Hello,

I wanted to show you the purpose of this function.

Background:

Highlight a term in the browser Search for it in files using Everything via a button (Content) Right-click the found file to open it in Notepad++ and jump to the searched term.

See the video off it on Imgur

I’ve actually been using the editor since I started using computers privately (2008), but I’ve never really explored its inner workings and capabilities. It was never necessary so far—it has everything needed for everyday use.

I also wanted to sincerely thank you again for the prompt help—it was definitely a positive experience.

Best regards,
Björn

@Claudia-Svenson said in How to set "UTF-8 WITH BOM" as default Encoding even for old but changed textfiles?:

When I load an existing old file (with UTF-8 only), then change something and save it, the old encoding remains.

How can I tell NP++ to apply the new default encoding to changed old files too?

I think you mean you want this to be automatic; but just in case you missed it, you can change the encoding of the file while you are editing it using Encoding | Convert to UTF-8-BOM. You just have to think to do it for every file you want to change.

@mapsonx said in Make notrepad++ default:

I read the info here Shell Extension, and here Replacing Notepad with Notepad++ in Windows 10, but I’m a bit anxious about it.

User Manual > Other Resources > Notepad Replacement gives a fuller explanation than some random gist

I’ve been using the portableapps version.

shudder

I’ve had a few issues lately with some other portableapps wiping out profiles.

Considering that they modify the binaries without publishing the codebase changes, in violations of the open source license of the software they “distribute”, you’re lucky if losing a profile is all that happens.

I don’t want that happening with Notepad++, so I want to switch to the regular potable version I just downloaded from here Download Notepad++ v8.9.3.

Good idea.

That said, I need to make Notepad++ the system default.

It seems a mixed bag: wanting it as system default, associated with lots of file types, and using the Shell Extension, but not wanting to “install” it. It might help us give you better advice if you explain what parts of the “install” that you are opposed to. Is it just storing the settings in %AppData% that you don’t like? Or is there something else? The installer can install into any directory, not just Program Files; the installer can choose to not use %AppData% (as long as it’s not installed in Program Files); the installer automatically registers the Shell Extension for you.

That’s when learned it is not simply a matter of doing it in Settings > Preferences > FIle Associations.
So, it seems my only alternative is “Choose default apps by file type”??

You can start with the Settings > Preferences > File Associations. But that uses the ancient method of file association, and modern Windows 11 actively fights against those old-style associations.

Open With is Windows’ preferred method, because they want to make sure it’s the user, not an over-aggressive installer, that is choosing the default app (and that’s something I applaud them for).

If you’ve done at least one Open With, then your registry should have an HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Classes\Applications\notepad++.exe “key”. On that key, if you right-click and do a new key as a subkey on it, to create SupportedTypes as HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Classes\Applications\notepad++.exe\SupportedTypes. Inside that, you can do new string values, where the left side is .ext (for whatever extension) and the right side is empty. Windows uses this as the way to hear an app say, “I want to handle this type”, and it helps Windows prioritize the app in the Open With and other things.
For the individual file-type extensions, Windows stores them in HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\FileExts\.XXX\UserChoice (for example, .txt for the .XXX location), in the ProgId=“Applications\notepad++.exe” value. So, if you created a registry file like

Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00 [HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\FileExts\.txt\UserChoice] "ProgId"="Applications\\notepad++.exe" [HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\FileExts\.123\UserChoice] "ProgId"="Applications\\notepad++.exe" [HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\FileExts\.456\UserChoice] "ProgId"="Applications\\notepad++.exe"

and ran that file, it would try to set the chosen application for each of those extensions (.txt, .123, and .456) to use Notepad++. (You would, of course, have to edit that file to have all the extensions that you wanted to choose, and to not use the .123 and .456 dummy extensions). But, again, I think Windows OS notices when someone tries to do that, and it might require you to confirm the choice the first time you double-click on such a file.

caveat: playing with the registry, through regedit or running .reg files you find on the internet, can bork your system. these are examples that I believe are safe, but you are responsible for your own system.

I extracted NppShell.dll, but I suppose in this scenario I won’t be using it.

