What Is The Best Open Text Editor For Big Files On Mac



UltraEdit's file handling is designed to prevent it from using all the available memory, which would stop other applications from running. What does this mean to you? UltraEdit has no real limit on file size - and can easily open, edit, and save large text files in excess of 4 GB!

I love how it easily handles large text files.I have a db log file that is several GB, and UE quickly opens the file, and I can search the entire document very easily. It also searches the entire file surprisingly fast. I also love how IDM is continuously maintaining, and updating UE to keep up with the constantly changing IT world... John S.See more reviews

There are several configuration settings that can be configured to optimize the editing of large files. We will take a look at the following:


  • Ultraedit is a powerful text editor suitable for editing massive text files that exceed gigabytes in size. In addition to text, it can be used to edit a wide range of programming languages – from.
  • Large text viewer was designed for viewing large text files (over gigabytes). It uses small amount of memory and you can view file before it's completely loaded. Also it can cut file into smaller parts so you can edit file separately.
  • EM Editor - Opened the 30 Gigabyte text file without issues. It took a while to load the whole file. According to the feature listing on the official website, EM Editor supports files with a size of up to 248 Gigabytes.

1. Disable temp files

This is probably the most important tweak you can make to improve performance when opening very large files.

As mentioned above, UltraEdit is a disk based editor, which means it only loads small portions of the file into memory. As UltraEdit uses 64-Bit handling for the file it has no real limit on file size, and does not use excessive RAM for editing. However, when opening the file with a temporary file, UltraEdit must first create a copy of the file in your temporary directory. Copying the file can cause the initial loading to be very slow, especially with huge multi-gigabyte files. By disabling temp file creation on load, UltraEdit will not first copy the file to your temp directory.

UltraEdit is one of the best and most versatile text editors for Mac out there. For starters, UltraEdit supports a ton of different languages including C, Objective C, Javascript, XML, PHP, Perl, Python, and more. Just like BBEdit, UltraEdit has been around since ages and is celebrating its 25 year’s anniversary this year. This open-source PDF editor was created to be like Microsoft Word so that it can open and edit PDF files easily. The editing of PDF files is relatively easy. It can help you to edit text and images. You can also white-out some areas and then add text on top. The open-source PDF editor is quite an advanced word processor, but its ability to edit.

This setting may be accessed in Advanced » Settings » File handling » Temporary files. Enable the option to 'Open file without a temp file.'

Important note: This does mean you are directly editing the original file so any changes will be permanent.

We recommend that you set a threshold for the temp file setting for files above a certain size (specified in KB). The threshold will set a limit for using temporary files on files that are over the specified amount. For example, if you set this to 51,200 KB (which is a good threshold for most), UltraEdit will not use temporary files when you open a file that is more than 51,200 KB (50 MB).

Note: for more information on how UltraEdit uses temp files, please see our temporary file power tip.


Files

2. Disable line numbers

Disabling line numbers on large files will help make navigation much quicker. You can access this setting in Advanced » Settings » Editor display » Miscellaneous: 'Disable line numbers'.

If you plan to edit and move around quite a bit in large files, make sure to enable this option. UltraEdit requires more processing to calculate line numbers when moving to different places in extremely large files. This option disables line number calculation, and thus, improves performance.


Mac

3. Disable line terminator conversion

If you've set UltraEdit to automatically convert line terminators to DOS format, you will want to disable this, as this will take a very long time for very large files. You can access this setting in Advanced » Settings » File handling » DOS/Unix/Mac handling.

This option is designed to allow you to determine if the editor should automatically detect and convert Unix (LF only) or Mac legacy (CR only) files to DOS (CR/LF) format on open.


4. Disable code folding

Code folding requires parsing of the entire file on open in order for UltraEdit to calculate where a fold should begin and end. As your file grows in size and more and more nested folding sections of code occur, the amount of system resources (RAM, CPU) required to display code folding increases as well. For very large files, it's a good idea to disable code folding.

You can disable code folding by going to Advanced » Settings » Editor display » Code folding. Uncheck 'Enable Show/Hide Lines and Code Folding' here.


5. Disable the function list

Like code folding, the function list parses an entire file when it is opened in order to locate and display functions. You can disable (hide) the function list by pressing F8 or in the Layout tab.

What Is The Best Open Text Editor For Big Files On Mac Windows 10


6. Set a large file threshold for the XML manager

What Is The Best Open Text Editor For Big Files On Mac

The XML manager is another feature which will parse your entire file on open. You can prevent the XML manager from automatically parsing files larger than a specified size in Advanced » Settings » XML manager. Set the 'Auto parse XML documents less than' value in MB here.


What Is The Best Open Text Editor For Big Files On Mac Shortcut

7. Disable syntax highlighting

To really free up resources for extremely large files, disable syntax highlighting completely (if your large file is source code with syntax highlighting). Disabling syntax highlighting will also automatically disable code folding and function listing as well.

You can completely disable syntax highlighting before opening a large file by going to Advanced » Settings » Editor display » Syntax highlighting and unchecking 'Enable syntax coloring'.

You can also disable syntax highlighting for the active file only, which in the case of large files is only helpful if done very quickly after open, by selecting 'No Highlighting' under 'View » View As (Highlighting File Type)' or, in UE v19.00/UES v13.00 and later, selecting 'No Highlighting' in the status bar control (if the basic status bar configuration setting is not enabled).


What Is The Best Open Text Editor For Big Files On Mac Os

8. Disable the Line Change Indicator (LCI)

If you plan to make changes and edit your large file after you open it, it is a good idea to disable the LCI for the file. The LCI records saved and unsaved changes per line into memory.

