the program for the first time, you’ll instantly feel at home when you see the familiar Microsoft Office ribbon across the top of the screen. Start using the app, and the similarities with Word continue: it supports drag-and-drop editing, you can customize print jobs with margins, indentations, headers, footers, and your find-and-replace history is saved for later use.
Syntax highlighting for 35 programming languages is included, but you won’t find code folding, auto-complete, macro recording, or session support.
![Notepad++ Notepad++](https://droidtech2016.files.wordpress.com/2018/04/alternatives-to-notepad-2.jpg)
Download — Syncplify.me Notepad!
3. QOwnNotes
TL;DR: Anyone who uses Notepad to stay organized should switch to QOwnNotes.
Despite the growth of specialist to-do appsEvernote vs. OneNote: Which Note-Taking App Is Right for You?Evernote vs. OneNote: Which Note-Taking App Is Right for You?Evernote and OneNote are amazing note-taking apps. It's hard to pick between the two. We compared everything from interface to note organization to help you choose. What works best for you?Read More like Evernote, OneNote, and the recently-released Microsoft To-DoMicrosoft To-Do vs. Wunderlist: Everything You Need to KnowMicrosoft To-Do vs. Wunderlist: Everything You Need to KnowMicrosoft To-Do will replace Wunderlist in the coming months. Learn about To-Do's best features, what's still missing, and how you can migrate from Wunderlist to To-Do.Read More, some people still use Notepad for making lists and staying organized7 Google Keep Features for Perfect Lists7 Google Keep Features for Perfect ListsGoogle Keep has a few features that make it perfect for list keeping. Not only can you create a checklist and sync the app across platforms, Google Keep also offers location-based reminders and more.Read More. Unfortunately, it’s not up to the task, especially if you want to do more than make a simple list of groceries.
However, if you like the simplicity of Notepad compared to OneNote, you should give QOwnNotes a try.
You can organize all your notes and lists into projects and sub-folders (accessible in the right-hand panel), and the app supports rich text notes, images, hyperlinks, and tables. The presence of folders, sub-folders, and hyperlinks means you can make your own wiki.
It also includes a built-in calculator and an “Import from Evernote” tool. Oh, and did I mention the app can even sync via Calendar Plus using AES-256 encryption?
Download — QOwnNotes
4. PSPad
TL;DR: The best alternative for coders and programmers.
PSPad has been a favorite among coders and professionals for many years. It was first released in 2001.
![Program Like Notepad++ For Mac Program Like Notepad++ For Mac](/uploads/1/2/4/8/124803276/427486620.png)
Its myriad features are development orientated. There’s 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 and more.
Like Notepad++, there’s a thriving community who have built a variety of plugins for increased functionality. Some of the best are the JavaScript packer, the SQL code reformatting script, and the text-to-table adaptor.
It does have some useful features for casual users, including a spell check and search-and-replace, but you should use something else if you’re not planning to spend a lot of time coding.
PSPad is semi-portable100 Portable Apps for Your USB Stick for Windows and macOS100 Portable Apps for Your USB Stick for Windows and macOSPortable apps let you take your favorite software anywhere via a flash drive or cloud storage. Here are 100 of them to cover your every need, from games to image editors.Read More: you can download a ZIP folder that can be unpacked into any directory. There’s also an installer, but it’s ad-supported — make sure you don’t install any unnecessary software.
Download — PSPad
5. EditPad Lite
TL;DR: The purest Notepad replacement.
If you’re looking for a replacement for Notepad 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 they’re minor enhancements rather than complete overhauls.
For example, EditPad offers a tabbed interface so you can work on several files at the same time and there is unlimited undo/redo (rather than the one step provided by Notepad). You’ll also find a more robust search-and-replace tool, and the app automatically backs up your work to prevent data loss.
Perhaps most interestingly, you can configure the app per file type. When you’re coding, you can turn off word wrapping, when you’re writing a personal memo you can turn off line numbering and turn on proportional fonts.
