Download EditPlus Free for Windows

You can edit text, HTML, and much more with EditPlus, a robust and capable text editor. The latest release of ES-Computing's EditPlus, version 3.5, adds improved support for high DPI displays as well as Windows 8 compatibility to a long-running and well-regarded text, HTML, Java, and PHP editor that also offers syntax highlighting, integrated Web browsing, code folding, auto-completion, and much more. EditPlus is shareware that is free to try for 30 days with a nag screen.

The EditPlus installer offers more options than most software, whatever the type, including three different installation directories and context menu association. When we first ran the program, we selected the Evaluate button to start our 30-day trial. EditPlus has what can be considered the classic utility layout: Menu bar above toolbar; sidebar on the left, tabbed for Directory and Cliptext, and offering tree view navigation; and a main window. The lower half of the Directory tab is a list of executables, scripts, templates, syntax files, and other items most users need most often. The Cliptext tab is equally handy; it displays ANSI characters, Control characters, CSS2 and CSS3, HTML 4.01 and 5, and XHTML 1.0. All are default settings, though, and can be configured through the User Tools Preferences and Groups, the program's View menu, and through the Windows menu and other settings and preferences. And that's just the start; for example, there's an extensive Zen Coding menu, text-to-speech and keystroke recording tools, and an impressive array of User Tools. If it seems like a lot, just do what EditPlus recommends: For Help, press F1, and the EditPlus Online Manual will appear. Despite the name, the manual is a fully indexed and searchable Windows Help file that seemingly explains every detail of this simple but powerful tool's extensive capabilities.

Simple? Yes, but EditPlus isn't for casual users who simply want a better Notepad; it's for those who want to build a better mousetrap. It did everything we asked of it, though we had to click through a nag screen in the evaluation trial. Despite the fact that the average Windows user will find most of what EditPlus does overwhelming, those who need what it has to offer can (and do) rely on it.

Editors' note: This is a review of the trial version of EditPlus 3.50.