Notepad has become one of the oldest and most classic Windows applications, since it has been with us since the first versions. This text editor allows us to enter a text and save it as plain text without containing any type of formatting. However, its basic features fall short for many users, eager to find another application similar to Notepad, but with a greater number of functions.
Microsoft has been working for some time to introduce improvements to this classic application, since today it lacks many functions that we can find in other competing software, but for the moment it remains almost intact.
What is a text editor and what is it for?
When we talk about a text editor, we are referring to computer software that will allow us to enter, change, store and print text (characters and numbers). In general, the text editor provides a default “empty” screen that we can fill with text, line by line.
Only plain text can be inserted in a text editor as opposed to formatted text in a word processor. These programs allow special features such as bold, italics, and various font and text sizes. The editor displays only the characters visible in the file, while word processors add special formatting characters that are not visible in the document. That is why the editor that only accepts plain text does not allow the user to format that text, add images or tables .
Its most common features are its ability to cut and paste text, copy text, create a bulleted list, wrap text to the next line, and undo or redo the last command typed. In some cases, they may offer more advanced options such as the ability to configure macros or keyboard shortcuts to edit the source code.
Currently, text editors are used to create computer programs, edit the source code of programming languages, edit hypertext markup language (HTML), create web pages or web design templates. Nowadays, this type of software has a more focused use for programming purposes , instead of creating documents, as was done in the past.
Text editor as an alternative to Notepad
As we have discussed, Notepad is a very basic text editor. That is why if we are looking for a similar option, but with some additional functions, we can use some of these programs.
Notepad++, a great alternative to Notepad
Without a doubt, it is one of the most popular options for editing and viewing text files, positioning itself as a clear alternative to Notepad. It is a free software, which is used more and more to edit programming codes, since it supports several of these, such as Pascal, C, C++, Ada, Java, Perl, etc. We can also extend its number of functions through plugins that it supports.
This program also has different editing tools that the Windows application lacks, such as being able to edit large text, perform simultaneous editing, customizable hotkeys, search for text in all files in a folder, mark files etc
NotePad++ is a very light application since it barely weighs 5 MB and can be downloaded for free from this link on its website.
AkelPad, simple and basic text editor
We are talking about an alternative to the classic Windows Notepad as it seeks to offer users a very simple and basic text editor. It is that in several aspects we find a program similar to Microsoft’s own editor. However, it is capable of including a series of useful and highly requested features as standard, but which are not included by default in the original Notepad.
This software has several types of views and different interface modes so that we can choose the one we like best. It supports Drag-and-drop, so you can open files in any view or interface like moving documents from one to another. It also has a very useful feature, such as the possibility of dividing the window into 1, 2 or 4 parts, being able to see up to 4 documents at the same time. In addition, we can select the content by lines or columns, it is compatible with Unicode characters and allows us to assign different colors to the text.
If we want to try AkelPad as a simple text editor, we can use it just by downloading it for free from the Sourceforge website .
OSD note, with semi-transparent interface
This program is not as well known as others, but it is certainly attractive. It stands out for being lightweight and portable , so it doesn’t need to be installed to work. With it we will be able to create and edit plain texts without format, but if it really stands out for something, it is for having a semi-transparent interface. Thanks to this we will be able to take notes while we work, read documents or carry out any other task with our PC.
It is a tool that in operation is always kept at the top, which avoids distractions, being able to carry out with it any type of action that we can expect from a text editor such as copying, pasting, increasing or decreasing the size of the font, underlining, add bold, toggle transparency, or reset everything to default. The notes are saved in RTF format , being compatible with word processors such as Microsoft Word, WordPad, among others.
OSD note is a free and open source program, very similar to Windows Notepad, but with more features. We can download it directly from the Sourceforge website.
QOwnNotes, to take notes in plain text without formatting
We are now talking about an open source, cross-platform, lightweight and free text editor, with which it is possible to take all kinds of notes in plain text without formatting. These notes can be enriched with the possibility of giving them a format, adding images, tables, links and another series of elements, as well as organizing them through folders and subfolders, so that they can be linked to each other, thus obtaining a cleaner structure.
