Using Notepad++ with Arduino sketches

After using both the Arduino IDE and VB express I'm always a little disappointed at the lack of helper features in the Arduino IDE, of course it is a little unfair to compare the two when you consider the differences in available resource! the Arduino IDE is still pretty good.



Functions contracted

I have used Notepad++ for some time as a general text editor on my PC and I thought I'd give it a try as an editor for my pde files.

Well I think it's brilliant, you can get it to group things like functions and 'if' statements and, more importantly, the comments.

This makes it much easier to navigate and edit your sketch as you can view it as a list of minimised comments and functions and expand each one for editing as required.

There are shortcuts which allow you to expand all, at different levels.

Another good feature is the automated colouring of key words and you can even add your own key words.

With Arduino set to external editor this gives a much more user friendly interface I realise there are other options to get a more professional UI, like Eclipse etc but this is a lot easier to set up.

Download Notepad++