Free Source Code Editor Tools For Programmers & Coders

Many developers are usinng an editor tools to write or change their codes. This editors make it simle for them to write code and also makes it easy if they want to change any of it. There are many tools available online out which the most famous one's are Dreamviewer, Coda and others. Some days back whene i was trying to change one of the code of my blog, i was finding it a a bit difficult. The reason was i was not able to find the main line of code. Then i got a suggestion to use the editors. Now a days, you get to see the source code in the browser itself. Like for Safari you have "Inspect Element" and other browsers gives you the optin of Source code the menu itself. Therefore i will be writting a post to let you know of different free editors available. Thanks to Hongkiat.com for writting this important article.

Free Source Code Editors:

1. Notepad ++:

Notepad++ is a free (as in "free speech" and also as in "free beer") source code editor and Notepad replacement that supports several languages. Running in the MS Windows environment, its use is governed by GPL License.

Based on the powerful editing component Scintilla, Notepad++ is written in C++ and uses pure Win32 API and STL which ensures a higher execution speed and smaller program size. By optimizing as many routines as possible without losing user friendliness, Notepad++ is trying to reduce the world carbon dioxide emissions. When using less CPU power, the PC can throttle down and reduce power consumption, resulting in a greener environment.

Features:

• Syntax Highlighting and Syntax Folding
• User Defined Syntax Highlighting and Folding: screenshot 1, screenshot 2, screenshot 3 and screenshot 4
• PCRE (Perl Compatible Regular Expression) Search/Replace
• GUI entirely customizable: minimalist, tab with close button, multi-line tab, vertical tab and vertical document list
• Document Map
• Auto-completion: Word completion, Function completion and  Function parameters hint
• Multi-Document (Tab interface)
• Multi-View
• WYSIWYG (Printing)
• Zoom in and zoom out
• Multi-Language environment supported
• Bookmark
• Macro recording and playback
• Launch with different arguments

Download Notepad ++

2. Edit Plus:

EditPlus is a text editor, HTML editor, PHP editor, Java editor and Hex Viewer for Windows. While it can serve as a good Notepad replacement, it also offers many powerful features for Web page authors and programmers.

It also performs, syntax highlighting for HTML, PHP, Java, C/C++, CSS, ASP, Perl, JavaScript, VBScript, Python and Ruby on Rails. Also, it can be extended for other programming languages based on custom syntax files. Seamless Web browser for previewing HTML pages, and FTP commands for uploading local files to FTP server.

Other features include Hex Viewer, HTML toolbar, user tools, line number, ruler, URL highlighting, auto completion, cliptext, column selection, powerful search and replace, multiple undo/redo, spell checker, customizable keyboard shortcuts, and more.

Download Edit Plus

3. UltraEdit Text Editor:

UltraEdit is the ideal text, HTML and hex editor, and an advanced PHP, Perl, Java and JavaScript editor for programmers. UltraEdit is also an XML editor including a tree-style XML parser. An industry-award winner, UltraEdit supports disk-based 64-bit file handling (standard) on 32-bit Windows platforms (XP and later). Download a free trial today and discover why UltraEdit is the defacto standard with over two million users worldwide.

Download UltraEdit Text Editor

4. Eclipse:

Eclipse is a multi-language software development environment comprising an integrated development environment (IDE) and an extensible plug-in system. It is written mostly in Java. It can be used to develop applications in Java and, by means of various plug-ins, other programming languages including Ada, C, C++, COBOL, Fortran, Haskell, Perl, PHP, Python, R, Ruby (including Ruby on Rails framework), Scala, Clojure, Groovy, Android and Scheme. It can also be used to develop packages for the softwareMathematica. Development environments include the Eclipse Java development tools (JDT) for Java, Eclipse CDT for C/C++ and Eclipse PDT for PHP, among others.