Download — EditPad Lite
6. GetDiz
TL;DR: If you’re an ASCII artist who wants a fun and quirky twist, download GetDiz.
GetDiz isn’t for serious coders or people who need to operate in 50 different programming languages. It’s primarily for people who want to make art5 Free Apps to Turn Photos Into Art on Android, iPhone, or Web5 Free Apps to Turn Photos Into Art on Android, iPhone, or WebTurn your selfies into art with these free creative tools and join the new filter craze that is now taking over the internet.Read More 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, then save the output as a GIF file. The only drawback is the app will create the GIF using what’s visible on the screen rather than the full window.
Other benefits include automatic window resizing to fit the text width of files, built-in URL support, and custom word highlighting.
Download — GetDiz
Which Is Your Favorite Notepad Alternative?
The very notion of a “best” alternative is subjective: the right app is the one that works for you. You should spend time testing a few different ones before settling on your long-term preference.
The most important thing to take away from this article is that Notepad has been surpassed and you will be able to find a more compelling alternative, regardless of how you use the app.
Which Notepad alternatives would recommend to your fellow readers? What features make them unique? Let us know in the comments below.
Explore more about: Note-Taking Apps, Notepad.
- If only Notepad2 has tabs. Just need something that is fast and simple as notepad but with tabs.
- It is really sad to see that there are practically no objective articles. Pseudo-journalists write articles for product placement. But hypocritically they do not say it.
The recipe is always the same.We are talking about a software or other product, which is known by many people, and then we are talking about another product that is supposed to be wonderful.
And we quickly realize that this wonderful product costs money and is expensive.We are not ashamed to mix everything. Free products (very rare), products supposedly free and which are not free but the one who writes the article does everything to sell them, or even a paid product and the article is still promoted.The majority of articles on the internet are made by sellers but they hide it.
These pseudo-journalists are paid handsomely for promoting articles from companies, and they pretend to do so objectively.
But when we are paid to sell any product we are not at all objective. We are sellers. And sellers are paid to sell anything.Honesty in humans is really rare and it is not surprising that the Capitalist is so popular. It is based on lies, greed, theft. - I'm a user of EmEditor. But free alternatives Notepad2 and Notepad++ have approached or exceeded its features by now.I often rely the ability to select the encoding for viewing foreign language text or DOS NFO art, and to preview text in mixed/binary files, which RichText-based editors fail to do reliably.Some of these tools have lost focus, and have added formatting and modern GUI bloat, or increased system requirements too much (EmEditor). Commercial products have a problem, because a text editor can be reasonably 'complete', and they can no longer sell a new version. Notepad as a scratch box is only useful for 'notes' as long as it is light in memory and visually compact.
- My go-to notepad is Metapad. It has options for Word Wrap, selection of primary font, keep on top, transparency, hyperlinks, primary and secondary font selection and has many more features.
- You know what I hate about all the notepad replacements?None of them are basic text editors like notepad.
- NoteTab Pro. Been using it for years, and I love it!
- NoteTab Pro - using in for years. I love it!
- I've been using ConTEXT for awhile now instead of notepad.
- If you don't want to pay the registration for Edit Plus, which is well worth it, in my opinion, then I recommend Geany and Kate.
- I just leave OneNote open all the time. The impact on system resources is negligible.
- Textpad..
- Notepad2
- NoteTab Light
- Notetab Light is also excellent with HTML
- TextPad: the Notepad replacement for people who write... or write HTML... or write software.
- Onenote
- vim :Pjust kidding
- Microsoft has not changed anything with Notepad since Windows 95
- DocPad is great!
- I may be greedy here... but I'd love to have a simple notepad like the EditPad mentioned in the article - with built-in password protection/encryption. Something like MS Word 'Lite'...
- Worst thing about notepad is that its undo only has a depth of one. Very dangerous...
We all use text editors to take notes, save web addresses, write code, as well as other uses. Every operating system comes with a default, basic text editor, but most of us install our own enhanced text editors to get more features.
