During my first programming course, we had to use punch cards, even though there were CRT terminals all over campus. The instructor offered an optional, after-hours session on coding for CRT input and output. I do believe that without the immediate turn-around that was available with those skills, I might have failed the course, instead of acing it. Since then, I have always looked for good editors to use with all of the various text files that are still very important to getting the job done.
My current favorite is Notepad++ which has been on the top of my list now for almost 5 years. I recently upgraded to the latest version after a long delay, because for a few versions, I had problems getting one particular feature to run after one update. From what I see, those days are behind me.
So, what do I edit?
I like the syntax highlighting feature and its ability to create user defined file types with their own syntax highlighting. It also has folder collapse capability to contract whole blocks of a file to a single line while you look at things above and below the collapsed area. One of its best features is the ability to add CR/LF with indents to XML files to make them easier to read.
I use the syntax highlighting for shell for CFG files and have created my own for TDS RAW, ICS COGO, MSDebug.txt, barmenu MDF and AutoCAD LIN.
Other editors I've been loyal to are EMACS (I still occasionally use both the DOS and Windows versions.) I also use an editor called GWD Edit, which I find Notepad++ to be a good replacement for.
Notepad++ also has a very powerful search and replace mode with Reg Exp and a find in files feature that is also very powerful. Its GNU GPL which makes it easy on the wallet..
Notepad++ is the best I've found for Windows, as well. I have user-defined language templates to do syntax highlighting for MicroStation configuration files and GEOPAK Criteria files, which I find invaluable. Regular expressions are a must-have feature, and the implementation in N++ is quite robust. I also make extension use of the very easy-to-use Compare function. And you simply can't beat the price.
It deserves to be linked: http://notepad-plus-plus.org/
I have had it choke on extremely large files (hundreds of MB), although I think it has improved in that area since then. If someone needed to work on extremely large text files with any regularity, I would suggest looking at VEDIT (http://vedit.com/index.html). The interface looks like something out of the mid-90's, but it handles large files with ease. Lots of features. Not free.
We mention a few text editors on our website. Not that we've used them all, but it's useful to have a list of what's available.
If you're working with XML, a text editor is not very useful. XML Notepad is a freeware structured editor for XML.
Regards, Jon Summers LA Solutions
My personal favorite is UltraEdit.I can't even recall how many years I've been using it. Back in the day it included syntax highlighting for all the common languages but even obscure things like UCM's.It provides syntax highlighting, code folding, function lists, etc. for who knows how many languages; and if the wordfile isn't delivered, you can create your own.I routinely edit huge (10 - 100MB+) files with it. Great for ASCII, Unicode, heck even EBCDIC [speaking of punch cards :-) ]. Works with HEX / Binary, etc.It has served me well over many years and I bought a "lifetime" license like 10 years ago or something, and regular updates / improvements still come regularly.
I guess because it has been my tool of choice for so long, I really haven't tried out too many others over the years. I've used Notepad++ a number of times because that's what was on the machine I happened to be working on at the time. It seems friendly enough and impressive.
-G-
Hello guys
Apologies for 'gatecrashing' this topic
I don't have a favourite text editor and I don't want one ..... I do 'architecture' and I work for companies that design buildings
I realise that my configuration experience and general IT set up requirements (networks, servers, ...) are not on the level of people such as yourselves
HOWEVER .... I should not need a text editor to install and set up some design software for general use (even textedit or whatever the very basic one is that you get with Windows)
Up till the late 90s, you needed to knows html to do a website, ........ then ...... people brought out WYSIWYG html editors and the creation of websites exploded ...... millions (tens, .... hundreds of millions!!!!!!!) of people now produce websites without knowing anything about html ......then things moved on a bit more .... social networking, blogs, web 2.0 .....
None of this would be happening if you still had to learn html to set up some kind of web presence (imagine trying to sell something on ebay!)
This 'text editor business' is clearly THE Achilles heal of the whole Microstation thing
When, ...... when are we going to get some kind of GUI for general Microstation configuration. I really am struggling to understand what seems to be some kind of ideological opposition to this. Surely there is no problem with this GUI, generating behind the scenes the various essential/basic text based cfg files that are required (system, standards, pcfs, ucfs, ...) so that 'more savvy' people can open them up and add special routines/customisations and such
I realise that you may wall be considering 'text editors' in a winder Windows/IT context than just for Microsation, .... but pleazzzzzzzze ..... we (flaky designers) have enough on our plates without having to then on top of that start learning about a whole raft of different files and folders (with often totally non AEC related names) and then poking around with a text editor and leaning about syntax
Prepend?????? append??????? < > $$$$$$$$$$$$$ ????????????
Surely if you want to 'prepend' something, ... you just put if above or before in the list or stack (in your WYSIWYG Microstation Set Up and Project Management Utility)
Then again, it would seem you don't ...... you have to learn about syntax and fiddle around with a text editor
GGGggggggrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr!
Sorry, but this is an ongoing 'issue' of mine ...... and pretty much about the 98%+ of users who know nothing about this type of approach (and will not be getting to grips with it any time in the near future)
Rant over (but that is just Part 1)
Regards
Danny Cooley
Freelance AEC CAD/BIM Technician Architecture, MEP & Structural ..... (& ex Low Carbon Consultant, ..... because they weren't that bothered!)
OBD Update 10, Windows 10 Pro, HP Z4-G4, 64Gb, Xeon 3.6GHz, Quadro M4000
The XML tools of Notepad++ (a plugin) make it very useful for things that are just too time consuming in XML Notepad. The ability to edit the XML formatted XSL stylesheets is essential for InRoads.
Charles (Chuck) Rheault CADD Manager
MDOT State Highway Administration Maryland DOT - State Highway Administration User Communities Page