Read about free tools for viewing and editing *.doc or *.docx documents, alternatives Microsoft Word. What online tools or third party programs use to view or edit DOCX files. Computers were developed with the main goal of being a personal assistant, which makes it much easier for us to create, maintain, store and process various data that we use for work and leisure. Thanks to the rapid development information technologies, we create and store an increasing amount of our data using a variety of computing devices.
Fully reveal all the possibilities of computers helps modern software, created to solve any user tasks. For example, managing various databases, storing huge amounts of information, creating and editing any media files of various formats, communicating and processing electronic correspondence, organizing leisure and entertainment, and much more.
Content:Microsoft Office is a monopoly
Computers are widely used in all spheres of our life. One of the most important elements of computer use, which has found application at all levels, is the processing of various documentation.
Document management is an important part of our professional activities: creating ordinary documents, conducting business correspondence, developing new projects and presentations, creating various spreadsheets, archives and databases, any form of office reporting and control, etc.
The ability to create and use various types of documents also plays an important role in the learning process. Most of the literature has gone through the process of digitization and is stored in in electronic format, the results of any survey activity are recorded and stored in digital formats (guidelines, abstracts, dissertations, scientific papers, opuses, publications, etc.).
Even at home, the process of creating and exchanging documents is reflected: the creation of appeals and statements, personal correspondence, notes, etc.
Therefore, it is not surprising that software that allows you to perform any actions with documents is quite in demand and popular.
Until recently, the software package « Microsoft office» , developed by the corporation of the same name Microsoft, was almost exclusively presented for creating, editing or even viewing text documents "Microsoft Word". But the situation has changed, and, today, there are many free alternatives to work with text documents Word. We will present some of them in our article today.
Application
is a proprietary cloud solution from the corporation Microsoft to work with files Word. The application is part of the package Microsoft Office Online, and you can easily access it without additional effort. You just need to login with an account Microsoft.
The application interface is similar to the stationary version of the program "Microsoft Word". Therefore, if you have previously had an acquaintance with a text editor Word, then it will not be difficult for you to understand and use it.
Documents created with are automatically saved to cloud storage folders One Drive. also integrates with the desktop version "Microsoft Word", and you can easily switch to a regular desktop application with the click of a button. Any changes you make to one version will automatically sync to the other. However, you cannot use the web app and the desktop app at the same time. "Microsoft Word".
It also supports real-time collaboration, which allows multiple people to work on the same document at the same time. This feature works with fixed system applications Windows and Mac, and mobile applications. Applications for mobile platforms iOS and Android are also free and allow you to view and edit documents on the go.
The application is probably the best for working with documents Word(except, of course, the actual use of the stationary application "Microsoft Word") because it does a great job of saving documents Word in original format. This is a great solution for viewing and editing text documents.
However, the app does have a few drawbacks. You must have access to the network "Internet" for the application to work; its functionality does not allow you to edit a local file in offline. Not all features available in the desktop version "Microsoft Word" are present in the application. Of course, all the basic features are provided, but you won't be able to take advantage of some of the more advanced elements, such as creating titles and bibliography, creating or applying styles, or using advanced analysis tools. You can view all of these elements if they are already present in the document, but you will not be able to perform any actions on them.
Also has some limitations of print options, and fully customize the document ready to print, as in a stationary application "Microsoft Word", there is no possibility.
Application
Like an application, it launches and runs in your browser. You can use it to create new documents and collaborate with other users. By default, you cannot work directly with the file "Microsoft Word" in the application . Instead, you should upload the file to a virtual drive Google Drive, and then open it in - during the opening process, the conversion will occur and the file Word will be converted to a document understandable to the application Google Drive.
For simple, mostly text documents, such a procedure is not terrible and can even be convenient, especially if you are going to use the created document only for your own needs. However, the application does not always do a great job of supporting most of the file formats that the program recognizes and uses. "Microsoft Word". Therefore, if you want to edit a document in and then send it to another user who uses the application for their work "Microsoft Word", then this is not the best solution considering re-converting the document.
The good news is that if you are using a web browser Chrome, then Google provides, by default, an extension that allows you to open files "Microsoft Office" (Word, Excel and "PowerPoint") directly in their own tools ( "Google Docs", "Google Sheets" and "Google Slides") without their preliminary transformation. The extension is called "Editing Office Files"- one of the advantages of which is that it is free and available in "Chrome Web Store".
Unfortunately, this approach deprives users of other browsers of the ability to directly work with documents. "Microsoft Office" due to the inability to install extensions Chrome. If you need to edit documents regularly Word and use for this, it might be worth installing a web browser Chrome for this very purpose.
In terms of functionality, the application lags behind in terms of its characteristics, but only advanced users will be able to feel a slight difference.
