Currently, there are certain users who are dedicated to programming or design that require the use of a text editor to carry out their work. Within Windows, we find a popular tool such as Notepad, but it is not characterized by being a complete application. That is why, on the Internet, we can find different applications developed by third parties that improve the performance of the Windows application. One of these tools is Atom , about which we will talk next.
Atom is a free, open source and cross-platform text editor, so it can be used on Windows, macOS and Linux. It has been designed to meet the needs of all types of users. Although it can be used by beginners and students, it is a tool especially suitable for the more advanced, becoming an application capable of finding the perfect balance between convenience and extensibility.
This application will allow us to work with Git and GitHub directly. Something that we will be able to do thanks to its intuitive interface with which to compare and edit code between files. It also has a browser, which will allow us to find and open all kinds of files and projects from the same window. Nor will its intelligent autocomplete be missing. With it, we can write all kinds of codes quickly and efficiently.
Of its characteristics we can also highlight the syntax highlighting utilities, contextual autocompletion and language autodetection. In addition, we can organize our projects by folders, use several panels simultaneously, includes support for snippets and compatibility with programming languages such as C ++. PHP, HTML, JavaScript, among others.
The ideal tool for programmers and developers
Once we run the application, its main menu appears with a modern interface made up of black themes and a tab-based design so that we can work with several files at the same time. This interface is completely in English, so it may be a problem for less advanced users until they can fully adapt to all the functions it offers us. We can also appreciate key features, such as control over Git and GitHub and support with Teletype.
Tabbed interface for convenience
In the interface we can also see that it offers us a welcome guide. In it, we can find a series of help topics about the most important features of Atom so that we can start using it and get hold of its functions as quickly as possible. Among the options we find are to open a new project, install packages and choose themes, add fragments and use keyboard shortcuts for greater speed and efficiency when working with it.
As we can see, the editor has a design structured by separate panels so that we can access different tools simultaneously. Each file can be opened in a separate tab, which will allow us to manage and work with any project in a simple way, no matter how complex it may be. And if this editor is characterized by something, it is by its versatility, which will allow us to have support for all types of files, not only those based on text, such as previewing images.
At the top of the application we find its toolbar distributed by tabs. Here we find the Packages option, one of its most interesting options. And it is that this text editor has the possibility of adding extra functions through add-ons or extensions developed to add new features to the editor. For this, it has its own package manager from where it is possible to install, uninstall, enable, disable or update the different extensions that it offers us. We will find plugins of all kinds such as command palette, symbols, Timecop, GitHub, Git Diff, etc.
Open very large text files
One of the great features of Atom is to open all kinds of plain text files, even the largest ones, whether in TXT or another format. This is something that can be very useful to us, especially if we use the famous Windows Notepad, since larger files usually choke on it.
To open any text file, just click on the “File” tab and then click on “Open File” or by using the keyboard shortcut “Ctrl + o”. It is true that if the file is large we can run into performance problems, obtaining a reaction time may be higher than what we would like.
Start your first project with Atom
With Atom we can open any project that we have previously created or start a new one. This is something we can do directly from the “File” tab and then click on “New File” or by using the keyboard shortcut “Ctrl + n”.
Although, although the most common may be to use Atom to write software code, we can also use it to write prose effectively. For this it is likely that we use most of the time some type of marked language such as Asciidoc or Markdown.
Wide variety of supported languages
Atom is compatible with a wide variety of languages so that we can work with it with practically any platform, managing to support the most popular and used languages today.
- HMTL
- CSS
- Less
- Sass
- GitHub
- C / C ++
- C #
- He
- Java
- Objective-C
- Javascript
- JSON
- CoffeeScript
- Python
- PHP
- Ruby
- Shell Script
- Clojure
- Perl
- Git
- Property List (Apple)
- TOML
- XML
- YAML
- Mustache
- Julia
- SQL
However, some programmers may miss other languages such as “language-jade”, “language-latex” or “language-postcss”. And it is that these languages are not incorporated as standard, but we can install them through packages created by the community.
Search and install among its more than 80 available Plugins
One of the characteristics for which this text editor stands out is that it has more than 80 packages that comprise all the functionality that we find available in Atom by default. These packages can be tremendously powerful, since they will allow us to change from the appearance of the interface to the main functionality. All of these packages are kept separate and they all use the same APIs they have access to.
