Notepad2 review: Syntax highlighting make this utility a good notepad replacement for coders

Notepad2 Line numbering and syntax highlighting are a few of the features that make this notepad replacement especially attractive to programmers.

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At first glance, Notepad2 doesn't have much to distinguish itself from WordPad, the standard Windows notepad. But it offers a number of features that can make it worth the upgrade.

The biggest feature is syntax highlighting. You can have various parts of programming code show up as different colors when code is incorrect, so you can see right away what needs to be fixed. The find-and-replace function really does make WordPad cringe in the corner with embarrassment when you see features here such as match the case, match the whole word and match the beginning of the word only. You can even drag and drop text onto Notepad2, something that regular WordPad definitely won't allow.

Notepad2 offers syntax highlighting, which makes coding much easier.

The one downside to Notepad2 is that it doesn't support tabs, when it comes to opening multiple files. You can open only one file at a time, which is extremely limiting and frustrating.  But when you stack that one disadvantage against all the advantages, tabs are something you can live without.

Note: The Download button takes you to the vendor's site, where you can download the latest version of the software appropriate to your system.

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Metapad review: Replace WordPad with this tiny, full-featured notepad

Metapad Tiny but full-featured, Metapad could become your default notepad application.

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Metapad wants to completely replace the built-in Windows notepad, and some of the features being offered in Metapad could convince you to make that switch.

First, there is what the developer calls “intelligent find and replace” which offers more features than the CTRL + F find feature on regular WordPad. If you have a huge text file, having more options (such as only finding the entire word) will save time by cutting down on false positives.

Metapad offers an intelligent search-and-replace tool

You can quickly exit the program by hitting the ESC key, which is a nice feature for all the keyboard junkies out there, as well as hyperlink (URL) and dual font support., which is useful for documents containing both text and code listings. Unfortunately though, Metapad doesn't offer tabbed notes, which is a pity. This feature would add significantly to its usefulness.

Despite this, the settings contain a huge number of small tweaks attractive to anyone who likes to endlessly customize their applications, a feature Microsoft will never offer in the regular WordPad. In fact, the author of the program provides instructions on how to replace WordPad with Metapad as the default app for opening text files.

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NotePad++ offers portable notepad features for programmers

Notepad++ is a portable notepad that users like computer programmers will find enormously useful, because it offers something the regular Notepad doesn't: numbered lines.

Numbered what, I hear you ask?

If you're testing a program in a language such as Javascript, you’ll get obscure error messages like “operand missing on line 346”. So, it helps if you know which line the bug is on, and how to quickly locate that line. If the lines are not numbered, like in the regular Notepad, you would be sitting there till doomsday, trying to locate that one elusive little bug.  With Notepad++, it's as simple as scrolling down to the correct numbered line.

Notepad++ offers line numbers, which is very useful for programmers.

Other smart features include zooming in and out (handy if you have bad eyesight), macro recording and playback, and tabbed notes, so you can have multiple notes open in the same window and click back and forth between them.  It also offers colour syntax coding, which makes reading through programs easier. Notepad++ is also smaller than Notepad, which results in less strain on your CPU.

Notepad++ is also open source software, so if you have the technical know-how, you can examine the source code and make whatever changes you want to it, provided you don't charge for it. And since it's donationware, you can keep Notepad++ chugging with a donation to the developers.

Expatriate Scotsman now living in Wurzburg, Germany, freelance writer, frustrated future bestselling author, obsessed bibliophile. Other interests include trying to understand The Architect in the Matrix movies, decrypting codes and ciphers, and trying to persuade my landlord and my wife to let me have a Highland Cow for a pet.
More by Mark O'Neill

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