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    Issues with the Preview HTML plugin

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    • Robk BlueR Offline
      Robk Blue
      last edited by

      Hi,

      I use the Preview HTML plugin when I am coding in HTML. It seems to operate as expected except that it won’t scroll to in page links like this: <a href=“#box-shadow”> box-shadow</a> where the box-shadow id will be linked to a heading further down the page.

      The HTML previewer works perfectly for external links. My code works in any other html previewer or in a live web page.

      Anyone had this issue before?

      rdipardoR 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
      • LachlanmaxL Offline
        Lachlanmax
        last edited by

        Hi @robk-blue,

        I have also had some issues with this plugin before. From the project history, it looks like Preview HTML has been around for quite a long time, and the original project was later deprecated, so some problems are maybe not so surprising.

        The current fork still tries to keep it usable, but the embedded preview can depend a lot on the Notepad++ version, the Windows browser component being used, and the local system setup. Because of this, modern HTML, CSS, and JavaScript do not always behave exactly like in a real browser.

        One thing I noticed is that the project still seems to carry some compatibility logic from older browser assumptions, so the result can differ from one machine to another.

        If the live preview is not reliable, the more stable way is often View -> View Current File In -> Browser, and then using a normal browser for testing.

        So for me, the main issue is not really that the plugin is bad, but more that it is operating in an area where browser behavior, Windows web components, and Notepad++ compatibility have all changed quite a lot over time.

        Hope that helped!

        1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
        • rdipardoR Offline
          rdipardo @Robk Blue
          last edited by

          @robk-blue, @lachlanmax

          In fact, internal anchors are navigable if the preview is being rendered by the WebView2 embedded browser — the default in current plugin versions, provided that Edge is installed on the PC and the NoEdge user option is not enabled.

          preview_html_v144_wv2_anchors.gif

          Additional questions/concerns can be posted here.

          Robk BlueR 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 1
          • Robk BlueR Offline
            Robk Blue
            last edited by

            Hi,

            Thanks for your quick responses. After reading @rdipardo response and then trying to download and install the latest version of Preview HTML from Github, I simply went into Plugins Admin and updated there.

            Now it works lol.

            Robk BlueR 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 1
            • Robk BlueR Offline
              Robk Blue @Robk Blue
              last edited by

              And this morning I woke up to my html previewer not working at all! Just a blank screen. I updated Notepad++, reinstalled the plugin, no dice.

              Are there any logs or debugging for plugins?

              rdipardoR 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
              • rdipardoR Offline
                rdipardo @Robk Blue
                last edited by

                [T]his morning I woke up to my html previewer not working at all! Just a blank screen.

                Sounds like an earlier reported issue.

                In addition to my suggestions in that thread, make sure the plugin version is 1.4.4, then open the About dialog to see what browser version is detected:

                image

                Are there any logs or debugging for plugins?

                Logging is only active when the plugin is built in debug mode. I don’t distribute debug DLLs because the additional instrumentation code usually gets flagged by virus scanners.

                1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                • Robk BlueR Offline
                  Robk Blue @rdipardo
                  last edited by

                  @rdipardo said:

                  @robk-blue, @lachlanmax

                  In fact, internal anchors are navigable if the preview is being rendered by the WebView2 embedded browser — the default in current plugin versions, provided that Edge is installed on the PC and the NoEdge user option is not enabled.

                  preview_html_v144_wv2_anchors.gif

                  Additional questions/concerns can be posted here.

                  I’m having trouble installing the 1.44 version you linked. It has no .dll file that Windows would use. What am I missing?

                  rdipardoR 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                  • rdipardoR Offline
                    rdipardo @Robk Blue
                    last edited by rdipardo

                    @Robk-Blue said:

                    I’m having trouble installing the 1.44 version you linked.

                    If your version of Notepad++ is at least 8.9.4, you can use the built-in Plugins Admin installer:

                    plugin-list-v194.png

                    It has no .dll file that Windows would use.