By default, they work only in online mode. If you need offline access, then you need to additionally install the extension Chrome, which will allow you to view and edit files without network access "Internet". For mobile access Google offers applications for devices based on iOS and Android. Additionally, apps for both mobile platforms support offline file access with editing features.
Application
If you are not a fan of apps or but are still looking for an online word processing solution, then you should definitely try it - a free online text editor that allows you to import documents Word without the need for additional conversion. The only thing you should pay attention to when working with is that you can upload documents Word size up to "10 MB". For most documents, this restriction is sufficient, but if you plan to use files bigger size, then you will need to find another solution.
Supports all latest available file formats "Microsoft Word", and the editor does a really good job of maintaining and preserving the layout of the original file "Microsoft Word". You can also save and export the document to various other formats such as "ODT", "RTF", "txt", HTML, ePub and PDF.
In addition to the web application, Zoho also offers mobile versions editor Writer that are available for operating systems Android and iOS. Both apps also support collaboration and offline editing features.
Application
So far we have considered several free online services for working with documents "Microsoft Word". The application is a complete set of open source tools for desktop personal computers, the purpose of which is to free replacement complete set of applications "Microsoft Office". And it's a pretty handy app. In terms of functionality, it is somewhat inferior "Microsoft Word", but it easily outperforms any of the online solutions we've talked about before. The application is available for operating systems Windows, Mac and Linux.
Although primarily designed to work with local documents, it also supports services that can be used to edit remote documents.
If you're not a real fan "Microsoft Office"(in which case you will probably have the app installed "Microsoft Word"), or you have certain specific needs, you will easily find that the application can perform almost any action that you may need when editing a document Word. It perfectly saves file formats "Microsoft Word" and supports native formats, so no additional conversion is required. However, sometimes there may be problems with the placement of images in documents. Word, especially with those created in newer versions file formats "Microsoft Word".
The presence on most user computers of the text editor MS Word has long been a banality and a truism. The vast majority of user texts are typed in the Word editor, which is quite popular, functional and convenient. But sometimes a situation may occur in which the specified text editor is not installed on the computer, and we urgently need to type some formatted text. Of course, you can use the simplified tools of the Windows OS itself (such as Notepad or WordPad), but, nevertheless, it will be much more convenient to use the network variations of MS Word, which are easily available online. In this article I will tell you how to use Word online for free and without registration, what services exist for this, and how to work with them.
Creating documents in such editors is not much different from working with stationary MS Word. You go to this resource, activate the option to create (edit) a document, and then use the capabilities of the specified online editor, which in terms of its functionality is only slightly inferior to the capabilities of a full-fledged MS Word.
At the same time, to start working with such an online Word editor, you usually need to go through a template registration procedure via e-mail (or use your account credentials on Google+, Facebook, LinkedIn and others).
If you also need to create an online presentation, then you need to read the article about.
Let's move on to the list of network resources that allow you to create, edit, and also save typed texts in popular text formats.
Office.Live - allows you to work with Word documents
The first resource I want to talk about is Office.Live, which is an online version of the popular MS Office package. Among all the possibilities of the resource, Word Online occupies an important place - a text editor that makes it easy to create a document online. At the same time, the Word network document has functionality that is only slightly inferior in its capabilities to the stationary MS Word.
- To work with Word Online, go to this resource https://office.live.com/start/Word.aspx ;
- Click on "Login with account Microsoft” (to enter the resource, you can use the login and password of your Skype account).
- After passing authorization to create a new document, click on "New Document";
- The editing panel will open and you can work on creating your document.
- To save the result, click on "File" - "Save As" - "Download a copy" (to save to your computer) or again on "Save As" to save the typed document in the OneDrive cloud storage.
ONLYOFFICE - works with .DOCX, .XLSX and .PPTX formats
Another resource for typing online and without registration is ONLYOFFICE. The text editor of this resource works well with various formats of text documents, supports co-editing and commenting, has integration with cloud storage (Dropbox, Google Drive, Box, SkyDrive), it can be accessed from any browser convenient for you.
- To get started with ONLYOFFICE, go to this resource https://www.onlyoffice.com/ru/edit-docs-online.aspx .
- Click on "Register" or on the corresponding icon social networks for registration.
- To create a new Word document, click on "Create" on the left, to load an existing one, click on the button with the up arrow.
- After you click on "Create" and select "Document" the service will prompt you to name your document. After setting the name, a new window will open in the mode of creating and editing a document.
- After creating the document, you will need to switch to the window with the list of available documents, to the right of the name of your typed document, click on the arrow and select "Download" in the menu that appears.
Google Docs - a simple and convenient text editor
A simple and convenient online word processor from Google, which allows co-editing of documents, as well as their saving in popular Word formats doc and docx. In the process of recruiting documents Google service Docs automatically saves any changes to the document, so you don't have to worry about the safety and security of the information you typed.
