Veteran editors Notepad++ and Geany hit milestone versions
- Reference: 1701860526
- News link: https://www.theregister.co.uk/2023/12/06/veteran_editors_notepad_and_geany/
- Source link:
Notepad++'s [1]version 8.6 is the twentieth anniversary release of one of the go-to FOSS text editors for Windows. Yes, Notepad is always there, and it [2]even gets occasional updates , but it's extremely rudimentary. We last looked at Notepad++ when it [3]reached version 8. but since then it has recieved some useful new features.
If you use an Arm-powered Windows machine, such as the [4]ThinkPad X13S , there is now a native Arm64 version. It still supports x86-32 as well, and there are portable versions which work without being installed locally – handy if you don't have admin rights. There is even a usefully recent version for Windows XP [5]if you are still using that geriatric OS . This release adds multi-select, allowing you to manipulate multiple instances of the same text at once, which looks confusing but very powerful.
[6]
Notepad++ will not, to be honest, win any awards for beauty, but it might do for speed, size and functionality (click to enlarge)
It is a staple on all of the Reg FOSS desk's Windows partitions, thanks to its inclusion in the essential Windows [7]post-install setup tool Ninite . Ninite will install – and update – a whole swath of FOSS and freeware tools for Windows, making setup of a new machine doable in just a couple of clicks. And if you keep the Ninite installer file around, you can re-run it later and it will update everything it installed first time around. Ninite does offer other programmers' editors, such as Eclipse and Microsoft Visual Studio Code – but they are behemoths by comparison. VSCode is implemented as an Electron app, meaning that it's huge, embeds an entire copy of Chromium, and scoffs RAM like it's going out of fashion. Notepad++ is a native Win32 app, making it tiny and fast: the download is less than 5MB, one twentieth the size of VSCode.
Sluggish, bloated editors are not just a problem on Windows. Gargantuan Electron apps are distressingly prevalent on Linux and macOS as well. This vulture is guilty of using some, and even [8]recommending them – because some of them can do things that nothing else can. That's not true in the case of plain text editors, though. You don't have to put up with apps that take a good fraction of a gigabyte for this.
[9]
Geany 2 is small, fast, lightweight, and it runs natively on Linux, 64-bit Windows and on macOS (click to enlarge)
Geany is a good example. It straddles the line between a text editor and an IDE: it can manage multi-project files, automatically call out to compilers and suchlike, and parse their output to highlight errors. We last mentioned it [10]nearly a decade ago but the project recently reached voting age – at least for humans – and after this milestone in maturity its developers called the latest release [11]version 2.0 . It has better support for dark mode, a new tree view in its sidebar, adds a bunch of new supported file types, and can detect if the user changes the type of a file and re-do its syntax highlighting to match.
Geany is based on the same underlying text-editing engine as Notepad++, called [12]Scintilla . Although it is included in several Linux distros, especially among lighter-weight ones, it is also available in native Windows and macOS versions, too. (Although currently only for x86-64 Windows.) On Linux, it too is about a 5MB download, although there's an optional [13]plugin pack as well. About half a dozen come bundled, but the optional download adds a [14]few dozen more , although it adds over 30MB to the download. There is a [15]PPA repo for Geany 2 on current versions of Ubuntu, and it's also [16]available as a Flatpak . (There's a snap package of version 1.33, but version 1.38 – the last release before 2.0 – is already in the Ubuntu repositories anyway.)
[17]Ten Linux freeware apps to feed your penguin
[18]Revival of Medley/Interlisp: Elegant weapon for a more civilized age sharpened up again
[19]GhostBSD makes FreeBSD a little less frightening for the Linux loyal
[20]Window Maker Live: When less is more, but more is also ... more?
It's particularly worth a look for Mac users. The built-in macOS text editor, [21]TextEdit , is a perfectly capable tool, but rather than a programmer's tool, it's a rich-text editor with formatting and which natively uses RTF. There's nothing wrong with that, but it makes it bigger and slower. Although it's a fully graphical app, Geany is smaller, starts faster, and can do syntax highlighting and so on.
