What is the best text editor. Inspection of six text editors with code highlighting

Hello readers! Today we will talk about best text editor with code highlighting - Notepad++- is the most popular free editor code. Notepad++ is the webmaster's swiss knife - handy, reliable, and feature-packed.

Why is Notepad++ so good that it has received so many flattering epithets at the beginning of the article:

• Absolutely free, which in itself is amazing for a program of this caliber.
• Russian language support by default, no additional localization is required.
• Code recognition and syntax highlighting for more than 50 (!!!) programming languages: c/c++, c#, html, php, java, javascript, shell, SQL and many others. Some I have never even heard of.
• Quick and easy change of document encoding. In two clicks, it turns unreadable krakozyabry into Russian words.
• Support for bookmarks that allow you to open several files at once in one editor window. Reminds me of a browser.
• Keeping a history of events - undo as many recent actions as you like, and if you have gone too far - go back, forward!
• Convenience of working with code: syntax highlighting, line numbering, visual display of the relationship between code elements, the ability to collapse a block of code.
• Flexible and multifunctional search.
• Extend functionality with plugins. For example, the built-in NppFTP plugin allows you to use Notepad++ as an ftp client.

And these are only those buns that lie on the surface, and you use them all the time. If you dig deeper, then I won’t be surprised if you can pull a rabbit out of it.

And now about everything in order.

Installing the Notepad++ text editor

To install something, you need to download it first. So Notepad ++ can be downloaded from the official website of the developers absolutely free.

The installer is one small file with the .exe extension. Run it on your computer and follow the instructions of the installer. There is nothing complicated here, just do not forget to choose the Russian language.

Of course, if you have your own website, then most often you will have to edit the file in the php and html programming languages. Consider an editor window with a php file open in it.

For many experienced users, the interface will seem intuitive and redundant to describe, but make allowances for beginners. I think they will be interested to know.

1. Title - shows the name of the file and the address of its location.
2. Main menu - all the features of the editor are hidden here.
3. Quick buttons - in order not to delve into the main menu, the most frequently used functions are placed as buttons on the front panel of the Notepad ++ editor for convenience.
4. Bookmarks - each file opened for editing is displayed in its own tab. It's like working with a browser. If the floppy disk icon in the tab header is red, then the latest changes to the file have not been saved. If it's blue, it means it's saved. latest version document.
5. Line numbering is a very useful thing. In most cases, errors are listed with the line number on which they are contained. With the help of line numbering, it will not be difficult to find it.
6. Ability to collapse part of the code. A very useful feature when the code gets too big. We just collapse part of it to make it more convenient to work.
7. The dotted line connects related code elements - in our case, the opening and closing tags.
8. Code syntax highlighting depends on the programming language.

Additional features of Notepad++

Set up syntax highlighting.

If you have previously worked with some other code editor and are used to its syntax highlighting, then you can easily transfer it to text editor notepad++. Syntax highlighting is configured through the "Options" - "Defining styles ..." section.

There are 15 different styles to choose from. If none of them suits you, then you can always create your own unique style.

The sequence of actions in this case is as follows:

• In the first column, select the language for which we are setting the style.
• In the second column, select the language element.
• Next, for this element, set the color and set the font.

Document Comparison - Compare plugin.

The Compare plugin is responsible for the document comparison function. It is not included with Notepad++ by default, so you will need to install it separately. It will take quite a bit of time, at the same time learn how to install new plugins.

We go along the following path: "Plugins" - "Plagin Manager" - "Show Plugin Manager". The Plugin Manager window appears. Here is a list of all available Notepad++ plugins sorted alphabetically. We are interested in Compare.

Put a checkmark in front of Compare and click "Install". The download and installation of the plugin will begin, after which notepad ++ should be restarted. That's it, now Compare is available in the "Plugins" section.

The content of the current document and what is on the adjacent tab will be compared. To start the comparison, use the item "Plugins" - "Compare" - "Compare" or the keyboard shortcut Alt + D.

To cancel the comparison, use the "Claer Results" item or the Ctrl + Alt + D combination.

This code syntax highlighting editor provides auto-completion of words. It consists in the fact that Notepad ++ offers a choice of possible endings of the started word. By default, this function hangs on the hot keys Ctrl + space, but you can make it completely automatic. To do this, go to the "Options" - "Settings" section, go to the "Backup / Auto-Complete" tab and check the box next to "Enable for each input." You can also specify, starting from which character, word ending options will be offered.

In the same settings section, you can also enable file backup for every fireman. Although I personally don't use it.

Insert pair tags.

The TextFX Characters plugin is responsible for the quick insertion of paired tags. It does not come with the standard Notepad++ configuration and is installed separately via the Plugin Manager. In fact, it has many more functions, but personally I use only this one.

For himself, he even creates a separate item in the main menu - TextFX. We should enable the following option: "TextFX" - "TextFX Setigs" - "Autoclose XHTML/XML .

Now, after entering the opening tag, the closing tag will appear automatically. Just keep in mind, this function works in documents with .html and .xml permissions, this will not happen in a php file.