- To get started with data online service go to it https://docs.google.com/document/ , and in the authorization window enter the identification data of your Google account.
- After passing authorization on "Blank" (blank sheet), and you will be taken to the window for typing and editing text.
- Unfortunately, the menu is in English, but for those users who have been working with MS Word for a long time, working with Google Docs will not be difficult.
- To save the document, click on "File" - "Download as" and select the text format for saving (docx, rtf, txt, pdf, etc.).
RollApp - service with Word editor
Among the capabilities of this resource, one can note the presence of a text editor on it. Open Office Writer”, similar in its simplified functionality to the archaic MS Word 2003. However, for the unpretentious user who wants to quickly type and save a text document, "OpenOffice Writer" will be a great help, allowing you to easily work with text documents online.
- To get started with the mentioned Word online editor, go to this resource https://www.rollapp.com/apps and select "OpenOffice Writer".
- In the window that opens, select "I am a new user" (I New user) and go through authorization (or use the data of your account on social networks).
- After passing authorization, you will switch to the document creation mode (Russian-language control panel).
- To save the typed text, the editor will advise you to connect cloud storage(Google Drive, Dropbox, etc.) and save the file there, from where you can also download your document to your PC.
ZOHO Writer - Online Word Processor
The English-language resource ZOHO is a Word editor that allows you to create, edit and save documents online. The resource supports many popular text formats, has many popular formatting templates and a wealth of various settings.
- To work with the resource, navigate https://www.zoho.com/docs/writer.html to it.
- Click on the "START WRITING" button, go through authorization (or use your social media account details).
- You will be in typing mode.
- To access the toolbar, click on the button with three horizontal lines at the top left.
- To save the document, click on "File" - "Download as", and select a convenient text document format for saving it to your PC.
Conclusion
If you need Word online and without registration, then I recommend that you turn to the capabilities of the network services I have described. All of them are free of charge, simple and easy to use, making it easy to type and save the document you need on your PC. At the same time, the functionality of these services is usually not limited to a set of text files, they also allow you to work with spreadsheets, presentations, and so on, making them an effective and versatile tool for solving many business problems.
In contact with
Those who work a lot with text documents must have come across files with the docx extension. Many users are confused by these files, they do not know how to open docx. In this article we will consider programs with which you can work with docx files.
Microsoft Word 2007 or newer
The docx format gained popularity after the release of the Microsoft Office 2007 office suite. Microsoft Word 2007, which is included in this office suite, by default offers to save new documents in docx format.
Therefore, it is Microsoft Word 2007 that provides the highest quality support for this format.
Microsoft Word 2003
One of the most popular office programs is still Microsoft Word 2003. If you use just such a program, you can also open docx format. But since initially this program is not capable of working with docx, you will have to download an add-on that will add support for this format to the program.
The add-on is distributed absolutely free of charge and can be easily downloaded from the Microsoft website:.
Free office suites OpenOffice and LibreOffice
Text editor Microsoft Word works fine with docx files. But this program is part of the paid office suite Microsoft Office. Therefore, if you need a free solution to open a docx file, then turn your attention to the free office suites OpenOffice and LibreOffice.
These office suites include a text editor called Writer. With it, you can easily open and edit a docx file.
Online docx to doc converter
If all the methods described above did not suit you, and you still do not know how to open a docx file, then it may be useful to you online converter from docx to doc format. This service located at .
With it, you can easily and quickly turn a docx file into a regular doc file, which can then be opened by any program that supports it.
In order to convert docx to doc, just click on the "Browse" button and select the desired docx file. After that, the service will perform the conversion and offer to download the doc file, for this you need to click on the "Download" button.
At first I wanted to make a review separately for each category of editors - as an alternative to notepad, MS Office, for editing codes and online, but still decided to collect everything in one article. It contains free editors as an alternative to the already familiar and standard notepad and MS word. As always, you can download them from the official site there and install them for yourself and try. Why pay for paid products when there are such alternatives, sometimes even better than paid analogues. In total, it turned out in the review not a lot, not a little, but 29 editors.
Free alternative editors to replace MS office
1) openoffice.org
I think it would be wise to put it first on the list, because it is the most popular today.
OpenOffice.org (OOo) is a free office suite designed to replace the well-known office suite. Microsoft programs Office, both at the format level and at the user interface level. With OpenOffice.org, you can easily upload MS-Office documents (Word, Excel, Powerpoint), edit and store them both in their original format and in the OpenOffice.org format.
OpenOffice.org can be useful for anyone who needs a powerful program with high security, functionality, flexibility, and compatibility requirements for business, government, education, and the private sector. One of the useful features of the package is the ability to use it without installation, which allows you to run the program, for example, from a USB flash drive.
