TextEdit TextEdit is a simple, open source word processor and text editor. It offers very basic functionality, but is bundled for free with OS X (it’s already in your Applications folder!) Often great for quickly viewing a file, but it won’t satisfy many advanced requirements.
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WriteRoom Taking a different approach, WriteRoom offers little advanced functionality but a remarkably simple interface to minimize distractions. Definitely not for everyone, but it could be great if you’re looking for a simple tool. Check out our review for full details
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Smultron Smultron is a Leopard-centric text editor, with lovely icons and a well designed interface. Code highlighting, system file management (with automatic authentication), and HTML previews make it an appealing free option.
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Coda / Espresso After a quick Twitter poll, many AppStorm readers prefer to use a more full featured app for editing text (one also supporting FTP, CSS development, and live previewing). Both Coda and Espresso have been reviewed here, but they’re quite expensive and far, far more than a simple text editor. Worth looking into!
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skEdit Geared for web editing, skEdit is good for working with remote files, storing snippets, code completion, automatically tidying HTML, and Subversion integration. It’s also extensible via plugins
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Emacs/Carbon Carbon Emacs Package is a Mac-friendly distribution of the GNU Emacs text editor. It’s simple, extensible, and good for technically minded users who value the advanced features it offers. Not the most user friendly app, but worth bearing in mind. Also very similar is Aquamacs.
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SubEthaEdit SubEthaEdit is a powerful and lean text editor, reasonably priced, and offers unique collaboration features. Featuring command line integration, live HTML previews, and easy customization, it also integrates well with Coda.
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BBEdit BBEdit is one of the leading text editors for the Mac, and the price reflects that. It’s beyond the reach of a casual user, but offers a range of advanced functionality. Great for searching and replacing, organizing projects, working with remote servers, in-built code validation/standards checking, and highlighting any code you throw at it. [...]
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TextMate TextMate fits into the OS X user experience well, and is a highly regarded editor. It contains decent project management features, clipboard history, automatic bracket pairing, and can be expanded with plugins.
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TextWrangler TextWrangler is a free version of BBEdit (see below). It offers a broad range of support for different programming languages, and fantastic find and replace functionality. A reliable and powerful tool, especially considering its freeware status. Price: Free
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