Aquamacs. Powerful free text editor for Mac OS X

Good morning everyone! I'm often asked which text editor is best for laying out WordPress files?

Of course, you can use a standard text editor like Notepad, but there are plenty of other editors that offer features like syntax highlighting, advanced search and replace, FTP integration and much more, which is why I decided to review the 12 best text editors. which are suitable for Mac and Windows users.

  1. Notepad++

Notepad++ is a free and open source text editor for Windows users. It is simple and understandable even for beginners, but at the same time functional enough for even the most advanced users. It has syntax highlighting with support for many languages, including PHP, JavaScript, HTML, CSS. The editor has a built-in FTP plugin that allows you to connect to the server and edit files directly without leaving the editor.

  1. TextWrangler

TextWrangler is, one might say, a lightweight version of the very popular text editor BBEdit. This free editor is powerful and multifunctional. It has a fairly intuitive user interface, so viewing files and working on projects will not be a hassle. TextWrangler is equipped with an advanced search and replace tool, it can directly edit and save files to FTP and SFTP servers. Syntax highlighting for many programming languages ​​is also available here; it fully supports UTF-8 and even allows you to convert the character encoding of text documents.

Coda is perhaps one of the most loved text editors for Mac by web developers. It is famous for its ridiculously beautiful interface and powerful, well-thought-out features. Through Coda you can edit local or remote files, manage projects, work with multiple files at once, easily switching between tabs. The editor comes with a terminal, debugger, preview and inspection suite, and many other amazing features.

The cost of one license for Coda is $99, but believe me, it's worth it.

Sublime Text is a cross-platform text editor suitable for Mac, Windows and Linux users. It has all the functions you expect from a powerful editor, and even many other additional and not entirely necessary ones.

Sublime Text has a very nice interface, however, you can customize it to suit your needs and tastes. There are advanced code editor features that allow you to do autocompletion, autocompletion, context menu calling, multiple selection, split editing and much more.

Three-user and single-user licenses are available for $70. I use it myself and recommend it, it’s very pleasant to work in this code editor. I recommend!

TextMate is something like Apple's operating system, but only in the world of text editors. This is a simple, feature-rich editor for Mac. It has an ergonomic interface, advanced search and replace functions, autocompletion, collapsible code blocks - and this is just a small part of the available functions. The editor costs $60, but you can also find a version for free download.

Atom is a professional open source cross-platform text editor. Just like WordPress, you can submit software packages and themes here. The editor has a nice interface, which, however, can be changed by installing the desired theme. Equipped with a built-in package manager, smart autocompletion, file browser, multi-window, find and replace function.

BBEdit is a great text and HTML editor for Mac. It has all the necessary features of a powerful editor. Syntax highlighting, Advanced search and replace, autocompletion, quick search, multiple tabs, split editing windows and much, much more.

The BBEdit editor costs $49.99, but you can download a trial version for free.

UltraEdit is a powerful text and HTML editor suitable for Mac, Windows, and Linux users. Some of the available functions are auto-completion, recording and playback of macros, bookmarks, block selection and text editing, syntax highlighting for the most popular programming languages.

The cost of the editor is $79.5. You can also find free trials.

Vim is one of the most powerful open source text editors; Suitable for Mac, Windows and Linux users. It is an improved and updated version of the Vi editor, has a huge number of functions. It is so powerful and multifunctional that it is rightly compared to an IDE, i.e. with a software system that is used to develop software.

Brackets was developed by Adobe to take word processing to the next level. It is positioned as an advanced text editor that understands web design. The editor opens PSD files, which simplifies and speeds up the coding process. It is a free, open-source, cross-platform editor suitable for Mac, Windows, and Linux users.

  1. CoffeeCup HTML Editor

CoffeeCup HTML Editor is an easy-to-use HTML editor for Windows. It supports PHP, HTML, Markdown, CSS. It has features such as autocompletion, syntax checking, semantic code and much more. I’ll say right away that this is far from an ideal text editor for many programming languages, but if you want to master and become proficient in working with

PHP, HTML and CSS, then Coffee Cup HTML editor is what you need. Cost $69 with limited free trial download.