I guess I’m confused. I thought, by your first sentence, that you wanted to use it. Do you want an Edit with Notepad++ entry in the right-click context menu for every file type, whether or not it’s associated with Notepad++? If so, then register NppShell.dll. If not, then I’m not sure why you brought it up at all.

Personally, I find that the right-click version is the easiest way for opening files that don’t default to Notepad++ (for example, editing a .bat, since you don’t want to double-click on a batch file to edit it, since that should be reserved for running it). So whether you choose to use the installer, or manually register it in the portable version, I would definitely recommend using the Shell Extension.

I also need some advice transferring all settings from portableapps.

copy the config.xml and similar XML files . The User Manual > Upgrading > Upgrading a portable edition talks about the critical and less-critical files for getting settings ported over from one portable to another.

Hi, @jak and All,

(2) By using the ComparePlus plugin

So, we start with the file DocMaster.txt, below :

"Maria" 1957 w: Stephen Sondheim / m: Leonard Bernstein "Camelot" 1960 w: Alan Jay Lerner / m: Frederick Loewe "Small World" 1959 w: Stephen Sondheim / m: Jule Styne "I Will Always Love You" 1974 / 1992 w & m: Dolly Parton / arr. Whitney Houston "I Want to Hold Your Hand" 1964 w & m: John Lennon & Paul McCartney "Mack the Knife" 1955 / 1959 w: Bertold Brecht (trans. by Marc Blitzstein) / m: Kurt Weill "Call Me Irresponsible" 1963 w: Sammy Cahn / m: James Van Heusen "Earth Angel" 1954 w & m: Curtis Williams "Blowin' in the Wind" 1962 w & m: Bob Dylan "Bridge Over Troubled Water" 1970 w & m: Paul Simon "Candle in the Wind" 1973 / 1997 w & m: Bernie Taupin & Elton John / arr.E. John "All the Way" 1957 w: Sammy Cahn / m: James Van Heusen "Moon River" 1961 w: Johnny Mercer / m: Henry Mancini "Beauty and the Beast" 1991 w: Howard Ashman / m: Alan Menken "The Look of Love" 1967 w: Hal David / m: Burt Bacharach "Your Cheatin' Heart" 1952 w & m: Hank Williams "Three Coins in the Fountain" 1954 w: Sammy Cahn / m: Jule Styne "Night Fever" 1978 w & m: Barry, Maurice and Robin Gibb "Goodnight Irene" 1950 w & m: Huddie (Leadbelly) Ledbetter & Alan Lomax "We Are The World" 1985 w & m: Michael Jackson & Lionel Richie "The Way We Were" 1973 w: Alan & Marilyn Bergman / m: Marvin Hamlisch "Sincerely" 1955 w & m: Harvey Fuqua & Alan Freed "True Love" 1956 w & m: Cole Porter "On the Street Where You Live" 1956 w: Alan Jay Lerner / m: Frederick Loewe "Rock Around the Clock" 1955 w & m: Max Freedman and Jimmy DeKnight "The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face" 1972 w & m: Ewan MacColl "Just the Way You Are" 1978 w & m: Billy Joel "Crazy 1961 w & m: Willie Nelson "American Pie" 1971 w & m: Don McLean "Don't Be Cruel" 1956 w & m: Otis Blackwell "My Way" 1969 w: Paul Anka / m: Jacques Reveaux and Claude Francois "You Are the Sunshine of My Life" 1973 w & m: Stevie Wonder "You Belong to Me" 1952 w & m: Pee Wee King, Redd Stewart, Chilton Price "What the World Needs Now is Love" 1965 w: Hal David / m: Burt Bacharach "High Noon" 1952 w: Ned Washington / m: Dimitri Tiomkin "Yesterday" 1965 w & m: John Lennon & Paul McCartney "The Shadow of Your Smile" 1965 w: Paul Francis Webster /m: Johnny Mandel "That's What Friends Are For" 1985 w & m: Carole Bayer Sager & Burt Bacharach "Hey Jude" 1968 w & m: John Lennon & Paul McCartney "My Heart Will Go On" 1997 w: Will Jennings / m: James Horner

And the file DocNewMusic, below :