To disable the LCI, go to Advanced » Settings » Editor display » Syntax highlighting and uncheck 'Enable line change indicator (LCI).'

A writer is only as good as his or her tools. And when it comes to writing tools, Mac often leads the way. A Macbook is the dream system if your work involves anything to do with graphics and images. It is often the goal for anyone with a creative streak, but Apple Pages isn’t a one-size fit all tool for writers.

Best

As a result, many Mac owners end up using third-party word processors. MS Word in particular is a popular choice. It has long dominated the field of word processors and what they’re good at, which is producing documents.

The expensive licensing fees and the almost annual new versions, bugs, and fixes means a lot of MS Word writers are trapped in a love/hate relationship. Our stories, our writing, our creative results—they’re like our babies.

Better Time for Writers

In recent years the pendulum is swinging. Writers have made an impact on the world, or maybe it’s just that technology and software developers have finally reached beyond a one size fit all approach to software. Distraction-free software and customizing your experience when writing, whether it’s a text editor or a free word processor for Mac, is trending. And since we all know the story of the struggling writer, it doesn’t hurt to cut out those fees either.

So, if you’ve been waiting for the day when you’d have a choice between more than just two or three tools for your writing, or the day that you could cut the purse strings between you and recurring licensing fees, this could be it.

Below are just some of the free word processors for Mac. Pick a couple of these that you like but do some additional in-depth research. Choose the best tool to help you focus on telling your story. You may simply find a better tool to help you release your creative side, or you may find the motivation needed to finally make the big switch from PC to Mac.

Microsoft Word for Mac

Word for Mac is now available. It’s not a free word processor for Mac users, of course, but it’s worth mentioning. So, if you do happen to be an MS Word lover, you can subscribe to Office 365 for a low monthly fee of $9.99 month. Reviewers are raving that MS Word for Mac looks and acts like MS Word for the PC. So, if MS Word is what you’ve been pining for, your wait is over.

What Is The Best Open Text Editor For Big Files On Mac Download

For the rest of us, below are some free word processors for Mac that will get the job done for writers:

WPS Writer by Kingsoft

WPS Office by Kingsoft is a free suite of software available for multiple platforms including Windows, iOS, Linux, and Android. Part of the WPS Office 2016 suite is WPS Writer, the word processing component of the Office suite. WPS Writer supports multiple languages in addition to English, including French, Portuguese, Polish, German, and Russian and its mobile apps boast registered users of more than 400 million. It’s free, and you can import and export from a wide range of file formats. However, exported files will include a watermark, and printing is only available to paid subscribers.

LibreOffice Writer

LibreOffice Writer is open source software, which means it’s available for Mac OS, Windows, and Linux operating systems. There’s also LibreViewer for Android. LibreOffice Writer supports for over 100 languages. For those who have been using MSWord, you’ll find the interface for MS Word very similar. If you prefer to get a head start, LibreOffice offers a variety of great built-in templates to choose from. One of the things you’ll like about LibreOffice is that it can handle different document types, so you’ll have no trouble at all opening those MS Word files. To learn more about how this stacks up against Word, read our LibreOffice vs MS Word article.

AbiWord

Another pick of free word processors for Mac users is AbiWord. Available for Mac OS X, Windows, and Linux users, its easy to use interface is one that former WordPerfect users will love. Some users report that the scrolling is not ideal, so it’s probably better suited for keyboard warriors who are used to scrolling using the arrow keys.

You can edit and save in multiple formats including encoded and rich text, Open document, text files and more. Spellchecker is included, and there are easy to install plugins. Support is via email, so it’s not lightning fast. There is an option to hide menus for writers looking for distraction-free writing sessions.

Google Docs

Google Docs is free and cloud-based, so it works well on any system. It’s become a popular option for many small businesses and consultants who need to work collaboratively on documents. Google Docs saves your changes as you type and you can even look at revision history and see who made changes to your document.

As a writer, the biggest draw to Google Docs is the ability to work collaboratively in real-time with someone else, perhaps a co-author, contributor, or even an editor. You can install a Chrome app that lets you open, edit, and save MS Word files. Personally, I could never get past the panic of not knowing for sure that my changes were saved. But if you can be comfortable with never having to save a document again, or if you have a need to work collaboratively in real-time, then Google Docs may be a good fit.

Lyx

Another free word processor for Mac you may not have heard of is Lyx. It’s available for Windows and Unix/Linux users too, so no one is left out. It’s open source, and you can import and export to other document formats such as HTML, PDF, .doc, and rich text formats. Also, it’s actually a “document” processor rather than a “word” processor. This is mostly down to semantics but it means that Lyx writers can forget about formatting and focus on writing.

There are loads of longer document templates with automatic formatting to help with consistency. If you just want to write without having to figure out things like footnotes, references, or how to do a table of contents, Lyx may work well for your needs.

BEAN

For the more daring among you, Bean walks the tightrope line between a full-featured word processor for Mac and a bare-bones text editor. It’s free, but there have been some bugs to work out as far as compatibility goes. So, make sure you choose the right download for your OS X system. If you don’t need the formatting capabilities of a word processor but miss the live word counts and other features some text editors don’t have, Bean may be a good fit.

Best Free Word Processors for Mac: Conclusion

In conclusion, I want to be transparent about the fact that I’m not yet a Mac user. I still dream of the day when I’ll have the Moxie to make such a transition. The information above has been provided through researching company websites and Mac user reviews. I did my best to be thorough and provide accurate information. But when it comes to choosing one of these free word processors for Mac, please do your research.