But for others who are spoilt by the newer generation editors with their modern and sleek designs (including me), we can’t help but dream of a time when Notepad++ gets a UI refresh. Some would argue that the application is fully functional and “ if it ain’t broke don’t fix it”. It’s understandable as Notepad++ looks similar to Notepad and Wordpad, which come pre-installed with Windows. Some people might find the familiarity of the interface comforting. Let’s face it, it’s not pretty and can’t hold a candle to it’s younger siblings like Visual Studio Code, Atom, Sublime text, etc.įile:Notepad++ v7 on Windows 10, as on it’s Wikipedia Page

Notepad++ looks like an application straight out of the Windows XP era.

What makes Notepad++ so popular is that it’s free, highly customizable and is well maintained with regular patches and bug fixes. Even in 2017 it held it’s own, falling only behind Visual Studio Code. In it Notepad++ was voted as the most used text editor worldwide, with 34.7% of the 26,086 respondents claiming to use it daily. In 2015, Stack Overflow conducted a worldwide Developer Survey.40% of the 16,294 respondents specified it as their most-loved editor. In 2014, Lifehacker readers voted Notepad++ as the “ Most Popular Text Editor”.(Though even they couldn’t resist criticizing it’s user interface and calling it ugly) In 2011, Lifehacker described Notepad++ as “ The Best Programming Text Editor for Windows”.

Launched in November 2003 (that’s 17 years if you’re counting), it has definitely seen it’s fair share of glorious days. Notepad++ is old, at-least by today’s software standards. Material Theme | Giving Notepad++ a modern (and dark) makeover Credit where it’s due

Notepad ++ themes