Does my text editor's look-and-feel matter to me? Get in touch with other users if you're troubleshooting while installing or using the editor.
Use the written documentation when you're learning how to use the editor. Discussion with developers and other users (forum, email, IRC).User-oriented content (FAQ, manual, online help).For text editors, check for two different kinds of support: Here are some popular IDEs:ĭo I need support/help while using my text editor?Īlways good to know if you can get help or not when using software. An IDE provides many tools in one interface and it's a bit daunting for beginners, but always an option if your text editor feels too limited.
If you like lots of features and your editor is slowing down because of all your plugins, try using an IDE (integrated development environment).
The best editors provide many plugins, and ideally a way to look for and install new plugins automatically. If you aren't sure which features you want, or your favorite editor lacks those features out of the box, look for an extensible editor.
Save yourself the hassle of retyping all this by using a code snippet to pre-fill your document. As you saw when starting a new HTML document, many technologies use the same document structure over and over. Save you time by auto-completing recurring structures (for example, automatically close HTML tags, or suggesting valid values for a given CSS property). Make your file more legible by color-coding keywords based on the technology you're using. Many text editors help you out with features like Make it easier on yourself by choosing a text editor that understands the technologies you're working with. That works great for writing notes to yourself, but when you're doing web development and writing in HTML, CSS, and JavaScript, you can produce some pretty large, complex files. Generally speaking, any text editor can open any text file. What kind of technologies do I want to manipulate? That means, if you've set your heart on an obscure text editor, you may have to compile it from source yourself (not for the faint-hearted).
In general, of course, the Linux/UNIX world is a pretty diverse place where different distros work with different, incompatible packaging systems.
If you're running Ubuntu, your best bet is to search within the Ubuntu Software Center.
Most editors specify on their website whether they support Windows or Mac, though some editors only support certain versions (say, only Windows 7 or later and not Vista). So first find out which OS you're using, and then check if a given editor supports your OS. Open Source under MIT licence/ Specific licence for product