My go-to ages ago was UltraEdit. But I am not sure I want to fork over the cash. I'm contemplating Sublime. But I'm kind of diving into NeoVim to see if I can get used to it (vi isn't natural for me at this time). It has the potential advantage of being terminal based and is therefore very portable. There are a ton of great modules and it is very activately being improved.

The killer feature that UltraEdit and Notepad++ have is virtual space (ie you can extend vertical blocks over lines that are shorter that the cursor position and it'll automatically extend the line with white space. For SQL (and other things) this is a godsend for right aligned right brackets etc. (oh Geany does this too but it's a very janky feeling application.)

Sublime doesn't have it. Vscode ignores ongoing pleas to add it. Not sure NeoVim will have it, but there's no cost to me for trying.

The main things holding me back from UEdit are cost, and he fact that UEStudio is windows only. Not being terminal based is also a strike against it, but not a showstopper. It's just too much money when an employer isn't paying.

I know emacs exists but it's too deep a rabbit hole when I just want a go to edit text with a few minor bells and whistles...