Text - Notepads - The Portable Freeware Collection

Text Editor Pro v29.0.0 Updated

Ennovy on 15 Apr 2024

9MB (uncompressed)
Released on 14 Apr 2024
Suggested by Midas

Text Editor Pro (formerly EditBone) is a powerful text editor with a customizable interface. View options include minimap, directory view, line numbers, rulers, and skins. The code viewer enables syntax highlighting support for over 50 languages and scripts, customizable with over 100 options, 29 ready made styles.

Search tools include a file comparison feature, wildcards and regular expressions support, multiple directory results, and a duplicate text finder.

Other power features include macro recording and playback, hotkeys, and file execution. You can also convert untis (e.g. volume and mass), speak text, onscreen zoom, SQL formatter and more.

Supports 20 world languages.

Category:	Text - Editors (32) Text - Notepads (22)
Runs on:	Win2K / WinXP / Vista / Win7 / Win8 / Win10 / Win11
Writes settings to:	Application folder
Stealth: ?	No. %LOCALAPPDATA%\TextEditorPro
Unicode support:	Yes
License:	Freeware
How to extract:	Download the ZIP or 7z package and extract to a folder of your choice. Launch TextEditorPro.exe -appinipath.
Similar/alternative apps:	Notepad3
What's new?	See: https://texteditor.pro/index.php?page=history
Latest comments	webfork on 2019-01-27 13:09 It doesn't have functionality far in advance of other editors, but the interface is great. There are big, clear icons, themes, easy tabbed interface, and a really smooth options menu. If you think text editors are supposed to be functional rather than friendly, this might not be your cup of tea. Otherwise... PapaiMark on 2020-02-25 15:11 Nice. The best text compare Ive ever seen. And mainly because of the trim-left/right. eitang on 2021-12-10 15:46 Hi all, Yes, Great editor !!! BUT: Although it says compatible with Win2K / WinXP / Vista / Win7 / Win8 / Win10 version v18.2.1 is NOT compatible with (at least) Win XP SR3 (which I still use). I wrote to support@texteditor.pro but no reply as yet. Anybody has a cure ? a Work Arounfd ? (it may be some useless DLL, for example...) TIA, EitanG See all 12›

QOwnNotes v24.4.2 Updated

Ennovy on 13 Apr 2024

64MB (uncompressed)
Released on 12 Apr 2024
Suggested by pbek

QOwnNotes is a text editor / notepad replacement with markdown support and todo list manager. The program supports themes, keyboard shortcuts, syntax highlighting and encryption. Includes available nested file list, tags, search and more. Optionally works with the notes application ownCloud or Nextcloud.

Cross-platform with clients available for Mac and Linux. Windows XP users can find builds here.

Category:	Productivity - Desktop Notes (9) Text - Notepads (22) Productivity - Outline Editors (4) Security - Encryption/Decryption (10)
Runs on:	WinXP / Vista / Win7 / Win8 / Win10 / Win11
Writes settings to:	Application folder (if launched with QOwnNotesPortable.bat)
Unicode support:	Yes
Path portability:	Automatic relative path (eg. ..\..\personal\work.doc)
License:	GNU GPLv2
How to extract:	Download the ZIP package and extract to a folder of your choice. Launch QOwnNotesPortable.bat or launch QOwnNotes.exe --portable. Optionally, delete unnecessary language files.
What's new?	See: https://www.qownnotes.org/changelog.html
Latest comments	hamasaki on 2019-08-09 20:08 Latest portable 64bit version throws a runtime error on Win 10. hamasaki on 2019-08-11 22:01 Fixed in latest update. hamasaki on 2023-01-28 02:27 Now at 23.1.3 See all 8›

EmEditor Free v23.1 Updated

Ennovy on 22 Feb 2024

206MB (uncompressed)
Released on 24 Jan 2024
Suggested by smaragdus

EmEditor is a tabbed text editor with themes, syntax highlighting, stay-on-top and customizable keyboard mapping. The program supports batch find-and-replace, regular expressions and more.

Category:	Text - Editors (32) Text - Notepads (22)
Runs on:	Win7 / Win8 / Win10 / Win11
Writes settings to:	Application folder
Dependencies:	Internet Explorer v11
Unicode support:	Yes
License:	Liteware
How to extract:	Download the "Portable" ZIP package and extract to a folder of your choice. Launch EmEditor.exe. Skip the 30-day evaluation of the full version by selecting the Help menu and click Downgrade.
Similar/alternative apps:	Notepad++
What's new?	See: https://www.emeditor.com/text-editor-features/history/
Latest comments	smaragdus on 2018-05-04 06:56 @hamasaki Opening the download page of EmEditor automatically starts downloading the installers (x32 or x64 depending on user's system). I added direct download links to portable versions. webfork on 2018-05-04 12:59 @smaragdus: my fault, thanks for fixing that hamasaki on 2018-05-05 05:26 Thanks guys. See all 4›

EditPad Lite v8.4.2

Ennovy on 21 Jul 2023

9MB (uncompressed)
Released on 21 Jul 2023
Suggested by Jacek Zebrowski

EditPad Lite is a fast and lightweight general-purpose text editor. It allows you to open many files simultaneously and switch between them using tabs. It also supports many functions for text manipulation and conversion.

