Brackets

Pros

• Many modern features like quick editing, live edits and multiple cursors
• Many extensions and an updated list of modifications
• Quick code completion features

Cons

• Long installation
• Extension manager can get messy
• Frontend focused on HTML, CSS and JavaScript

Brackets is a text editor made to help with coding HTML, CSS and JavaScript. Whether you're making a static HTML page or building apps for your blogging system, you'll find that Brackets has the modern features you need to quickly edit and finish your project. It has many premium features and makes it simple to see your coding live while making quick changes as necessary.

Primary Features

On the surface, Brackets is a very clean developer tool that allows you to code in HTML, CSS and JavaScript. The interface color-codes all of your coding so that it's easy to pick out sections for editing. As with many text editors, you can immediately view the results in your browser to see what your app or page looks like.

You can see the code and page side-by-side. This allows you to make changes that will instantly take effect. Instead of going back and forth, you can do the editing and viewing in the same screen. On top of that, there are tools that allow you to click a section of the page and be taken to the code governing that section. For example, if you want to change the color of a certain button or header, Brackets will take you to that section of CSS.

The Quick Edits UI generates context-specific coding for your tools. This allows you to pack lots of coding into one section without it cluttering the space. This is perfect after working on hundreds or thousands of lines of code.

Collaboration and Sharing

Maybe you need help on a section, or you're working on a team and need everyone involved in the coding. You may also be working with a client and they want to see how the code is progressing. Brackets makes it very simple to share the coding with other people. This collaboration feature ensures that others can see the code. They can also make edits as necessary to ensure the project is going smoothly.

Code Completion Feature

There is a code completion feature that allows you to generate code faster than ever. Brackets can determine what you are typing and will offer to finish the code for you. While you may not want to rely on this all the time, it's very useful and often quite accurate. It should be able to determine the correct code you were thinking of adding.

If you ever need help with a specific syntax or coding issue, Brackets also has many syntax tools to help finish your coding properly. Instead of looking it up and wasting time, this program will help you complete the syntax correctly so that you can move on to your next part of the project.

Another useful feature is a color picker for CSS. You can't be expected to remember the hex code for every color and shade. This allows you to pick the exact color you want and will give you the hex code for it.

Modifications

One of the best things about open-source software is that third-party developers can come up with modifications that are easy to use with the program. Brackets has a very large community of users and there are constantly new modifications being made for this software. This gives the tool extra features, improves existing tools and so much more. If there's something that you think could be better, then look for a mod to improve the program.

Extension Network

Brackets has a large network of extensions and themes. This allows you to easily look up what extensions are available, and this allows you to efficiently manage the extensions you're currently using. On the flip side, some have criticized the extension manager because it can become messy if you have a lot of extensions. It just lumps them all together without any filtering or search options.

This is a relatively minor issue and the only major criticism of Brackets, which is a good sign for all the other tools and features. Just be mindful of this and you should be fine.

Multiple Cursors

Here's a handy feature that you won't see in many coding text editors. Brackets allows you to set your cursor in multiple areas. Just hold the Ctrl button, click all the areas you want your cursor to be and then start typing. Your text will appear in all those areas at once.

This is perfect if you need to make the same edits in multiple places but you don't want to waste time copying and pasting the code everywhere.

Pros

• Many modern features like quick editing, live edits and multiple cursors
• Many extensions and an updated list of modifications
• Quick code completion features

Cons

• Long installation
• Extension manager can get messy
• Frontend focused on HTML, CSS and JavaScript