When installing a new package we must open the “Settings View” section that we find in the “Packages” tab at the top. We can also access it directly through a keyboard shortcut “Ctrl +,”. All the packages that are paid and shown here have been published and registered on its website, where the official record of all the packages is located. We can also appreciate how it has its own package search engine, where we can obtain any element that matches the terms of our search.
Right next to each package we see the “Install” button, where we must click to download the package and install it quickly. This way we will get our editor to incorporate the functionality provided by the installed package. Once installed, it will appear in the configuration view in the “Packages” tab, along with the rest of the pre-installed packages that the application incorporates. We can filter the list and find it or we can write directly in the search engine within the “Installed Packages” tab.
Change the aesthetics and appearance of Atom through Themes
Just as we have add-ons that help to obtain a greater number of options, we can also search and install new themes for Atom. This is something that we can also do from the Settings View section that we have seen previously. Here we can find both topics related to the user interface and syntax topics and that we can search for them from the “Install Themes” tab, as well as search for new packages, making sure to press the Theme button next to the search box, so as not to get confused and look for plugins.
Once installed we can access the “Themes” section to check that they are available. By default, the program has 4 themes to change the user interface with both light and dark variants, as well as 8 different syntax themes. These themes take care of changing the style of the user interface elements, as well as the tabs and the tree view, while the syntax themes control the syntax highlighting of the text loaded by the editor.
Install packages or themes from the command line
If we prefer it is also possible to install packages or themes from the command line using apm. So, the first thing is to verify that we have it installed by executing the following command in our terminal.
apm help install
It is also possible to install packages or themes using the “apm install” command.
This command will help us to install the latest version
apm install <package_name>
By using this command we can install a specific version.
apm install <package_name>@<package_version>
Thus, for example, apm install emmet@0.1.5 installs version 0.1.5 of the Emmet package. Also, we can use apm to search for new packages to install. If we execute apm search, it allows us to search the package registry for a specific search term.
Conclusions.
Atom has a powerful editor that incorporates a set of functions that are not too overwhelming for a novice user and not too short for a code programmer. And it is that in its menu it incorporates all kinds of advanced development tools that will allow us a deep customization with HTML and JavaScript of the features and functionality of the editor.
But it is not because of his good work that he also has his weak points. Perhaps, we could miss that it had compatibility in Spanish both for the application and for the help videos. In addition, when it comes to navigating between its different tabs or opening large files, it costs you more than you want, and you may notice some loss of performance or a reaction time that is longer than what you would expect. Despite all this, we are facing a great tool that can make our work much easier thanks to its enormous potential.
Free Download Atom
Atom is a free and multiplatform text editor, which we can download directly from its website . Within the Microsoft operating system it is compatible with Windows 7, Windows 8 and Windows 10, both in 32-bit and 64-bit versions. Its installation is really simple, since your assistant will take care of it quickly in just a few seconds. In addition, it does not have advertising nor does it try to get us to install unwanted third-party software, being free of any virus or malware.
Currently, its latest version available is 1.56.0 corresponding to April 13, 2021 . This shows the great support that it has both from its developers and from the user community itself, one of the advantages of being an open source application.
Alternatives to Atom
If we are looking for a text editor for Windows, we suggest some alternatives to Atom to consider:
Hekapad
It is a totally free text editor for Windows. With it, we can edit any type of text completely freely. The program will allow us to modify even some of the symbols of the text. All the changes that we make with the application can be saved in different formats such as TXT, INI, INF, LOG, and NFO. In total it has 19 different extensions. We can download it from this link.
AkelPad
We are facing an open source, light and fast text editor. This application has support for single window, multi window, Unicode codes and online formats. This powerful tool will allow us to divide the window into 1, 2 or 4 parts. This will allow us to have up to 4 documents loaded at the same time. If we want to try AkelPad we can download it for free from its website.
PSPad
This plain text editor has been developed and oriented to perform programming-related tasks. This tool allows us to edit in languages such as C, C ++, COBOL, Batch, CSS, HTML, XHTML, Pascal, Perl, Python, RSS, among others, and can also be used as a hexadecimal editor. PSPad is a completely free application that we can download from its official website .