Comparison of text editors

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This article provides a basic feature comparison for several text editors. Additional feature details are available from the Category of text editor features and from the individual products' articles. This article is not all-inclusive or necessarily up-to-date.

The comparisons are made on the stable versions of software – not the upcoming versions or beta releases – and without the use of any add-ons, extensions or external programs (unless specified in footnotes).

[edit] Overview

List of text editors
	Creator	First public release	Latest stable version	Programming language used	Cost (US$)	Software license	Open source
Acme	Rob Pike	1993	Plan 9 and Inferno		Free	LPL, (OSI approved)	Yes
Alphatk	Vince Darley	1999	8.3.3		$40	Proprietary, with BSD components	No
AptEdit	Brother Technology	2003	4.8.1	C, embedded C, C++	$44.95	Proprietary	No
Aquamacs	David Reitter	2005	1.4	C and Elisp	Free	GPL	Yes
BBEdit	Rich Siegel	1992-04	9.0		$125, $49 educational	Proprietary	No
Bluefish	Bluefish Development Team	1999	1.0.7		Free	GPL	Yes
Caditor	Caglow	2008	2.03	C#	Free	AFL	Yes
ConTEXT	ConTEXT Project Ltd	1999	0.98.5	Borland Delphi	Free	Proprietary	No
Crimson Editor	Ingyu Kang	?	3.7		Free	GPL	Yes
Crystal C/C++	SGV Sarc, Inc	1999	4.00	C, embedded C, C++	$249 onwards	Proprietary	No
CRiSP Editor	Foxtrot Systems Ltd, Paul Fox	1990	9.4.3		$99	Proprietary	No
Diakonos	Pistos	2004	0.8.5		Free	MIT	Yes
e	Alexander Stigsen	2005	1.0.30		$34.95	Proprietary	No
ed	Ken Thompson	1970	unchanged from original		Free	/	Yes
EditPlus	Sangil Kim	1998	3.01		$35	Shareware	No
EmEditor Professional	Emurasoft, Inc.	1997	7.02		$39.99 (1-user)	Shareware	No
epsilon	Lugaru Software	1984	13.06	C	$250.00	proprietary	No
gedit	GNU Project	2000	2.22.3	C	Free	GPL	Yes
Geany	Enrico Tröger	2005	0.14		Free	GPL	Yes
GNU Emacs	Richard Stallman	1984	22.3	C and Elisp	Free	GPL	Yes
JED	John E. Davis	1999 (?)	0.99-18		Free	GPL	Yes
jEdit	Slava Pestov	1998 (?)	4.2	Java	Free	GPL	Yes
JOE	Joseph Allen	1988	3.5	C	Free	GPL	Yes
Kate	KDE Project	2000-12	2.5.4		Free	GPL	Yes
KWrite	KDE Project	2000	4.5		Free	GPL	Yes
LE	Alexander V. Lukyanov	1997	1.13.8	C++	Free	GPL	Yes
Metapad	Alexander Davidson	1999	3.51		Free	Freeware	No
mined	Thomas Wolff	1992	2000.12		Free	GPL	Yes
MS-DOS Editor	Microsoft	1991	2.0.026		Bundled with MS-DOS and Microsoft Windows	Proprietary	No
Nano	Chris Allegretta	1999	2.0.9	C	Free	GPL	Yes
NEdit	Mark Edel	1991	5.5		Free	GPL	Yes
Notepad	Microsoft	1985	6.0		Bundled with Microsoft Windows	Proprietary	No
Notepad++	Donho Don Ho	2003-11-25	5.03	C++	Free	GPL	Yes
Notepad2	Florian Balmer	2004-04	2.0.18	C++	Free	BSD license	Yes
NoteTab	Eric Fookes, Fookes Software	1995	5.61		Free, $10 Standard, $20 Pro	Proprietary	No
nvi	Keith Bostic	?	1.79		Free	BSD license	Yes
Pico	University of Washington	?	4.64		Free	Proprietary	No
PolyEdit	PolySoft Solutions	1998	5.0 Preview Release		$27.95	Shareware	No
Programmer's Notepad	Simon Steele	1998	2.0.6.1	C++	Free	BSD license	Yes
PSPad	Jan Fiala	2002	4.5.3	Borland Delphi	Free	Proprietary	No
RJ TextEd	Rickard Johansson	?	4.521	Borland Delphi	Free	Proprietary	No
sam	Rob Pike	1980s	Plan 9 and Inferno		Free	LPL, (OSI approved)	Yes
SciTE	Neil Hodgson	1999-03	1.75		Free	HPND	Yes
skEdit	Sean Kelly, skti	2002	3.6.1		$24.95 for a Lifetime license	Proprietary	No
SlickEdit	SlickEdit, Inc.	1988	11.0.2		$299	Proprietary	No
Smultron	Peter Borg	2004	3.3	Objective-C	Free	BSD	Yes
SubEthaEdit	TheCodingMonkeys	2003	2.6.3		$35 for commercial use	Proprietary	No
TED Notepad	Juraj Simlovic	2001	5.3.1		Free	Freeware	No
TextEdit	Apple Computer	2001	1.4		Bundled with Mac OS X	Proprietary^{[citation needed]}	No
TextMate	MacroMates	2004-10-10	1.5.7	Objective-C++	€39	Proprietary, with MIT components	No
TextPad	Helios Software Solutions	1992	5.2		$32.40 (£16.50)	Shareware	No
TextWrangler	Bare Bones Software	?	2.3		Free	Proprietary	No
The Gun	Steve Hutchesson	?	3.0f	Microsoft Assembler (100%)	Free	Freeware	No
The SemWare Editor	Sammy Mitchell	1985-11	4.4		$99	Proprietary	No
UltraEdit	IDM Computer Solutions	1994	14.10		$49.95	Proprietary	No
UNA	N-BRAIN, Inc.	2008	1.0	Java	Lite free, Full $300	Proprietary	No
VEDIT	Ted Green, Greenview Data	1980	6.15.2	Assembly and C	standard $89 , Pro64 $239	Proprietary	No
Vim	Bram Moolenaar	1991	7.2	C	Free	GPL - compatible	Yes
XEmacs	Lucid Inc.	1991	21.4	C and Elisp	Free	GPL	Yes
Zeus	Xidicone P/L	1995	3.96q	C and C++	$69.95	Shareware	No
	Creator	First public release	Latest stable version	Programming language used	Cost (US$)	Software license	Open source