Bootnote
The Reg FOSS Desk's default plain-text editor is the minuscule [22]TextEd , a whole 115kB download. While Geany isn't that small, it's still lean and mean, it does a lot more, and it has a native Arm64 build, too.
Get our [23]Tech Resources
[1] https://notepad-plus-plus.org/downloads/v8.6/
[2] https://www.theregister.com/2021/12/08/notepad_windows_11_update/
[3] https://www.theregister.com/2021/06/08/notepad_plusplus_version_8/
[4] https://www.theregister.com/2023/03/21/lenovo_thinkpad_x13s_the_stealth/
[5] https://www.theregister.com/2023/07/24/dangerous_pleasures_win_xp_in_23/
[6] https://regmedia.co.uk/2023/12/05/notepad-plus-plus-_8-6.jpg
[7] https://www.theregister.com/2012/08/10/ninite/
[8] https://www.theregister.com/2021/11/19/friday_foss_fest/
[9] https://regmedia.co.uk/2023/12/05/geany_2-0.jpg
[10] https://www.theregister.com/2014/12/03/product_round_up_ten_linux_freeware_apps/
[11] https://www.geany.org/documentation/releasenotes/2.0/
[12] https://scintilla.org/
[13] https://www.geany.org/support/plugins/
[14] https://plugins.geany.org/
[15] https://ubuntuhandbook.org/index.php/2023/10/geany-2-0-released-how-to-install-in-ubuntu-22-04-20-04-23-10/
[16] https://flathub.org/apps/org.geany.Geany
[17] https://www.theregister.com/2014/12/03/product_round_up_ten_linux_freeware_apps/
[18] https://www.theregister.com/2023/11/23/medley_interlisp_revival/
[19] https://www.theregister.com/2023/11/07/ghostbsd_23_10/
[20] https://www.theregister.com/2023/10/25/window_maker_096_live/
[21] https://support.apple.com/guide/textedit/welcome/mac
[22] https://github.com/jeena/TextEd.app
[23] https://whitepapers.theregister.com/
Re: Notepad++ FTW
Absolutely agree. I've been using it for over a decade now. No other editor handles large text files as quickly, and the program-language support is a godsend.
Re: Notepad++ FTW
> No other editor handles large text files as quickly
Much as I like Notepad++, I have to disagree with that. And I will now come across as a total fanboi for *my* fave editor :-)
As a test, I just dropped a 1.9GB[1] file into CodeWright[2] and then into NotePad++.
CodeWright: no time to react, was just displaying the file, I had not time to start counting. Go to end of file: tap tap tap, counted up to three (as it gave a mini-dialogue box and progress bar explaining that it would be a moment) and ta-da; after that first pass, skipping top to bottom is as fast as I type Home-Home-Home then End-End-End.
Notepad++: on first load, had time to watch the swirly thing for a count of nine (sort of seconds); no progress info. After that, Ctrl-Home and Ctrl-End are just as fast (as it is all in RAM these days, of course; CodeWright was working that well when the entire hard drive wasn't 1.9GB in size!).
[1] Yes, it *is* a binary file - a YT video about "Improv Everywhere" - but I'm not interested in an editor that can't hack binary!
[2] Yes, CodeWright! Maybe these days it doesn't get as many new features as NotePad++, does but since 1992 I've sort of built up muscle memory for the keystrokes; if anyone has a CW32 keymap (the mapping that uses Alt-L for line select etc) for NP++ I'd love to know of it: maybe I could swap over: NP++ *did* open a 4.7GB file (count of 21) which CW32 politely refuses...
Re: Notepad++ FTW
I love it.
But I would love an MSI/MSIX file, just so we can easily push with the various MDM solutions. I'd have it on the whole estate if I could.