Espresso is a web developer software that runs on the Mac. It is equipped with a powerful text editor and CSSEdit. It has a very nice interface and many advanced features such as drag and drop, code folding, navigator, live editing and X-ray viewing. Cost $75.

Some text editors are perfectly suited not only for working with plain text, but also for coding (programming). Some of these "notebooks" have become, at a minimum, functional additions to the IDE.

Workspiration participants often mention code editors among other productivity tools. From these recommendations, we have compiled a selection of the best text editors for Mac OS.

Atom - a smart editor for smart coders

Atom is a modern open source text editor, maximally optimized for coding. Available for Linux / Mac OS / Windows platforms, can be used instead of or in conjunction with the IDE.

Each open Atom tab is a self-contained web page (using the Chromium engine for rendering). And at the same time, this is a desktop application: it diagnoses code, works with functions and classes, there are standard syntax highlighting and autocompletion, code formatting.

You can add new functions through packages, which are loaded directly through the package manager of the editor. Atom will appeal to those who like to customize their work environment (it’s not for nothing that it’s called “hackable”). Text config files are intended for this. However, the editor works great without settings, you can immediately start working with projects.

In addition to customizing functions, configs can also be used to change the interface. All display parameters (fonts, colors) are set via a css/Less file. If you don’t have time to configure manually, it’s easier to choose one of thousands of themes published by other community users.

Sublime Text is a powerful coding editor that has become a classic

Sublime Text is another promising code editor. Initially, many coders and other users were attracted by the flexible interface settings and quick change of layouts when coding. You can work in Sublime with multiple tabs and panels, quickly switching between files. There is also a side navigation bar and its own analogue of the search bar in mac os.

The functionality of Sublime Text is excellent. This editor was one of the first to offer extensions to increase functionality. They are installed through a special menu. Sublime Text (and its add-ons) is configured through user configs.

Sublime Text is often used for html/javascript coding or as an IDE editor. If you install add-ons like Emmet, working with HTML code will speed up significantly. You can modify Sublime for almost any programming language, the only question is the existence of the necessary packages.

Productivity in Sublime Text is achieved thanks to many features. Along with the above-mentioned navigation, it is worth mentioning auto-completion, syntax highlighting, and convenient functional search for all files at once.

The cost of a Sublime Text license is $80. The unregistered version works without restrictions, but a reminder window will appear from time to time.

TextMate is a classic code editor for Mac OS X

As the TextMate developers note, the editor is able to compensate for the shortcomings of IDE systems. This is a fairly lightweight and scalable editor, unlike many cumbersome IDEs.

Coders use TextMate for speed. Indeed, snippets and macros greatly automate the writing of code. You can install already created ones or write macros for your own tasks.

TextMate is convenient for formatting code, navigation (search and replace with regexp support, working with the clipboard). About fifty syntaxes of programming languages ​​are supported, namely code highlighting and autocompletion. In addition to the above, the editor is convenient when working with projects and work environments.

Compared to relatively young projects (Atom, Brackets), TextMate looks a little old-school, conservative, and, nevertheless, it has many fans among programmers and other supporters of solving problems through a text editor.

Coda is an editor for html coders with convenient publishing and file synchronization

Coda is an editor loved by Mac OS users - especially those who edit html and css. First of all, we are attracted by the live preview function and publishing tools. The edited file can be uploaded via FTP, SFTP, WebDAV to the server. If you configure Coda correctly, synchronization will occur in the background.

In general, Coda contains a standard gentleman's kit for coding: syntax highlighting, autocompletion, tabs, columns, and support for extensions - a lot of little things that make working with any code easier and structuring it.

However, Coda's focus is editing html markup and css-stylesheets. WebKit is built into the program - accordingly, the user has at his disposal tools such as a web inspector and a debugger.

The product price is $99, which is slightly higher than the cost of any other editor with similar functionality. However, download the trial version of Coda and decide whether it's worth it or not.