In this article, we’ve gathered links to many different text editors used for different purposes. You can use text editors for basic text editing and taking notes, writing programming code, producing LaTeX documents, writing a book, among many other uses.
Notepad and WordPad Replacements
Are you looking for more capabilities than the default Notepad in Windows? Would you rather use a graphical text editor in Linux, rather than the built-in vi? There are many options for useful text editors out there.
Some employ a tabbed interface, such as Jarte (which is based on the WordPad word processing engine and integrates easily with WordWeb), EditPad Lite (which also has the automatic backup), and Notetab Light (which can also calculate the value of mathematical expressions entered in the program). Jarte, EditPad Lite, and Notetab Light are all only available for Windows. Jarte is also available as a portable program.
Typically, Vi is the default text editor in Linux operating systems and it’s a keyboard intensive program with no graphical user interface (GUI). A good text editor for Windows that has hotkeys available for its 312 text-processing functions, innovative features, and timesaving tools is TED Notepad, which is also available as a portable program. Emacs is also available for both Windows and Linux, and is customizable. It also includes a file compare utility and a file manager. You can also add Org-mode to Emacs, which is a personal information management and outlining tool. If you prefer text editors with GUIs, Vim and gEdit are both good options and are available. Vim is essentially the graphical version of Vi. For help editing text files in Vi or Vim, see our Beginner’s Guide.
GetDiz is a Notepad replacement for Windows that allows you to edit many text files quickly from within Windows Explorer and has enhanced functionality for dealing with DIZ and NFO files. It can also display ASCII art correctly. Another ASCII text formatter for Windows is TextMorph, which can also convert text to and from HTML and clean up emails (remove all the “>” symbols, etc.), and search and replace by words or multiple paragraphs.
Programmer’s Text Editors
There are many text editors that provide useful functionality for programmers. Most support syntax highlighting for many programming languages, multiple document editing, and are extendable with plugins. Some also allow editing of remote files through FTP.
PSPad not only supports syntax highlighting, but also matching bracket highlighting for most popular programming languages. It also has a hex editor, macro recorder, and a differencing tool. PSPad also easily integrates with the free version of the TopStyle CSS editor. Notepad++ also supports bracket highlighting and macro recording. It also supports syntax folding and is highly customizable through plugins using the included plugin manager. Both PSPad and Notepad++ are only available for Windows.
The cross-platform (Windows, Linux, and Mac OS X) editor, jEdit, supports syntax highlighting for over 200 programming languages and auto indent, as well as a differencing utility, an FTP browser, and block selecting. It is also extendable using plugins and macros, and there are hundreds of plugins and macros available through the built-in plugin manager feature.
Programmer’s Notepad for Windows supports syntax highlighting using schemes, both built-in and user-defined, code folding and outlining, a tabbed interface with multi-level split views, and the ability to export to HTML (using CSS) and RTF.
If you like the Vi editor in Linux, but prefer a graphical editor that also serves well as a programmer’s text editor, Editra and Komodo Edit are good options. They both provide Vi emulation, as well as support for syntax highlighting in many programming languages and code folding. Editra has a tabbed interface, allows block (un)commenting and (un)indenting, and is extendable using the built-in plugin downloader/installer. Komodo Edit supports background syntax checking and contains a toolbox with shell command integration, macros, and code snippets. Both Editra and Komodo Edit are available for Windows, Linux, and Mac OS X.
Other options include the following:
- Crimson Editor – A very small editor for Windows containing a directory tree view window
- Geany – A small and fast IDE for Windows, Linux, and Mac OS X that supports code folding, code navigation, a build system, and a plugin interface
- Notepad2 – A fast, light-weight text editor like Notepad for Windows with syntax highlighting and runs as a portable program
Microsoft Word Replacements
There are also free programs that act as replacements for Microsoft Word. They can be used as text editors, but they have more formatting features than simple text editors. You can add images and tables, change fonts and color, and insert hyperlinks.
