If you are a developer, you must know the need for finding the perfect tool is a must in the job. Whether it’s a text editing or a library to manage tasks or maybe a framework for building your next project, you need a text editor.
These tools simplify all the works and improve overall productivity. Though choosing the text editor is a lot of harder than it looks. I mean there are so many varieties of editors out there, and you can’t pick one at random.
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You have to know the pros and cons or what features they have. Or maybe it has a lot of features, but it’s a bit too much for your taste. I suppose we all have our preferences and personal feelings for that matter.
Though it can be a challenging task, I’ll try to make it a bit easier. You don’t have to jump into all the text editor, right now just go through the top 12 text editors, and you’ll know just what to pick.
Top 10 Best Text Editor for Windows 10
1. Sublime Text Editor
Nowadays the Sublime Text Editor is the best one in the market. It’s solely focused on features rather than looks. It’s a great alternative to IDE but not as heavy as it. You won’t believe how lightweight it is that gets the job done pretty quickly.
There are many features of this text editor or code editor. But nothings perfect, so it has some limitations too! But it’s a great text editor to work.
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2. Vim
The full version of Vim is Vi Improved. It’s one of the oldest text editors there is. And of course, it hasn’t lost its charm.
This one is prevalent among the developers as it can be entirely customized. You can customize it to any extent. Again, it supports keyboard shotcuts without the need for the mouse. That’s a plus point there.
Another reason for being this much popular is that you can see it in almost every Unix-based machines. So, the main features are portability and ubiquity.
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3. Atom
Atom is the hackable text editor of this century. It was introduced after the release of Sublime Text to give it a competition. And that’s why it resemblances Sublime a lot. Atom also provides an almost exact output as Sublime. So, you’ll have a pleasant experience.
The UI and UX of this code editor are excellent and moreover really perfect for any coding sessions. It has the ability of auto-completion, file system browser, multiple panes and much more. It has multiple keyboard shortcuts too for quick editing.
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4. Visual Studio Code
Visual Studio Code is Microsoft’s attempt for letting the developer’s code without downloading the vast Visual Studio editions. This one is very lightweight, an open-source text editor for helping in developing huge projects.
This text editor is available on all popular platforms such as Windows, OS X, and Linux. The main feature of the editor is that it includes 30+ programming languages, code focus editing, auto-complete, code navigation, etc. there’s a lot where this comes. It also supports Git version control and debugging tools for natural development. Keyboard shortcuts are available for more efficiency.
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5. Notepad++
Notepad++ is another open-source editor. It looks like the vanilla notepad but way more upgraded. The editor supports lots of programming languages. And it’s quite popular too.
The simplicity and clean interface of this text editor make it the number one choice for many people. The main feature of this editor is that it can maintain any significant amount of file without any lags. It’s also really fast and lightweight. And there’s also lots of plugging’s available for you to try out. Furthermore, there are keyboard shortcuts for efficiency.
So, you can make it as flexible as possible.
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6. Brackets
Among all the open-source editors this one is unique and different. Anyone can use Brackets. Brackets is mainly a front-end developing editor or in other words web design purposes.
You can extend the front end language support, so you need to consider Brackets for front-end development.
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7. Light Table
This one is a stylish editor with its very own inbuilt browser. You can efficiently use the browser for previewing.
So, if you want an editor that looks rather stunning, then you should take a look at Light Table. It can easily be the number one rich text editor among all.
You can use it for any development, but it’s more suited for web development. The editor supports Windows, Mac, and Linux. The secure inbuilt browser will give you an instant preview of what you’re working.
You can even customize the editor according to your need. You also get a lot of plugin’s to try out.
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8. Bluefish
This one is a cross-platform editor. But its interface looks slightly messy. Bluefish is available for Windows, Linux, and Mac, three popular platforms. The editor is rather fast and can handle more than one file at a time.
This editor has so many tabs and tools that it might be intimidating to you. But if you can get the hang of it then it can be a jackpot. The editor supports a lot of languages and includes lots of syntaxes.
This editor probably won’t be your number one choice just because of the UI but give it a try to get a taste of the suburb editor.
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9. Gedit
Gedit is the number 9 on the list. It’s the best text editor ever. If you are just in for some short time or simple development, then you need to get your hands on Gedit. The editor has many features such as remote editing, syntax highlighting and much more.
You will also get tons of pluggings. So, you can quickly enhance its features. You can work with large files without a fuss.
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10. TextPad
Textpad is for the beginners. The UI is simple and easy to understand. The size is tiny, so you don’t have any problem downloading or installing it. It’s also really fast and will get the job done.
