The New Microsoft Edit Is Superb
There isn’t much to say about Microsoft Edit, and that’s a great thing. It has quickly become my preferred tool for quick text editing thanks to its straightforward nature.
A Minimal Interface
The interface is as simple as it gets while still being functional. You’ll only find four menu buttons: File, Edit, View, and Help. Despite the simplicity, the Edit menu does include find and replace options—very useful when dealing with lengthy configuration files.
Edit is mainly built to be used from the command line, but you can also use your mouse to interact, whether you're inside Windows Terminal or the older Console Host.
It also supports standard keyboard shortcuts such as:
- Ctrl N: New File
- Ctrl O: Open File
- Ctrl S: Save
- Ctrl Z: Undo
- Ctrl Y: Redo
- Ctrl F: Find
- Ctrl R: Replace
The Great Tab vs. Space Debate
If you've been around developers or even just watched Silicon Valley, you’ve probably heard of the tabs versus spaces debate. This issue divides people strongly. Over the years, hundreds of articles have been written about it. I've seen classmates argue so intensely over this in college that they ended up losing points on assignments. StackOverflow once conducted a survey of tens of thousands of users to see which was more popular. Spaces barely won.
Microsoft Edit smartly allows you to choose. If "Spaces" is selected, pressing the tab key inserts a specific number of spaces, which you can delete individually. Choosing "Tab" will indent by a set number of spaces, but the tab acts like a single character.
### Effortless Remote Use
If you regularly connect to your Windows PC via SSH, you'll appreciate another benefit: Microsoft Edit works seamlessly with SSH right out of the box. Normally, you'd have to configure VSCode Remote or install a third-party editor to edit text files remotely. Now, simply install Edit using Winget, and you're all set. It even runs smoothly on Arm-based CPUs.
##### How to Connect to an SSH Server from Windows, macOS, or Linux
SSH is available across all major operating systems.
How Do You Install Microsoft Edit? ------------------------------------There are two methods to install Microsoft Edit.
Install from GitHub
Edit is hosted on GitHub. Go to the releases page and download the latest version. I’m using an x86_64 machine, so I grabbed that build. If you’re on an Arm device, make sure to get the correct version.
Once downloaded, extract the ZIP file and run the "Edit" executable. I placed it directly in C:\ so I wouldn’t misplace it.
To access it from any terminal window, you’ll need to add the executable to your system PATH.
Install from Winget
Alternatively, you can install Edit through Winget. Installing via Winget automatically adds it to your PATH, which doesn't happen if you download from GitHub. If I were working on a headless Windows server, this would definitely be my choice.
Open a Terminal window and run:
<code>winget install Microsoft.Edit</code>
Then just type Edit
in Command Prompt or PowerShell to launch the program.
##### This Open-Source Project Brings the Best Part of Linux to Windows
Don’t underestimate how helpful a GUI can be.
6 ### Add Microsoft Edit to the Right-Click Context MenuOnce you’ve extracted the EXE from GitHub, adding it to the "Open With" context menu is simple. Right-click a text file, then click "Open With." Scroll down and select "Choose an app on this PC," then locate the Edit executable. I put mine in the C:\ directory for easy access.
After selecting Edit for a certain file type, it will continue to appear in the Open With menu.
If you want a custom icon for Edit, you’ll need to download the SVG icon from GitHub, convert it to ICO format using CloudConvert, and then apply it to the EXE using Resource Hacker.
Feature Creep Ruins Text Editors
Notepad, arguably the world's most well-known plain text editor, has been facing a growing problem: feature bloat.
Originally, Notepad was the simplest text editor imaginable. No tabs. Formatting choices were limited to “word wrap” or not. But now it includes Copilot integration, letting you rewrite your notepad content in different styles or insert new text. Oddly enough, there’s even an option to sign in with your Microsoft account.
##### Notepad Is Being “Upgraded” With AI—Here’s How To Restore the Old Version
Even Notepad isn’t immune to the AI wave.
5 ---This increasing number of features—especially AI-related additions—completely undermines the purpose of a basic text editor like Notepad. I hope Microsoft Edit doesn’t follow the same path and remain free of unnecessary enhancements like Copilot anytime soon.
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