We often use text editors to perform some tasks in our office, university or home, and one of the most striking, in Windows environments, is Notepad ++ for its versatility and simplicity. For all those who have Mac OS know that Notepad ++ has not yet released a version for this type of system but today we will see some totally free alternatives that undoubtedly will make you feel very good.
If you are a programmer or web designer, a text editor is undoubtedly one of the main tools you should have. Thanks to these editors the work of coding will be much easier because it offers us possibilities such as syntax shading or auto-complete.
Perhaps some wonder why the importance of using a text editor. The answer is that a text editor, whatever it is, is vital for some tasks such as:
- Create scripts for languages such as Python, Java, etc.
- Open and edit system files
- Create important notes
- They are vital for programmers since most of the source code is in plain text.
So here are some alternatives of Notepad ++ for Mac:
Atom
Created by the GitHub team, Atom was built for online editing from scratch. Most of the program can be adjusted with HTML and JavaScript. Without doubt one of the best free code editors we can find on the net. It has auto-complete option, very useful for programmers.
Among the main features of Atom, we have the following:
- Multi platform
- Free and easy to use
- Multiple panels
- We can find and replace words
- Package Manager
- Possibility of applying custom themes
- Atom is Open Source
Atom is compatible with the following operating systems.
- Windows 7/8/10
- Mac OS
- Linux Debian, Ubuntu, CentOS, Fedora
The process of installing Atom is nothing complicated and its use, as we have mentioned is quite practical.
Brackets
Brackets is another of the great options we have for text editing in MacOS Sierra. It is an editor created by Adobe which offers us the possibility to obtain the color, font, gradient and measurement information of a PSD file automatically, and convert it to clean CSS using a feature called extract.
Within the most outstanding characteristics of Brackets we have the following:
- Possibility of previewing the task performed
- Constant Updates
- Gratuitous
- Created by Adobe which provides great support for those who frequently use CSS files
- Created with Java
- Using the Ctrl + Tab key combination we will get access to recent files
Brackets can be installed on the following operating systems:
- Mac OS X 10+
- Windows Vista, 7, 8, or 10
- Linux Ubuntu or Debian
Brackets gives us a novel and powerful help at the level of text editors.
Komodo
Komodo Edit is a free, versatile, simple text editor that will undoubtedly be useful when working with texts and additional tasks.
Among the most important advantages of Komodo Edit are the following:
- It supports multiple programming languages like Python, PHP, Go, Perl, Tcl, Ruby, NodeJS
- Editor with advanced features
- It is possible to customize it to our taste
- Various installation languages
- Manage files and we can run Shell command
- Built-in tools such as preview, test code units, packet integration, among others.
- Graphical debugging
Komodo Edit can be installed on the following operating systems.
- Mac OS X and MacOS Sierra
- Linux Fedora, Ubuntu and Debian
- Windows 7, 8, or 10
It is an editor with great advantages that will be very helpful.
JEdit
With jEDIT we have a simple, practical and powerful text editor at your fingertips for free. Named by itself as a mature editor as it combines many of the features we can find in Linux based text editors.
The outstanding features of this editor are,
- Plugins can be downloaded thanks to the “Plugins Administration” utility without using jEDIT directly.
- Can be configurable and customized at our discretion
- It is written in Java
- Supports multiple operating systems
- Supports more than 200 languages
- It is possible to hide certain parts of the text
- Supports large numbers of encoded characters including UTF8 and Unicode.
- Gratuitous
- Availability to run macros
JEDIT can be installed on the following operating systems:
- Windows (All Versions)
- Mac OS X (Sierra compatibility not yet supported)
- Unix
Visual Studio Code
Visual Studio Code is a powerful tool that gives us Microsoft completely free of charge for the management of various administrative tasks.
The main advantages of Visual Studio Code are:
- Fully configurable
- Supports multiple operating systems
- It is compatible with programming languages like Java, PHP, Visual Basic, Perl, CSS, among others.
- We have a debug code
- It has the IntelliSense function to auto-complete commands in the editor
- It’s Open Source
Visual Studio Code supports the following operating systems:
- Windows 7, 8, or 10
- Linux Debian, Ubuntu, RHEL, CentOS and Fedora
- Mac OS X
We can be sure that Visual Studio Code will provide us with a very broad and reliable support for the execution of various tasks through the text editor.
MacVim
MacVim is a great tool that will give us the ability to manage and perform various tasks related to text editors and MacVim is a clone of the well-known Unix VI.
Among the main features of MacVim we have:
- Multiplatform support
- Gratuitous
- Simple to use
- It supports multiple languages like Java, PHP, CSS, etc.
- We can encode Android or iPhone systems.
- Supports the ODB editor
Remember that MacVim is available only for Mac OS and is already compatible with MacOS Sierra. It is a simple but effective tool.
Light Table
Light Table is a totally free text editor that allows you to modify the running programs.
Using Light Table, we find the following advantages:
- Customization in a simple way
- It’s Open Source
- Account with Plugins administrator
- Lightweight, simple and powerful
- Ability to evaluate codes by lines
- Supports multiple programming languages
- Stylish design
- Provides real-time information
Light Table can be used in the following operating systems:
- Windows 7, 8, or 10
- Linux Fedora, Ubuntu or Debian 64-bit
- Mac OS X and MacOS Sierra
Light Table is a very interesting alternative for the use of text editors in a dynamic and efficient way.
Sublime text
Sublime Text is currently in beta but promises to be a great novelty as far as text editors are concerned since, apart from being free, it offers great benefits and features like:
- It offers a mode called Free Distraction which will allow us to concentrate more on the work.
- It offers several alternatives of commands
- Supports multiple platforms
- Multiple tool editing options
- Ease of switching between projects
- Possibility of multiple selections, among others
As we see Sublime Text will be a great utility in our day to day.
We see how we have several alternatives to not yet have Notepad ++ in Mac OS. Let’s take advantage of these great publishers and use their great novelties. We have been able to verify that they are quite similar between them but depending on what you are going to program some you can adapt more than others to your needs. In addition, we must evaluate the available plugins for face one and the usability that convinces you the most.
