Notepad++ 6.6

Notepad++ is a text editor that was first released in 2003, which aims to be an alternative to the unsatisfying editing experience brought by the default Windows text editor, namely Notepad. Starting out as a humble project but constantly getting updates, it grew in popularity over time to eventually become a reference point for many programmers.

This piece of software is mostly made for developers. Indeed, there are many tools designed to make the development process easier. For example, it can colorize a large number of different programming languages, to make the code easier to read.

Notepad++ is also meant to improve productivity: you can create macros, which are a list of steps that this program will do when you press a certain key combination. Creating macros, you avoid doing repetitive work.

If you fear losing your unsaved work in case of a power shortage, a system crash, or any other potential problem, then you will probably like the fact that Notepad++ automatically backups your work every seven seconds (the time interval is configurable, too).

In case Notepad++ does not have a feature you need, maybe someone has already made a plugin to add this feature. With the integrated plugin manager of Notepad++, it is easy to find a plugin and install it.

However, I found something that I consider to be a major drawback for users employing multiple screens: Notepad++ can only be opened once (by default), this means that you cannot have multiple windows. So if you want to work on multiple screens in order to be more efficient, you are going to have a hard time struggling with the split views and the position of the main window. Although there is a workaround that involves using the -multiInst -nosession switch.

In conclusion, Notepad++'s reputation is well-deserved since it's a full-featured text editor, which allows developers to work significantly more efficiently than with other similar utilities.