A 64-bit version is available. EditPad's installer now automatically installs a 64-bit version of EditPad on 64-bit Windows.

Category:	Text - Editors (32) Text - Notepads (22)
Runs on:	WinXP / Vista / Win7 / Win8 / Win10 / Win11
Writes settings to:	Application folder
Stealth: ?	No. Creates HKCU\Software\JGsoft on Windows 8.1.
Unicode support:	Yes
License:	Free for personal use
How to extract:	Download and run the installer Select the 'Create Portable Installation' option Check 'treat all drives as removable drives' and save to a drive of your choice. The program will save to the root of that drive. Optionally, move EditPadLite from the drive root to a folder of your choice Launch EditPadLite8.exe
Similar/alternative apps:	AkelPad, Notepad++
What's new?	See: https://www.editpadlite.com/releasenotes.html
Latest comments	Ennovy on 2021-03-31 10:06 "How to extract: 3. The program will save to the root of that drive." You can however manually enter the path where to extract the program, so that you don't have to move the folder later AndTheWolf on 2023-07-21 14:48 My first attempt to download EditPad Lite v8.42 resulted in a zero-length SetupEditPadLite.exe and a cryptic error message. After some research I discovered that your download points to http://download.jgsoft.com/editpad/SetupEditPadLite.exe, but my browser enforces the https protocol. Downloading from httpS://download.jgsoft.com/editpad/SetupEditPadLite.exe worked. Ennovy on 2023-07-21 15:39 @AndTheWolf: thanks for reporting this, I changed the downloadlink See all 27›

Crypto Notepad v1.7.3

Andrew Lee on 10 Sep 2022

4MB (uncompressed)
Released on 9 Sep 2022
Suggested by smaragdus

Crypto Notepad is a simple, notepad-like text editor that encrypts saved files. Other features include font and color customization, word wrap, shortcut keys, and auto-lock on minimize. You can press the lock icon to hide information without closing the application (will switch to a password prompt).

Utilizes the AES encryption algorithm with available 128, 192, and 256 key sizes.

Category:	Security - Encryption/Decryption (25) Security - Privacy Tools (44) Text - Notepads (22) Others - .NET Apps (81)
Runs on:	Vista / Win7 / Win8 / Win10
Writes settings to:	Application folder
Dependencies:	Microsoft .NET Framework 4.6.1+
Stealth: ?	No
Unicode support:	Yes
License:	MIT License
How to extract:	Download the ZIP package and extract to a folder of your choice. Launch Crypto Notepad.exe.
Similar/alternative apps:	fSekrit, Steganos LockNote
What's new?	See: https://github.com/Crypto-Notepad/Crypto-Notepad/wiki/Release-Notes
Latest comments	Hawk on 2017-02-13 14:20 Don't have tabs? webfork on 2017-02-13 22:52 @Hawk: no but feel free to request that feature on the github site. Author is fairly responsive. vmars316 on 2018-12-20 14:40 Couldn't open zip file , had to use 7z . Add comment 3›

TED Notepad v6.3.1

Ennovy on 1 Dec 2021

274KB (uncompressed)
Released on 1 Dec 2021
Suggested by technicolordreamcoat

TED Notepad is a small and fast text editor intended as a replacement for Windows notepad. The program offers a variety of interface tools including hotkeys for almost every function, ability to minimize to system tray, favorite files menu, and many more. Additionally, up to nine permanent clipboards, advanced searching, auto-completion, bi-directional editing and many text-processing functions.

Category:	Text - Editors (32) Text - Notepads (22) Text - Viewers (3)
Runs on:	Win2K / WinXP / Vista / Win7 / Win8 / Win10
Writes settings to:	Application folder
Stealth: ?	Yes
Unicode support:	Yes
License:	Freeware
How to extract:	Download the "Portable" ZIP package and extract to a folder of your choice. Launch TedNPad.exe.
Similar/alternative apps:	AkelPad
What's new?	See:http://jsimlo.sk/notepad/changes.php
Latest comments	ripu on 2018-03-11 11:17 Is it stealth? Ennovy on 2021-10-10 15:36 oct 2, 2021 version 6.3 Release Candidate download http://jsimlo.sk/notepad/thankyou.php?getfile=tnp630se_uni.zip Changelog: http://jsimlo.sk/notepad/changes.php Cornflower on 2021-12-01 07:17 Note a lot of new functions in 6.3.1 (see changelog). Also, after using beta versions without manual updates, it is good to see the manual is up to date in 6.3.1 See all 13›

SavageEd2 v0.10.00

Midas on 13 Jan 2022

44KB (uncompressed)
Released on 22 Sep 2021
Suggested by ChemZ

SavageEd2 is a very small and fast Notepad replacement. It can edit files of any size, limited only by memory. It can encrypt text files using AES encryption with 256 bit key (max 32 character password) in .enc format. It has Pattern searching features and written in x86 assembly language (HLA).