More detailed information is hidden under the spoiler. Expand.
OpenOffice.org includes the following programs:
OpenOffice.org Writer (a program for working with text documents and visual editor HTML, similar to Microsoft Word).
- OpenOffice.org Calc (spreadsheet program similar to Microsoft Excel).
- OpenOffice.org Draw (a program for creating and editing vector graphics).
- OpenOffice.org Impress (software for preparing small presentations, similar to Microsoft PowerPoint).
- OpenOffice.org Base (database management system - DBMS).
- OpenOffice.org Math (math formula editor).
- System for recording macros (macros).
- Startup Accelerator (via preload).
You can download OpenOffice for free from
2) libreoffice
The second most popular is this product. Functionality is also top notch.
LibreOffice is a free, independent, open source office suite created as a fork of the OpenOffice.org suite. LibreOffice is free for both private and educational or commercial use. Can be used without any license fees by your family, friends, work colleagues, students, employees and so on.
All components of LibreOffice work well together and complement each other, providing the user with everything necessary for daily work with documents, data entry, systematization and analysis, marketing, presentations and training. LibreOffice is easy to use and can be used without special training by anyone who has ever worked with any office programs.
LibreOffice consists of the following parts:
LibreOffice Writer - a program for working with text documents and visual HTML editor.
- LibreOffice Calc is a spreadsheet program.
- LibreOffice Draw - a program for creating and editing vector graphics.
- LibreOffice Impress - presentation preparation program.
- LibreOffice Base - a mechanism for connecting to external DBMS and built-in HSQLDB DBMS.
- LibreOffice Math - editor of mathematical formulas.
You can download LibreOffice for free from
3) [R] Software Editor
R]Software Editor is a powerful free text editor that supports all basic text processing functions. The program uses a multi-document interface (several documents can be opened simultaneously in one window).
Supported text formats - RVF, RVP, RTF, XML, HTML, TXT, EXE. Insert images in the following formats: BMP, EMF, WMF, ICO, JPG, GIF (including animated), PNG, SWF.
Main features of [R]Software Editor:
Select font, size, text color, background color, style, set spacing, offset, text scale
- Paragraph alignment left, right, center and justified. Setting for a paragraph the interval before and after the line, line spacing, setting tab positions. Sets a custom border and fill color for the paragraph.
- Creation of bulleted and numbered lists (including multilevel).
- Visual work with tables: inserting and deleting rows, columns, merging, splitting cells, setting borders, frames, vertical alignment of text in cells. Convert text to table and tables to text.
- Formatting text and images with hypertext links.
- Spell checking using MS Office dictionaries (versions prior to 2000) or ISpell.
- Spell checking carried out in the background or on demand.
- Customizable autocorrect lists as you type (can be disabled).
- Customizable keyboard shortcuts.
- The function of counting the number of words and the proportion of all the words of the document.
- Ability to convert BMP images document to JPG, GIF, or PNG format.
- Search and replace functions.
- Text encoding conversion functions (from KOI, DOS, ISO).
- Print with preview.
Due to the fact that the official site "died" that way in 2008 and no new releases are expected, I suggest downloading the latest version 1.3.12
from this site. Until that time, they managed to adapt the product to windows versions 98 and XP. I didn’t set myself on seven, you can check for yourself how it will go on new versions. The Russian language is still there.
4) AbiWord
AbiWord is a fast free text editor with rich functionality and a clear interface. It can be used as an alternative to Microsoft Office to create, edit and print simple text and "mixed" (with tables and pictures) documents, and save them in most popular formats.
The basis of AbiWord is quite compact and uses little system resources, so it can be used on almost all computers, regardless of their configuration.
Key features of AbiWord:
Full integration into the Windows operating system.
- AbiWord supports all standard format types: OpenOffice.org, Microsoft Word, WordPerfect, Rich Text Format, HTML and many more...
- Wide functionality of the program: text formatting, working with pictures, tables and styles, spell checking...
- Multilingual interface. Ukrainian and Russian languages are also supported.
- Using the spell check function for Ukrainian and Russian is possible after downloading the corresponding dictionary (dictionaries).
- Support command line. AbiWord can be easily integrated with other programs, which can be useful, for example, when creating a large number of documents of the same type.
- To expand the capabilities of the text editor, add-ons (plugins) have been created with the help of which AbiWord can be "taught" to perform one or another function you need.
You can download AbiWord for free from
Note:
To install a Russian spell checking dictionary, download and extract it to the appropriate directory (by default C:/Program Files/AbiWord/dictionary/ispell). You can also select the required languages when installing the program (in this case, the installer will download and install them on its own.
The prog apparently was scored in 2010 and now it supports a maximum of windows XP.