AbiWord runs on Windows and Linux and can read and write OpenOffice.org documents, Microsoft Word documents, WordPerfect documents, Rich Text Format documents, and HTML web pages. It has advanced document layout options such as tables, bullets, numbered lists, images, styles, footnotes, and endnotes. It even has a Mail Merge utility like Microsoft Word. You can extend AbiWord with a variety of plugins, which can be selected when you install AbiWord. A portable version is also available that you can run from a USB flash drive.
Angel Writer is a small rich text editor for Windows with a high performance rate that allows you to easily create impressive documents.
How To Get Notepad For Mac
Minimalist Text Editors
If you get distracted when you write by the plethora of features in text editors and word processors, you might want to try one of the so-called “minimalist” text editors out there. They are “no-frills” editors that either don’t offer any formatting features or many of the other features of modern word processors, and even third-party text editors, or the features are hidden until you want them. Without all the fancy features staring you in the face, you can concentrate on the task of writing. Below is a list of some of the minimalist text editors we found.
- Dark Room– Available for Windows, requires .NET Framework 2.0, and is available as a portable program.
- JDarkRoom– Available for Windows, Linux and Mac OS X
- Q10– Available for Windows and as a portable program
- CopyWriter– Available for Windows and as a portable program
- WriteMonkey– Available for Windows and as a portable program
- Bookwrite– Available for Windows and Linux
- Scribes– Available for Linux
- FocusWriter – Available for Windows, Linux and Mac OS X, and as a portable program for Windows
You can even download Word 5.5 from Microsoft for free and run it under DOSBox in Windows.
If you want a simple text editor with the ability to count down from a set word count, try yEdit2 for Windows. If you have to write a certain number of words, yEdit2 can make it easier.
Notepad For Mac Os
Secure Text Editors
Notepad++ For Mac
You can also use a text editor as secure place to store private information. There are several text editors that either include encryption as a feature or are specially designed for securely storing text. Notepad++, mentioned in the Programmer’s Text Editors section above, allows you to add encryption functionality using the SecurePad plugin, which is available through the Plugin Manager. SecurePad will encrypt selected text in the current document or the whole document.
Steganos LockNote is a small, simple method for securely storing chunks of information in files. For example, if you purchase a download-only program, you can use LockNote to store the product key or serial number that goes with that program in the same folder, so you always know where to find it.
- CryptNote – Available for Windows and as a portable program
- CryptoTE– Available for Windows and Linux, and as a portable program for Windows
- NotepadCrypt– Available for Windows as a portable program
- Xint– Available for Windows
- f0dder’s fSekrit – Available for Windows and as a portable program
LaTeX Editors
Download Notepad++ For Mac
Do you write a lot of scientific papers, documents, or books? If so, there are several text editors that allow you to easily use TeX/LaTeX (document markup language and document preparation system) through a graphical interface to create mathematical content and structured documents like academic articles, theses, and books.
- LaTeX Editor (LEd)– Available for Windows and as a portable program
- LyX– Available for Windows, Linux, and Mac OS X
- WinEdt– Available for Windows
- TeXstudio– Available for Windows, Linux, and Mac OS X and as a portable program on Windows and Mac OS X
- Texmaker – Available for Windows, Linux, and Mac OS X
Notepad Mac Download
Novel Writing Editor
There’s even an editor that’s meant for writing novels, called yWriter5, available for Windows and Linux. It breaks your novel into chapters and scenes, helping you to keep track of your work. However, yWriter5 does not suggest plot ideas, character names, or write any part of your novel for you. The creative task of writing is still up to you, yWriter5 just makes it easier.
One more text editor to mention is Nano in Linux, which is an easy-to-use text editor you run directly on the command line. Nano is installed by default in Ubuntu and many other Linux distros, and is easier to learn than Vi or emacs.
READ NEXT- › How to Set Up a Child’s Smart Bedroom
- › What Does “FOMO” Mean, and How Do You Use It?
- › How to Fix a Slow or Unresponsive Mac
- › Windows 10’s Tablet Mode May Be Replaced With the Desktop
- › How to Quickly Switch Between Gmail Accounts on Android, iPhone, and iPad