Note: SavageEd2 is the replacement for former SavageEd.

Category:	Text - Editors (32) Text - Notepads (22) Security - Encryption/Decryption (10)
Runs on:	WinXP / Vista / Win7 / Win8 / Win10
Writes settings to:	Application folder.
License:	Freeware/Open Source
How to extract:	Download the ZIP package and extract to a folder of your choice. Launch SavageEd.exe.
What's new?	Full changelog at https://github.com/Androthi/SavageEd/blob/master/CHANGE_LOG.md.
Latest comments	IanFromBarrie on 2021-07-05 10:24 Just now (2021-07-05) Google says "this file is infected with a virus. Only the owner can download ..." __philippe on 2021-07-05 15:11 V*rus Total reported infection ratio (19/74) is indeed a tad too high for comfort...:-( See also https://www.portablefreeware.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=101557#p101557 Midas on 2021-08-03 07:38 The former program's webpage (see below) is very outdated. Linked to Github. https://sites.google.com/view/androth/home/high-level-assembly#h.p_5VxamhLpaykB See all 7›

NFOPad v1.75

billon on 9 Feb 2020

7MB (uncompressed)
Released on 9 Feb 2020
Suggested by bobac

NFOPad is a small, fast and flexible combined text editor and NFO viewer. Modeled from Notepad, the program includes customization and an ASCII art viewer. The file extension is used to determine whether to use an ANSI or ASCII font.

Category:	Text - Notepads (22) Text - Viewers (13)
Runs on:	WinXP / Vista / Win7 / Win8 / Win10
Writes settings to:	Application folder
Stealth: ?	Yes
Unicode support:	Yes
License:	Freeware
How to extract:	Download the "portable" RAR package and extract (using a program like PeaExtractor) to a folder of your choice. Optionally, delete unnecessary language files. Launch NFOPad.exe.
Similar/alternative apps:	iNFekt
What's new?	Triple clicking now selects the whole line. Open dialog now shows all file types by default. Recent files list now shows 10 files instead of 6 by default. Bugfix: opening a new file with the same contents as the currently open did not scroll the text to the top. Minor tweaks and fixes.
Latest comments	Midas on 2012-04-15 00:00 IMHO, currently the best .nfo and .diz file viewer coupled with a pretty decent text editor; NFOPad can save its settings to the registry or in an INI file. Midas on 2012-07-29 09:46 Site moving to http://truehumandesign.se/s_nfopad.php shodan816 on 2012-10-02 10:48 Totally agree with Midas that this is the best .nfo / .diz viewer out there. Been using it for several years. Keep up the great work and THANKS! Add comment 3›

AkelPad v4.9.8

billon on 28 Oct 2016

554KB (uncompressed)
Released on 18 Jul 2016
Suggested by Fluffy

AkelPad is a plain text editor focused on speed and a small size. The program includes unicode support, available single-document and tabbed interfaces, unlimited file size, and multi-level undo, etc.
Support plugins.

Alternatively, AkelPad Portable portablizes recent files and search history and has both the 32- and 64-bit versions together and chooses the right one. X-AkelPad is also available.

Category:	Text - Editors (32) Text - Notepads (22)
Runs on:	Win95 / Win98 / WinME / WinNT / Win2K / WinXP / Vista / Win7 / Win8 / Win10
Writes settings to:	Application folder
Stealth: ?	Yes. If you set Recent Files and Search History to 0 as these are stored in the registry.
Unicode support:	Yes
Path portability:	Requires manual entry of drive-less absolute path (eg. \docs\personal\work.doc without the drive letter)
License:	BSD
How to extract:	Download the ZIP package and extract to a folder of your choice In AkelPad.exe folder, use a Unicode-aware editor to create AkelPad.ini the following four lines: [Options] SaveSettings=2 RecentFiles=0 SearchStrings=0 Save AkelPad.ini as a Unicode-encoded file Launch AkelPad.exe
Similar/alternative apps:	Notepad++, EditPad Lite
What's new?	Added: Flag 128 in the manual parameter "PaintOptions" - unit of vertical scrolling is line (default is pixel). Optional parameter for commands 4103,4106: 1 - force to use last directory.
Latest comments	__philippe on 2013-12-08 13:07 Akelpad v 4.8.6 released. __philippe on 2015-06-04 09:04 Akelpad v4.9.4 released 03-JUN-2015 : http://akelpad.sourceforge.net/en/download.php Scores of plugins updated likewise : http://akelpad.sourceforge.net/en/plugins.php Wolfghost on 2015-06-04 12:10 @__philippe tx updated See all 42›

GetDiz v4.91

billon on 17 Jun 2016

717KB (uncompressed)
Released on 17 Jun 2016
Suggested by -_-

GetDiz is a fast, easy, and small text editor designed to replace Notepad. It has enhanced functionality with DIZ and NFO files, will display ASCII art correctly, and can save as GIF images.

