HTMLPad Pro

Writing code in a basic text editor is never a good idea, especially when there are so many specialized editors out there. An excellent example is HTMLPad. It provides a wide range of smart features, including syntax highlighting, code auto-completion, predefined elements, which can be inserted instantly and much more. The software provides full support for HTML, CSS and JavaScript, as well as other languages.

HTMLPad is free to try, without any functionality limitations, but you can run it for a maximum of 30 times, after which you have to pay for a license. It is compatible with all popular Windows versions and it doesn't take more than a minute to install it. The software doesn't have any special requirements and you don't have to sacrifice too many resources.

When you launch the program for the first time, a wizard will guide you through a series of initial configurations, to make HTMLPad look and behave the way you want it to. The main user interface is similar to that of other advanced text editors, but its options and tools are focused on code writing. You may create new documents, on separate tabs, in different languages. The program will highlight your code fragments differently, depending on the selected language.

You may click various options, located on a toolbar, to preview your document or page, change font and paragraph settings, create hyperlinks, insert usual tags, like break or space and more. A library and a file explorer can be found in different columns, on the left and right sides of the user interface. The library contains numerous elements, from basic tags to advanced scripts and you can insert them on your page instantly, just by clicking and dragging. The file explorer can be used to find any kind of files in local folders, which can be inserted in a similar manner. Besides exploring local folders, you can also connect to a FTP server and browse through its contents, in the same area of the interface.

The software allows you to preview your document at any time. You can replace the text editing area with an embedded browser, by selecting a navigation tab, on which you can click links and visit any website. It is also possible to split the central region of the interface, vertically or horizontally, to show the text editor and the preview on the same window.