Features:

• Eclipse uses Microsoft Active Accessibility (MSAA) APIs to render user interface elements accessible to assistive technology.
• You can operate all features using the keyboard instead of the mouse. 
• You can use screen-reader software such as Freedom Scientific's JAWS TM and a digital speech synthesizer to hear what is displayed on the screen. You can also use voice recognition software, such as IBM ViaVoice TM to enter data and to navigate the user interface.
• You can magnify what is displayed on your screen in the graphical views.
• Fonts and colors defined by Eclipse can be set using the   General > Appearance > Colors and Fonts preference page. 

Download Eclipse

5. Scriptly:

Webocton - Scriptly is an extensive freeware code editor for Windows for writing HTML and programming with PHP.
In addition to the comprehensive search and replace facility, the program features syntax highlighting for several script languages and file types. Code snippets and complex tables can be added quickly and easily.

Features:

• Syntax highlighting for: HTML, PHP, CSS, JavaScript, Smarty, SQL, XML, INI and self-defined (for example TypoScript)
• Multidocument-based
• Freely customizable (multiline) snippets and code templates, insertable via customizable shortcuts
• Links, hex color codes, time, MD5, complex HTML tables and comments are easily insertable via click
• File browser with FTP client
• Project management with include-system, todo list and many other useful features
• Comprehensive search and replace facility, also for more than one file and with a full listing of all results
• List of PHP functions and HTML tags, for quick insertion of code (also per Drap&Drop)
• Parameter lookup for PHP functions
• Comprehensive and powerful code completion (displays tags, parameters, PHP variables, functions, classes and CSS commands), also for more than one file
• Auto-completion with template system
• Useful help for navigation within the code
• HTML tag inspector
• Code browser
• Code library
• MySQL assistant
• Image viewer
• Many other useful assistants (generators for image maps, meta tags, lists, etc.)
• Window splitting
• Comprehensive print preview
• Integrated browser preview (Internet Explorer and Firefox)
• HTML/PHP/CSS checker and optimizer
• Automatic replacement of vowel mutations while typing
• Extendable with plugins (EPS/Weaverslave/Phase 5) and scripts (ActiveScript in Javascript and VB)
• Implementation of diverse references (for example SelfHTML) directly in the program
• and much more

Download Scriptly

6. HTML-Kit:

HTML-Kit is a freeware full-featured editor designed to help HTML, XHTML and XML authors to edit, format, lookup help, validate, preview and publish web pages. Despite its name and the light download size, HTML-Kit is a multi-purpose tool that has support for several scripting and programming languages.

Features:

• Edit, preview, validate, publish and manage projects from a modern standards-compliant editor.
• Preview as you edit, inside the editor, or in PCs/Macs, tablets and smart phonesfor easily testing pages in multiple devices and operating systems.
• Develop in an eye-pleasing environment customized to your liking. Comes with dark and light color themes for the editor and UI.
• Edit a single site or manage hundreds of sites with built-in version history, projects and profiles.
• Full-screen mode gives you more screen space and clutter-free editing.
• Save time with shortcuts, plugins, code wizards and powerful find/replace options.
• Standards-support including HTML5, CSS3 and JavaScript/ECMAScript 6. Also supports dozens of other file types.

Download HTML-Kit

7. CoffeeCup HTML Editor:

This editor was first released in 1996 and was regularly updated since then. The last version offers decent HTML & CSS code completion, document dependency check and 40 bullet proof CSS/XHTML layouts. The built-in WYSIWYG-editor should be avoided as it is quite quirky and doesn’t produce meaningful code. The editor itself, however, is focused on producing clean and valid markup. Powerful, but no amazing. Price: $49. A trial-version is available (Nagware).

Features:

• Cross-browser compatibility is important, so the HTML Editor gives you the option to add up to 10 different browsers and then open them from inside the program.
• Certain characters have to be formatted as HTML entities in order to render properly. The Characters tab lets you insert these entities with a click of your mouse.
• Website Projects help keep your website organized, all but eliminating broken links and incorrectly referenced images.
• The built-in Validate HTML tool opens the W3C markup validation service in your default web browser.
• HTML and CSS code completion virtually eliminates unclosed tags and typos; it even serves up the selectors from every referenced CSS file.
• The HTML Editor comes with 10 new, professionally designed themes. Preview them before you apply them to your pages in the snazzy new Theme Chooser.
• The Tags tab is a comprehensive reference for (X)HTML, PHP, and CSS tags.
• Split-Screen Preview lets you view your webpage in a browser right from inside the Code Editor.
• streamlined the app by removing older features, like the Visual Editor and preview tab.

