Notepad++ The Next Generation

The Six Million Dollar Version

If you’ve got a case of the Mondays, then Softpedia’s got your cure with the Notepad++. The original Notepad, an application that’s still used by many, is somewhat hindered by its inabilities to perform more of what people want. Gentlemen, we can rebuild it, we have the technology. We have the capability to create the world's first Notepad++. Better than it was before. Better, stronger, faster.

The original Notepad is an essential tool for opening any sort of file type that was unknown, but with the new and improved version, get ready for a lot more functionality. Aside from using it only for read-me texts, help files and how-to documents, the next generation of Notepad will rock your world.

What’s Inside

The user interface is quite simple and similar to the original Notepad, except that it now has a few more features. When you start playing around with the new and improved version, you’ll be pleasantly surprised at all the new goodies that are in store.

For starters, it’s a source code editor rather than a mere Notepad. That’s because it has newly supported languages like: C, C++, Java, C#, XML, HTML, PHP, Javascript to name just a few. There’s even an option where it lets you change the format to Windows, Unix or Mac when you’re looking at the code.

I appreciated the fact that it now color coats appropriate characters for their proper uses which makes it simpler on the eyes. Each row is now numbered, thus enabling you to jump straight to the line of code without going through a number of strenuous and pointless searches.

I like the tabs that are newly enabled in order to work on more than one document at once and the view that supports most people’s multitasking abilities.

For most users, shortcuts are essential keys for saving time and being more efficient. This application has your dream version of shortcuts. Not only are there tons of shortcuts, but you can also customize and map just the way you want them in the ‘Shortcut mapper.’

I’m going to be honest here, I am definitely a big fan of Notepad++ because its functionality and usefulness have increased exponentially. You can not only use it for checking/writing code, but you can also launch it to see what it looks like after you’ve written it by using the ‘run’ option (and it gives you the option of running it directly in IE or Firefox as well).

The Good

There’s so much wonderful goodness, I don’t know where to begin. The multi-view and multi-document functionality will make your mouth water for users with multi-tasking abilities. The ability to read code and color coat it is a useful ability. To directly transport your code onto IE or Firefox AND to do it by shortcut is a dream come true (for some, myself included).

The Bad

As the little preview said, there’s still some bugs and missing features. One man can only do so much when working on a project.

The Truth

For a one man project, this looks amazing. The GUI is simple and there are so many newly included functionalities there’s no good reason why you shouldn’t download this program. This is the next generation of Notepad and there is no good reason why you shouldn’t try it out.

Check out some screenshots below.