Flickering screen on the latest edit that i've made (like a preview of current and previous state)

GM Bobby B

Dear Notepad++ team,

First, I want to take a moment to appreciate your incredible work. Notepad++ isn’t just a text editor—it’s a lifesaver, a powerhouse, and an essential tool for developers and writers alike. The speed, features, and plugins—pure brilliance! Your dedication to open-source excellence is truly appreciated.

Now, onto a small issue I’d like to report. This problem only occurs on my work computer, which has various firewalls and security settings enabled (cuz company). The issue happens only when I run Notepad++ as a regular user; running it as an administrator works without any errors.

I haven’t been able to pinpoint the exact cause. I tried a clean reinstall, removed all settings, and even used the Total Uninstall Essential tool to completely erase the application. The issue only started a few weeks ago, so it feels like I may have pressed a wrong hotkey—but that wouldn’t make sense since I wiped everything a few times after that.

Here’s what happens:
Whenever I open Notepad++, the screen flickers between black and white (or dark gray to black, depending on my theme). When I enter text, it flashes back and forth between the previous state and the new input.

To explain further:
I open a new document and it already starts flashing. Then I paste a block of text with Ctrl + V. The screen flickers between the empty document and the pasted text.
If I delete a line or a block of text, it flickers between the previous full-text state and the new, shortened version.
Pressing Enter for a new line causes the same issue—flashing between the previous state and the new one. (One line comes visible and flashes back to gone again.)

I recorded a video and posted it on Reddit: https://www.reddit.com/r/notepadplusplus/comments/1j8tbgk/notepad_plus_plus_keeps_flickering_and_im_losing/
If posting links isn’t allowed, feel free to disregard this part.

The issue started with a previous version of Notepad++ and persists even after a clean install with the latest version. I can provide the version number if needed tomorrow.

I’d really appreciate any help in resolving this. I mainly use Notepad++ for HTML, XML, and JSON at work, and honestly, no other editor even comes close to matching its sheer power, versatility, and sheer brilliance. It’s the gold standard—nothing else comes close!

Looking forward to your insights!

All the best,

Bob

Lycan Thrope

@GM-Bobby-B ,
First off, you should go to the Notepad++ menu bar, select the ?->Debug info...->Copy debug info to clipboard and add that to this message thread so people can see what you’re working with. This is vital information before beginning any serious troubleshooting of your issue. It would also help if you read over the FAQ Threads of the forums in particular this one 'FAQ:Why can’t I just say “Most Recent Version” ’ to learn things about posting, information required to help, etc.

Steve Plumlee

@GM-Bobby-B Hi I am having the same experience. I suspect this is a new “Feature” but I have been unable to determine where the setting is to turn it off.

Did you ever figure it out? @Lycan-Thrope Appreciate your FAQ items but I think this is a feature that was added. Maybe one of the dev’s can answer that

Forum search didn’t result in any other posts so maybe it’s a plugin or something?

PeterJones

@Steve-Plumlee said in Flickering screen on the latest edit that i've made (like a preview of current and previous state):

@GM-Bobby-B Hi I am having the same experience. I suspect this is a new “Feature” but I have been unable to determine where the setting is to turn it off.

Did you ever figure it out? @Lycan-Thrope Appreciate your FAQ items but I think this is a feature that was added. Maybe one of the dev’s can answer that

Forum search didn’t result in any other posts so maybe it’s a plugin or something?

No, if the video that the original poster put in reddit last year is realy what you’re seeing, it’s not a “feature”.

@Lycan-Thrope linked to the FAQ because the original poster didn’t give enough version information to be any help. And despite thanking him for the link to the FAQ, neither did you. Share your ?-menu’s Debug Info to let us know what version you are using, and many other things that are often relevant to debugging uncommon problems.

That user has never come back to this forum since the original post, so never even saw @Lycan-Thrope’s answer. And the people in Reddit just found that changing the caret blink rate in the preferences “fixed” it for them… though that should have nothing to do with what Notepad++ displays.

My guess is that it was really a plugin causing the problem, or that the underlying cause is actually something slowing down the entire computer, causing it to refresh Notepad++'s screen at odd times.

If you think it might be a plugin, we’ve got a different FAQ which has a section on diagnosing “Possible Culprit: Plugin”: you should follow the steps included there.