Category:	Text - Notepads (22) Text - Viewers (3)
Runs on:	WinXP / Vista / Win7 / Win8 / Win10
Writes settings to:	Application folder
Stealth: ?	Yes
Unicode support:	Partial. Unicode filenames are not supported.
License:	Freeware
How to extract:	Download the installer and extract Move files GetDiz.exe, usb.dat, GetDiz.chm and directory Languages (delete unnecessary) to a folder of your choice Launch GetDiz.exe
What's new?	When text is changed a * is added to the taskbar caption. Button bar can be hidden now. Added option to show carriage returns. Improved Windows 10 multi monitor support. Increased undo buffer. Donation is now also possible using Bitcoin.
Latest comments	Magibon on 2011-03-09 03:22 i still prefer Kliu's Notepad2, also supports ascii plus tons of other features while remaining light. TP109 on 2011-10-02 11:28 Great app for nfo and diz files! lautrepay on 2011-10-02 13:23 @TP109: maybe you'd like to try iNFekt http://www.portablefreeware.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=8177&hilit=infekt See all 4›

BDV Notepad v5.2

billon on 29 May 2019

372KB (uncompressed)
Released on 18 Jan 2009
Suggested by technicolordreamcoat

BDV Notepad is a plain text editor with support for themes, unlimited file size, multi-level undo/redo, autosaving, URL-autodetection, lines sorting, case changes, extended find-and-replace options, and more. Intended as a Windows Notepad replacement.

Category:	Text - Editors (32) Text - Notepads (22)
Runs on:	Win95 / Win98 / WinME / WinNT / Win2K / WinXP / Vista / Win7 / Win8 / Win10
Writes settings to:	Application Folder
Stealth: ?	Yes
Unicode support:	Partial. Although the program claims Unicode support, I was unable to get it to display Unicode characters (even with the right font selected), or to save to a file with Unicode characters in its name.
License:	Freeware
How to extract:	Download the ZIP package and extract to a folder of your choice. Launch Notepad.exe. Optionally, delete unnecessary language files.
Similar/alternative apps:	Notepad2
What's new?	Several improvements and bug-fixes. New features: Templates, Transliteration and SMS-module.
Latest comments	robzuc on 2015-12-16 09:31 I tried it, but the "unlimited file size" feature wasn't proved: with a 4GB file, apart from its opening slowness, a popup message informed that the file could not be opened. appsuser on 2019-05-24 14:27 Website changed to http://www.bdvnotepad.com/products/bdv-notepad/ webfork on 2019-05-25 22:37 @appsuser: thanks, billon got that updated Add comment 3›

EverEdit v2.9.0.2074

webfork on 5 Nov 2016

6MB (uncompressed)
Released on 29 Nov 2013
Suggested by avi-aryan

EverEdit is a fast, lightweight, skinnable and extendable editor. While it can serve as a Notepad replacement, it also offers many powerful features for Web page authors and programmers including snippet support, markdown support with instant preview, syntax highlighting for many languages, full Emmet Support aka Zen Coding, multiple selection (smart rename), and more.

The program includes a hex editor and easily edits large files (1 Gig+).

Note: v2.9.0.2074 is (presently) the last freeware version, which is no longer hosted by the authors. We are linking to majorgeeks for the 32-bit version and archive.org for the 64-bit version (thanks DzejPy and lintalist).

Category:	Text - Editors (32) Text - Notepads (22) Programming - Hex Editors (1)
Runs on:	WinXP / Vista / Win7 / Win8
Writes settings to:	Application folder
Stealth: ?	Yes
Unicode support:	Yes
Path portability:	Requires manual entry of relative path (eg. ..\..\personal\work.doc)
License:	Freeware
How to extract:	Download the ZIP package and extract to a folder of your choice Launch everedit.exe Optionally: To disable auto-check for update: open setting.ini in a text editor and add AutoUpdate=4 under [Setting] Delete unnecessary language files. 1033.lng = English, 1041.lng = Japanese 2052.lng = Chinese
What's new?	Note: v2.9.0.2074 is (presently) the last freeware version Note by the author: "I will not add new features for 2.9xx., but I will continue fix the bugs for this version."
Latest comments	Midas on 2014-05-13 09:59 FYI, the commercial EverEdit v3.2.2.3678 was released on 2014/05/13... (http://www.everedit.net/news/) DzejPy on 2016-11-03 19:05 Download links do not work... Error 404. 32bit version is available here: http://jdem.cz/cjg3v4 (redirected to FTP server) 64bit version is available here: http://jdem.cz/cjg3x9 (redirected to FTP server) 32bit version is also available MajorGeeks: http://www.majorgeeks.com/files/details/everedit.html webfork on 2016-11-05 23:09 Thanks DzejPy See all 6›