[edit] Operating system support

This section lists the operating systems that different editors can run on. Some editors run on additional operating systems that are not listed.

[edit] Cross-platform

Text editor support for various operating systems
	Windows	Mac OS X	Linux	BSD	Unix	OpenVMS
Acme	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No
Alphatk	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Bluefish	Partial ^[1]	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
BBEdit	No	Yes	No	No	No	No
CRiSP	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No
Crystal C/C++	Yes	No	No	No	No	No
Diakonos	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No
ed	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
epsilon	Yes	Yes^[2]	Yes	Yes	Yes	No
gedit	No	Yes ^[3]	Yes	Yes	Yes	No
Geany	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
GNU Emacs	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
JED	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
jEdit	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No
JOE	Partial ^[4]	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No
Kate	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No
KWrite	Partial ^[5]	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No
LE	Partial ^[4]	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No
mined	Partial ^[6]	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	?
Nano	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No
NEdit	Partial ^[4]	Yes ^[3]	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
ne	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No
nvi	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No
Pico	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
SciTE	Yes	Yes ^[3]	Yes	Yes	Yes	No
SlickEdit	Yes	Yes ^[3]	Yes	No	Yes	No
TaterEdit	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	No	No
UNA	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No
Vim	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
XEmacs	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
	Windows	Mac OS X	Linux	BSD	Unix	OpenVMS

[edit] Java-based text editors

Java-based
jEdit
UNA

[edit] Windows-only text editors

Windows Only
AptEdit
Caditor
ConTEXT
Crimson Editor
Crystal C/C++
e
EditPlus
EmEditor
Metapad
Notepad
Notepad++
Notepad2
NotesHolder
NoteTab
PolyEdit
Programmer's Notepad
PSPad
RJ TextEd
TED Notepad
TextPad
The SemWare Editor ^[7]
UltraEdit
VEDIT
Zeus

