FTP Programs and Text Editors for Windows Users
For more than casual work on Thesis, you need to get separate programs for FTP file transfers and for editing your custom.css and custom_functions.php files. Once you have used separate programs on your computer for FTP and program file editing, you will wonder how you ever did without them
There’s an ongoing survey in the Announcements part of the DIYthemes Forums about which FTP programs and text editors people use. Based on the response of many Windows PC users, I feel confident recommending the following two free programs:
FileZilla for FTP file transfers
FileZilla is a free FTP file transfer program that will take the place of your having to do file transfers on your host’s cPanel or similar software. Using a separate program is a lot easier and more flexible, besides its having many more features than cPanel.
Although FileZilla is free, that doesn’t mean it’s crippled: it has a full list of features that compare favorably with paid programs. In particular, it:
- Has an interface familiar to Windows users
- Is easy to use, with drag-and-drop file transfers from and to your computer
- Has all of the essential tools of site management
- Allows easy changing of file permissions (essential for Thesis users)
- Supports remote file editing (an advanced way to edit files directly on the server)
- Supports a full range of transfer protocols
Here is a small screenshot to give you an idea of how it looks. You can see more screenshots on the site:
FileZilla main screen
Notepad++ text editor
Although you could use NotePad on your computer to edit custom.css and custom_functions.php, it really wasn’t designed for editing source code files and shows it. Even Thesis OpenHook’s editor is very basic, and not suitable for more than occasional work.
A much better alternative is Notepad++, a free programming editor for Windows. Once again, just because Notepad++ is free doesn’t mean it’s not powerful and full-featured. Among the things you will most appreciate are:
- Syntax coloring
- WYSIWYG
- Auto-completion
- Multiple documents and views can be open at the same time
- Full drag-and-drop support
This small screenshot gives you an idea how the syntax coloring and line numbering look. There are many more screenshots on the Notepad++ site:
Notepad++ HTML editing example
I hope you have been encouraged to get separate FTP and text editor programs. I’m sure you won’t be disappointed by either of these two recommended pieces of software. Please feel free to make a comment, or to email me using the “Contact” button at the top of the screen.
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{ 3 comments… read them below or add one }
Mike, I’m confused.(that’s not unusual for newbie me). I went to the Notepad++ site to download and there are several different options…I have no idea which one to pick to download. My goal would be to open and start coding for my class, then upload to server.
I have heard (from you!) that there is a way to code while in the server directly using Notepad.
A. What are the risks of leaving server open that long, and will filezilla shut down while in the middle of coding?
B. Which notepad++ would I download for that…just confused with the many options they offer.
Thanks!
Robin
Hi, Robin,
I agree that there are (too many?) choices for downloading NotePad++. But here’s the ones you should select:
- Go to the Download section
- Select “Binary Files” then “Download Notepad++ executable files”
- From the SourceForge page select the third option, the ” npp 5.5.1 installer.exe.” It will do the familiar program installation process.
Hope this helps!
Thanks Mike. That helps. Tried it out on a page I’m working on for school, and wow, so much easier to read. I always typed code really tight without spacing it in cuz it validated better that way due to avoidance of manual errors.
Ok, so now I gotta figure out what all the bells and whistles are. There sure seems like alot of shortcuts once ya know whatcha doing. I’ll get there. Always appreciate your help towards people just trying out code. This site is awesome! So much logical, info!