subpad v1.8

Midas on 13 Feb 2021

473KB (uncompressed)
Released on 24 Jan 2006
Suggested by Kenny

subpad is a lightweight Notepad clone with fast find/replace, most recent documents, close on ESC, roll-up caption bar, toggle off/on URL highlighting, column selection mode and stay-on-top.

Category:	Text - Notepads (22)
Runs on:	Win98 / WinME / WinNT / Win2K / WinXP
Writes settings to:	Application folder
Stealth: ?	Yes
License:	Freeware
How to extract:	Download the ZIP package and extract to a folder of your choice. Launch subpad.exe.
What's new?	New in v1.8 * Fix autocomplete issue New in v1.7 * Fix remaining wordwrap annoyances New in v1.6 * WordWrap settings saved between sessions * Fix annoying memory leak, related to wordwrap * Filename displays in tray icon now New in v1.5: * Add VB Script highlighter * Wordwrap settings preserved New in v1.0.4: * Replace functions improved * Added Ruby highlighter * Added word and byte count New in v1.0.3: * Added wordwrap toolbar button * Fixed very annoying flicker in column selection mode * Created accelerator keys for column and normal selection modes * Added line selection mode * Added text case formatting for upper, lower, sentence, and inverted cases * Added Python highlighter * Added "Save Only Selected" text feature New in v1.0.1: * Small bugfixes New in v1.0.0: * Added toolbar * Added insert hex color dialog * Added ini file syntax highlighting New in v0.9.1.9: * made subpad completely USB compatible: it stores all MRU and settings in an ini file (there are two ini files in subpad's directory: one called "subpad.ini" with all the main settings, and another ini file called "subpadrecent.ini", with all the most recent docs) New in v0.9.1.8: * fixed: sometimes cursor position did not update when keys pressed * recent files now holds 8 files New in v0.9.1.7: * Added Completion proposal drop-down list * Improved autocomplete: it now can execute multiline clips New in v0.9.1.6: * Added export to html * Added perl highlighters * Now stores all user settings in application directory New in v0.9.1.5: * Added "Show Whitespace" * Added highlighters for Pascal, C++, Java and XML New in v0.9.1.4: * Added the ability to add subpad to the "Send To" menu in Explorer New in v0.9.1.3: * Fix status bar showing file "unsaved" even though "undo" stack is empty * Added Auto-Complete by entering a keyword. subpad will recognize the key combination, "Ctrl+J" and auto-complete the typed string with the snippet which you choose to correspond with the keyword typed. The snippets are stored in the program's folder in a file called "templates.dci" New in v0.9.1.2: * Remove ALT+Drag as method to invoke column select, and go back to the toggle method from menu. * Add Run External dialog. * Add Preferences dialog, plus customizable gutter: either show gutter, or turn it into a "selection" bar by making it same colour as the edit. * Turn the html hi-lighting into a multi-hilighter for a combination of html, javascript, css and php. New in v0.9.1: * Added the ability to use column select by using "ALT" + Drag method. * Added auto-hide scrollbars. * Added drag and drop editing. New in v0.9.0: * Added the ability to assign external tools.
Latest comments	smaragdus on 2014-04-03 02:01 It seems subpad can't handle Unicode. TP109 on 2014-12-28 03:32 Lightning fast text editor. Works nicely as a notepad replacement. Midas on 2021-02-13 14:28 xtort.net website gone -- SubPad last known location was http://www.xtort.net/xtort/subpad.php; links redirected to Archive.org. See all 10›

CryptoTE v0.5.390

Checker on 5 Oct 2016

13MB (uncompressed)
Released on 2 Aug 2009
Suggested by Mixture

CryptoTE is a feature-rich, tabbed secure notepad program that uses the powerful and easy to use Scintilla text editing widget, the same as used by Notepad++. Security features include integrated compression, automatic backup, auto-close after periods of inactivity, password generator, and the Serpent encryption algorithm. Notepad features include fast Find interface, multi-level undo, and insert date/time.

Linux version included. Container can include binary files as well as text.

