Notepad++

Notepad++ (http://notepad-plus-plus.org/) is a free lightweight text editor. With the NppExec plugin Notepad++ can call do the basic chores of an IDE: call an external tool, capture the output, and jump to the source line that corresponds to an error message.

To install the NppExec choose Plugins => Plugin Manager => Show Plugin Manager.

Check the box for NppExec and click Install, and let Notepad++ restart itself.

Now F6 will open a window in which you can type the command you want to be executed:

npp_saveall
CD $(CURRENT_DIRECTORY)
make build

You can save it, I suggest the name 'make build'. This script will save all files, CD to the directory of the active file, and run 'make build'. The output will be captured in an output window at the bottom of the screen. Likewise you can create 'make run' and 'make clean'.

The next step is to get the NppExec to recognise the source references in the output. Open Plugins => NppExec => Console Output Filters (.

In the filters window you must specify the pattern for errors, and I suggest the pattern for warnings too. Select B for the errors to make them stand out.

%FILE%:%LINE%: error:*
%FILE%:%LINE%: warning:*

Now you can use F6 to open the command window, change the command, and run it, or CTRL-F6 to run the previous command without getting the command window. The result will appear in the command result window at the bootom, with the errors in bold. Click on an error to jump to the coresponding source line.

When you have a succesfull build you can use run (F5) to run 'make run'.

More information about the command language can be found at http://sourceforge.net/apps/mediawiki/notepad-plus/index.php?title=Compiling_Source_Code