"Rock Around the Clock" 1955 w & m: Max Freedman and Jimmy DeKnight "All Too Well" 2021 Taylor Swift "Electric Feel" 2008 MGMT "Hey Ya!" 2003 Outkast "Bad Guy" 2019 Billie Eilish "Run Away with Me" 2015 Carly Rae Jepsen "Candle in the Wind" 1973 / 1997 w & m: Bernie Taupin & Elton John / arr.E. John "Seven Nation Army" 2003 The White Stripes "Casimir Pulaski Day" 2005 Sufjan Stevens "Bad Romance" 2009 Lady Gaga "Swimming Pools (Drank)" 2012 Kendrick Lamar "I Want to Hold Your Hand" 1964 w & m: John Lennon & Paul McCartney "Heartbeats" 2002 The Knife "Good Luck, Babe!" 2024 Chappell Roan "Bridge Over Troubled Water" 1970 w & m: Paul Simon "Toxic" 2004 Britney Spears "All the Way" 1957 w: Sammy Cahn / m: James Van Heusen "Wolf Like Me" 2006 TV on the Radio "Oblivion" 2012 Grimes "Crazy in Love" 2003 Beyoncé & Jay-Z "Blowin' in the Wind" 1962 w & m: Bob Dylan "Since I Left You" 2000 The Avalanches "Umbrella" 2007 Rihanna & Jay-Z "Night Fever" 1978 w & m: Barry, Maurice and Robin Gibb "Us" 2004 Regina Spektor "Neighborhood #1 (Tunnels)" 2004 Arcade Fire "Pyramids" 2012 Frank Ocean "Dancing on My Own" 2010 Robyn "Yesterday" 1965 w & m: John Lennon & Paul McCartney "On Melancholy Hill" 2010 Gorillaz "Mr. Brightside" 2003 The Killers "All My Friends" 2007 LCD Soundsystem "Blowin' in the Wind" 1962 w & m: Bob Dylan "Bridge Over Troubled Water" 1970 w & m: Paul Simon "Runaway" 2010 Kanye West & Pusha T

First, use the Plugins > ComparePlus > Diff Visual Filters... option

Check the Hide added/removed lines option and valid this choice with the OK button

Then, use the specific option Plugins > ComparePlus > Find Unique lines

Now, select the DocNewMusic.txt file ( IMPORTANT )

Run the Plugin > ComparePlus > Delete all/selected visible lines option

Run the Plugin > ComparePlus > Clear Active Compare option

Finally, save the modifications of the DocNewMusic.txt file ( IMPORTANT )

Again, you should see that, after process, the saved version of the DocNewMusic.txt file does not contain any song of the 20th century !

Best Regards,

guy038

@PeterJones

Thanks for your reply. I will give your solution a try as a Macro learning experience. Maybe I’ll find other uses for it.

But, I just came up with a different solution:

I like Notepad++ so far, so I used the preferences to set Notepad++ as the default for a small number of file types I use occasionally. I renamed the extension of the file I use as my daily journal/log from .txt to my initials .th. I used the file properties to open that file with Windows Notepad.

It’s working well for me. I can use my journal/log with Windows Notepad, and everything else uses Notepad++.

@dfs ,
We could go a step further and lament that it would be nice if the entire graphical environment of NP++ could be contained in one dialog setting, and then when we switched between Light or Dark, the environment would change all the UI references:

Settings->Preferences...->Dark Mode,
Settings->Style Configurator...->Style:, and the
Settings->Style Configurator...->Select theme:

…could be coordinated to make just switching between Dark Mode and Light Mode change them all, accordingly. As it is, I’m glad to have just found out that the Dark and Light language files can automatically change by setting that one switch in the dark mode file @PeterJones mentioned, and that automatically chooses the correct code coloring file for the environment (Dark/Light) chosen.

@Dervars14 Just checked and unfortunately the undo, ^Z, does not work. This used to be a more common occurance in the old days, Prior to Windows 7 and back in the DOS days, there was no checking to see if wanted to keep a file, it just got overwritten even if a totally different file, but just had the same name. The way we used to get around this is with a recovery program. The good thing is for a long time, whenever you save a file, it actually saves it to a different area of the dirve, precisely for this kind of incedent.

