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Notepad++ is 21 years old

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Re: Notepad++ is 21 years old

#31

Post by Willish42 »

Notepad++ was a life saver in my early days of needing to open and edit large files without having the tech literacy or familiarity required to use an actual IDE. I was a Windows "tinkerer" for a long time before learning programming and getting into engineering, and I suspect I'm not the only one on HN who got started that way. It's probably the first editor I used with line numbers, tabs / multiple view panes in one window, and customization options.

I can't say I use it as often these days, but it's still installed on my PC at home and it's a reliable tool that I think back on fondly. Without it, I might not have "leveled up" to more advanced tools later on.

Re: Notepad++ is 21 years old

#32

Post by rickette »

perryizgr8 wrote: post #12

Notepad++ is the single biggest reason I prefer a windows pc over a macbook. It's such a no nonsense app with exactly the right mix of features and usability. One of these days I'll ditch vs code in favour of np++ for all my editing needs.

I consider Textmate the notepad++ for MacOS (it's great, but then again I can't stand working on windows).

Re: Notepad++ is 21 years old

#33

Post by QuantumSeed »

mrmetanoia wrote: post #11
wvenable wrote: post #9

I admit I don't use Notepad++ to actually write anything -- I use it view large files, do complex search & replace, regex, reformat files, data manipulation, etc. I probably use it a couple of times a week but never to write. I don't even consider it in competition with tools like VS Code, etc.

Me too! It's my go-to large text file manipulator. It's also what I keep open all the time to paste things into since it's so easy to open a new tab and it keeps temp files of things i haven't saved until i've closed them and told it I don't want them saved, so it opens up with a decent history of crap I've been using until I'm ready to clear it.

For Windows 11 users, the latest Notepad.exe can also pick up where you left off the last time the app was closed.

Re: Notepad++ is 21 years old

#35

Post by krsdcbl »

wvenable wrote: post #9

I admit I don't use Notepad++ to actually write anything -- I use it view large files, do complex search & replace, regex, reformat files, data manipulation, etc. I probably use it a couple of times a week but never to write. I don't even consider it in competition with tools like VS Code, etc.

Same here. Specially back when Atom was a thing, Notepad++ would always be my "side editor" for any kind of heavy lifting (or even heavy-ish - looking back I really ask myself why I didn't just use it for everything ^^)

Re: Notepad++ is 21 years old

#36

Post by QuantumGood »

QuantumSeed wrote: post #33
mrmetanoia wrote: post #11

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Me too! It's my go-to large text file manipulator. It's also what I keep open all the time to paste things into since it's so easy to open a new tab and it keeps temp files of things i haven't saved until i've closed them and told it I don't want them saved, so it opens up with a decent history of crap I've been using until I'm ready to clear it.

For Windows 11 users, the latest Notepad.exe can also pick up where you left off the last time the app was closed.

And offers tabs

Re: Notepad++ is 21 years old

#37

Post by foresto »

This means Scintilla (the editor component in Notepad++, Geany, and others) is about 25. It was the foundation of my move away from proprietary editors like Visual SlickEdit, and served me well for more than a few years. I'm glad it's still around.

Re: Notepad++ is 21 years old

#38

Post by piafraus »

Does anybody know if the search window is still a new popup window?

Something that always made me prefer to go use other editors. Or perhaps if incremental search support regular expressions?

Re: Notepad++ is 21 years old

#39

Post by lyu07282 »

ijustlovemath wrote: post #21
deathanatos wrote: post #10

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> I did look for something a bit more cross platform to replace it vim. ;) While yes, it has quite a learning curve, the payout IMO is ultimately worth it. But Notepad++ will always have a place in my heart; it was what I used for a long time back when I was also still using Windows, and it's a solid editor, and leagues better than NOTEPAD.EXE. Especially 21 years ago, the landscape was much different. "DevC++" I thi…

vim is amazing once you learn a couple verbs, visual block mode, windows, and the nice special subjects, eg % for enclosing parens

Unfortunately then you will eventually be forced to work in environments without it and feel like you just had a brain aneurysm due to how insufferably slow and clunky everything else is. Ignorance is bliss, just look at all those cute commenters here who think notepad++ is the best thing ever. "It even supports regexp!" It makes the editor wars feel so pointless, but Windows users are adorable.

Re: Notepad++ is 21 years old

#40

Post by kevinsync »

I continue to use Notepad++ despite having tried every other editor and IDE under the sun. This, of course, drives every person completely insane when I explain that my "IDE" is:

- Notepad++ for editing, pretty much stock, no plugins

- command line for git and grep (Console2 or Git Bash)

- File Explorer alongside Everything [0] for navigating files

- Beyond Compare [1] for visual diff/merge

- WinSCP/PuTTY for SFTP/SSH (usually to Linux)

- Synergy [2] for sharing keyboard and mouse between Windows and MacOS

I personally enjoy being in all 3 major OS's at the same time, and find it helpful to separate concerns to their respective applications/interfaces -- it helps me keep a mental geography of "where things are" and "what tool is used for which purpose", rather than being beholden to a IDE-dictated workflow or tool that's obscured behind specific UI patterns.

That said, I'll happily use Handbrake over command-line ffmpeg for a lot of things, so obscuring behind UI isn't always a bad thing.

Anyways, HUGE RESPECT to Notepad++!

[0] https://www.voidtools.com

[1] https://www.scootersoftware.com

[2] https://symless.com/synergy

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