Search and replace.

To open the search, you can use the menu item of the same name or the keyboard shortcut Ctr + F.

There are 4 tabs and, accordingly, the same number of search functions:

1. Search - designed to search in the current document.
2. Replace - Find and replace in the current document.
3. Search/replace by file from a given directory.
4. Search by notes.

Each of the search modes has its own settings, which gives it great flexibility. In addition, there is support for regular expressions, and in the right hands they are a very powerful tool. Yes, not every file manager can boast of such a multifunctional and deep search, not to mention free text editors with code syntax highlighting.

Encoding setting.

Most often, the need to change the file encoding is associated with incorrect display of Russian letters. In this case, in the "Encoding" section, select the "Encode in UTF-8 without BOM" item.

This is how, with two mouse clicks, the encoding changes from standard ANSI to UTF-8 without BOM. Don't forget to save the file after making changes.

Light Explorer - handy file directory

Here's another great lightweight plugin - Light Explorer. It is installed as standard, through the built-in Plugin Manager. Allows you to use the Alt+A key combination to open the directory tree of your computer in the column on the left.

It helps to quickly find the necessary files on the computer and open for editing.

The built-in ftp client is the NppFTP plugin.

Notepad++ comes with the NppFTP plugin by default, which acts as an ftp client. This allows you to work with files on the server without resorting to third-party ftp clients. Saves valuable time. Although I still prefer to use .

To enable the ftp client, you can use the "Show NppFTP Window" button. A column will appear on the right.

Go to Profile Settings.

In the window that appears, click "Add new" and enter the name of the new profile. Next, this profile should be configured.

Enter the following data:

• Hostname - the address of the server to which we will connect.
• Username, password — account name and password.

All of this data must be given to you by the host. After that, click "Close".

Now you can connect to our ftp and work with files on it.

The free text editor with code syntax highlighting Notepad++ has a lot of functions. To see this, just look at the number of plugins available. In this article, I have analyzed only those that are most often used in practice. I'd love to hear what other plugins my readers are using. So feel free to comment.

That's all. Thank you for your attention! Take care of yourself!

Hello, dear readers of the blog site. Today we are going to take a look at one of the best text editors, Notepad++, which has a lot of useful features and is one of my most used text editors. html editing, css and php code. And in general, this editor is popular among many programmers and developers.

In the article, I mentioned that you can even create web pages using the built-in Notepad in Windows. But creating html and css files in notepad is almost the same as digging a hole with a digging stick. In notepad, apart from the ability to create and view text files, there is nothing.

By starting to use Notepad to correct files with html, css, php and other codes, you will save yourself a lot of time and nerves. At first, of course, using this editor may seem a little complicated to you. But if you learn how to use at least the basic features of Notepad ++, then it will be difficult for you to do without it.

Notepad has significant advantages not only over the standard Windows notepad, but also over other more complex programs for writing and editing various codes. For example, if you compare Notepad ++ with the popular Dreamweaver website layout program, then it has many advantages. First, Notepad++ is completely free. And secondly, much easier and faster. In general, it can be run without installation in the Windows operating system, if you use portable version of Notepad++, which will allow you to put the program on a USB flash drive and always carry it with you.

Let's talk about everything in more detail now.

Installing the Notepad++ editor, its features and settings

We create a site on the Yii 2.0 framework

Download text editor Notepad++ perfect is free You can from the official site at this link. The downloaded package includes several languages, including Russian.

Installing the program in the operating room Windows system happens in a completely standard way:

• double-click on the downloaded file with the left mouse button, the installation will start;
• in the window that opens, select the language you need;
• then click next several times, accepting the license agreement, selecting the installation folder and the components to be installed;
• then click install, wait a few seconds and Notepad++ is installed.

If necessary, you can download Notepad ++ Portable, which is a portable version of this text editor that does not require installation.

Now let's go through the capabilities of this text editor:

1. The first thing that catches your eye is that Notepad++ is text editor with syntax highlighting dozens of the most popular programming languages ​​including HTML, CSS, JavaScript and PHP. Look full list languages ​​for which notepad can highlight syntax and you can select the desired language in the top menu of the program in the "Syntax" tab:

For example, if you set backlight html code , it will look something like this:

In the figure, you can see that the tags are highlighted in blue, the attributes are in red, and the regular text is in black. This is very handy when editing code and finding errors in it. If necessary, you can set the syntax highlighting in the menu "Options" - "Defining Styles". A window will open in which you can configure the font and syntax highlighting for the language you need:

If the desired language is not available, then you can configure the highlighting of your own in the same menu "Syntax" there is an item "Set your language":

In the window that appears, set the lists of language keywords and customize their display styles. I have always had enough of those languages ​​that are on the list, so I did not understand this function in detail.