Brackets is a free editor with minimal distractions

Brackets are another helper for putting your code in order. Although it is not as functional as Sublime Text, it is more convenient when working with CSS, namely when navigating through code. The editor is designed so that all the necessary tools are at arm's length. Without having to switch between tabs, Brackets focuses on the parts of code you need and offers links to jump to other files.

Similar to Coda, there is an emphasis on Live Preview, which is perhaps the most popular when editing CSS and HTML.

The next point is integration with LESS and SCSS preprocessors, which have long become de facto for layout and coding. Along with this, Brackets supports ECMAScript, so JavaScript can be edited and debugged without the use of third-party tools.

Despite its youth, the editor has acquired plugins, which are difficult to do without with large amounts of code and high speeds:

  • Emmet (accelerated creation of HTML markup using special abbreviations),
  • Beautify (improving code readability),
  • Git (synchronization with repositories),

and hundreds of others. Even so, Brackets is difficult to make heavy, and it remains one of the most lightweight editors in its category.

At mythemeshop.com.

To write optimized and error-free code, a programmer needs to choose the right tool for himself. A good text editor improves your productivity and also helps you avoid some of the most common programming mistakes.

Only a developer knows what it's like to miss a semicolon in a thousand lines of code and it causes the program to fail. Effective text editors are able to notify the programmer about such syntax errors directly when writing code.

We have already published on our website and received a lot of feedback from readers. Therefore, it was decided to continue the topic of text editors for programmers, this time for Windows and MacOS.

So, we present the first seven best code editors for Windows and Mac. ().

This is a developer platform from Microsoft. This tool, however, is open source and can be used on different platforms (Windows, Mac OS X and Linux). The main feature of this code editor is that it provides an enriched programming experience for developers without having to download a massive Visual Studio editions file (weighing approximately 3GB). This saves both time and bandwidth. Thus, the application is very lightweight, does not consume much RAM, and promotes fast access and implementation.

Advantages:

Supports more than 30 programming languages, including the main Microsoft language ASP.NET, C#, etc.

  1. The program installs very quickly due to its compact size.
  2. There is a portable version for downloading on supported devices.
  3. Allows monitoring of GitHub and offers debugging features.

Flaws:

  1. Updating a program on Linux takes a very long time.
  2. Needs immediate improvement in extension support.

Price: The program is distributed free of charge.

Bottom line: Visual Studio Code takes up very little disk space. Good for languages ​​such as ASP.Net and C#. Since it is a lightweight application, you can access controls smoothly without any glitches and optimize your coding speed.

This is an improved and more functional brother of the Notepad text editor, which can be found in Windows OS. There is a significant difference in the interface between them, which you will notice immediately after you start working with .

This application supports various programming languages ​​but is mainly known as the best HTML editor. The program allows you to choose colors for syntax highlighting and highlights errors in the code as you type it.

Advantages:

  1. Although the program was created for Windows, it can be run on Linux, Unix, Mac OS X (for the latter, using Wine).
  2. The application is lightweight and launches quickly.
  3. Supports external plugins, including macros.
  4. The interface supports editing in different tabs.
  5. Adding bookmarks.
  6. Drag and drop option for beginners.
  7. Option to search and replace text.
  8. Full screen mode.
  9. Minimize to tray.
  10. Thoughtful syntax highlighting.
  11. Automatic indentation and autocompletion.
  12. Folding code and text.
  13. Compiler integration.
  14. FTP support.
  15. Spell checking with file comparison.

Flaws:

  1. Remote file editing does not support HTTP, SSH or WebDav.
  2. Does not support large files.
  3. Third-party programs (wine) are required to run the application on Mac OS X.

Price: the program is free.

Result: It is one of the best text editors for writing code (HTML, CSS, JavaScript and PHP). Many modern code editors do not provide the option of code highlighting in case of any error, but Notepad++ supports this feature and helps you write error-free code.

jEdit

And this is an editor for experienced programmers. Jedit is an open source platform developed using the Java language. This language is one of the most secure. The bytecode functionality in Java makes it difficult to decipher and decode. The application supports hundreds of plugins and macros.