Category:	Security - Encryption/Decryption (25) Security - Privacy Tools (44) Text - Notepads (22)
Runs on:	WinXP / Vista / Win7 / Win8
Writes settings to:	Application folder: CryptoTE.ini
Stealth: ?	Yes
Unicode support:	Yes
License:	GPL v2
How to extract:	Download the "Standalone" ZIP package and extract to a folder of your choice. Launch cryptote[version].exe. For Win9X/ME, launch cryptote-0.5.390-ansi.exe.
Similar/alternative apps:	fSekrit
Latest comments	webfork on 2013-04-20 21:03 This program has my favorite password generator function, creating alternately the most random looking passwords or, using the "pronoucable" feature some legitimately easy to remember‭ (‬yet still strong) ‬passwords. Also,‭ ‬I‭’‬ve been using GPG4USB for my passwords for quite a while now,‭ ‬but sort of annoyed by the lack of a‭ ‬search‭ ‬function‭ (‬I‭’‬ve suggested that to the developers,‭ ‬but there hasn‭’‬t been a release in quite a while‭)‬.‭ May switch to this or ask the devs to support GPG. Add comment 1›

ATPad v2.0.100

webfork on 20 Feb 2017

381KB (uncompressed)
Released on 11 Dec 2010
Suggested by lautrepay

ATPad is a tabbed editor with the ease and simplicity of Windows' own Notepad program, but with a list of recently open documents, bookmarks, snippets system, unlimited find/replace and undo/redo, menu accelerators (hotkeys), auto URL detection, and much more. The program can also monitor outer changes or reload documents "on-demand" and in specified interval, great for collaboration or the monitoring of log files.

Written in pure C and Windows API.

Category:	Text - Notepads (22)
Runs on:	Win2K / WinXP / Vista / Win7
Writes settings to:	Application folder
Stealth: ?	Yes
Unicode support:	Yes
Path portability:	Automatic compensation for dynamic drive letter in removable storage devices
License:	GPL
How to extract:	Download the ZIP package and extract to a folder of your choice. Launch ATPad.exe.
What's new?	Fixed some minor bugs
Latest comments	webfork on 2011-09-10 19:20 Very nice -- the closest I've seen to a Notepad replacement. TP109 on 2012-02-12 20:48 Good tabbed notepad replacement. Very fast launching and small size! Add comment 2›

Metapad v3.6

Midas on 26 Jan 2016

190KB (uncompressed)
Released on 28 May 2011
Suggested by mjbdiver

Metapad is a small and fast text editor designed to replace Notepad with features including persistent window placement, dirty file notification, intelligent Find and Replace, external viewer support, usable accelerator keys, dual customizable font support, auto-indent mode, seamless UNIX text file support, no file size limit under Win9x, hyperlink support, etc.

Category:	Text - Notepads (22)
Runs on:	Win95 / Win98 / WinNT / WinXP / Vista / Win7
Writes settings to:	Windows registry
Stealth: ?	Yes
Unicode support:	Yes
License:	GPL
How to extract:	Download the ZIP package and extract to a folder of your choice Create an empty text file within the same folder Rename this file metapad.ini Launch metapad.exe
Similar/alternative apps:	EditPad Lite
What's new?	portability mode: store/load all settings from metapad.ini new high resolution app icon now remembers last open/save folder with option to disable minor UI/usability updates better defaults for general settings UTF-8 file support (provided by David Millis) fixed shift+enter bug (provided by Curtis Bright) fixed convert to title case bug with apostrophes
Latest comments	Wolfghost on 2011-06-15 17:13 This one rocks !! Thanks :) Works with Win7 64bit too ! bawldiggle on 2019-10-16 21:29 Have been using Metapad and then Metapad360 for 15+ years The range of text formatting tools are amazing. My fav is "quote" Alt+Q, which inserts your custom string at col.1 of all selected lines/paragraphs/pages. Notepad++ does a similar thing BUT not all in col.1 ... Metapad makes it much easier to spot the "quoted" lines. I am using "'o" , without the quotes, as my quote string. bawldiggle on 2019-10-16 22:18 Forget to mention the "stickies" feature ... 10 shortcuts (Quick buffers) to paste your custom single line strings onto Metapad docs ... ** Settings (dlg) Buffers & Languages (tab/page) hot keys Alt+<num> ... where <num> is (querty) 0 to 9 =OR= selected text on saved file Metapad (config) -> Alt+Shift+<num> (ie qwerty-num) See all 4›

SavageEd v1.4.6

Midas on 5 Jul 2021

132KB (uncompressed)
Released on 29 Nov 2010
Suggested by Fluffy Bot

SavageEd is a very small and fast Windows notepad replacement written in assembly language. It can edit files of any size, limited only by memory.

NOTE: Website is gone, linking to Internet Archive Wayback Machine; SavageEd2 is now available with some more features.

