A handy text editor for all your programming and web developing needs. I have been using Notepad++ for a few months now, and I have really enjoyed using it. The layout is simple and easy to use, the colours are plain and not hard on the eyes, and it has syntax highlighting for hundreds of different languges including PHP, HTML, C++, Javascript, Java and ASP.

Probably the most useful feature of  Notepad++ is the tabbed editing window. This makes it really easy to switch between files and it makes error checking much more simple. Not to mention the taskbar space saved on Windows. In addition to this, there is a find & replace option which can be used to replace a certain phrase in ALL of the currently open documents. This saves loads of time and typing.

Another useful feature which I have mentioned is the syntax highlighting. Now, for those of you who don’t know, syntax highlighting is where the program highlights different parts of the code in different colours; so it is easy to see which bit of code does what. This is especially useful while error-checking, and dramatically reduces the amount of bugs in my code. Also, if you don’t like the colours, you can modify it to highlight how you want it to.

One more thing is that it supports multiple views. This means that you can have two or more files open side-by-side, to check they are the same, or that there are no bugs. You can even lock the scrolling so they both scroll together, which makes it even more simple!

Finally, because the program is open source, there are thousands of different plug-ins to help you be even more productive. Also, because it is open source, it is completely FREE!

So, that concludes my review of Notepad++, if you have been converted, and feel you want to try it out. Head over to http://notepad-plus.sourceforge.net/uk/site.htm.