Download CoffeeCup HTML Editors

8. Text Pad:

TextPad® is designed to provide the power and functionality to satisfy the most demanding text editing requirements. It can edit files up to the limits of virtual memory, and it will work with the 32-bit and 64-bit editions of Windows® 7, Vista, XP and Server 2003 and 2008.

TextPad has been implemented according to the Windows XP user interface guidelines, so great attention has been paid to making it easy for both beginners and experienced users. In-context help is available for all commands, and in-context menus pop-up with the right mouse button. The Windows multiple document interface allows multiple files to be edited simultaneously, with up to 2 views on each file. Text can be dragged and dropped between files.

Features:

• Huge files can be edited, up to the limits of 32-bit virtual memory. See Specifications for the actual limits.
• Supports Universal Naming Convention (UNC) style names, and long file names with spaces.
• CUA compliant keyboard commands.
• English, French, German, Italian, Polish, Portuguese and Spanish user interfaces.
• A spelling checker with dictionaries in 10 languages.
• Multiple files can be simultaneously edited, with up to 2 views per file.
• Warm Start feature lets you restart exactly where you left off.
• In addition to the usual cut, copy and paste capabilities, selected text can be case shifted and block indented, and characters, words and lines can be transposed. Cut and copied text can be appended to the clipboard, as well as replacing its contents.
• Text can be automatically word-wrapped at the margin, or at a specified column, if it does not fit on a line. In this mode, text can be split into separate lines where wrapping occurs, or lines can be intelligently joined, preserving paragraphs.
• OLE2 drag and drop editing for copying and moving text between documents.
• Unlimited undo/redo capability. The undo buffer can be optionally cleared when a file is saved, or by using the Mark Clean command.
• Block (column) selection mode, and visible display of tabs and spaces.
• A keystroke macro recorder, with up to 16 active macros.
• Sorting, using up to 3 keys.
• Text can be automatically aligned and indented, relative to the previous line, to aid block indentation.
• The right mouse button pops up an in-context menu.
• The cursor can be constrained to the text, or can be positioned freely in the document view.
• Toolbar with fly-by usage hints, and an active status bar.
• A powerful search/replace engine using UNIX-style regular expressions, with the power of editor macros. Sets of files in a directory tree can be searched, and text can be replaced in all open documents at once.
• Incremental search toolbar for literal text.
• Visible bookmarks can be placed on individual lines, and on all occurrences of a search pattern. Bookmarked lines can be cut, copied or deleted.
• A built in file manager for fast file copying, renaming, deleting etc.
• Print previewing, and printing with customizable headers/footers and page breaks.
• Viewer for binary files using a hexadecimal display format.
• Built in file comparison utility, and up to 16 user-defined tools with argument macros.
• Hypertext links from file search and user tool output to the relevant source line.
• DDE interface to other tools, such as MS Visual C++. The editor detects when an open file has been modified by another tool, and prompts you to reopen it.

Download TextPad

9. TextWrangler:

TextWrangler is the “little brother” to BBEdit, one of the leading professional HTML and text editor for the Macintosh. TextWrangler is a powerful and richly featured tool for composing, modifying, and transforming text stored in plain-text files. A general-purpose text editor for light-duty composition, data-file editing (where the data files consist of plain [unstyled] text), and manipulation of text-oriented data. TextWrangler supports working with both plain-text and Unicode files (with the exception of files written using right-to-left writing systems, such as Hebrew or Arabic). It's programmer’s text editor, featuring syntax coloring and function navigation for HTML/XHTML, XML, PHP, JavaScript, Perl, Python, Ruby, Lua, Java, ANSI C, C++, Objective-C, and more, Find Differences to compare two versions of a text file and merge the differences, integration with Mac OS X developer help, and many cross-functional features that fit well with developer workflows.