Advantages:

  1. Automatic indentations.
  2. Folding code and text.
  3. This is the most powerful engine for executing regular expressions.
  4. Spell checking, FTP support, the ability to integrate the compiler using a third-party plugin.
  5. Ability to run multiple instances of the program simultaneously.
  6. Integrated FTP browser.

Flaws:

  1. Being written in Java, the application is heavy and therefore takes time to load.
  2. No collaborative editing.
  3. There may be bugs on Mac.
  4. No support for large files.
  5. No SSH support for editing remote files.

Price: free program.

Result: if you need a well-functioning and secure platform, jEdit is the right choice for you. This java-based code editor sometimes takes a while to load, but you won't be disappointed with its features and functions. Enjoy this free text editor for a clean, safe and streamlined programming session.

It is a text editor that will enrich your coding and programming experience on Windows computers. While most programs available for Windows also run on Mac and Linux platforms, Araneae is one of the few exceptions that runs only on Windows. This tool includes numerous extensions and localizations, providing support for multiple languages ​​(HTML, CSS, XHTML, PHP and Rails) without downloading third-party extensions.

Advantages:

  1. Syntax highlighting.
  2. Drag and drop option for faster development.
  3. Find and replace for multiple edits.
  4. Support for running multiple instances like jEdit.

Flaws:

  1. There is no support for third-party plugins and macros.

Price: free program.

Result: Araneae, running only on Windows, offers faster updates and bug fixes. Can be successfully used as a PHP editor.

Coda

Coda is a text editor supported by Mac. Designed for brilliant programmers who love the combination of speed and optimization in one editor. Coda supports OS X 10.7.5 and later Mac versions. It is one of the very few text editors created exclusively for Mac systems.

This program has changed significantly since its original release in 2007, evolving from a simple text editor to a preview application. Coda has all the essential features you'll need to write code, including syntax, viewing, and loading your web pages. Transmit Turbo Engine supports fast loading from remote locations.

Advantages:

  1. Compactly integrated core functions.
  2. Leopard GUI
  3. Code completion.
  4. Editing blocks and syntax coloring.
  5. Drag and drop option.
  6. Terminal window support for MySQL queries.

Flaws:

  1. Best suited for coding in HTML and CSS.
  2. Only supported for Mac based systems.
  3. Support for network drives often leads to failures.
  4. Expensive compared to other code editors.

Price: 7-day trial/$99 for full version.

Result: Coda is the best alternative to expensive web design software. Brings together all the tools you need to develop a website from scratch. Coda is the best text editor for Mac in terms of price and features. The app also supports update notifications.

TextMate

TextMate is another text editor for Mac. For the most part, this editor is preferred for Ruby and Ruby on Rails programming. It is also a well-established editor for Mac developers. The application is perfect for development in modern programming languages.

Advantages:

  1. Search and replace.
  2. Automatic indentations.
  3. Clipboard history.
  4. Selecting columns and typing text in columns.
  5. Autocompletion.
  6. Support for collapsing code blocks.
  7. Support for Perforce, Darcs, SVK and Subversion.
  8. Supports more than 50 programming languages.
  9. Syntax highlighting and colorization.
  10. Xcode support.
  11. FTP support.

Flaws:

  1. The outdated UI is the biggest drawback of this highly optimized text editor for Mac.
  2. No full screen mode.
  3. Available for Mac OSX only.

Price: Free program.

Result: Without a doubt, if you are looking for a free text editor for Mac, then TextMate is your best choice. There are a lot of free text editors for Windows, but very few for Mac, and TextMate is one of them.

Another iOS-based program is . It is one of a small number of software platforms that only supports one language, such as English. But that doesn't mean TextWrangler is just another generic app. This editor is simple but quite powerful. It is one of the best tools for Unix and server administration.

