Mousepad as a Linux alternative to Notepad++

Opening your Notepad++ files

Mousepad opens plain text files without issue. It does not preserve Notepad++‑specific settings such as custom color schemes, user macros, or project files. When opening a file exported from Notepad++ (e.g., a .txt or .cpp), the content appears correctly, but any Notepad++‑only metadata is lost.

Switching from Notepad++ to Mousepad, step by step

1. 1. Export your Notepad++ settings if needed (e.g., copy color scheme files).
2. 2. Install Mousepad from your distribution’s package manager or Flathub.
3. 3. Open existing files with Mousepad; adjust syntax highlighting via the menu if required.
4. 4. Recreate any custom macros manually using external scripts or a different editor if needed.
5. 5. Verify that regex search works by testing a simple pattern.
6. 6. If you use project navigation, consider switching to a file manager or another lightweight editor for that feature.

Key features of Mousepad

• GTK‑based UI that matches Xfce aesthetics
• Instant startup and low memory footprint
• Basic syntax highlighting for common languages
• Line numbering and word wrap options
• Search and replace with regular expressions
• Configurable font and tab width
• Drag‑and‑drop file opening