Category:	Text - Editors (32) Text - Notepads (22)
Runs on:	Win95 / Win98 / WinME / WinNT / Win2K / WinXP / Vista / Win7 / Win8 / Win10
Writes settings to:	Application folder Make sure you select Options, Save Configuration, Use Private Profile to activate this.
Stealth: ?	Yes
Unicode support:	No
License:	Freeware/Open Source
How to extract:	Download the ZIP package and extract to a folder of your choice. Launch SavageEd.exe.
Latest comments	Ludwig von Drake on 2010-05-28 18:51 Crashes whenever I try to open a file, either through the File menu, or via the Ctrl-O keyboard shortcut. It does this on both of my PCs (XP Pro SP3). ChemZ on 2011-03-27 21:23 SavageEd2 v0.02.00 beta is available for testing. New features: - Pattern searching - AES encryption with 256 bit key (32 characters) - Auto save and quick ESC exit - Dual direction LOG files (append updates to 'end of file' or 'top of file') - Saves up to 20 recent files donald on 2011-11-14 08:27 The software Author has stated that the original SavageEd will no longer be developed, but that SavageEd2 will. See all 12›

Win32Pad v1.5.10.4

webfork on 28 Feb 2017

89KB (uncompressed)
Released on
Suggested by 4sydney

Win32Pad is a small Notepad replacement with a number of additional features, such as recent file list, line numbering, auto indent etc. It can deal with both Windows and Unix text file formats, and file size is limited only by the available memory. It can also be minimized to the system tray.

Category:	Text - Notepads (22)
Runs on:	Win95 / Win98 / WinME / WinNT / Win2K / WinXP
Writes settings to:	Application folder
Dependencies:	UNICOWS.DLL (for Win9x/ME) SHFOLDER.DLL for (Win9x/NT) RICHED20.DLL
Stealth: ?	Yes
Unicode support:	Partial. It is unable to deal with Unicode filenames, but is able to display Unicode content.
License:	Freeware
How to extract:	Download the ZIP package and extract to a folder of your choice. Create an empty file called "win32pad.ini" in the same folder. Launch win32pad.exe.
Latest comments	Midas on 2010-02-05 23:41 My current preferred notepad replacement, after swapping the hideous default icon with the the vanilla one from notepad (TY, ResHack). Shame it doesn't do text case conversions, then it would be perfect -- as it is, I use a well known commercial editor for heavy duty text editing and nfoPad (totally portable from v1.56, see post @ http://www.portablefreeware.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=5409) for nfo file viewing. For the rest, Win32Pad is lightning fast and perfectly fit for the common text checking/light editing tasks. I don't hesitate to recommend it! Pax on 2010-12-27 03:37 @Midas, re: viewers for ANSI art (code page 437, extended ASCII) Just thought I'd mention that some of these viewers contain translation fonts. A while back I extracted an ANSI/NFO viewer (don't recall which one... maybe getDiz), located the fonts and placed them in my system/fonts directory. This makes any editor ANSI-capable because the work is being done by an external font. Thought I'd mention it in case your main editor supports font-toggling (toolbar button allowing a quick switch between two system fonts, example: metapad) in order to avoid switching editors just to view some of the text 'graphics'. Midas on 2012-04-20 11:19 @Pax: great tip. Still, I'll be keeping NFOPad (http://www.portablefreeware.com/?id=2164) 'cause it's convenient and I sometimes make adjustments to viewed files... See all 9›

fSekrit v1.4

smaragdus on 25 May 2018

57KB (uncompressed)
Released on 3 Dec 2009
Suggested by dasfx

fSekrit is a notepad that encrypts saved information in self-contained executable (.EXE) files. Created files don't need fSekrit and can be access by simply double-clicking the item and entering the correct password.

Uses the widely recognized 256-bit AES encryption and unencrypted data is never saved to disk, making it even more secure.

Functional in 64-bit.

Category:	Security - Encryption/Decryption (25) Security - Privacy Tools (44) Text - Notepads (22)
Runs on:	Win95 / Win98 / WinME / WinNT / Win2K / WinXP
Writes settings to:	None
Stealth: ?	Yes
Unicode support:	No
License:	Freeware/Open Source (github)
How to extract:	Download the ZIP package and extract to a folder of your choice. Create a new file called fSekrit.portable Launch fSekrit.exe.
Similar/alternative apps:	CryptoTE
What's new?	- fixed: long-standing bug where failing to save changes when closing fSekrit with a modified document would cause fSekrit to exit, rather than notifying of error and let user attempt to save again. - fixed: saves are finally done properly, by saving to a temporary file and replacing the current file only when all the file writing business is done. - added: font selection dialog, no longer do you need to much around with the registry to set another default font. The font is still not stored in your document, though, and is single global per-user registry setting. - added: "portable" mode, which (for now) means it will not use %TEMP% to store it's temporary editor executable, but instead store it in the same folder as the opened document. Registry is still used for font selection, though! To enabel this feature, create a file called "fSekrit.portable" in the same folder as the document you want to function in portable mode. - added: URLs are now recognized and turned into hyperlinks. - fixed: Read-only notes should be a lot more sane - changed from confusing "make read-only" that half-worked to "Save As Read-only" that works :) - fixed: Win9x and NT4 support has been broken since version 1.35. Release builds are now done with an older compiler toolchain, and 9x/NT4 support is back :)
Latest comments	Sherman J on 2018-05-25 16:10 You can easily get the fsekrit program from the wayback machine at: https://web.archive.org/web/20170214195855/http://f0dder.dcmembers.com/fsekrit.index.php it says it is also valid for Win7 use. Sherman J on 2018-05-26 12:56 I found that the version of the zip for fsekrit on the waybackmachine for 2015 is valid at 49kbytes size, the some in later snapshots are only 10kbytes and do not work. smaragdus on 2018-05-26 18:53 @Sherman J You do not need to download fSekrit from The Internet Archive, you can get it from its official website. See all 19›