Re: Notepad++ FTW
Why do I have a feeling you were at some point a Lotus Notes User (Since I'm the same and I did the same in Notes for leaving emails open between sessions).
If not apologises for calling you a possible Notes user like me!
A funny thing I have Geany, SciTe, Notepad++ installed on all my Windows and Linux machines, and guess what I use, and prefer? Kate. I don't know why.
EMACS or death
N/T
Re: EMACS or death
Surely you meant to type Vi ?
/s
Re: EMACS or death
ITYM "the text editor that's built into systemd".
Before you explode in rage, note icon :)
Re: EMACS or death
A strange choice, but as a Vim user all I can say is... have you considered living and using vim? ;-)
Re: EMACS or death
As an nvi users, yes. Very briefly.
Re: EMACS or death
I tried, I really, really tried during my switch over to Linux. But no matter how hard I try, using it always ends with me yelling WHAT THE FUCK.
Currently trying Neovim, with similar results.
Re: EMACS or death
[Author here]
> EMACS or death
+ inevitable "have you tried Vi?" responses...
This is my position:
https://www.theregister.com/2021/12/17/tilde_text_editor/
I think the main reason people still use Vim, Vi, Elvis, Emacs and the whole VILE, EVIL, SLIMEy flock is Stockholm Syndrome.
There is a standard UI for editing apps and has been since the late 1980s, and it is called IBM CUA. Conform or die in a fire. *No* possible editing power or functionality is possibly worth making me learn a new UI in the 3rd decade of the 21st century.
I learned dozens of them in the 1980s, including Vi, and you know what? They are all irredeemably awful. No exceptions.
Wordstar: awful.
WordPerfect: awful.
Vi: awful. Worse than awful.
Emacs: worse than Vi.
Re: EMACS or death
Emacs has a CUA mode.
You aren't going to sway me with CUA, I'm an old Smalltalk user from back in the day when the mice buttons were red, yellow and blue,and we were already using Ctrl-Z,X,C and V. These made their way into the Apple HIG (IIRC) and the IBM CUA didn't adopt them till later (Ctrl-C was
Re: EMACS or death
> IBM CUA didn't adopt them till later
Rather, IBM gave up on CUA and didn't tell anyone.
CUA: Cut is SHIFT-DEL, Copy is CTRL-INS, Paste is SHIFT-INS
Windows does [1] honour CUA keystrokes (just tried those three in this here browser edit box) , but if you are using CTRL-X, CTRL-C and/or CTRL-V then you aint usng CUA.
Liam may well be using CUA, but I'd venture that is a dying art (says the person who admitted to using CodeWright and its decidely non-CUA, non-Windows-common-usage keystrokes: Copy is GREY-+ (on the numeric keypad) and always will be!
[1] although not necessarily all programs under Windows!
Re: EMACS or death
"*No* possible editing power or functionality is possibly worth making me learn a new UI in the 3rd decade of the 21st century."
Well said.
Hence vi. That was what was the available editor when I started using Unix.* IME one of the best things about it are ex mode commands for making bulk changes. The notation has passed into common use here with expressions such as s/emacs/vi/g
I've just taken a quick look at your preferred tilde and rebounded promptly: grey on medium blue. These old eyes prefer the contrast of black on white with white on black as an acceptable alternative. I do take your point about CUA. It's been built into many GUI interfaces, at least to some degree, for a long time except those which seem insistent into drifting off into realms unknown.
* Not strictly true, the first Unix box was supplied without a few things including vi & C shell but had the Rand editor which I've never seen since. First day in a new job where it was vi rather than Rand was a slight panic,managed by vague memories of ex commands and an after-work dash to Dillons. The hastily bought book on vi is still in my bookshelves.
Re: EMACS or death
I love emacs key bindings for basic editing tasks, and even reading emails using vm (viewmail). But hacking it... in elisp? No way... not going to happen, ever. Unfortunately.