Full of functions and has a lot of plugins available. So, you will be able to use it for quite a lot of developments. It is a simple editor with a lot of perks.
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11. Geany
Geany is a light-weighted free text and code editor that provides a lot of features for a programmer without much load on the workflow. According to its developer, it has built-in support for more than 40 programming and markup languages such as C++, C, Java, Python, PHP, HTML, CSS, etc. It is available on Linux, Windows,macOS, BSD, and even Solaris, and can be translated into 40 languages.
Though it is light weighted, it is still quite a powerful, speedy, stable, and responsive Integrated Development Environment.
Unlike others, it opens very fast. It provides all the essential features that are expected in an IDE like automatically parenthesis closing, syntax highlighting, line numbers, and many such.
The best thing is, as a programmer, if you are switching from any other IDE, then you don’t have to spend much time on Geany for getting used to it because it is entirely predictable and has flawless GUI.
Compiling and running a program on Geany could not get much more straightforward. Just click on compile, and your codes will be compiled, and with another click, your designed program will be run
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12. Codeshare
Codeshare is a brilliant online code editor with its primary focus on providing a platform to programmers and developers to share their source code with others in real-time, along with an option of video chat to discuss the source code or project.
So, in short, Codeshare is a real-time code editor, with an option of video communication with the teammates.
This application is more beneficial for IT recruiters. They can remotely hire someone while interviewing them online, along with that they can see a live preview of their real-time coding ability.
It is highly advantageous for developing teams because they no longer have to be in the same room side by side to make changes in the source code or to discuss a particular section of a program.
However, you have to keep in mind a thing. Codeshare is an online editor. The codes or the text that you write on it can be stored only for 24 hours. So you either have to save the codes on your system or sign up for an account on Codeshare. Signing up is not compulsory for writing the codes and real-time call, but it is required for saving your codes.
The best thing about Codeshare is, you don’t have to pay any amount for using its services. Just sign up and start exploring its functionality.
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Conclusion
A text editor is the one thing that developers chose carefully. With the right editor, a developer can do wonders. Here I have discussed the top 12 text editors.
Every editor has its ups and downs, but my favorites are Sublime, Atom and Visual Studio Code. Though the final call is yours, Choose wisely!
Hasib is a born geek and loves tweaking his computer and gadgets for effectiveness and productivity. At WindowsChimp, he specializes in writing Tutorial guides and discovering new hacks to share.
I believe that Geany is worthy of an honorable mention, at the very least.
Geany is good, thanks for the tip! I have been using Notepadd++ for many years but never liked it much – it’s not particularly pleasurable to use and the regular expression searches seem a bit unreliable. When I’m using my Mac I use BBEdit.
(1) To say that TextPad is for “beginners” is to show that you do not understand it: TextPad can be seen as “easy” and “simple” simply because it is so very well designed. It is one of the most powerful, intuitive, well designed, and comfortable editors I’ve ever experienced, with all of that power so well placed and presented that it gives NO ONE any trouble–not even “beginners.” Some might argue that it’s lacking one or two “modern” features–but those who are NOT beginners will know exactly HOW to make TextPad work brilliantly, so nothing is really lacking. I’ve since switched to Linux and sometimes run TextPad under Wine, but have also discovered two Linux editors that anyone who loves TextPad would equally love.
(2) Kate! How could you possibly forget to include Kate in this article? When I was ready to switch to Linux, I first needed to find a Linux text editor that could take over for TextPad, just in case I couldn’t run it under Wine. I found Kate. Kate is great and ALMOST as good as TextPad.
(3) Geany! It turns out that Geany is even more similar to TextPad than Kate, though all three are very close in comfort and power. No text editor is perfect: There are things that Kate can do that TextPad and Geany cannot; there are things that Geany can do that Kate cannot; there are things that TextPad can do that Kate cannot by itself and that Geany cannot by itself. It turns out that Kate and Geany compliment each other very, very well; so, together, they’re nearly like the Linux version of TextPad.
(4) Kate has swap files that back you up SECONDS after file modification: Say goodbye to data loss. Geany’s “Find in Files” is presented in a way that is safer than Kate’s and allows copying of the output. TextPad’s macro facility can record some mouse actions as well as key actions, has a LARGE number of recordable commands, can apply everything across multiple files (and can even open a file if it’s not already open), and can call macros from macros, thereby allowing top-down macro design and the ability to easily rerecord small submacros individually, so that the “need” for an “editable” macro facility is downright imaginary.
(5) I recommend TextPad, Kate, and Geany, in that order; but, for just Linux, I recommend Kate and Geany equally.
(6) I typed this using Kate. 🙂