Windows NotePad and NotePad++ Text Editor for WordPress Code

Make sure you use a text editor, like NotePad, and not a word processor, such as Microsoft Word, to write any code for WordPress because a word processing program automatically inserts formatting, characters, and hidden spaces.

Notepad is a basic, plain text editor that you can use to write code without the worry of text formatting. Notepad doesn’t support any special document formatting or characters, which makes it great for writing code and web documents.

Notepad is the preferred text editor for most Windows users because it’s a Microsoft product that’s packaged in every Windows operating system. Often, people use Notepad to view and edit text files with the .txt extension, but most use it to create basic CSS and HTML files, as well.

Notepad, by default, saves files with a .txt extension. With WordPress templates and theme files, you typically save files with a .php or .css extension, so make sure you save them correctly.

To save a file with a.php or .css extension with Notepad, follow these quick steps:

1. Choose Start>Programs>Accessories>Notepad.

   
   

   Notepad opens, and you can start typing your code.

   
   



2. Create your CSS or PHP document.

   
   



3. Choose File>Save As, and then from the Save In drop-down list, choose the location on your computer where you want to save the file.

   
   



4. Type the filename, including the extension, in the File Name field.

   
   



5. Choose All Files in the Save as Type drop-down list.

   
   

   By default, Notepad wants to save the file as Text Documents (*.txt).

   
   



6. Leave ANSI chosen in the Encoding field.

   
   

   This is default character encoding and is okay to leave as is.

   
   



7. Click Save.

   
   

Notepad++ is a text editor for Windows. The interface looks a lot like regular Notepad, but that is where the similarities end. Notepad++ has advanced features such as color-coded syntax code indentation, and line numbering, which make it an extremely useful and helpful application for writing and editing code.

Notepad++ supports many programming languages, including CSS, HTML, and PHP. Notepad++ is free open-source software. Download Notepad++.

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Source:http://www.dummies.com/how-to/content/windows-notepad-and-notepad-text-editor-for-wordpr.html