Geeks on Campus

One of the tools that I find very helpful when working with large CSV or flat text data files is Notepad++.  It is a free text editor program with some really nice features.  The feature I use the most is the Replace function.  I know, every text editor since Windows Notepad has a replace function, but the one in Notepad++ is super fast.  Have you ever tried to replace a couple hundred instances of something in Windows Notepad?  It takes minutes, you can actually see it happening.  Notepadd++ handles thousands of replaces in seconds and can even replace text in multiple files at the same time.  Notepad++ has spell checking capabilities as well which is something you won’t typically find in such a light-weight application.  Another nice option is context highlighting.  You can see in the image on the right that it not only color codes the HTML tags but it also identifies the closing tag when I click on the opening tag.  I don’t know how many languages Notepad++ supports but it looks to be at least 50.  Notepad++ also supports plugins which are extensions possibly programmed by others.  One plugin that I find really helpful is the compare plugin.  With the compare plugin you can compare multiple files and any differences will be highlighted.  Hopefully you will find this information useful and Notepad++ will make your life a little easier.  Cheers.