I keep wishing I could use other tools with the emacs editing keystrokes. It's what my fingers are programmed for. Do I use vi/vim for quick edits? Sure! But then I find myself doing :wq! in emacs, or C-xs in vim and it all goes to hell in a handbasket for a second or two of confusion. LOL!
Of course you have to swap capslock and ctrl to make this all work well. I usually do it at the keyboard or BIOS level if I can, just do I don't have to do it inside the OS for each and every one I use.
Now get off my lawn, punk!
Notepad++ Linux alternative
I always used Notepad++ back in the day when I ran Windows 7, but since moving to Linux I never really got on with it running under Wine (well, Crossover actually). It's probably a look and feel thing, as it otherwise functions perfectly well.
I ended up switching to the native "Notepadqq" as it integrates better into my desktop environment, and does most of what Notepad++ does and everything that I need it to do. YMMV of course.
I know paying for software isn't fashionable these days, but [1]EditPlus was well worth the shareware fee I paid for it many many years ago.
[1] https://www.editplus.com/
What you said, but it was UltraEdit in my case
I love Notepad++
Notepad++ is one of the most *useful* tools I've worked with over the years. Powerful, fast editing (column mode FTW!), great search and replace, plug-in support, continuous save, remembering everything you had open the last time you closed it, and on and on. One of the first apps I install on a new machine, and I would gladly pay for it if it wasn't free. Congrats on turning 20!
I like Notepad++
I am a linux guy, but from time to time I work, as a developer, on Windows. I used to love Notepad++ (I also used Ultraedit) when years ago I worked on Windows. It was very useful to analyze tons of telecommunication logs. Having returned to work on Windows in recent months, I installed my beloved KDE Kate. Result? I don't miss Notepad++, but it is already installed, just in case ;-)
Notepad++ Linux alternative
There are very few text editors that can beat the simplicity of Mousepad or Featherpad, however given the very basic functions of these it is perhaps surprising that both use in the region of 38MiB RAM. I find Geany useful for simple programming and larger text files (eg the hosts file) where it consumes creditably few resources. However the meanest and leanest text editors that remain relativly easy to use have to be Less and particularly E3 (the creation of Albrecht Kleine, I believe written entirely in web assembly) which despite bundling five (albeit simplified) editors in one package is still only less than 20kB in size, in use its footprint is truely minimal.
"good, modern, graphical text editors"
Good - essential
Graphical - depends on environment
Modern - mey
With the death of WordPad
It'd be great if Notepad++ or one of the others added some basic RTF capabilities similar to Apple's TextEdit. Nothing too elaborate, mostly the basics like bold, italic, underline, lists, and font sizes. You know, the full extent to which 90% of people use apps like MS Word.
Re: With the death of WordPad
RTF isn't a plaintext file format. Just use ReST or Markdown and pipe the result through a syntax highlighter, Sphinx or Pandoc.
Options for MacOS
I generally use TextMate on MacOS as it supports an awful lot of text file formats and comes with some pretty useful commands, including copying highlighted code as RTF for KeyNote. It does struggle with very large files and won't reclaim memory. Other people prefer BBEdit, though this doesn't know ReST which I use for documentation, but it's nice to have a choice.
Notepad++ is self-contained and can be run from a stick which is always useful.
I generally use Nano on unix as I can usually remember the keybindings I need or find them quickly. Neither vi nor Emacs are suitable for the casual user.
See above
For web assembly read NASN assembler, god forbid anything tainted by web assembly!
Hey bro, take it slow
I'm not going to accuse Notepad++ of being particularly fast. Paste 250 lines of text and multi-edit / multi-cursor / multi-line-edit / whatever-you-call-it and see it struggle. Slow as mud.
On the upside there's macros. Those are a life saver after Visual Studio dropped macro support because apparently nobody was using it. How does the rest of the world edit code? Don't tell me they do it the tedious way of editing line-by-line. Eeeek!
Notepad++ FTW
Restarting where you left off works too well, I must have about 100 untitled tabs with notes open and I never get round to organising and saving them...