EditPad Lite

EditPad Lite from Just Great Software is a freeware text editor that replaces Notepad in Windows. It adds up-to-date features like tabs, no arbitrary limits on file size, file conversion, unlimited undo and redo, and compatibility with Mac and Unix files.

EditPad Lite’s installer let us choose between standard, portable, and advanced installation options. We selected the advanced option, which let us choose directories and set EditPad Lite as the default text file application, which would open EditPad Lite instead of Notepad when we clicked a text file or opened a new text file from Explorer’s right-click menu. We could change it back by selecting Configure File Types on the Options menu; uninstalling the program restores Notepad as the default. EditPad Lite’s menu bar adds selections labeled Search, Block, and Convert to the usual complement of items. The Block menu is especially useful; it let us not only indent and outdent blocks of text but also insert files, append text, and Write (save) or Print the selection. The Convert tool handles uppercase, lowercase, invert case, initial caps, and text encoding, and it converts files between ANSI, ASCII, and Unicode as well as Unix and Mac formats in some instances. We could even apply simple ROT-13 encoding and decoding to texts as well. A full-featured, icon-based toolbar added features such as word wrap, fonts, auto indent, and multiple undo options and gave EditPad Lite the feel of a graphics app or word processor. Adding a new tab or closing any or all tabs was easy, too. EditPad Lite offers plenty of assistance and documentation, including a Tip of the Day feature, feedback reporter, and keyboard shortcuts menu.

Pity the poor Notepad, which looks pretty weak next to EditPad Lite. It brings the features and flexibility of a top-class tool to Windows, and its price is right, too, as in “free.” Highly recommended.