First important thing is don’t do any work on that drive, if the data is still there, it is not protected, the more you use the computer, the more likelihood those clusters of the drive will get overwritten.

I don’t think Windows has any internal programs, other than the Recycle bin, which is no use here, as overwritten files aren’t placed there. There is a free program called Recuva, from Piriform, the same people that do CCleaner. If possible, try and download this on another computer to a USB drive, as I said, the more work you do on the drive, the chance of losing the data.

The other good thing with using another machine, is you quickly play around with recuva, it is very basic program, the results are in table form, so easy to rearrange. You can save any detected files to the USB drive as well. If you get the file back, then just replace the current one. And this is the way to all learn to do backups more regularly, which reminds me.

@PeterJones

I will try with v8.9.3-RC and v8.9.1,

regarding my last question it’s with v8.9.2,

“create new” works fine with old name, it’s the “save as” function which shows that behavior : “can’t use a name preivously used” (i wasn’t enough precised in my question, sorry).
Note : if i well understand the way notepad++ works at closing : “save as” should not be used,

I will have a try with the portable version of v8.9.3-RC,

Again thanks for the help,

@Võ-Văn-Hiếu said:

It seems that when I select all the text (which should exceed that default number), the box stays checked even after I stop selecting.

I’m not quite sure what your meaning is here, but…

…and I presume that when you say “default number”, you mean 1024…

The In selection checkbox isn’t truly dynamic; it isn’t going to change while you are selecting text. It only changes when you invoke search, and here are some examples of that:

input focus in the editing area and you press Ctrl+f input focus in the editing area with Find window also visible, and you use the mouse to activate the Find window

@PeterJones
hello and Thank You…
I think I had read all of the references you posted, and must have misunderstood everything.
(sigh) I’m feeling so old (LoL)
just used your example and it worked perfectly
…
well, except I next will want to enter an exception for cases of a period before the first carriage return.
I think I know how to get that working, now that you’ve given me a great direction.
Again, Thank You!

@PeterJones said in Is There a Way to Prevent Pasted Text from Spreading Out with Rows of Spaces?:

Or, since you said,

there aren’t any unused ones available under Plugins > Customize Toolbar

- I assume this is the one where you say, "there aren't any unused ones available". I cannot imagine that you've _actually_ enabled another couple-dozen buttons from its list, so that there are no other "available toolbar buttons", as that toolbar would be so full as to be unusable. On the other hand, that's the only thing I imagine that you _could_ mean by such a sentence.

Yes, all of the Old Large Legacy Icons are in the Current toolbar buttons box. After checking them, I decided that I might use all of them in the future.

Well, with all of that said, thanks for being patient and hanging in there through all of this. I have everything working, including adding a new icon to the toolbar. And thanks for the updated scripts.

I hope this thread serves many others.

Hi, @b, @peterjones, @coises and All,

Let’s consider the Spanish word comparación and its various forms below, pasted in a new tab :

comparación cömparÅciõn ＣömꝕarÅcⓘoñ ȻOℳₚA⒭ⱯℭᴵꝊᵰ ƆºᶆⱷǞℝȺꜿᵼᴓɲ ɕƢꟽⓟǻꝝⱭƆⅈᴗN

Note that I have deliberately exaggerated the shapes and modified the case of the possible characters !!

If you do any of the six N++ searches, below, against the six lines in the new tab, you’ll see that ONLY the two first regexes, which refer to standard equivalence clases, can find all the lines.

