Most applications like this tend to look quite ugly, so the slick ribbon style interface of Notepad .NET is especially pleasing. The basic functions, across the top of the window are copy/paste, new and save etc, fonts, some basic formatting, search and replace, and then print and appearance. The search and replace feature is useful for quick editing of texts, and the ribbon of features itself is really clear and easy to use.

Notepad .NET also supports tabs, so you can easy work on more than one text concurrently. This is particularly well done, as a right click gives you the option of opening a new tab and also duplicating your current tab - also useful for editing things. Files can be saved as TXT, RTF or HTML files. Word users will probably miss spell checker, as there is none here, though some users might find that liberating!

Notepad .NET is an attractive, functional text editor that makes a nice alternative to Windows WordPad.

Download Notepad .NET 0.2 in Softonic

Download Notepad2 4.2.25 in Softonic

CopyCat is a small program that doesn't require installation. As soon as the interface appears, how to use the tool becomes obvious - add your source document to the "source list" area by pressing the add button, add your document to be compared in the "comparator list" area, and press start.

When CopyCat has finished analyzing your files (it supports DOC, DOCX, PDF, RTF and PDF and can scan two documents in different formats), you can view, compare and print the results by choosing "analyze". You can also export the results as an Excel file.

Although CopyCat does a lot of the donkey work for you - manually comparing documents is very tedious - the results are very rough. The tool highlights matching sentences in yellow and leaves new data in white. It analyzes by sentence, however, so even changing "an" to "the" is enough for CopyCat to decide that a sentence is original, even though a human might vehemently disagree.

All in all, CopyCat makes an admirable attempt to tackle an unpleasant job with which humans could really do with some help. It’s clear, efficient and easy to use, but unfortunately isn’t sensitive enough for anything but the most basic comparisons.

CopyCat is a simple, clean tool for making basic comparisons between a range of document formats.

Download CopyCat 0.1 in Softonic

While programs like EverNote are highly evolved organizers of information, some people don't need such complexity. QuotePad is for these people. Like previously reviewed CintaNotes, QuotePad offers a simple way to keep hold of thoughts or interesting things, with hotkey access.

For example, if you want to record text from a website, simply highlight it, click CTRL+Shift+Q and QuotePad will open a new note. Notes are stored chronologically and are easy to edit. Also, if your note is from the internet, there will be a little button you can click to be returned to the web source.

When inactive Quotepad sits in the system tray, although you can "pin" it to your desktop to stop it minimizing if you need.

Another advantage of Quotepad is that it can be installed and run from a USB drive, so youdcan carry your notes around on a USB stick if you want. There's nothing really wrong with it, although it is fairly basic, and doesn't feature any multimedia support.

QuotePad is a great little notepad for keeping text and web sources.

Download QuotePad 2.0.2 in Softonic

Focus Writer can be windowed or full screen, and the ribbon of buttons at the top appears when you mouse over the area. Its basic features include a find tool - you can search for a word in your text and replace it. The themes button allows you to create custom themes, with your own background, font and so on. In preferences you can turn on auto save and also set goals for the day - by time or number of words, useful for professional writers. Rolling the cursor over the bottom of the window brings up another ribbon, with basic file information - title, word count, percentage of daily goal and the time.

If you need complex formatting, or to add images or tables to your work, this in not the right kind of application Focus Writer is solely for text, and nothing else which may suit writers, but will probably be too limited for many people. It doesn't feature a spell checker, either. Despite this, if you need a distraction free writing program, Focus Writer works very well, and its customization tools are really good.

Focus Writer will helps to create a quiet atmosphere on your computer, perfect for writing without distractions.

Download FocusWriter 1.3.3 in Softonic

It's only when you take a look at TED Notepad's range of editing options and configuration settings that you begin to realize that although it's simple, it punches above its weight. Among the most notable features are the app's advanced clipboard functions and excellent tools, all controllable from hotkeys, guaranteed to make editing even easier and more natural.

Some users, especially those who are used to more complex editors, will find TED Notepad a little too simple, but the truth is that this program is not really meant for advanced programming. It's designed as a no-frills tool to edit plain text or HTML and as such, TED Notepad works perfectly.

If no-fuss editing is what you need, TED Notepad is the tool for you.

Download TED Notepad 5.4.2 Beta in Softonic

This trial version of Scrivener is relatively easy to install. A message appears immediately after installing, advising that for best results, new users should watch a 30-40 minute tutorial. This can be downloaded via the "Help" tab. Even without going through the tutorial, upon launching, Scrivener offers users the immediate ability to choose what type of writing project they want to work on. Some options include fiction and nonfiction works, poetry, and scripts.

Each Scrivener document type allows for three unique views: a simple text version, the corkboard, and an outline format. Scrivener Beta’s text version is exactly how it sounds; free of any extraneous information, you’re left with only the plain text of the document in front of you. The corkboard view allows users to “pin” and categorize different scenes in their work with labels for chapters, scenarios, and concepts. Scrivener users can also list a status to further describe each document, such as first draft, incomplete, and so on. Lastly, the outline view provides an organized list of all the documents you’ve saved in a particular project with each title, label, status, and a synopsis of their contents.

Unfortunately, for a user who’s entirely new to Scrivener, learning how to use the program isn’t as intuitive as it could be. The video tutorial undoubtedly makes the learning process easier. Barring that, taking advantage of the interactive tutorial offered with this version is highly recommended.

Overall, Scrivener is an excellent product for users serious about the organization of their writing projects.

