TextEdit

TextEdit is a freeware text editor for Windows that provides not only a tabbed interface, but also support for the most popular programming languages out there.

Once installed, TextEdit greets you with a very clean interface that may seem a bit overwhelming at the first glance, especially due to the many buttons placed everywhere in the main window.

However, TextEdit boasts a multi-panel layout, which means you can easily browse the local disks for compatible files and open them on the go, without the need for hitting the “Open file” button every time.

The application can handle HTML, CSS, JavaScript, PHP, PERL, SQL, Delphi, C, C++ and other languages so, as a result, it features syntax highlighting, line numbers, a special replace and find tool, bookmarks and unlimited text size.

It gives you the power to compare two different text files, preview all modifications in your default web browser, extract or open files straight from archives and convert text documents to PDF.

If that's still not enough, then you must have a look in the configuration menu where you can find dedicated settings for the editor, keyboard shortcuts, separate full screen options, colors and fonts preferences and other general tools.

Obviously, TextEdit is not at all a resource hog and that makes sense since it's only supposed to work with text files. The program runs smoothly on all Windows versions and doesn't ask for administrator privileges on Windows 7.

Overall, TextEdit is undoubtedly a powerful Wordpad replacement and since it comes with a freeware license, it can be safely used on any Windows workstation without hurting your pocket.