SEARCH (?=[[=c=]])\X(?=[[=o=]])\X(?=[[=m=]])\X(?=[[=p=]])\X(?=[[=a=]])\X(?=[[=r=]])\X(?=[[=a=]])\X(?=[[=c=]])\X(?=[[=i=]])\X(?=[[=ó=]])\X(?=[[=n=]])\X

SEARCH (?=[[=c=]])\X(?=[[=o=]])\X(?=[[=m=]])\X(?=[[=p=]])\X(?=[[=a=]])\X(?=[[=r=]])\X(?=[[=Å=]])\X(?=[[=c=]])\X(?=[[=i=]])\X(?=[[=õ=]])\X(?=[[=n=]])\X

SEARCH (?=[[=Ｃ=]])\X(?=[[=ö=]])\X(?=[[=m=]])\X(?=[[=ꝕ=]])\X(?=[[=a=]])\X(?=[[=r=]])\X(?=[[=A=]])\X(?=[[=c=]])\X(?=[[=ⓘ=]])\X(?=[[=o=]])\X(?=[[=ñ=]])\X

SEARCH (?=[[=Ȼ=]])\X(?=[[=O=]])\X(?=[[=ℳ=]])\X(?=[[=ₚ=]])\X(?=[[=A=]])\X(?=[[=⒭=]])\X(?=[[=Ɐ=]])\X(?=[[=ℭ=]])\X(?=[[=ᴵ=]])\X(?=[[=Ꝋ=]])\X(?=[[=ᵰ=]])\X

SEARCH (?=[[=Ɔ=]])\X(?=[[=º=]])\X(?=[[=ᶆ=]])\X(?=[[=ⱷ=]])\X(?=[[=Ǟ=]])\X(?=[[=ℝ=]])\X(?=[[=Ⱥ=]])\X(?=[[=ꜿ=]])\X(?=[[=ᵼ=]])\X(?=[[=ᴓ=]])\X(?=[[=ɲ=]])\X

SEARCH (?=[[=ɕ=]])\X(?=[[=Ƣ=]])\X(?=[[=ꟽ=]])\X(?=[[=ⓟ=]])\X(?=[[=ǻ=]])\X(?=[[=ꝝ=]])\X(?=[[=Ɑ=]])\X(?=[[=Ɔ=]])\X(?=[[=ⅈ=]])\X(?=[[=ᴗ=]])\X(?=[[=N=]])\X

In constrast to the last release of the Columns++ plugin, independant of Scintilla and doing true UTF-32 searches, which is able to match the six lines of our example, whatever the regex used among the six regexes above !

This example clearly demonstrates that it’s possible to perform a search without considering case and/or accentuated characters with the v1.3.1 release of Columns++ plugin ;-))

Best Regards,

guy038

Hi Harmandeep,

Welcome to the community.

Yes, there is a good chance you may still be able to recover your unsaved work. Notepad++ has a built-in backup and session snapshot feature that often restores files after a crash.

First, try reopening Notepad++. If the session snapshot feature was enabled, the file may reopen automatically with the content you were working on before the crash.

You can also check the backup folder manually. Go to:
C:\Users\YourUsername\AppData\Roaming\Notepad++\backup
Sometimes Notepad++ stores temporary backup files there, which may contain the unsaved content.

To reduce the risk of losing data in the future, it’s a good idea to enable a few settings:

Open Settings → Preferences → Backup. Enable Session snapshot and periodic backup. Choose Remember current session for next launch. Set a backup interval such as every 7 or 10 seconds.

With these options enabled, Notepad++ will automatically save temporary snapshots of your work and restore them if the program closes unexpectedly.

Hopefully your file is still in the backup folder. Let us know if you need help locating it.

Regards.

@P-A hasn’t come back since my reply. But I had a few minutes to experiment.

Using the published v8.9.2, I could replicate the problem:

Open fresh v8.9.2 Language > User Defined Language > Define your language… Folding in code 2 style: open = openfold, close = closefold Save as… = SomethingNew open disappears, but close remains Exit and restart Notepad++ Language > User Defined Language > Define your language…, choose UserLanguage: SomethingNew Folding in code 2 style> open still missing, but close remains Add again open = openfold, and close the UDL dialog: it appears to be there, but repeating 6/7 will show back in condition 8 at this point.

But, when I try the same sequence with the bugfix version from PR#17522, it works as expected (openfold doesn’t go missing at all).

That PR will be part of v8.9.3 Release Candidate, expected Mar 14. So it looks to me like the bug has already been fixed.

@Alan-Kilborn

I understand, but unfortunately, to have it hosted on the App Store, Apple charges £80 a year for the developer license, so I need to cover this cost, hence the 99p price.