this post was submitted on 23 Feb 2025
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Is it though? I still always open notepad for random text stuff. What is better in ++?
If you just need a quick window open to make a note you might actually prefer Sticky Notes over Notepad!
+10000 for notepad++, its he swiss army knife of file editing tools. Adding:
Plugins: CSV being read as a small dB table you can query is a game changer. Or have a JSON plugin that auto formats and queries as well as opens the JSON in a clickable nested window.
Pinned tabs: pin important tabs, I use one as a todo list.
Search for text within files in a folder: need to find a specific bit of text in one of dozens/hundreds/thousands/millions of files somewhere? Its lightning fast and works a treat
Search and replace with regex: amazing feature, use regex patterns to find complex parts of your files and replace them with something else Bulk operations: remove newline, replace line breaks etc
Multi format support: see line breaks from different OSs like Unix and windows and amend them Portable install: you dont have to install it, you can use a portable version
So much more, get it and you won't look back.
Your first two points are part of Notepad now too. Everything else you've said is true though, including the find and replace function supporting regex. It's amazingly powerful for editing.
It also supports line numbering, which seems like a small thing but is really helpful.
A few of those features are available on Notepad as well, just FYI.
Out if curiosity, which ones? Because I don't see any of those features and am on W11...
On my W11 work machine I got dark mode, saving unsaved drafts and tabs
Ahh interesting. Is that a Windows 11 thing? I haven't taken the plunge
Ah thanks for the first proper answer. Sounds good, I will give it a try.
A lot of those are features of notepad.
Specifically: tabs, dark mode, and retention of unsaved documents. They're apps for very different purposes, but Notepad has had some nice little updates over recent years.
Notepad++ isn't trying to shoehorn in AI for starters. It's clear Microsoft is praying the current gimmicky narrative of AI will let the masses not realize this is a privacy nightmare.
Notepad does that neither for me and has not for >20 years. So is there something that is actually better or not?
Yes, it objectively is. And so are various other text editor options that are out there.
But just speaking about Notepad++, you can scale it down to a very simple text editor (like Notepad), it you can easily ramp it up to a much more feature rich one. And for me, the ability to have a vertical list of files is a big plus. As is its ability to optionally show line numbers.
So it is better because it can do more, but I assume not too too much? Because then we can also use word?
They have different use cases. Notepad++ is for manipulating text, strings, and code. It's got very powerful tools for it.
Word is for making things look pretty. You can change typefaces, fonts, size. You can add pictures and diagrams and arrange them on the page.
the only thing I need it for is to select text vertically (by holding left alt). there are a few similar ones for linux but some crash and the rest don't have a dark theme, so I still use it with wine.
Holy moly, that works? I needed precisely that feature earlier! Nice.