[edit] Mac-only text editors

Mac Only
Aquamacs
BBEdit
Carbon Emacs
Scrivener
skEdit
Smultron
SubEthaEdit
TextEdit
TextMate
TextWrangler

[edit] Natural language

Available languages for the UI^[8]
	English	German	French	Polish	Japanese	Italian	Dutch	Portuguese	Spanish	Swedish	Total
Acme	Yes	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?
Alphatk	Yes	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?
AptEdit	Yes	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	1
Aquamacs	Yes	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	1
BBEdit	Yes	?	?	?	No	?	?	?	?	?	?
Bluefish	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	26
Caditor	Yes	No	Yes	No	No	No	No	No	Yes	No	3
ConTEXT	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	22
Crimson Editor	Yes	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	1
Diakonos	Yes	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?
e	Yes	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?
ed	Yes	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?
EditPlus	Yes	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?
EmEditor Professional	Yes	?	Yes	?	Yes	?	?	?	?	?	?
epsilon	Yes	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	1
gedit	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	82
Geany	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	21
GNU Emacs	Yes	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	1
JED	Yes	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?
jEdit	Yes	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	1
JOE	Yes	Yes	Yes	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	4
Kate	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	50 fully / 18 mostly [3]
KWrite	Yes	Yes	?	?	?	Yes	?	?	Yes	Yes	?
Metapad	Yes	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?
mined	Yes	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?
MS-DOS Editor	Yes	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?
Nano	Yes	?	Yes	?	?	Yes	?	Yes	?	?	?
NEdit	Yes	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?
Notepad	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	?	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	?	?
Notepad++	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	43
Notepad2	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	?	?	?	?	Yes	Yes	?
NoteTab	Yes	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?
nvi	Yes	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?
Pico	Yes	?	?	?	?	Yes	?	?	?	?	?
PolyEdit	Yes	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?
Programmer's Notepad	Yes	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?
PSPad	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	36
RJ TextEd	Yes	Yes	No	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	14
SciTE	Yes	Yes	Outdated (1.72)	Yes	Outdated (1.62)	Yes	Outdated (1.67)	Outdated (1.63)	Yes	Yes	39 [4]
skEdit	Yes	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?
SlickEdit	Yes	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?
Smultron	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	13
SubEthaEdit	Yes	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?
TED Notepad	Yes	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?
TextEdit	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	18
TextMate	Yes	?	?	?	No	?	?	?	?	?	?
TextPad	Yes	Yes	Yes	Outdated (4.7.3)	Yes	Outdated (4.7.3)	Outdated (4.7.3)	Outdated (4.7.3)	Outdated (4.7.3)	No	9
TextWrangler	Yes	?	?	?	No	?	?	?	?	?	?
The SemWare Editor	Yes	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?
UltraEdit	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	No	Yes	No	No	Yes	No	7
UNA	Yes	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	1
VEDIT	Yes	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	1
Vim	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	25
XEmacs	Yes	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?
Zeus	Yes	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?
	English	German	French	Polish	Japanese	Italian	Dutch	Portuguese	Spanish	Swedish	Total

[edit] Document interface

Text editor support for common document interfaces
	Multiple instances	Single document window splitting	MDI: Overlappable windows	MDI: Tabbed document interface	MDI: Window splitting
Acme	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	Yes
Alphatk	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
AptEdit	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Aquamacs	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
BBEdit	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Bluefish	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	No
Caditor	Yes	No	No	No	No
ConTEXT	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	No
Crimson Editor	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Crystal C/C++	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Diakonos	Yes	No	No	No	No
e	Yes	No	No	Yes	No
ed	Yes	No	No	No	No
EditPlus	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
EmEditor Professional	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Geany	Yes	No	No	Yes	No
gedit	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	No
GNU Emacs	Yes	Yes	Yes	Plugin ^[9] ^[10]	Yes
JED	No	Yes	No	No	Yes
jEdit	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	Yes
JOE	Yes	Yes	No	No^[11]	Yes
Kate	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
KWrite	Yes	No	No	No	No
LE	Yes	No	No	No	No
Metapad	Yes	No	No	No	No
mined	Yes	No	No ^[12]	No	No
MS-DOS Editor	?	Yes	No	No	Yes
Nano	Yes	No	No	No	No
NEdit	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	Yes

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