5) Lotus Symphony
IBM Lotus Symphony is a free set of office applications for creating, editing and sharing texts, spreadsheets, presentations and other closed source documents. It uses OpenOffice.org technologies and Eclipse, a free integrated development environment for modular cross-platform applications, and supports ODF (OpenDocument) standards. Lotus Symphony includes programs such as Symphony Documents, Symphony Presentations, and Symphony Spreadsheet. Symphony can work with different formats documents, including those used in MS Office. By default, documents are saved in the ODF format. Documents can also be saved from the program in PDF format.
Lotus Symphony features:
- support for VBA scripts
- support for ODF 1.2 standard
- OLE support for Office 2007
- the ability to insert OLE, audio and video files
- new clip-art gallery
- the ability to create new business cards and labels, new template files
- support for VML images in OOXML files
- support for multiple options to protect spreadsheet and sheet files in VBA API
- support for addons to download spell checking dictionary in 22 languages for Windows OS users
- better graphical rendering of the object by improving anti-aliasing
Document editor
- Support for native nested tables.
- support for multi-page layout.
- support for autotext function
Spreadsheet editor
New opportunities:
- equation solver
- sheet zoom
Presentation Editor
- displaying images on multiple monitors
- more animation, graphic and text objects, text effects.
- more page layouts.
Graphs
- a new engine for plotting graphs.
- added chart types: cylinders, cones, pyramids...
You can download Lotus Symphony for free from
6) SoftMaker FreeOffice
SoftMaker FreeOffice is relatively new and good editor, which can open and edit not only text files, but also presentation and spreadsheet formats (.doc/docx, xls/xlsx, ppt/pptx).
This package includes TextMaker text editor, PlanMaker spreadsheet editor and SotMaker Presentations presentation software. The Smash utility is also supplied, which can launch all programs from the system tray.
The interface language is Russian.
Download free editor from . Registration is required to download.
Free alternative editors to replace notepad
1) AkelPad
Of course, one of the main competitors of the notebook.
AkelPad is a small free text editor that can work in both multi-window and normal (one document - one window) mode. It is a very powerful and fast text editor, it has the most necessary functionality that can be extended with plugins. In addition, it correctly displays pseudographics, and also allows you to customize the font and background.
Using AkelPad, you can even edit read-only files, as well as preview files before opening them. Other features of AkelPad include a multi-level undo system, a list of recently opened files in the program, remembering the code page for a file, the position of the insertion mark and the last search/replace line.
Main features of AkelPad:
Single-window mode (SDI), multiple-window mode (MDI).
- Full support for Unicode strings on Unicode systems (NT/2000/XP/2003).
- Working with Unicode encodings (UTF-16 little endian, UTF-16 big endian, UTF-8).
- Work with any code page installed in the system.
- Work with DOS/Windows and Unix line feed formats (including saving).
- Preview of opening files.
- Correct display of pseudographics.
- Editing files with the "Read Only" attribute.
- Warning when trying to open a binary file.
- Multi-level rollback actions.
- Search/replace text strings, escape sequences.
- Remember file encoding.
- Storing the position of the carriage in the file.
- List of recently opened files.
- Support for plugins (syntax highlighting, auto-completion, running scripts, keyboard macros).
- Support for language modules.
You can download AkelPad for free from
2) EditPad Lite
EditPad Lite is a compact, user-friendly editor with all the features and advanced features you need for a text editor. Allows you to open several files at the same time, without limiting the size and length of the line. Between open files you can switch using tabs, so there is no inconvenience from working with multiple windows.
Main features of EditPad Lite:
Can be installed on USB disk or other portable device.
- Search and Replace function working in all open files.
- Unlimited undo and redo actions. Undo changes even after saving.
- Editing and converting ASCII, ANSI and Unicode files.
- It is possible to create text files not only in European, but also in Eastern languages.
- Editing structured text files, saving part of the text on disk and inserting the file into the current content.
- Preview function, print font setting, margins, headers and footers, etc.?
- Option "on top of windows".
- Warning when closing an unsaved file.
- Support for ISO-8859 code pages, as well as most DOS, KOI8 and EBCDIC.
- Choice of settings - word wrap on a new line, line numbering and auto-indent separately for each file type.
- Define your own file types.
The only drawback is that there is no Russian language.
You can download EditPad Lite for free from
3) EmEditor
Main features of EmEditor:
Working with large files (up to 500 GB)
- Ability to underline and highlight commands of various programming languages
- Create javascript or VBScript macros
- Pseudo-multi-window interface will make it easier to work with multiple files at the same time
- Fully implemented and support for drag "n" drop, Unicode and all popular text formats.
- In principle, even a Word document will open, albeit with a loss of formatting
- Automatic conversion of entered URLs and e-mail addresses into hyperlinks.
The overall impression is spoiled only by the shareware status of the program, which allocates only 30 days of free use of EmEditor...