In addition to the highlight itself for all these languages, the code is divided into blocks that can be collapsed and expanded using the minus and plus buttons, respectively. Also, the relationship between the elements is highlighted with a dotted line. And if, for example, you place the cursor on the opening html tag, then not only it will be highlighted in blue, but also the closing tag associated with it:

Notepad++ can also chain open and close parentheses and isolate functions in separate blocks. All this helps to navigate the code very well and greatly simplifies the search for non-closed brackets and tags in the program text.

2. It often happens that when typing some code, we can forget how one or another HTML tag or PHP operator is written. To solve this problem, the Notepad++ text editor implements the function tooltips and automatic completion typed word. A hint is called up by pressing the key combination "Ctrl + Space" and it remains only to select the desired option from the proposed list:

You can enable automatic display of tooltips without using hotkeys. To do this, click the menu "Options" - "Settings", in the window that opens, go to the "Autocomplete" tab and check the box next to "Turn on every time you type":

In the same window, you can enable automatic insertion of closing html tags, brackets and quotes.

3. Notepad++ makes it very easy change encoding file. For example, if you need to set the currently popular UTF-8 encoding without BOM, then for this it is enough to go to the “Encodings” tab in the main menu and click on the item “Convert to UTF-8 without BOM” and save the file:

4. Notepad++ allows you to open and edit multiple files at the same time, unlike the standard notepad. For this he uses bookmarks like modern web browsers. So each open file has its own bookmark, in which the file name is indicated and the floppy disk image is placed:

The floppy disk can be blue or red. The color of the floppy indicates whether changes to the file have been saved or not:

• blue diskette - the file is saved;
• red - changes not saved.

Tabs with open files can be closed, dragged and arranged in any order. Using the settings, you can make the tabs appear vertically, or hide them altogether, disable dragging, and configure the closing of the tab by double-clicking. All these settings can be found in the "Options" tab, "Settings" button:

A settings window will open, where in the "General" section, in the "Tab Bar" settings group, you can check or uncheck the necessary checkboxes:

In addition, this editor has the ability open two copies of the same document at once. To do this, just right-click on the tab with the desired file and select "Duplicate in another area":

After that, a second tab will open with this document:

Each bookmark has the ability to put notes or notes. They speed up file navigation and finding important code snippets in files with a large number of lines. To create a mark opposite the desired line in the left field, click to set a marker in the form of a blue dot:

Now by pressing the "F2" key the cursor will move between notes - blue markers.

5. I consider it necessary to note that the Notepad ++ editor is very convenient text search how in open file, and in several files located in a specific folder. It is possible to use regular expressions when searching, which can be a powerful tool in the right hands. You can also search and replace. Together, search-and-replace and regular expressions can greatly speed up editing text documents.

Function text search can be called using the top menu "Search", in which the type of search is selected, or by the combination of hot keys "Ctrl + F", which opens the corresponding window with search settings:

In the window that opens, select the tab with the desired action ("Find", "Replace", "Search in files" or "Notes") and set the parameters.

6. Often when working with an html file, it becomes necessary to see how it will look in the browser. To do this, Notepad++ has the ability to view html pages in browsers Internet Explorer, Firefox, Chrome and Safari. To perform this action, just click the "Run" button in the top menu and select the code to run in the desired browser:

Also, in the editor in question, you can select any fragment of php code and click "Start" - "Get php help", after which Notepad ++ will redirect you to the page of the site http://php.net with a description of this code.

In the same tab of the "Run" menu, it is possible to search for selected fragments of text in the "google" search engine and in the "wikipedia" online encyclopedia. To do this, select a piece of text and press the "Google Search" or "Wikipedia Search" button and you will automatically be redirected to the Google or Wikipedia website page with search results. True, for all these actions you need an Internet connection.

7. When editing files, Notepad++ remembers all the changes you make. Therefore, at any time you can cancel the performed action ( take a step back). Moreover, you can rollback as many steps back or forward as you like, so you can make any changes to the code without the risk of irreversible consequences.

You can rollback and forward using the "Undo" and "Redo" items in the "Edit" tab in the top menu, or using the buttons in the form of curved arrows on the toolbar (if there have been changes, the arrows turn green):

You can also undo actions using hotkeys:

• CTRL + Z - step back, analogue of the "Cancel" item;
• CTRL + Y - step forward, analogue of the "Repeat" item;

The important point is that Notepad++ constantly monitors the state of the files opened in it, and if they are changed by another program or deleted, the editor will show you a warning that the file has been changed by another program and prompt you to update it:

8. You can expand the capabilities of the Notepad++ test editor using various plugins. Some are installed by default, and the rest can be installed using the built-in plug-in manager, which is called from the top menu tab "Plugins" - "Plugin Manager" - "Show Plugin Manager":

The "Plugin Manager" window will open, in which the first tab will contain a list of available plugins. To install the desired plugin, check the box next to it and click the "Install" button.

With the help of plugins, you can compare files, check grammar, embed FTP, and in general, you can turn a regular text editor into a powerful tool for creating websites.

I will try to describe in detail the features of the plugins in one of the following articles, so do not forget to subscribe to blog updates. See you soon!