For example, in the image below (click to open in a new window) you’ll see I’m editing an XML file in jEdit.

You can see the following great features:

1 – Drop-down containing a list of valid entries
2 – An error console at the bottom, which is updated whenever the file is parsed (ie: when you save the file, or when you give the file focus after changing tabs)
3 – Syntax highlighting for easy reading
4 – The fact that the file extension is not XML, but rather AML, but because I’ve setup this file to be read as an XML file, it is treated as such

So, add this to all the other great features of jEdit (remembering that it’s a power user’s text editor), is there a reason NOT to use it?

Read more about using and customising jEdit here: jEdit

[CTRL]-[,] – Control-Comma

This is the “find as you type” shortcut. It will open a “text box” at the top of your screen where you can type in the word or phrase that you are looking for, and it will start to search as you type. If you’ve typed your word, and only found the first occurrence, just press [ENTER] to be take to the next one.

[CTRL]-[.] – Control-Period

This is the “Hyper search” shortcut. You use this to find all occurrences of your search word/phrase. It’s similar to pressing [CTRL]-[F] and searching that way. But, if you’ve docked your hypersearch results window in jEdit, (which I’ve done at the bottom of the editor), then you’ll get a nice docked window of results. Clicking on these results takes you straight to the location of the result.

The image above shows you my results and how I’ve docked them at the bottom…

Anyway, this process isn’t a difficult one, and might take you all of 2 minutes, if you work slowly. So, here goes:

1 – Go to this page on the jEdit Community site, and choose your look and feel.

For this example, let’s use the “Nuvola 1.0 based Icon Set”, as that’s the one I’m currently using

2 – Once you’ve downloaded the zip file (in this case), unzip it, and open the “README.txt” file

3 – Follow the instructions in this file.

To show you how easy the instructions in the “README.txt” file, here’s what it says:

INSTALL
——-

1) Copy nicons.jar into the JEdit’s “jars” folder
2) Copy nicons.bsh into the Jedit’s “startup” folder
3) Restart JEdit
4) Enjoy

And, that would be it.

The first step is to decide on what shortcut you need. In “Using your tabs in FireFox” I mentioned the [CTRL]-[TAB] and [CTRL]-[SHIFT]-[TAB] shortcuts for changing tabs in FireFox. Well, lets do the same thing in jEdit.

The default shortcuts for this process are [CTRL]-[PAGE-UP] and [CTRL]-[PAGE-DOWN], but this is useful only if you use your right hand, or both hands. I use my right hand mainly for controlling my mouse, and my left hand for using shortcuts. So, [CTRL]-[TAB] is perfect for me.

1 – Click on “Utilities” – “”Global Options” and select “Shortcuts” on the left

2 – Ensure that “Built-in Commands” is selected at the top of the right hand section of the dialog box, and scroll down and click on “Go to next buffer”

3 – A dialog box should have popped up where you have to specify your shortcut. Practically any key you press will be assumed to be part of the shortcut, so if you make a mistake you will have to use your mouse to click on the “CLEAR” button on the right. Press the [CTRL] and [TAB] keys at the same time, and then click on the “OK” button

Repeat steps 1 – 3 for the shortcut [CTRL]-[SHIFT]-[TAB] for “Go to previous buffer”. Below is a screenshot showing you what this should look like now… Click on the image to see it in it’s resplendent glory…

Here is a list of my favourite plugins, and why I think you need them:

BufferTabs

Enables a set of tabs which you can place at the top, bottom or side of your screen. This is probably THE plugin to install first as it helps make working on a lot of files a lot easier.

ErrorList

This plugin is useful if you are using jEdit as a programmers text editor. For example, when editing an XML file, this plugin will show you any errors you have in the file.

JDiff Plugin

I use this very often when comparing changes between 2 files. Very helpful when I’m trying to ensure that I only add my current changes to a parameter file, without screwing up somebody else’s changes. Wait, do I edit a file that somebody else is working on? Noooo…. Never!

ProjectViewer

A very powerful plugin that can help you organise groups of files, whether they be for projects, or just something you need quick access to.

XML

This plugin, along with SideKick enable a lot of functionality which comes in use (almost without you knowing it)… Just install and be merry…

I do use a lot more plugins than this list (as you can see from my screenshot), but I think these are the KEY plugins. Do you have any recommendations and reasons for your choice? Please leave a comment below.

Before I show you how I use jEdit for all my text editing, I’d just like to ensure you go and download it from jEdit.org. I must say, though, I am always using the absolute latest version, which is not always the stable version.

Anyway, here are the main file types that jEdit helps me edit:

• PHP
• xml
• Java
• JavaScript
• html
• Shell Scripting
• and a whole list of other Application-speicific files (Ariba Buyer config files, like AML, AQL, etc…)

Why is this program so good? Well, it has a whole list of features, and, if the features aren’t built in, it has a Plugin system that can extend the program. Of course, it also has Syntax Highlighting, and, in the image on the left you can see an example of this in use. It also uses BeanShell to enable scripting and macro writing. What more could a programmer, developer, designer, configurator, computer user want?

Here is an excerpt from the site:

* Written in Java, so it runs on Mac OS X, OS/2, Unix, VMS and Windows.
* Built-in macro language; extensible plugin architecture. Dozens of macros and plugins available.
* Plugins can be downloaded and installed from within jEdit using the “plugin manager” feature.
* Auto indent, and syntax highlighting for more than 130 languages.
* Supports a large number of character encodings including UTF8 and Unicode.
* Folding for selectively hiding regions of text.
* Word wrap.
* Highly configurable and customizable.
* Every other feature, both basic and advanced, you would expect to find in a text editor. See the Features page for a full list.