It was initially developed in 1994 by Ian D. Mead, the founder of IDM Computer Solutions Inc.,[2] and was acquired by Idera Inc. in August 2021.

Some HTML editing features include:[3] Originally named MEDIT,[4] UltraEdit was first designed to run on Windows 3.1.

[6] IDE features include: Workspace Manager, project builder (interactive and batch), resource editor, project converter, class viewer, native compiler support, and debugger with integrated debugging (via WinDBG).

File editing features include: Tabbed Output Window for script commands, an intelligent auto-complete tooltip.

[7] In a review published on July 9, 2006, Softpedia wrote UltraEdit contains many useful features and that it considered the program "excellent".