Advantages:

  1. Supports 44 languages, including HTML, JavaScript, Perl, Python, VBScript and SQL.
  2. Very few code editors support working with large files, and TextWrangler is one of them.
  3. Support for plugins and macros.
  4. Secure FTP for easy data transfer.
  5. SSH support for remote file editing.
  6. Simultaneous comparison of two documents.
  7. Syntax highlighting.
  8. Folding text and code.
  9. Autocompletion.
  10. Spell check.

Flaws:

  1. Does not support co-editing.
  2. No HTTP or WebDav support.
  3. No compatibility with Power Macintosh G4.

Price: free software.

Result: The application is free, but you can upgrade to a more advanced version of the application, such as BBEdit, for $49. This is a great HTML editor for Mac with a lot of useful functionality.

Microsoft Word will not be on this list. Even though Office 2016 looks and works well, it's still better suited for working with large documents. Because it has so many functions, they can be distracting from your work.

I also decided to exclude Pages. There are no complaints about the version for macOS, but editing text on iOS is extremely inconvenient because the pages are not optimized for the phone screen in any way.

Each editor on this list has apps for iOS, macOS, or a web version, Markdown support, and character counter support.

iA Writer

My personal favorite, and the opposite of Microsoft Office. A minimum of settings and a huge working window - this is how iA Writer can be briefly described.

The advantages of this editor include its simplicity, synchronization via iCloud or Dropbox, a beautiful and convenient standard font, and the presence of a dark theme. If you need an editor that doesn't have to distract you from anything, then iA Writer is the perfect choice.

Some may feel that it has too few settings. For example, you cannot change the font and other usual text parameters. But this is its main feature. The developers decided that the fewer settings, the more concentrated the work is.

Still looking for the perfect text editor for your Mac? Then read our review dedicated to the best known text editors with text markup support.

If you are asked, “Why do you love Mac?”, you will most likely be taken aback and never give a comprehensive answer. In addition to the general characteristics that attract potential Mac owners, there are certain programs and applications, in the absence of which any computer, laptop or tablet turns into a banal means of accessing the network.

One of these “vital” programs for most users, regardless of age and field of activity, is a text editor. We'll talk about them today.


Let's start with this, perhaps the most famous text editor. The team of creators promises users advanced publishing capabilities, namely: management of layers of text, images, SmartArt objects and diagrams; the ability to quickly format, compare styles and document contents. In addition, you can work with the document by turning on focus mode, which blocks all other windows, menus, etc.

WordOnline makes it possible to access documents anywhere and from any computer. You can process files together with colleagues, relatives and friends. At first glance, everything looks pretty good, and this could be enough. However, more and more users are complaining about Microsoft Word for Mac due to the fact that the latter turns out to be quite slow and freezing. Therefore, if you need a powerful editor for regular use, it is better not to opt for Microsoft Word. Price $139 – Home&Student, $219 – Home&Business.


We know that Apple has a love for practical minimalism. The text editor iA Writer, the brainchild of Information Architects, can also fall under their credo of “simpler and better.” So, if you decide to choose iA Writer Pro (improved and latest version) as your “employee”, you can:

  • Enjoy focus mode in its entirety - just you and the text. The last sentence you are working on will remain contrasting;
  • take advantage of the simplest and most intuitive interface, easy navigation and a pleasant cursor;
  • divide your work on the text step by step (Note, Write, Edit and Read). Such professional scrupulousness is provided by Workflows, while also highlighting each of the modes in a different color;
  • in the Structure block you can select the header level and one of two list types;
  • in the Statistics block you can see the predicted reading time of your text, the number of characters, words and sentences.

There are only two real disadvantages: the cost of iA Writer Pro ($19.99 for Mac) and the lack of Cyrillic support in the Syntax block. But these shortcomings will in no way affect users of the regular iA Writer. Yes, you won't have Workflows. Sentences will not be illuminated with an incomprehensible light (this is exactly what happens with the Cyrillic alphabet). But focus mode, statistics and a nice minimalistic interface will be available.