Download Scrivener Beta 0.2.9 in Softonic

As a writer, you know how important it is to have to work under pressure from time to time. Typing is a lot faster than writing, but often the internet offers distractions that are too hard to pass up. Sometimes a normal text editor like Microsoft Word just won't cut it. That's where Ommwriter comes in.

Ommwriter is a minimalist text editing tool that opens exclusively in full screen mode. Its primary aim is to reduce writing distractions, as well as give you a relaxing writing experience. It does this by offering three different writing soundtrack options, as well as three different keyboard sounds when you type. Both types of sound choices can also be shut off, if you so choose.

In addition, Ommwriter gives you three different interface background options, all of which are minimalist but pleasing to the eye. It's also got a great accessibility feature in the ability to change text sizes and fonts.

In this latest version of Ommwriter, you can choose either to save your writing as a text document or to a PDF format that allows for easy printing. It would've been nice to have a few more options in terms of document types it saves to though. Some users might also prefer to add their own soundtracks or personal background favorites, but will be unable to do so because Ommwriter lacks these features.

Ommwriter is also available for the Mac and iPad.

For a minimalist text editor that soothes as well as encourages you to write while eliminating technology-based distractions, Ommwriter is a good bet.

Download Ommwriter Dana I in Softonic

When you install AkelPad, it offers three possibilities - you can install it as a completely new program, add it to Windows shell or to completely replace Windows Notepad. AkelPad then does everything that Notepad can but also includes features such as Multiwindows, Recent Archives, Shortcuts and Re-open closed document functions. You can also do simple things like change the color and size of the font and visualize the documents in various formats with AkelPad.

The coolest feature in AkelPad though is the ability to add plugins. These include syntax highlighting, auto-completion, script execution, keyboard macros and much more. Autocomplete is particularly useful as it saves a lot of time typing documents by predicting what you write beforehand. The latest version has added more power to AxelPad allowing you to edit files bigger than 64K and it allows you to preview files before you open them

AxelPad is a great substitute for notepad although you can get most of these features in an average word processor.

Download AkelPad 4.7.5 in Softonic

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Like most minimalist writing apps, you can choose the background and text color, and in Q10 it's also possible to configure the optional info bar, which shows you word count, pages, characters and the time. This is a keyboard controlled app - there are no mouse commands at all. Instructions for all the keyboard commands are found by hitting F1. Most of the commands will be familiar to anyone who uses them in other applications, but for users who don-t this reliance on keyboard commands might be frustrating.

Files can only be saved in .TXT format, which means they can be opened in any other program that supports text but you don-t have any formatting options. While you can choose to view any font you like, it will not be saved by Q10. This is a design feature, as it's supposed to be free of options so you can concentrate on words, and do post production later. But for people new to this type of program it might be difficult to accept!

While Q10 does fulfill the requirements of a distraction free text editor, it's perhaps too basic. It is possible to hide functions, as Write Monkey (insert link) does, without upsetting the zen of the quiet writing space!

Q10 is a solid text editor, but its keyboard only control may alienate some users.

Download Q10 1.2.21 in Softonic

Like all text editors, the interface is minimal, with as much space as possible left open and white for undisturbed writing. Caderno is impressively clean and quiet. You can choose the font you're most comfortable with, but little more!

The interesting features of Caderno are tabbing, syntax highlighting and the session manager. Tabs allow multiple documents to be open, and easily accessible. Syntax Highlighting adds color highlights if you're writing in code, like HTML, making it easier to read. The session manager allows you to save sessions of multiple open tabs, so you can close Caderno knowing you can reopen it in exactly the same state if you wish. For creating unformatted text, or pages of code, Caderno is quite good, but as its formatting options are so few it might be too basic for many users.

Caderno is a basic text editor with some neat features for coders and programmers.

Download Caderno 1.10 in Softonic

When you first open Write Monkey, which doesn't require installation, the color scheme is a pretty garish black with green ink. Thankfully, you don't have to use this Matrix-like scheme and can choose the paper/ink color combination you like. In full screen mode, you have simply a plain background and your text in the center.

However, don't let this minimalism fool you, as there's actually quite a lot to Write Monkey. Right-click and a plethora of options pop up. There's a spell checker, and a look up tool that will look up results on any word or phrase from a good selection of online resources like Wikipedia. You can also check your progress, which first requires setting up your parameters. Enter a time and word count target, and you will be able to easily track your productivity.

If you miss the typewriters of old, there's an option to turn on sound effects that mimic typewriters really well. There's even a bell sound when you hit return!

Of course, this isn't a full featured word processor, and is missing all the formatting options found in those programs. Saving is only in .TXT format too, which isn't very advanced, but does mean you can open these files in pretty much any program you please!

Write Monkey is a simple and fairly flexible way to create a quiet space in which to concentrate solely on your writing.

Download WriteMonkey 2.0 in Softonic

MemPad is a simple tool that enables you to create notes about any topic and then save them in a tree-like structure. This database can be categorized in several levels ("parent" and "child" notes) and organized in any way you want. MemPad features an embedded search tool to locate any note, although I had the impression that it didn't work very well because it didn't find anything outside the note that I currently had opened.

MemPad saves data on shutting the program and can also be set to save notes automatically every 4 minutes. It also includes some security features like the ability to mark notes as read-only or encrypt anything you write on them. On the downside, I missed having a rich formatting toolbar to embellish my text and I didn't like the way configuration settings are displayed.

With MemPad you can easily organize all your personal notes and to-do lists.

Download MemPad 3.42 in Softonic