                    If you’re talking about a ZIP archive you got from the plugin’s GitHub page, my guess is that some anti-virus program is putting the DLL in quarantine as soon as you extract it, or else the extracted DLL needs to be cleared of a Web origin designator:

                    Remove MOTW

                    Robk BlueR 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                    • Robk BlueR Offline
                      Robk Blue @rdipardo
                      last edited by Robk Blue

                      @rdipardo
                      My Notepad++ says it’s up to date at 8.9.3 and the Preview HTML plugin shows 1.4.3 as its version in Plugins Admin!

                      And there’s part of the problem, your earlier link to ‘current plugin versions’ is different to the one just above (GitHub page) which has the DLL file. Sweet !

                      Screenshot - 17_05_2026 , 12_41_07 PM.png

                      OK, I downloaded it and manually installed 1.4.4. It’s working for the moment.

                      Thanks a bunch.

                      PeterJonesP 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                      • PeterJonesP Online
                        PeterJones @Robk Blue
                        last edited by

                        @Robk-Blue said:

                        My Notepad++ says it’s up to date at 8.9.3

                        Notepad++ has actually released two versions since v8.9.3, they just haven’t been triggered for auto-update, so the Check For Updates won’t show them.

                        See FAQ: Why Can’t I Just Say “Most Recent Version”

                        Robk BlueR 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                        • Robk BlueR Offline
                          Robk Blue @PeterJones
                          last edited by

                          @PeterJones OK, I didn’t know that.

                          .8.9.4 and .5 both broke my PreviewHTML plugin, installing back to 8,9,3 fixed it. So, there you go.

                          1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                          • Robk BlueR Offline
                            Robk Blue
                            last edited by

                            Hi All,

                            I’m not sure what’s happening, but every morning when I open NP++ for the first time, PreviewHTML isn’t working. I tried reinstalling the plugin again, no fix.

                            Any suggestions?

                            rdipardoR 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                            • rdipardoR Offline
                              rdipardo @Robk Blue
                              last edited by

                              @Robk-Blue said:

                              Any suggestions?

                              Usually the Notepad++ Debug Info dialog is the best place to start:

                              npp-debug-info.png

                              Click Copy debug info to clipboard and share the details in a new post.

                              Some plugin-specific things include:

                              • Is Microsoft Edge installed?

                              Launch PowerShell or the Command Prompt and enter:

                              reg query "HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\WOW6432Node\Microsoft\EdgeUpdate\Clients\{F3017226-FE2A-4295-8BDF-00C3A9A7E4C5}" /v Location

                              Or simply launch File Explorer and try to locate this folder: C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft\EdgeWebView\Application

                              • Is your config.xml file trying to relaunch the preview panel automatically when Notepad++ starts up?

                              Go here for instructions on how to find out.

                              If you have a GitHub account, please consider posting your findings to the issue tracker I mentioned before.

                              Robk BlueR 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                              • Robk BlueR Offline
                                Robk Blue @rdipardo
                                last edited by

                                @rdipardo said:

                                C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft\EdgeWebView\Application

                                Yes, Edge is installed and tested via your suggested queries.

                                What config.xml file are referring to?

                                rdipardoR 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                                • rdipardoR Offline
                                  rdipardo @Robk Blue
                                  last edited by

                                  @Robk-Blue said:

                                  What config.xml file are referring to?

                                  At the link I provided in my last message you will find the following:

                                  • [To l]ocate your config.xml file:

                                    • %AppData%\Notepad++\config.xml, if you installed Notepad++ for all users; or

                                    • $(PORTABLE_NPP_DIR)\config.xml, if it’s a portable installation

                                  • Find and remove the PluginDlg element with the attribute pluginName="PreviewHTML.dll", for example:

                                  <!-- config.xml -->

    <GUIConfig name="DockingManager" leftWidth="200" rightWidth="168" topHeight="200" bottomHeight="124">
        <FloatingWindow cont="4" x="257" y="440" width="916" height="686" />
        <FloatingWindow cont="5" x="161" y="206" width="761" height="606" />
    <!-- 
      Remove:
        <PluginDlg pluginName="PreviewHTML.dll" id="0" curr="1" prev="-1" isVisible="yes" />
    -->
        <PluginDlg pluginName="Notepad++::InternalFunction" id="44085" curr="1" prev="-1" isVisible="no" />
    </GUIConfig>

                                  Yes, Edge is installed

                                  O.K. What about the Notepad++ debug info?

