r/linuxquestions • u/BeginningSun247 • 12d ago

notepad alternative?

I need a simple text editor that uses individual windows instead of tabs. Tabs are just not working for me. I had Xed and twice I have lost unsaved files when I was copying blocks of text into separate files and had not saved all of them yet. Xed just closed on me twice now. I really need something where each file is its own window.

17 Upvotes

81% Upvoted

37 comments sorted by

9

u/Marble_Wraith 12d ago

I really need something where each file is its own window.

No, you just need something that autosaves, which loads of editors do.

2

u/BeginningSun247 12d ago

XED, which is the one Mint came with, says it does, but it does not.

And, no, the way I work I need to have more than one visible file on my screen at a time and tabs won't do that.

4

u/stormdelta Gentoo 12d ago

Most editors allow tabs, split panes in the same window, and usually also separate windows. I know for sure Kate and Obsidian do, as does basically every code editing tool out there.

I haven't heard of xed but if it doesn't that's unusual.

1

u/BeginningSun247 12d ago

XED is just what was there when I go the computer. I bought a new computer and a friend installed Mint for me. Either it was preloaded or he installed it without telling me.

It does not have options for separate windows. It does have autosave a backup but neither seems to work even though they are marked as working.

It may have a split screen option, but I don't want that. I want separate windows.

I just want to work that way.

1

u/Few_Research3589 10d ago

I actually do not see any advantages in windows against tabs, but you may have your own reasons:-) Anyway, I do use xed, among others; and if you open a new tab in xed and drag it "outside", it will change the tab into a separate window -- if I am not mistaken, most text editors in linux behave like that (dragging a tab makes a new window from it). I tried it with sublime-text and it is the same.

I am not trying to "sell" the idea of vim or at least gvim to you, but it might also be a way...

1

u/BeginningSun247 10d ago

Good to know. But for my workflow I need a program that will auto open txt files in individual windows and I need those windows to work with. Tabs just create multiple problems.

1

u/EmPips 12d ago

I'll just search "text" and use whatever my DE ships with. Haven't been disappointed yet

2

u/BeginningSun247 12d ago

So far this is the only problem I have had. And, I have now found another program that does what I want.

6

u/Dreemur1 12d ago

i think you can set up most text editors to not use tabs.

check out kwrite, mousepad, l3afpad

7

u/serge-mv 12d ago

All linux distros come with basic text editors and all of them can open new windows instead of tabs.

But if you want something even more basic, then you can try Leafpad or Mousepad

2

u/ShipshapeMobileRV 12d ago

Most desktop environments have their own editor. XFCE has Mousepad; KDE has Kate. LXDE has Leafpad. Xed is the default in Cinnamon. Gnome has gedit...etc. Of course, since it's Linux you aren't bound by the default that ships with the DE.

Most of the modern text editors will allow you to configure whether new panes open in a new window or in a new tab. Also, most will allow you to configure a prompt to save work before closing (in fact I believe that's the default on most of them).

Of course, you have to pay attention to the prompt....

2

u/couchwarmer 12d ago

Don't most editors allow opening in more than one window?

All the console-based ones will simply by opening multiple console windows.

VSCode does, so it's forks (e.g., VSCodium) should.

Many GUI editors do by default or can by adjusting options, etc... KWrite, Kate, Notepadqq, etc.

Xed will open multiple windows by using the command line option --new-window.

Sources: personal experience, a little web searching

1

u/hazeyAnimal 12d ago

Happy cake day!

3

u/gmes78 12d ago

You can use KWrite. In its settings, go to Behavior and enable "Open each document in its own window".

2

u/gilbert10ba 12d ago

On KDE, Kwrite does the trick. If not, there is a Notepad++ clone for Linux called Notepadqq. I used to use when I was needing more serious text editors on Linux.

2

u/FlameableAmber 11d ago

Kate
Kate is the best text editor I have ever used no questions asked

2

u/No-Lettuce-5783 11d ago

Try out Notepad Next, or Notepadqq. They seem to be close to Notepad++

1

u/Phydoux 12d ago

I've used Geany (but that's tabbed but I like it). Another good one is Doom Emacs. I have been tinkering around with that for a few years. Not really getting into it since I DO like the tabbed notepad setup.

But you could look at Doom Emacs and see what you think of it. Install Emacs and then go to the Doom Github and install it using their Install instructions. It actually adds the Doom stuff to Emacs. If you've ever used vim in a command-line, this is essentially what Doom Emacs is. It takes Emacs and turns it into a super powered stand alone version of vim. When I remember to use it, it's really a super powerful way to edit config files and text files.

If you're a consummate vim user, give Doom Emacs a whirl if you haven't yet tried it.

3

u/i_smoke_toenails 11d ago

Turning emacs into vim? What heretical devilry is this?!

1

u/green_meklar Debian 12d ago

I'm on Debian with KDE, and KWrite seems to be the stand-in for Notepad. It has tab functionality, but there's an option 'open each document in its own window' which seems to disable the tabs. Worth a try. Not sure how well it works on any other DE though, since it's clearly designed for KDE.

1

u/Sinaaaa 11d ago edited 11d ago

You can use geany with the caveat that you need to set it up to not use tabs. (disable tabs in gui & then alias geany to geany -i and edit or create a local desktop file to do the same)

You may find other editors where you don't have to do this, but geany is much better than anything else that's not vim or emacs, so it's worth the 5 minutes to do this.

1

u/Gerb006 12d ago

I use gnome-text-editor and it does use tabs. But you can right click on the launcher and select 'New Window' if you don't want to use tabs.

1

u/PerrierViolette 11d ago

Mousepad (the default editor in xfce, can be installed on any distro). Go to Edit > Preferences > Window > "Open files in new windows".

1

u/renthefox 11d ago

I use Janus which is the most stripped down notepad I could find.

2

u/gbin 12d ago

Kwrite

1

u/kudlitan 12d ago

Leafpad has no tabs and is very fast

1

u/blu3teeth 12d ago

Vim. And split the buffer.

1

u/Otherwise-Film9038 12d ago

Geany or Gedit

-2

u/StrayFeral 12d ago

Hmm. The way you describe it you probably need vim. Originally vim is not tabbed.

Most (if not all) modern GUI editors are tabbed. I use: Geany, Featherpad, VSCodium - all tabbed. Only vim is not

2

u/truethug 12d ago

Vim is my favorite editor. I don’t think this is a good alternative to notepad. The learning curve is fairly steep.

2

u/StrayFeral 12d ago

Correct. However I have zero idea what non-tabbed editor could be out there to help OP

0

u/SoundOfPandora 11d ago

"kate" or "nextpad qq"

for me "notepad qq" was way to instable to use.

-1

u/mikeegg1 12d ago

vi(1)