You can download EmEditor for free from
4) ListEdit
I didn’t know where to take it, because. it may be suitable for developers as well. Please bear this in mind.
Maybe, best description EmEditor - "Refined to the smallest detail Notepad." After all, you see, a simple but compact text editor is needed quite often - for example, for personal notes or more serious things like programming and Web design. Another thing is that the standard Notepad, due to the limitation on the size of the edited file (no more than 64 KB) and poor functionality, does not suit this role in any way.
all the necessary functions for working with text are provided:
- vertical panels of bookmarks and numbering of lines of text;
- use of bookmarks in the text with the ability to save them even after closing the document;
- opening large files;
- unlimited undo/return of changes in the text;
- automatic indent when entering new lines of text;
- advanced search and replace options in text, using the search-replace panel instead of the search-replace dialog box;
- use of a list of substitutions for quick insertion of frequently used text;
- built-in file manager with features:
- opening files in the current folder, the history of openings and in Favorites;
- filtering and sorting the list of files to open;
- Slideshow mode of opened files;
- support for Unicode, UTF-8, UTF-7 encodings and all encodings available in your Windows (WIN, DOS, MAC, KOI8, ISO and others);
- customizable auto-detection of encodings;
- support and auto-detection of RTF files;
- conversion of both the entire text and selected fragments;
- checking spelling and grammar using Microsoft Word dictionaries;
- Spell check both in the entire text and in selected fragments;
- viewing and editing web pages ( HTML files);
- viewing web-images (files GIF, JPG, PNG);
- setting the font, color and background separately for editing mode and viewing mode;
- use of numerous configurations (additional ini-files) of the program, depending on the extensions of the files being opened;
- extended possibilities of using multi-replacements in the text (customizable list of multi-replacements, support for macro substitutions, implementation of character transliteration, etc.);
- operations of sorting selected lines of text and other operations on lines (paragraphs);
- management of open windows of the program, including:
- opening the current file in a new program window;
- opening a file in a new program window (any way + pressing the key);
- closing or minimizing all open windows of the program;
- support for Windows XP visual style;
- use as an external plugin to Total Commander to view files by key or edit files by key;
- the ability to Drag & drop text editing and file opening;
- display of hyperlinks in the text;
- support for Microsoft IntelliMouse;
- the ability to display a standard context menu (Shell Context Menu) for a file opened in the program (as well as in Explorer);
- memorization of the history of search-replacement strings of occurrences in the text;
- fast file printing from the command line (key "/p");
- mode of inserting HTML text (Format HTML) from the clipboard;
- auto-insert text from the clipboard;
- support for end-to-end navigation tools (back and forth) on files opened in the current session (including hyperlinks), regardless of which built-in window of the program - editor or browser you are currently in. Editor-viewer of text and WEB files (web pages and web images). The program can be used as a plug-in for viewing or editing files in Total(Windows) Commander.
5) PolyEdit
A wonderful competitor to AbiWord from developers from the ex-USSR. Like its ideological inspirer (that is, WinWord), PolyEdit is primarily focused on high-quality design and text formatting. Integration with the system is also not forgotten: tables, pictures, cliparts, objects of various Windows applications - all this is inserted into a PolyEdit document in the blink of an eye. There is also an automatic spell checker for Russian and English, and even a special "smart" module for monitoring the contents of the clipboard, text auto-formatting (in RTF or ASCII) and much, much more.
Oddly enough for an average editor, PolyEdit also knows how to work with binary files, immediately after editing it launches them for execution. Completing the picture is an intuitive and user-friendly Word-style interface. The toolbar contains all the most relevant functions - starting with the spacing between lines in a paragraph and ending with a quick drawing of tables. Well, the built-in mail client will allow you to immediately send your work to the addressee.
By and large, the only thing missing is a drawing panel for creating simple shapes and flowcharts, as well as a text correction module typed in the “wrong” layout
Main features of PolyEdit:
Allows you to encrypt and compress your documents for secure and fast transmission over the Internet
- Preview and split text into columns
- insert OLE objects, pictures, tables and special characters
- check spelling
- create your own document archives with a hierarchical structure
- edit program texts with syntax highlighting
- work with various formats and encodings: RTF, ETF, MS Word 6.0/95/97/2000/XP/2003/2007, MS Excel, MS Write, WordPerfect, OEM (DOS), ANSI (Windows), Unicode, UTF- 8, Mac, Unix.
In addition, the capabilities of the program can be significantly expanded with the help of additional modules (plug-ins)
OS - maximum Windows XP
For Russian users, the program is registered for free - you need to enter the word Gift for version v.5.4 in the key field - this key is not suitable for the 6th version (portable).
