Best Text Editor Software for Windows

Are you into writing code, scripts, or configuration files where the last thing you want is formatting to interfere with the code’s functionality? Then, you must be familiar with text editors, such as the built-in Notepad, for plain text files, without any formatting tools like fonts, bold, and italics. 

While Windows Notepad is a decent text editor, the world has moved a long way forward from the simple note-taking tasks, such as programming and web development. 

The third-party text software offers a wide range of features for enhanced productivity, customization, and functionality. Hence, we spent considerable time trying and testing these editors to help you choose the right one for your requirements. 

However, before we can proceed with our top recommendations for the best text editors, let’s clear up any confusion you may have about these programs and what features you should emphasize when selecting one for yourself. 

What Is a Text Editor for Windows

A Windows text editor is a software program that you can use to create and edit plain text files. Unlike word processing programs, such as Microsoft Word (which include formatting options like bold, italics, and images), a text editor works with raw and unformatted text. 

Consider it as a digital notepad that allows you to write and edit code, work with configuration files, create Markdown documentation or README files, and edit logs or data exports in plain text. 

How do you choose the best text editor software for various needs, such as creating a website, tweaking a game mod, and troubleshooting a server? If this is what you want to ask next, you can find the answer in the following section. 

What Features to Look for In a Text Editor

While researching various text editors, we ensured the ones we chose for this review offer streamlined workflows and smooth performance, even when performing complex tasks, making the following features essential in a text editor. 

• The non-negotiable core features, for example, undo/redo, find and replace, cut, copy, paste, line numbering, and file handling.
• Necessary features for smooth coding and development, such as syntax highlighting, auto-indentation, integrated version control, built-in debugging tools, terminal integration, and plugin support.
• The software must be user-friendly with a simple and clean design to help you focus on your work without feeling overwhelmed or distracted.
• A good text editor is highly customizable, allowing you to apply custom themes, tweak the layout, and use various other personalization options.
• High performance with low memory usage and efficient resource consumption.
• Advanced navigation and search functionality to help you quickly find specific code patterns across different files, look for symbols or files without remembering the precise name or location, symbol navigation, and other features to ensure you can work with large codebases seamlessly.
• Strong community and trustworthy customer support to help you explore advanced software features and solve problems as and when they arise.
• Regular software updates and patch releases to ensure your text editor has all the latest features and security fixes for an efficient and secure workflow.

Now that you are familiar with the text editors and their key features, let’s introduce you to the software we curated after thorough research and analysis. 

What Is the Best Text Editor for Windows: Our Top Recommendations

The following are some of the top-rated and advanced text editors, with all or most of the above features, that we selected after deeply analyzing and comparing them with all other available text software. 

1. Sublime

Meet Sublime. It is among the best text editors for Windows for those looking for a no-distraction writing mode, split editing, and quick shortcuts and search. Moreover, this software, suitable for both novice users and programming veterans, boasts multi-cursor support to help you mass edit without experiencing any lag, a high-speed search and replace function, many community-driven plugins, and the following notable features. 

Key features of Sublime

• There is syntax highlighting to ensure easy code readability.
• Sublime speeds up the coding process through auto-completion that suggests completions for functions, keywords, and variables.
• Code folding allows you to hide sections of code to focus on specific tasks.
• This text editor supports built-in Git integration for straightforward version control.
• It supports split editing, allowing you to work on multiple files or the same file in two views for easy multitasking.
• You can save time and effort by using, creating, and saving snippets for reusability.

Click here to learn more about Sublime 

Also know: Best Free PDF Editor for Windows

2. Visual Studio Code (VS Code)

Next, we have Visual Studio Code (VS Code) on our list of the best code text editors. It is a free, open-source, and cross-platform text editing software with a wide range of features, including syntax highlighting, code completion, debugging tools, Git integration, and the remarkable features below. 

Key features of Visual Studio Code

• It offers a plethora of extensions for language support, debuggers, linters, and more, allowing you to expand its functionality.
• There is a built-in terminal for running scripts, commands, and interacting with the development environment.
• You can customize the software interface and keyboard shortcuts to your preferences, personalizing the coding environment for your needs.
• The GitHub Copilot AI assistant suggests the whole code, offers context-based completions, and generates functions based on your comments.

Click here to learn more about Visual Studio Code 

3. VIM

VIM can be the best choice for those looking for a powerful, lightweight, advanced, and open-source Windows text editor software. It is known for its modal editing capabilities, allowing you to perform different functions with the same keys, automatic syntax and correction, error list, set compiler, conversion to HTML, and the following features. 

Key features of VIM

• It boasts macros (to record and replay keystrokes), supports regular expressions extensively for search and replace, and multi-level undo/redo history for easy text manipulation.
• The configuration files are highly portable, allowing you to maintain the same environment across various systems.
• VIM offers a built-in tutorial and detailed documentation that you can access through the :help command.

Click here to learn more about VIM 

4. Notepad++

Here comes Notepad++ on this list of the best code text editors. It is a free and open-source software with syntax highlighting for different programming languages, a customizable user interface, a tabbed document interface, support for numerous plugins, and the following laudable features. 

Key features of Notepad++

• It supports regular expressions, allowing you to search and replace complex patterns in large files effortlessly.
• There is an autosave function that saves your files temporarily before you save them to another location.
• You can customize the toolbar icons to your liking.

Click here to learn more about Notepad++

Also know: Best Image Editing Software for Windows with AI Features

5. Coda

You can choose Coda, a cloud-based platform that you can access via your web browser, if real-time collaboration, a vast library of templates and integrations, and deep customization are your top priorities. Moreover, a built-in Terminal interface, SSH connectivity, and the following features make Code stand out from other best text editor programs for Windows. 

Key features of Coda

• It combines text documents, tables, and databases into a single doc.
• Coda supports integration with third-party apps, such as Trello, Google Calendar, and Slack.
• This software supports interactive elements, such as sliders, forms, and buttons.
• It includes task and project management features, such as scheduling, task tracking, charts, and Kanban boards.

Click here to learn more about Coda 

Best Text Editors for Windows: The Conclusion

With that, we have come to the end of our list of the best advanced code text editors to write code, scripts, and configuration files. You can go through the features, pros, and cons of the software reviewed above to choose the one that fits your needs perfectly. 

However, if you have any confusion or questions about this article, feel free to reach out through the comments section. You can also write us a comment if you have any suggestions or feedback to improve this post. And, for more such free software recommendations delivered straight to your mailbox, subscribe to our newsletter.