Other features worth mentioning in QOwnNotes is that you can use text files without needing to import them and use customizable keyboard shortcuts. It also has encryption of notes in AES 256 format , support for spell checking and compatibility with various scripts, as well as an online repository where you can install scripts within the application.
QOwnNotes has a simple and intuitive interface so it is aimed at all types of users, we just have to download it for free from this link on its official website .
DocPad, edit text in several tabs in the same window
This text editor can serve as a great alternative to Notepad, since, although they fulfill the same function, it is no less true that in addition to the ability to edit plain text, it adds additional utilities such as indentation , bookmarks, uppercase and lowercase conversion , customizable toolbar, encoding conversion, file backups, history, line break and print preview.
It also stands out for having an interface with tabs, which allows you to open and edit files from the same window. It features search and replace options, the ability to undo up to 100 changes , and edit files with 8-bit ASCII characters or 16-bit Unicode characters. In addition, we can perform actions such as converting to uppercase, lowercase, title and sentence, as well as cut, copy and paste, drag and drop text, and we can even import HTML files and convert them to plain text.
If we decide to use DocPad we must know that it is a free and very light application, so it requires few system resources to work. We can download it from its official website.
Notepads, with basic functions for undemanding users
It is a free and open source text editor, which has similarities to the classic Notepad, since it has basic functions for less demanding users, but which are accompanied by other series of more interesting and useful features for others. All this based on the fact that it is a program that consumes very few resources and that we can launch from its icon or also using command line tools such as CMD or PowerShell.
A feature that many users will surely like is the possibility of including different tabs within the same window, which will allow us to open several notes at the same time. In addition, it is compatible with markdown writing and allows us to compare the changes made to a document. Along with all this, we will have the possibility of customizing it to our liking
We can download Notepads for free from its website on GitHub .
EditPad Lite, simple and allows you to work with several documents at the same time
It is an ideal text editor to replace the classic Windows Notepad, as it incorporates several functions with which to be able to work with all kinds of plain texts. It supports the ability to work with multiple documents at once through the use of tabs, allows you to drag and drop content, as well as search for words and phrases.
It has full Unicode support , including all kinds of complex scripts. It’s also worth mentioning that it allows direct editing of text files using Windows, UNIX and Mac text encodings and line breaks, and allows unlimited undo and redo for all open files, even after saving.
EditPad Lite is a free tool for personal use, which we can download from its official website .
Adobe Brackets, text editor for programmers
We are talking about a free and open source text editor specially designed so that developers can easily create websites, as it has support for languages such as HTML, CSS and JavaScript, as well as compatibility with plugins.
It is a program that stands out for its ease of working online, without having to jump between tabs and files, which is why it is ideal for programmers who do not require a program overloaded with unnecessary features. It also features integration with Photoshop PSD files and can be connected to GitHub.
Adobe Brackets is compatible with Windows, Linux and Mac OS and can be downloaded for free from its official website.
Atom, ideal for editing code
One of the most popular text editors for developers and programmers , since it is cross-platform, so it can be used on Windows, macOS or Linux, indistinctly, and it is specially designed to be used by advanced users. It has an intuitive interface, from where you can compare and edit the code of the files, as well as work with Git and GitHub directly.
It is worth mentioning that it has its own browser, thanks to which we will be able to find and open all kinds of files from the same window. It also has other interesting features such as smart autocomplete, syntax highlighting, language autodetection, support for snippets, and the ability to use multiple panels simultaneously.
Atom is a free, cross-platform text editor that we can download directly from its official website.
Which one to use instead of Notepad?
As we can see, we have a wide number of options that we can use as a natural substitute for Notepad. They are text editors that can be used in a simple way, although they have several additional features and functions that make them much more complete alternatives than the classic Microsoft application.
Also keep in mind that we are talking about free options, so it is always recommended that we try them beforehand, in order to know and find out which one best suits our uses and needs, so that we can work with it the way we want. more fluid and productive.
Among them, we have options such as Atom and Notepad++ especially focused on programming and web development tasks, so they are specially designed for advanced users who are going to work with code, not being so interesting for a more casual user who only requires write text. In this case, programs like OSD Note or QOwnNotes can be more interesting options, with an interface and design that are more suitable for all types of users.