Top 6 Notepad++ Alternatives for Windows
The best Notepad++ alternatives for Windows are text editors you can download on your PC. If you’re a programmer who works as a front-end or back-end developer, you’ll surely know more about Notepad++. While Notepad++ is perfect for writing codes or editing texts, it doesn’t look advanced, unlike most modern ones. In a similar article, we mentioned the best Windows Notepad alternatives that can be used.
When it comes to text editing or writing scripting languages like HTML, CSS or JavaScript, Notepad++ has been a go-to text editor for Windows users. There’s no doubt it is one of the best text editors for PC and it is available on Windows, macOS and Linux. It is known for its simplicity, versatility and extensive features. However, if you’re looking to explore more options, there are plenty of them online.
List of The Best Notepad ++ Alternatives for Windows
From plugins, themes, emmet and other important tools, these text editor offers them all. The fact that they’re free even makes them worth the hype. If you’re looking for an alternative to Notepad++ for Windows, you can explore the options below.
1. Visual Studio Code
Visual Studio Code, also referred to as VSCode, is one of the top Notepad++ replacements for Windows. Microsoft’s Visual Studio Code was created to make it simpler for beginners and newcomers to write code. It is well-known among developers for its adaptability and widespread use. For more customization, Visual Studio Code offers a sizable marketplace of extensions and plugins, integrated Git support for version control, and a high level of customizability with a variety of themes and settings.
Free, extremely extendable, and providing top-notch support for many programming languages is VSCode. The best option for writing cloud programming languages is Visual Studio Code. It contains syntax highlighting, code refactoring, snippets, and emmet abbreviations in addition to VSCode features to make coding simpler.Whether you’re on Windows 32-bit or 64-bit architecture, Visual Studio Code can be downloaded on both.
2. Sublime Text
Similar to Visual Studio Code, Sublime Text makes sense as an alternative to Notepad++ for Windows users. Sublime Text is one of the best and most popular text editors known for its speed and sleek user interface. While writing codes, Sublime Text offers a distraction-free writing experience that makes code writing better. Sublime Text supports multiple selections and powerful search and replace functionality.
Furthermore, Sublime Text is known for its speed, simplicity and robust functions. If you want to write the latest version of scripting languages like HTML5, CSS3 and so on, Sublime Text has got you covered. If you’re searching for a fast, feature-rich text editor with extensive customization options. you can download Sublime Text. Although there’s a downside to using the free version, it doesn’t have many advanced features like the paid one.
3. Adobe Dreamweaver
When it comes to web development and learning programming Adobe Dreamweaver is one of the best software to use. It offers an easier way to build websites and design applications. One of the standout features is the visual interface that comes with a robust code editor. Whether you’re a web designer or developer, Adobe Dreamweaver is a top choice. Compared to Notepad++, Adobe Dreamweaver doesn’t come free, which makes it hard to get for most people.
Adobe Dreamweaver includes visual design tools for creating websites without extensive coding, a code editor with syntax highlighting, auto-indentation, code suggestions, live preview, and multi-screen support for testing web projects, and integration with Adobe Creative Cloud services. If you’re looking for one of the best Notepad++ alternatives to download and install on your PC, Dreamweaver is a top choice. You’ll only need to be on a monthly subscription to enjoy full access to Adobe Dreamweaver.
4. Emacs
Emacs is one of the oldest text editors available on the internet, despite being old it still makes sense for coding. This code offers editor tons of built-in functions and packages for text editing and customization, and extensive keyboard shortcuts for efficient navigation and editing. Furthermore, it offers support for various programming languages through modes and extensions, and a vibrant user community contributing to its development.
One downside of this tool is that the interface might not be as friendly as a beginner but it makes sense. Notepad++ might be quite old just like this one but Emacs does seem to be the go-to option for most people. If you appreciate powerful features that streamline the web development process, you’ll love this text editor. Also, it is highly customizable, which makes it a recommended code editor for Windows.
5. Atom
Atom is one of the best Notepad++ alternatives for Windows, it is an open-source text editor. Developed by GitHub, Atom makes it easy to write codes on Windows. One of the cool features is the package manager which offers customization through packages and themes.
Atom is free, offers extensive customization through packages, and also streamlines collaboration among developers. While Atom does make sense, it has some performance issues. When working with large files, the text editor offers poor performance.
6. NetBeans
For Windows users, there is also NetBeans, an open-source text editor, which can replace Notepad++. Although it also supports other programming languages, NetBeans is more of an IDE that is geared toward Java development. NetBeans will let you write different programming languages even if you are not accustomed to creating Java code. The programming languages supported by this editor include Java, PHP, C++, and others.
Additionally, it offers integrated version management with Git, Mercurial, and Subversion, a robust code editor with syntax highlighting and code completion, and flexibility through a variety of plugins and modules. With a variety of capabilities to speed up your workflow, NetBeans is a flexible IDE appropriate for Java and multi-language development. NetBeans’ only drawback is that it might not be as quick as Notepad++ and other options.
Conclusion
Notepad++ is a legendary text editor and there’s no doubt about that. To some developers, it is still their preferred text editor and it answers all tasks. But if you’re starting off a newbie, using Notepad++ might not be the best decision. The alternatives mentioned above are perfect for newbies and professionals, you can use them for software development, web development, etc. Aside from Adobe Dreamweaver, all the text editors listed can be downloaded for free.