Text editor is an essential tool for software developers. While notepad is light and fast, it lacks many features we need to be productive. So I have been trying different options and find Notepad++ to be the right balance. It’s an open source project, simple, fast and have a lot of features. The most important feature for me is syntax highlighting and folding which it does for many languages.
Another feature I use a lot comes after configuring it as the “View Source” editor for IE. To open source files in notepad++, change your default program to open text files in notepad++ using Folder Options.
I know there are are more advanced editors than this. I haven’t tried them all but most of them are kind of real resource hogs or complex. If you haven’t tried notepad++, give it a try.
It is not an advanced editor than Vim or Emacs, but it’s not trying to be. These are in different class of their own. For deep dive on comparisons, check out article on Wikipedia.
anand prakash 
Dost,
Most of the “rich” features that you mention are general, run-of-the-mill features for Vim. Sure you have to read tutorials for it but wouldn’t you do so happily if your productivity increased by 100-200%?
But to each, his own. Everyone has to find a text editor that is the right balance of features, complexity and resource-heaviness.
Correct… but by the time I finish those tutorials, I’ll keep on using notepad++ :). Jokes apart, I agree Vim is a lot advanced editor but this thing is simple, straight forward, light and worked just perfect.
I know one day I’ll be posting the same thing about Vim but with some tricks to make it simple to use.