The developers tried to create a beautiful, efficient and enjoyable editor. And we must admit, they succeeded. The most convenient and easy interface promotes productive, fast and fruitful work. Of course, in many ways (application design, font, etc.) MacDown is similar to iA Writer. But this can also be justified by the fact that all creators of text editors strive for some kind of “golden mean”. Obvious advantages include the presence of synchronization and its excellent work. MacDown has a focus mode, a preview mode, and hotkeys. Weaknesses include the paucity of settings and the paid version for iOS ($4.99). Overall, a pretty decent text editor, in no way inferior to its brothers.


Another text editor that can compete with MacDown and iA Writer. Its creators tried to ensure that the product is not inferior to its counterparts in either its appearance or functionality. Byword settings have a minimal set of options most often used in text editors: day or night theme, 3 side indent options, 5 font templates, full visual formatting (centering, bold/italic, lists). In addition to the much-loved focus mode, Byword has a “typewriter” mode, in which the entered line is in the center of the screen. Byword can be purchased for $11.99.



Here is another tool for writing. This application will appeal to lovers of lightness and minimalism. The presence of basic functions, the ability to change the theme, sounds and font display - this editor has all the prerequisites to become your favorite. Just like iA Writer, WriteRoom diligently keeps a word count and displays the time it takes to read your literary work. But, in addition, WriteRoom tracks the time spent writing a document. This feature can be extremely useful for authors who need to produce multiple submissions per day. WriteRoom will cost $9.99 (the version for iPhone and iPad is free).



The developers of UlyssesIII were pleasantly surprised by the fact that they worked hard on a new version that compares favorably with the previous ones. If you are working with a multi-page document (article or book), UlyssesIII is your salvation. You can create projects, save drafts to the Inbox folder, and use full-screen mode. All work takes place on three panels: on the left - projects and filters, in the center - a list of documents, on the right - text. The main difference from Byword and iA Writer is the ability to work with different texts from a single window. By activating synchronization via iCloud upon first launch, you will be able to “collect” documents into your own database (the way iTunes works). The only thing you will have to “sweat” on is familiarization with all the settings and further customization “for yourself.” Oh, and one more thing - the price of $44.99 is a little disappointing.


Another text editor that was supposed to be an “all-in-one editor.” Whether its creators managed to achieve this goal is up to you to judge, since all editors, in general, are similar to each other. The difference is clearly visible only in the little things, thanks to which we give our verdict on the program.

The main MarkDrop window is divided into 2 blocks: the text area and the preview area. If any of the blocks is not needed at the moment, you can hide it. A standard set of functions, the ability to create files with markdown markup and then view and export them to HTML and PDF. MarkDrop is exactly the editor that has every reason to get a solid “B”, but at the same time lacks some zest, something that contrasts favorably with the capabilities of other text editors. Price: $7.99.


The very name of this application speaks for itself. Clean Writer Pro has the full functionality required for the average user: focus on the current paragraph (and not on the sentence), several theme options, font settings, Markdown support. Clean Writer Pro has some configuration issues and won't replace iAWriter or Byword. But this application is perfect for those who are looking for a regular text editor that is not equipped with unnecessary “tricks”. The price pleases and surprises ($5.99, on sale – $0.99).


A program designed specifically for authors. Therefore, there is no point in downloading it if you only need the basic functions of a text editor. But if you are planning to write a script or a scientific paper, you will like Scrivener. Standard interface options allow you to select a design theme, color options, etc. Features include a "corkboard" for notes on which you can drag cards, a full-screen mode, a planner, a multi-window mode that allows you to edit multiple documents at once, tracking words and characters until you reach a certain goal (important when writing a novel or dissertation, for example) , support Markdown, MLA, APA, etc. The price of this indispensable tool for a writer ranges from $40 to $45 (depending on the version).



And finally, a review of the most basic text editor – Simple Writer. The minimal set of tools and functions of this editor gives you the ability to quickly and easily create small and simple documents, reports and notes. You can also add images to the text, print in PDF format, format the text and not worry about the safety of your work thanks to the automatic update function and iCloud support. Free.