Download TextWrangler

10. jEdit:

jEdit is a mature programmer's text editor with hundreds (counting the time developing plugins) of person-years of development behind it. To download, install, and set up jEdit as quickly and painlessly as possible, go to the Quick Start page.

While jEdit beats many expensive development tools for features and ease of use, it is released as free software with full source code, provided under the terms of the GPL 2.0.

Some of jEdit's features include:

• Combines the best functionality of Unix, Windows and MacOS text editors.
• Runs on any operating system with a Java 1.6 or higher virtual machine - this includes MacOS X, Linux, Unix, VMS and Windows.
• Efficient keyboard shortcuts for everything, with predefined keymaps for Emacs, Intellij IDEA, and Mac OSX (5.0)
• Comprehensive online help
• Unlimited undo/redo
• Copy and paste with an unlimited number of clipboards (known as "registers")
• Register contents are saved across editing sessions
• "Kill ring" automatically remembers previously deleted text
• Rich set of keyboard commands for manipulating entire words, lines and paragraphs at a time
• "Markers" for remembering positions in files to return to later
• Marker locations are saved across editing sessions
• Any number of editor windows may be open, each window may be split into several areas, each area can view a different file and keep track of an independent set of buffers. Alternatively, different locations in one file can be viewed in more than one area
• Multiple open windows and split windows are remembered between editing sessions
• Rectangular selection
• Multiple selection (sometimes known as "discontinuous" or "additive" selection) for manipulating several chunks of text at once
• Word wrap

Download jEdit

11. Crimson Editor:

Crimson Editor is a professional source code editor for Windows.
This program is not only fast in loading time, but also small in size (so small that it can be copied in one floppy disk).

While it can serve as a good replacement for Notepad, it also offers many powerful features for programming languages such as HTML, C/C++, Perl and Java.

Syntax Highlighting for HTML, C/C++, Perl, Java, Matlab and LaTeX. Also, it can be extended for other programming languages based on custom syntax files.
Other features include undo/redo, user tools, macros, spell checker and more.

Features of Crimson Editor

• Edit multiple documents
• Syntax highlighting
• Multi-level undo / redo
• Project management
• Directory tree view window
• Find & Replace
• Column mode editing
• Natural word wrapping
• Spell checker
• User tools and macros
• Edit remote files directly using built-in FTP client
• Print & Print preview
• Other useful features

Download Crimson Editor

12. Araneae:

Araneae is an editor for Web professionals that runs on Windows only. Araneae (pronounced ah-RAN-ee-ay) is a simple, yet powerful text editor, providing only the features necessary to create websites and scripts using the latest web technologies. "Araneae includes several extensions and localizations right out of the proverbial box—no extra downloading required! This includes HTML, XHTML, CSS, XML, JavaScript, PHP and Ruby files, as well as English, French, Greek, Spanish, and Estonian localizations!".

Araneae Features

• Syntax highlighting
• Support for HTML, XHTML, CSS, JavaScript, PHP, Ruby, and more
• Instant browser preview, even without saving
• Insert customizable quick clips
• Tabbed multi-document interface
• Drag and drop support for files and images
• Downloadable extensions

Download Araneae

13. EditPad Lite:

EditPad Lite is a compact general-purpose text editor. Use EditPad Lite to easily edit any kind of plain text file. EditPad Lite has all the essential features to make text editing a breeze:

• Large file and long line support.
• Full Unicode support, including complex scripts and right-to-left scripts.
• Direct editing of text files using Windows, UNIX, and mac Mac text encodings (code pages) and line breaks.
• Tabbed interface for working with many files.
• Unlimited undo and redo for all open files, even after saving.
• Automatic backup and working copies prevent data loss.
• Powerful search-and-replace with literal search terms and regular expressions that can span multiple lines.