                                  Robk BlueR 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                                  • Robk BlueR Offline
                                    Robk Blue @rdipardo
                                    last edited by

                                    @rdipardo

                                    I found that entry in the config.xml file so I removed it. However, the entry is rewritten every time you open and close the app. The only difference is that ‘isvisble’ changes between yes and no.

                                    The upshot is, if I close the PreviewHTML pane before closing NP, it will work when I open the app next time.

                                    Debug

                                    Notepad++ v8.9.3 (64-bit)
                                    Build time: Mar 20 2026 - 00:44:25
                                    Scintilla/Lexilla included: 5.6.0/5.4.7
                                    Boost Regex included: 1_90
                                    pugixml included: 1.15
                                    nlohmann JSON included: 3.12.0
                                    Path: C:\Program Files\Notepad++\notepad++.exe
                                    Command Line: “C:\Users\Akm\AppData\Roaming\Notepad++\config.xml”
                                    Admin mode: OFF
                                    Local Conf mode: OFF
                                    Cloud Config: OFF
                                    WinGUp: present
                                    disableNppAutoUpdate.xml: absent
                                    Periodic Backup: ON
                                    Placeholders: OFF
                                    Scintilla Rendering Mode: SC_TECHNOLOGY_DIRECTWRITE (1)
                                    Multi-instance Mode: monoInst
                                    asNotepad: OFF
                                    File Status Auto-Detection: cdEnabledNew (for current file/tab only)
                                    Dark Mode: OFF
                                    Display Info:
                                    primary monitor: 1920x1080, scaling 100%
                                    visible monitors count: 2
                                    installed Display Class adapters:
                                    0000: Description - Intel® UHD Graphics
                                    0000: DriverVersion - 31.0.101.2135
                                    0001: Description - DisplayLink USB Device
                                    0001: DriverVersion - 9.3.2992.0
                                    0002: Description - DisplayLink USB Device
                                    0002: DriverVersion - 9.3.2992.0
                                    OS Name: Windows 10 Pro (64-bit)
                                    OS Version: 22H2
                                    OS Build: 19045.6466
                                    Current ANSI codepage: 1252
                                    Plugins:
                                    AutoSave (2)
                                    DSpellCheck (1.5)
                                    mimeTools (3.1)
                                    NavigateTo (2.7.1)
                                    NppConverter (4.7)
                                    NppExport (0.4)
                                    NppTextFX (0.2.4)
                                    PreviewHTML (1.4.4)
                                    _CustomizeToolbar (5.3)

                                    rdipardoR 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                                    • rdipardoR Offline
                                      rdipardo @Robk Blue
                                      last edited by

                                      @Robk-Blue said:

                                      If I close the PreviewHTML pane before closing NP, it will work when I open the app next time.

                                      Yes, closing it before quitting will stop the Docking Manager from trying to relaunch it. I’m guessing you also have an active session of unsaved files? I’m not sure, but it could be that reloading files from a session doesn’t trigger a preview refresh the way that manually opening the file does. If it happens again, just save the file and reload it with Ctrl+R.

                                      Another thing is that your version of TextFX is really old. For reference, version 0.2.6 has been incompatible with Notepad++ for several years: https://sourceforge.net/p/npp-plugins/bugs/354

                                      You should remove or rename the NppTextFX plugin folder, open the Plugins Admin installer, and download it again from the current source:

                                      npp-v893-plugin-list-v193.png

                                      1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0

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