I've been using Notepad++ for years now and swear bye it. A lot of people would; however, I recently came across Atom. My question is simple. Can someone with experience with both programs compare and contrast the two programs on a detailed level. Thanks in advance!
For basic functions both are essentially the same. Atom does have a few advantages. For one thing it opens all related files in the folder at once. So you can quickly switch between and compare files. Also while Notepad++ does Find in Files and Folders Search - atom uses a Find in Project method instead. A Project is considered "Every Working File" - this tends to be a bit confusing at times as if you ant to search your unpacked folder for references - you will need to add it to your project. Though I think the strongest point to atom is the UI - which I think trumps notepad++ by a mile. Though I personally used all 3; Sublime \ Notepad++ \ Atom. I am a huge fan of Sublimes search capabilities - but love atoms UI. Also out of the 3 - atom is the only one which can open images in the application it self. I don't have too much praise for notepad++ anymore. 2 Plugins I recommend for Atom.IO https://atom.io/packages/linter https://atom.io/packages/linter-jsonlint It will check for errors as you type.
Just checked out Atom. Wow just wow, mind blown. Thanks for the plugins btw. Definitely going to need a JSON linter!
Functionality Wise - sublime is a lot better, so yes. It is faster and more optimized as well. Though Aesthetically Wise - Atom is a vast improvement over sublime.
For a noob who mainly copies and paste, should I stick with notepad++ or should I start looking into these other editors? I rarely do anything from scratch.
I was in the same boat until recently. Notepad++ is a great tool, but being able to work on several things on the same screen has proven to be far more efficient with this kind of modding.
I perfer Atom and Sublime. The number of plugins and powerful tools available to you really outshines notepad ++ If you want something simple and don't want to over complicate things, go with Notepad++ If you perfer to have the most tools available to you, Atom.
I went from Notepad++ to Sublime Text 2 and now Atom... I would have sticked to Sublime if there wasnt this: https://community.playstarbound.com/threads/release-atom-starbound-modding-suite.134692/l] I highly recommend it.