Any suggestions for a better text editor (not vim/emacs) for Ubuntu than the default Gnome editor? It's got three frustrating dealbreakers for me:
1. Can't turn off syntax highlighting, AND the syntax highlighting is so confusing that it leads to me screwing up.
2. No way to get a wordcount for selection block.
3. Autoscroll sucks, placing cursor at the bottom of the screen, with text below cursor always invisible.
ETA: Thanks, all, I'm going with Geany (h/t https://mamot.fr/@kirch@tilde.zone)
@pluralistic "Any suggestions for a better text editor (not...." any of the really good editors
Golly! Use Emacs, why punish your self? Forty years, now, it has been around. I've been using it for thirty five years.
Other editors come, and then they go, each is better in some ways, but each time they wither and die.
@pluralistic puzzled you are getting problems with syntax highlighting in gedit. It does provide syntax if it infers that you are writing code. So I get bash syntax if I'm editing a bash script. But it doesn't if I'm writing plain text. You can override it in preferences so I think you could set it to plain text.
But no doubt your other issues are deal breakers anyway.
@pluralistic The default GNOME Text Editor has changed a while ago. Not sure if you're still on the old one (or what Ubuntu uses as default), but in the modern text editor you can turn off syntax highlighting by pressing the info icon in the corner, and then choosing "Plain Text" in Document Type.
Doesn't do word count selection blocks though. And I don't know if it even supports auto-scroll. But otherwise I think it fits all listed criteria I think.
@pluralistic I know it isn't a text editor / word processor precisely, but Obsidian.md does the word count (both for the document and also the selection), and I find the default configuration to be legible.
There are perhaps many UI elements that you may find disagreeable, however.
I actually use Obsidian as a CMS for my website but I'm not nearly as prolific as you.
@pluralistic
i hear this. most are assuming you're writing code. otherwise people say use libreOffice or whatevs which are damned awful to write in, so noodly and focused on formatting.
i want a text editor specifically for _writers_ that has a functional mindset and extensibility like a code editor, but for creative writing or journalism.
You might want to try ghostWriter.
It's a KDE product. It supports MarkDown as well.
(ghostWriter)[https://ghostwriter.kde.org]
@creativegamingname Black on grey/white on grey is a dealbreaker. A
@pluralistic OH!
I'm so sorry I thought you were ASKING for a white background?
This is the default, if you don't switch it to "light mode".
Sorry if this is completely off base. I just fully feel the pain of "I just need a space to write!"
@mikerspencer The screeenshot shows it using grey on white type. Total dealbreaker. I need black on white, including (especially) for the UI where I select the color schemes. I'm not willing to use something i have to magnify and squint at just to configure.
@pluralistic
I remember the colours appearing stark or harsh, but I've not used it in a few years.
@pluralistic If you don't mind a load of KDE Plasma dependencies, KWrite or Kate?
@notbobbytables Nope. Both launch with unreadable, minuscule grey on white UI type. I can't even read it - let alone change it.
@pluralistic oh the bravery ... starting an editor war like this and then as a first move you immediately fire shots at the two biggest and meanest editor communities.
Wars have been started over less, for example, 50 million barrels of oil.
@pluralistic I rather like jEdit (Java/cross-platform; I'm on Xubuntu). I've checked and the wordcount is for the selection if there is one. Spellcheck is a plugin that uses Aspell and I think it does the rest of what you're looking for out of the box.
@pluralistic I run notepad++ via #Wine on #Ubuntu because I use it on #Windoze ...I really miss #Atom editor😟
@pluralistic Sublime Text or Typora (typora.io)
@cisene Sublime Text defaults to an unreadable color scheme, and has no way to turn the type into black on white without editing a config file that it loads as 10% grey on white. It's the worst onboarding experience I've ever had.
@pluralistic The plague of low contrast text is everywhere and I hate it.
@pluralistic Oh, I'm sorry .. I use a color scheme that is black on white, Typora.io is lika a zero-bells+whistles Word clone but better, outputs a whole bunch of formats but mainly Markdown.
@cisene Alas, there seems to be no way to get it to just display my text, including, e.g. image tags. It tries to render everything.
@pluralistic Well, then I'm out of ideas.
I want something that:
* defaults to black text on a white screen (e.g. not Sublime Text, which requires that you edit a file rendered in 10% grey on white to make the text darker!)
* remembers my tabs between sessions (so relaunching re-opens all my previous docs)
* spellchecks
* lets me wordcount selection blocks as well as the whole doc
And generally is not designed with infinitesimal UI elements that are rendered in sadistic 10% grey on white.
ETA: Thanks, all, I'm going with Geany (h/t https://mamot.fr/@kirch@tilde.zone)
@pluralistic good choice, I used to use it a lot as an IDE.
If you don't need IDE though please take a look at SciTE, it's the same library under the hood but stripped of IDE functionality.
@pluralistic Weird suggestion -- Obsidian? It defaults to your system colour scheme, remembers tabs, and does spellcheck and whole/highlighted word count.
BUT since it is a notes app not a text editor it only opens/saves .md files in a specified "vault" folder. There are ways to make it open and export .txt but it depends what you need
VScodium with high contract light, a spell checker plugin, and the Writer's word count plugin?
@pluralistic if open source is not a requirement you might like Typora
@pluralistic have you tried Geany? I think it has everything you're asking for, but might need a plugin for spellcheck...
@pluralistic It’s not very clear to me if you want a code editor or a text editor, but I’d recommend Zed for the former and maybe Obsidian for the latter
@pluralistic I'd recommend my own distraction-free editor, Apostrophe, but doesn't have tabs https://flathub.org/en/apps/org.gnome.gitlab.somas.Apostrophe
@pluralistic I am prone to using tools like ghostWriter.
It supports MarkDown if you happen to be a fan, but it's not something you have to use.
@flns Nope. Starts up with sadistic, minuscule grey on white type. I can't even decipher the UI well enough to figure out how to make the UI decipherable.
@pluralistic is this for configuration file and code editing or for note taking/short form or for long form writing?