Q-Jot v5.9.1

Midas on 13 Feb 2021

614KB (uncompressed)
Released on 14 Dec 2008
Suggested by Kenny

QJot is a rich text editor and WordPad replacement that can open various Word, Works, HTML, and even WordPerfect files. It also supports rich Unicode text and images and can 'Recover Text from Any File'. Saves to RTF, TXT, HTML formats, various DOC file formats, and WordPerfect.

Webpage offline; redirected to Softpedia.

Category:	Productivity - Word Processors (12) Text - Editors (32) Text - Notepads (22)
Runs on:	Win2K / WinXP
Writes settings to:	Application folder
Stealth: ?	Yes
Unicode support:	No
License:	Freeware
How to extract:	Download the ZIP package and extract to a folder of your choice Launch QJot.exe.
Similar/alternative apps:	AbiWord, Jarte
What's new?	Fixed line spacing bug.
Latest comments	donald on 2014-06-28 05:51 download link is broken smaragdus on 2015-09-05 21:03 The actual QJot web page address- http://xtort.net/xtort-software/qjot/ webfork on 2015-09-06 01:51 smaragdus: thanks, updated See all 17›

NotePad SX v1.2

webfork on 28 Feb 2017

1MB (uncompressed)
Released on 18 Apr 2008
Suggested by Fluffy

NotePad SX is a fast, stable, user-friendly, tabbed text editor. Features different case formats, layout options and a unique "hidden until the mouse moves over it" tab bar.

Category:	Text - Notepads (22)
Runs on:	Win95 / Win98 / WinME / WinNT / Win2K / WinXP
Writes settings to:	Application Folder
License:	Freeware
How to extract:	Download the installer and extract using Universal Extractor to a folder of your choice. The application files are in the {app} folder. Launch NotepadSX.exe.
Latest comments	smaragdus on 2014-04-03 01:51 @loin2kolpotoru You are right. However, both 1.2 & 1.3 versions of NotePad SX are incompatible with Windows 8 (the program's GUI doesn't display correctly). smaragdus on 2015-11-05 15:55 The missing forum thread- http://www.portablefreeware.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=74525 The free NotePad SX home page- http://www.rf1.net/software/notepad - there is a direct download link. smaragdus on 2016-10-21 22:35 Notepad SX (http://www.rf1.net/software/notepad) is freeware but it is no longer developed and does not work properly on modern OS (at least on Windows 8- even compatibility mode doesn't help). Notepad SX Pro (http://www.rf1.net/software/notepad_pro) is commercial. See all 7›

CryptNote v1.01

billon on 19 Apr 2020

20KB (uncompressed)
Released on 24 May 2006
Suggested by Yucca

CryptNote is a basic secure text editor that transparently encrypts/decrypts text with a password.

Similar in design to Windows Notepad and uses the AES/Rijndael encryption algorithm.

NOTE: Website is gone, linking to Internet Archive Wayback Machine.

Category:	Security - Encryption/Decryption (25) Text - Editors (32) Text - Notepads (22)
Runs on:	Win95 / Win98 / WinME / WinNT / Win2K / WinXP / Vista / Win7 / Win8 / Win10
Writes settings to:	Application folder
Stealth: ?	Yes
Unicode support:	Partial
License:	Freeware
How to extract:	Download the ZIP package and extract to a folder of your choice. Launch cryptnote.exe.
Latest comments	David Evans on 2006-05-30 09:20 Only 20 bytes? Now that's what I call a lightweight program. ;-) Andrew Lee on 2006-05-30 22:50 Sorry! My typo. It should be 20KB. CD2100 on 2008-11-19 14:49 Dariusz Stanislawek is the king of lightweight portable (encryption)freeware! although i don't use cryptnote very often, it is of the same calibre as his other creations! check out his page on the other products. http://members.ozemail.com.au/~nulifetv/freezip/freeware/ Stanislawek is truly a programming genius! Add comment 3›

Text - Notepads (22)