You can download PolyEdit for free from
The Russian language is in the same place, but lower. If you don't want to search
6) metapad
A small and fast text editor that can serve as a replacement for the standard Notepad. Supports two types of hot-switch fonts, link highlighting, bookmarks, two customizable external viewers, ten "hot" text snippets for insertion.
All in all, Metapad includes all the features of Notepad. For this reason, it is at least as good as a regular Windows tool. However, you will have to download the Russification of the interface separately, as well as work a little while mastering the new application.
7) MioPad
A simple text editor MioPad is focused primarily on working with plain text. The program is a single executable module that does not require installation in the system. Nothing is written in.
The MioPad toolbar cannot be customized in any way. Only one document is allowed. When you try to open the second file, the first one is prompted to save. It will be unloaded from memory. However, the text editor remembers the names of previously opened files and adds them to its history. It also stores the position of the cursor at the time the document was closed.
The program automatically recognizes all encodings that use Cyrillic. It is possible to save UTF-8 documents. Also, you can open DOC document, RTF or HTML and convert it to plain text. There is also the possibility of transliteration of texts, which allows you to use the document on computers where Cyrillic is not installed. For example, you can convert the text to Latin, send a letter to a friend who lives far abroad, and then return the document to its original form again. Sending emails is possible from a text editor. The message creation window is called. mail client installed on the system by default. The text of the letter is the current document.
In case of a keyboard layout error, you can select a piece of text and perform the conversion. There is no point in typing again. There is an option to check spelling. This requires MS Word installed on the system. The check starts from the current cursor position to the end of the document.
For ease of navigation through documents, it is convenient to use bookmarks. Their number is not limited. In other programs, it is worth recalling that, most often, you can create no more than ten of them. MioPad doesn't just bookmark by remembering the cursor position. The entire line is also copied. By opening the bookmarks window, you can not only see all the marked positions, but also quickly navigate through them. The entire list of bookmarks can be saved to a file and then reused. The bookmarks window has two permanent buttons for quickly moving to the position where you started reading the document when you opened the file, as well as to the point where you were before you started navigating through the bookmarks. In addition, MioPad supports the creation of text titles.
The program supports text compaction by removing extra line breaks, spaces, tab characters. String sorting is also possible. It is usually used to process lists. Sorting is carried out either over the entire document, or only over its selected part.
MioPad has the ability to connect dictionaries to explain the meanings of specific words, to translate them from unfamiliar languages. By default, the word under the cursor is processed. A dictionary is an external text file, each line of which is a combination of the spelling of a word and its meaning, interpretation or translation.
The use of synonyms is allowed, that is, several descriptions can be assigned to one word.
The text editor contains a powerful scientific calculator. Either the selected text fragment or part of the current line up to the cursor is passed to it. It depends on the presence of an equal sign in this string.
The MioPad help system consists of two text files. One of them sets out general issues related to the operation of the application, and another document is detailed description built-in calculator.
You can download MioPad for free from
8) Notepad X
Compact text editor Notepad X is positioned as a replacement for Notepad. We can agree with this, because the program, on the one hand, does not shine with an abundance of opportunities, and on the other, it has an attractive appearance, nice interface. In other words, a text editor is aimed at simple user, in a good way.
The program installs without asking too many questions, but refuses to run in an unprepared Windows system. What should be her preparation? On the official page of the project, you can read that the application requires the .Net Framework 2.0 installed on the system. After ensuring such requirements, everything falls into place, the text editor starts up and starts working.
Notepad X allows you to work with several documents at the same time, switching between them using tabs. Toolbars are a popular design used in many Windows applications. Icons appear next to many items on the main menu. This is a rarity for text editors, they usually do without such generous beauties. Probably, this is done in order to save resources, in order to reduce the size of the distribution, because positioning as a replacement for Notepad makes you try not to swell much compared to the regular application of the system, a real baby, baby.
In addition to working with plain text, Notepad X has the ability to work with RTF. These tools are primitive, and it cannot be said that a text editor can even replace WordPad. However, to create fairly simple documents with font styling, with lists and images, Notepad X is fine.
Another of its features is the work with the BBCode format. It is used in forums and is also intended for complex text formatting. The features of Notepad X are the ability to quickly insert many BBCode tags.
A text editor can change the case of letters, number lines, rename documents. The list of the most frequently used files is made using favorites. In order to add a new document to it, you must first save it to HDD. The working window of the application can smoothly change the transparency. After installing and running the application, a new icon appears in the Windows system tray, which allows the text editor to perform basic file operations without having to open the application's working window.
Notepad X is handy when preparing simple texts and documents that use not very complex styling. In addition, a text editor can be used to create posts on forums that use BBCode formatting.
You can download Notepad X for free from
Free editors for developers
1) Notepad++
Notepad++ is a free text file editor with syntax support for a wide range of programming languages. The program has a wide range of options and is characterized by minimal consumption of processor resources.
