I finally switched to VS Code after fighting with Notepad++ for 3 months

I was learning Python and used Notepad++ because it was fast and simple. But I kept making dumb mistakes like forgetting to close parentheses or mis-matching indentations. I switched to VS Code last week and it catches all that stuff as I type. The built-in terminal and debugger saved me like 5 hours on one project alone. Has anyone else found a tool that just clicked after struggling with something else?

3 comments

3 Comments

sarah5312mo ago

I switched from Notepad++ to VS Code too. The auto-formatting is what got me, stops me from breaking everything with wonky spacing. Even just for basic HTML and CSS, VS Code's extensions make it way less painful. Notepad++ is great for quick edits though, still keep it around for that.

blake3222mo ago

The auto-formatting in VS Code is nice but you have to be careful with it. It can mess up your HTML structure if you have a lot of nested elements or inline styles. I've had it add extra spacing that actually broke my layout, especially with older CSS that uses floats. Notepad++ is still better for those quick fixes where you just need to change one line without the editor trying to reorganize everything.

alice_palmer201mo ago

Honestly I did the exact same thing except I was using Sublime Text for like 6 months before I gave in. The thing that made it click for me was when I accidentally deleted a whole function and VS Code let me undo it through the local history extension. Notepad++ would have just made me cry about it. Plus the Python extension catching my indentation errors before I even run the code saved me from so many stupid runtime errors. Tbh I keep Notepad++ on my machine too for opening huge log files but I haven't actually coded in it since the switch.