Download.it search icon
Advertisement

A highly configured and multi featured text editor that is easy to install and simple to use

A highly configured and multi featured text editor that is easy to install and simple to use

Vote: (14 votes)

Program license: Free

Developer: Vim

Version: 9.0.0000

Works under: Windows

Also available for Mac

Vote:

Program license

(14 votes)

Free

Developer

Version

Vim

9.0.0000

Works under:

Also available for

Windows

Mac

Pros

  • Extremely flexible
  • Free & open-source
  • Automatically highlights text
  • Supports numerous plugins

Cons

  • Difficult to use
  • Steep learning curve
  • No support for word processing documents

Vim, which is short for vi improved, is a Windows port of the popular Unix text editor.

Perhaps no other text editor has been able to cultivate the following of Vim, which is among the most popular on the GNU/Linux and macOS platforms. It's been in use since 1991, and this port allows you to bring a little of that longevity to your Windows PC.

While this version of the software has all of the features you'd expect out of a character-based editor, it functions as a standalone GUI application. That means you don't have to run it inside of a terminal emulator.

Everything you'd find on a Linux computer is here, however, even if the interface looks more like Microsoft Notepad than Xfce4. It comes with a persistent multi-level undo system and supports add-on modules written in vimscript and VimL.

When you first install Vim, you'll find that it's keybindings are a bit different from what you'd normally find in Windows software. For instance, you can change modes using the escape key and move the cursor using the infamous HJKL combination.

Advocates promote these bindings as superior to those found in most modern pieces of software. However, all it takes to change them is editing a handful of configuration files. You'll be able to set your own indent styles and color-coding preferences in them as well.

Considering that Vim comes preconfigured for editing preference files, you won't even have to leave the program to do this. You'll also not have to leave it if you want to learn more about it's powerful functions. A handy help menu with a built-in tutorial can teach you everything you need to know.

As you'd expect from something that originated in the Unix world, Vim is built with 100 percent open-source components. You won't have to worry about the software phoning home or sharing the contents of any file you open with it. That makes it an ideal option for coders who are working on sensitive projects.

Beginners certainly won't want to try Vim before they've gotten some experience with other text editors. It's learning curve is infamous and many first-time users aren't even aware of how to close the software once they've opened it.

If you're an experienced computer user who is looking for something to take your productivity to the next level, then Vim is the perfect tool. It should also prove to be an attractive option for users of Linux and Macintosh computers who want to put something on their Windows-based PC that feels like what they're used to.

Professional developers will especially love Vim, since it supports several hundred programming languages and text file formats out of the box. It even ships with Unicode support compiled in, so you might want to give it a try if you often have to work with foreign language material.

Pros

  • Extremely flexible
  • Free & open-source
  • Automatically highlights text
  • Supports numerous plugins

Cons

  • Difficult to use
  • Steep learning curve
  • No support for word processing documents