Among the advanced features of Notepad++ are the option to highlight text and the ability to collapse blocks according to the syntax of the programming language. The user can independently define the syntax of the programming language. It is possible to set the backlight mode. Color highlighting of directives and programming language operators is available.
Notepad++ provides the ability to view and edit multiple documents at the same time. You can also view and edit the same document in two display windows in different places. A change to a document in one viewport will be automatically moved to the second viewport (i.e. you are editing one document that has a clone in the second viewport).
Other features of Notepad++:
Auto-completion of the typed word.
- Ability to create your own list of API functions (or download it from the download page).
- Support for Regular Expressions Find/Replace.
- Full support for dragging text fragments.
- Dynamic change of viewports.
- Automatic detection file status (notification about changing or deleting a file by another program - with the ability to reload the file or delete it from the program).
- Zoom in and out (scaling).
- Support for a large number of languages.
- Listing of programs can be printed in color - as you see on the screen in the editing window.
- Document notes.
- Highlight brackets when editing text.
- Macro recording and execution.
You can download Notepad++ for free from
2) PSPad
PSPad is a compact, easy-to-use tool with powerful code editor capabilities that is essential for working with different programming languages (including PHP, Perl, HTML and Java) and working with text data at the same time.
PSPad has a powerful graphical user interface that allows you to work with projects, work on multiple documents simultaneously in tabbed mode (MDI), search and replace in files, compare texts with multi-colored highlighting of differences. Other useful features include saving screen sessions and the ability to edit files directly from the web server.
Main features of PSPad:
Macro support: recording, saving and loading.
- Templates (HTML tags, scripts, code templates).
- Templates for HTML, PHP, Pascal, JScript, VBScript, MySQL, MS-DOS, Perl.
- User defined highlighting styles for exotic syntaxes.
- Auto-correction.
- Smart embedded HTML preview using IE and Mozilla.
- Full HEX editor.
- Calling external programs, separately for each development environment.
- An external compiler with output interception, a log window and a log parser for each environment creates an "IDE" effect.
- Color syntax highlighting for printing and print preview.
- Integrated TiDy-library for formatting and checking HTML-code, conversion to CSS, XML, XHTML.
- Built-in free version of TopStyle Lite CSS editor.
- Export highlight code to RTF formats, HTML, TeX c. file or clipboard.
- Vertical selection, bookmarks, labels, line numbering.
- Reformatting and compressing HTML code, changing the case of words, tags and letters.
- Sorting rows with the ability to sort by a given column, with the option to remove duplicates.
- Table of ASCII characters with matching HTML mnemonics.
- Code navigator for Pascal, INI, HTML, XML, PHP.
- Spell check.
- Embedded web browser with Apache support.
- Highlighting paired brackets.
Attention: To install spell checking dictionaries, download the desired language. After downloading, unpack the file into a directory Spell(usually C:/Program Files/PSPad editor/Spell). Then, go to the Settings/Spelling Options menu and select one of the installed dictionaries. You may need to create a Spell directory in the program folder if it doesn't already exist.
You can download PSPad for free from
3) bluefish
Bluefish is a powerful free text editor aimed primarily at programmers and web developers. He possesses large quantity features to facilitate the writing of websites, scripts and program code. Bluefish supports many programming and markup languages, has a simple and easy-to-learn interface, and can be integrated with external programs.
Like other modern text editors, Bluefish has custom syntax highlighting, supports tabs, can automatically complete HTML tags, recognizes a large number of encodings, and has a huge number of other useful features.
Main properties of Bluefish:
Powerful search and replace tools that allow you to use regular expressions.
- Spell checking HTML pages.
- Built-in help information for various programming languages
- Folding code blocks.
- Unlimited number of undo and redo actions.
- Highlighting the beginning and end of tags for the corresponding blocks.
- Auto-complete and auto-close tags for many programming languages.
- Multilingual interface.
- Recursive opening of files.
- User-configurable toolbar for quick access to frequently used functions.
There are a lot of links on the site not for Windows, but I found the latest version, though x32, but it will even work on windows 8 download GNU Emacs for free
GNU Emacs (more commonly referred to simply as Emacs) is a cross-platform text editor aimed primarily at programmers. One of its notable features is the ability to expand functionality. For example, you can turn it into a scheduler or a debugger. Another interesting feature is line-by-line comparison of the contents of two files.
6) Crimson Editor
It is a lightweight text editor for Windows with support for many languages. Using the macro function, it is possible to record the execution of the same type of actions. There is a built-in FTP client. Not a bad solution for Windows users.
9) Komodo Edit
Komodo Edit is a free cross-platform text editor created by ActiveState. Based on the popular Komodo IDE development environment. It has a very convenient projector manager that will help you organize your work. Many developers use it as a layout editor.
