No matter what IDE or other tools you use you still need a great text editor from time to time. The Windows default of Notepad is very basic to say the least. Enter Notepad++, a free and open source Notepad on steroids.
It has been part of my standard toolbox for so may year now.
It has so many benefits over Notepad:
- Tabbed windows
- Support for source highlighting for MANY languages
- Intellisense. More limited than a full IDE but still worth it.
- Many Plug-ins for different tasks, such as spell check.
- It you exit without saving it preserves the unsaved tabs for when you re-open!
I normally use one tab with the auto preserve as a scratch pad or TODO list.
If you do not have a good backup text editor do yourself a favor and get Notepad++ :)
Woz