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Why should I choose one over the other, or should I go another way?

lox
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  • Voting to close this, for there are numerous posts on editors (here, as well as on SO), and this is becoming just one more ... – Rook May 18 '10 at 13:13
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    Sure, there are similar questions, but this is my specific question. – lox May 18 '10 at 14:10
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    your question can be divided into two parts. a) you're asking why should YOU choose one over the other; which is highly subjective, and not really answerable either way (btw, how should someone else know why you should choose something?! if only you've stated some requirements, but like this, no ...) and b) you're asking for a list of editors, which has been covered before so many times ... – Rook May 18 '10 at 14:16
  • Notepad++ has more features, but Notepad2 is cleaner, faster and can work very well with files much larger than memory. (Notepad++ can't edit a 100GB file) – skan Sep 30 '16 at 12:13

6 Answers6

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I've used them both, and Notepad++ is head and shoulders above Notepad2. It's not even a contest.

Satanicpuppy
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At a glance, Notepad++ seems a little more feature rich to me. They're both based on the same framework, Scintilla.

But like Chris says, they're both free. Try both.

Also, feel free to use Vim or emacs.

Of course you could always use butterflies like real programmers

jweede
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I prefer Notepad2 because of its lightweightness -- and because it has a nicer interface :) For serious editing, vim.

u1686_grawity
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They're both freeware or open source so why don't you download and install them both and try them out to see which one you like the best.

I'm using Notepad++ myself, but that's purely because someone recommended it to me. If they'd recommended Notepad2 then I'd probably be using that.

ChrisF
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Try PSPad, too. It's the best lightweight Windows editor I've found yet - lots of great features including USB drive compatibility, favorite directories/projects, plugins, and live FTP editing, to name a few.

Sean O
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  • I have used PsPad for YEARS. I like it so much that I have even donated. It is definitely my go-to text editor. However, there are times that I have found N++ more capable. Just my tuppence. – Andrew Steitz Sep 15 '17 at 16:38
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You should not let anyone to decide which one you should use. You should decide which one you want to use, yourself. Try both, for a day, a week - whatever you feel is a good amount of time to determent what kind of editor it is. Then try the other one, and then you'll know which one is right for you!

Also, may I ask why you only seem to consider these two? If you are looking for power in your editor, try Vim or Emacs, while their learning curve is indeed more steep, I can almost guarantee you it'll be worth it in the long run in terms of productivity, and flexibility. (You can use these editors almost everywhere!)

A friend of mine is very happy with Sublimetext, which is also a Windows editor, try it as well in your little personal test.

Sirupsen
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