This is my essential list of Windows App to develop WordPress site
Notepad ++
notepad++ is a free open source text editor. it’s fast and have all the feature i needed.
Search and Replace in Notepad++
What i love from Notepad++ is the powerful search and replace feature. Not only to search and replace string of text in a file, You can search and replace string from all files in a folder. very useful if you have a base theme/starter theme, and you need to change all prefix in function or hooks.
Use Standard Right Click menu in Notepad++
another feature i use often is to use Windows standard right-click menu (Windows Explorer) in Notepad++ Explorer Plugin. With this feature i can easily commit update to my SVN repo with Tortoise SVN.
Create template files with user defined keybord shortcode
With Notepad++ WebEdit plugin, we can create a set of “tags” or abbreviations and press Alt+Enter to replace it with the corresponding block of text. The tags i use:
(alt+enter) and change it to /* */ i use it to add notes in php or css files.
(alt+enter) and change it to:
/** * * * */
i use it to add inline documentation.
(alt+enter) and change it to function
i also add several WordPress template files for example: sidebar php.
copy/cut text of your theme name eg: “mytheme” and type (alt+enter) and it will change it to:
<?php /** * Primary Sidebar Template * * Displays widgets for the Primary dynamic sidebar if any have been added to the sidebar through the * widgets screen in the admin by the user. Otherwise, nothing is displayed. * * @package mytheme * @subpackage Template */ if ( is_active_sidebar( 'primary' ) ) : ?> <?php do_atomic( 'before_sidebar_primary' ); // mytheme_before_sidebar_primary ?> <div id="sidebar-primary"> <?php do_atomic( 'open_sidebar_primary' ); // mytheme_open_sidebar_primary ?> <?php dynamic_sidebar( 'primary' ); ?> <?php do_atomic( 'close_sidebar_primary' ); // mytheme_close_sidebar_primary ?> </div><!-- #sidebar-primary .aside --> <?php do_atomic( 'after_sidebar_primary' ); // mytheme_after_sidebar_primary ?> <?php endif; ?>
How to add your own template tags in Notepad++ WebEdit Plugin
Just open theNotepad++ menu > > and add this in the bottom:
; Custom Tags f=function d=/**\n * \n * \n * \n */ n=/* */ sidebarprimary=<?php\n/**\n * Primary Sidebar Template\n *\n * Displays widgets for the Primary dynamic sidebar if any have been added to the sidebar through the \n * widgets screen in the admin by the user. Otherwise, nothing is displayed.\n *\n * @package \c\n * @subpackage Template\n */\n\nif ( is_active_sidebar( 'primary' ) ) : ?>\n\n\i<?php do_atomic( 'before_sidebar_primary' ); // \c_before_sidebar_primary ?>\n\n\i<div id="sidebar-primary">\n\n\i\i<?php do_atomic( 'open_sidebar_primary' ); // \c_open_sidebar_primary ?>\n\n\i\i<?php dynamic_sidebar( 'primary' ); ?>\n\n\i\i<?php do_atomic( 'close_sidebar_primary' ); // \c_close_sidebar_primary ?>\n\n\i</div><!-- #sidebar-primary .aside -->\n\n\i<?php do_atomic( 'after_sidebar_primary' ); // \c_after_sidebar_primary ?>\n\n<?php endif; ?>
but don’t forget to after modify WebEdit.ini file.
XAMPP Lite
XAMPP is an easy to install Apache distribution containing MySQL, PHP and Perl. XAMPP is really very easy to install and to use – just download, extract and start. “XAMPP Lite” is an additional extra small XAMPP edition. Configured with relative paths you can use it on usb devices.
I use XAMPP Lite just in case i need to move all my data to another computer.
Use Multiple Subdomain in XAMPP
i use subdomain for each my localhost install. for example for this site i create https://shellcreeper.com as development site. It’s easy to do:
1. Edit XAMPP Lite httpd-xampp.conf file.
the file is located in `DRIVE:\ProjectWebsite\XAMPP-1\apache\conf\extra\httpd-xampp.conf` you need to add this line:
### Custom Config For Subdomain NameVirtualHost *:80 <VirtualHost *:80> DocumentRoot "/ProjectWebsite/XAMPP-1/htdocs" ServerName localhost </VirtualHost> <VirtualHost *:80> DocumentRoot "/ProjectWebsite/XAMPP-1/htdocs/test" ServerName test.localhost.com </VirtualHost> # Example <VirtualHost *:80> DocumentRoot "/ProjectWebsite/XAMPP-1/htdocs/genbu" ServerName genbu.localhost.com </VirtualHost>
2. Edit Windows host file (System32)
The file is located in `C:\WINDOWS\system32\drivers\etc\hosts` just add this line:
127.0.0.1 test.localhost.com 127.0.0.1 genbu.localhost.com
the example above will add two subdomain of localhost.com: test.localhost.com and genbu.localhost.com to access folder in htdocs/test and htdocs/genbu in your XAMPP installation.
With this, you can have the same .htaccess for your localhost install and your live site.
Adobe Photoshop
I use photoshop to create wireframe and edit image files. I don’t think i need to explain how to use Photoshop. There’s a lot tutorial about this topic.
Pencil Wireframe
I don’t use this a lot. Only somethime when i need to make quick wireframe. It’s really fun to use. Pencil available as Firefox add-on and standalone application.
FastStone Image Viewer
FastStone Image Viewer is a fast, stable, user-friendly image browser, converter and editor. and it’s FREE. the amazing feature is the bulk image editor. You can bulk edit file name, resize, and add watermark in the same time. I just can’t find better alternative for this Application. Simply amazing.
Tortoise SVN
TortoiseSVN is an Apache™ Subversion (SVN)® client, implemented as a windows shell extension. It’s intuitive and easy to use, since it doesn’t require the Subversion command line client to run. Simply the coolest Interface to (Sub)Version Control! Very easy to use GUI for Subversion. Just right click a folder and you can do all Subversion command from Windows GUI.
I still use SVN, i might move to GIT someday 🙂