Download EditPad Lite

 14. ATPad:

ATPad is a simple Notepad replacement written in pure C and Windows API. Keeping simplicity of Notepad it provides many additional features, such as:

• Tabbed environment - especially useful for working with multiple files (for example, logs).
• Fully customizable editor - colors, fonts etc.
• Lines numbering - it's hard to find these days any respectable editor which does not support this feature.
• Word wrapping - can anybody write long scripts without it?
• List of recently open documents - ATPad stores this list accordingly to MAC address, so "Recent Files" on your laptop will look different from "Recent Files" on your desktop machine! But if you run the program from removable drive and work with files on this drive, they will be always presented in list, regardless of MAC address of hosting computer.
• Keeping last session - start the work exactly from the point you've finished (all said above about list of recent documents is true against last sessions as well).
• Bookmarks - never lose your way.
• Displaying whitespaces - tabs, spaces, line breaks.
• Reloading documents "on-demand" - instead of reopening them.
• Outer changes tracking - stay informed when any of currently open documents has been changed out of program.
• Reloading document in specified interval - you can specify interval for recurrent document reloading.
• Sending documents via email - it's possible to send each document, even "Untitled", via email as attachment.
• Snippets system - create, edit, delete and insert into document your own text snippets.
• Unlimited find/replace and undo/redo
• Portability - ATPad does not require installation, it can be started from any drive (fixed or flash) and leaves no traces on host computer after finishing.

ATPad is not purposed to compete with great names and great editors. Everyone has its own role and function.

Download ATPad

15. RJ TextEd:

RJ TextEd is a full featured text and source editor with Unicode support. It is also a very powerful web (PHP, ASP, JavaScript, HTML and CSS) development editor. The functionality extends beyond text files and includes support for CSS/HTML editing with integrated CSS/HTML preview, spell checking, auto completion, HTML validation, templates and more. The program also has a dual pane file commander, as well as a (S)FTP client to upload your files. Below is a small list of features available. For a full list check out the features section.
RJ TextEd is released as FREEWARE. However, if you find the program useful I would appreciate a small donation.

Features:

• Below is a small list of features available in the program.
• Auto completion.
• Code folding.
• Column mode.
• Multi edit and multi select
• Advanced sorting.
• Handles both ASCII and binary files.
• CSS and HTML wizards.
• CSS and HTML preview using internal IE, Firefox 4 and Chrome browsers.
• FTP and SFTP client with synchronization.
• File explorer, text clips, code explorer, project manager...
• Convert between code pages, Unicode formats and text formats.
• Unicode and ANSI code page detection.
• Open/Save UTF-8 encoded files without a signature (BOM).
• Unicode file paths and file names.
• HTML validation, format and repair.
• Tools available like syntax editor, color picker, charmap...

Download RJ TextEd

16. Komodo Edit:

Free Code Editor for Windows, Mac and Linux

Komodo Edit is a fast, smart, free and open-source code editor. Switching your trusty code editor is hard, but give Komodo Edit (or its big brother Komodo IDE) a try: it'll be worth your while.

Windows, Mac, Linux? Yes. PHP, Python, Ruby, JavaScript, Perl, Tcl, XML, HTML 5, CSS 3? Yes, with (customizable) syntax coloring, folding, background syntax checking, and intelligent auto-complete and calltips. What else? Fast Open (no more slow poking around for files); remote file editing; Vi keybindings (good ones); and a Toolbox with shell command integration, macros and code snippets--all wrapped around a sweet editor and Firefox-style extensibility.

Download Komodo-Edit

17. KompoZer:

KompoZer is a complete web authoring system that combines web file management and easy-to-use WYSIWYG web page editing.

KompoZer is designed to be extremely easy to use, making it ideal for non-technical computer users who want to create an attractive, professional-looking web site without needing to know HTML or web coding.

Features:

• FTP site manager
• A new color picker
• Tabs!
• CSS editor
• A dash of style(s)
• Customizable toolbars
• Forms
• Cleaner markup
• XFN
• Visible marks
• Table/Cell resizing rulers
• Automated Spellchecker

Download KompoZer

Hope all this editors will help you in all way to write a better code.

Cheers!!!