Please wait while the page is being loaded Skip this advertisement >
Thursday | 4 December, 2008
Linux text editors: Do any make the grade?
Our exacting editor test-drives a whopping nine Linux text editors. Which ones crossed the finish line ahead of the pack?
Sharon Machlis 22/08/2007 13:31:06

That's my major complaint with what's otherwise a great application, and one that can be addressed by writing a script outside the editor. Quanta is not an editor for people who want to keep their macros within a single app, or who don't like to code to get nondevelopment work done.

My other quibble with Quanta is that after I tagged something and decided I want to remove the tags, "undo" (Ctrl-Z) didn't simply remove the tags, but also deleted all the text within my tags. Occasionally, it even erased additional text.

Still, this is one of the better available text editors for Linux addressing the intersection of writing, content editing and light coding. Some more in-application macro writing and better "undo" for tagging would make this an ideal replacement on Linux for my beloved NoteTab Pro.

Quanta Plus ratings (on a scale of 1 to 10):

Ease of learning and use: 8

Look and feel: 9

Content editing (spell check, search/replace, etc.): 9

Simple HTML editing (bold, line breaks, ordered lists, etc.): 10

Customization (macro power, ease of creating): 6

Total: 42

The bottom line

So, did I find the single killer text editor I'd been seeking? No, but I uncovered several good applications that should meet the requirements of users with different needs. If I switch to Linux full time, I'm confident I could stitch together a couple of separate apps that would largely do what I need.

But I bet I'll be even happier once that planned UltraEdit version for Linux is released.

Computerworld Buyer's Guide - Vendors Matched to this Article
Computerworld Buyer's Guide - Vendors Matched to this Article
Additional Resources
Executive Guides
Whitepapers
Zones
Zone logoZones provide focussed content from Computerworld and leading technology partners.
Newsletter Subscription
Sign up for our Computerworld newsletters!
RSS Feeds
Market Place

 

Smart SOA World Tour

Discover how SOA can create smarter outcomes for your business.

Attend and learn:

  • How SOA is helping leading companies to become more agile
  • Where you should be applying SOA processes in your company
  • The top SOA implementation mistakes to avoid

Click here for more information.
Whitepaper

Email Archiving 101—Customer Case Study

Join Lee Benjamin, a Microsoft Exchange MVP and Ryan Shipkowski, network administrator for Matthews, to discuss the process and ROI of implementing an email archiving solution, with emphasis on a case study from Matthews International.

Enterprise IT Buyer's Guide
Find Technology Vendors Fast
 
Find vendors by name | Find by category
Sponsored Links