Notepad++ Release Candidate v8.9.8.1

donho

There’s no “Edit with Notepad++” context menu after installation.
Can anyone confirm it?

Note:
After running “C:\Program Files\Notepad++\contextMenu>regsvr32 /i NppShell.dll”:

Snabel42

@donho I still have “Edit with Notepad++” after updating existing installation with npp.8.9.8.1.Installer.x64.exe

Notepad++ v8.9.8.1 (64-bit)
Build time: Sep 17 2026 - 01:53:48
Scintilla/Lexilla included: 5.6.6/5.5.3
Boost Regex included: 1_90
pugixml included: 1.16
nlohmann JSON included: 3.12.0
Path: C:\Program Files\Notepad++\notepad++.exe
Command Line: “C:\Users\username\Downloads\updated-event.ics”
Admin mode: OFF
Local Conf mode: OFF
Cloud Config: OFF
WinGUp: present
disableNppAutoUpdate.xml: absent
Periodic Backup: ON
Placeholders: ON
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: ON
Display Info:
primary monitor: 2560x1440, scaling 100%
visible monitors count: 2
installed Display Class adapters:
0000: Description - NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080
0000: DriverVersion - 32.0.16.1692
OS Name: Windows 11 Home (64-bit)
OS Version: 25H2
OS Build: 26200.9457
Current ANSI codepage: 1252
Plugins:
CollectionInterface (1.3)
ColumnsPlusPlus (1.3.3)
ComparePlus (3)
CSVLint (0.4.9)
CsvQuery (1.2.9)
FWDataViz (2.6.7)
HTMLTag (1.6.1)
HugeFiles (0.4.1)
JsonTools (8.5)
mimeTools (3.1)
MultiReplace (6.1.0.37)
NppConverter (4.7)
NppExport (0.4)
NppXmlTreeviewPlugin (2)
PythonScript (2.1)
Search++ (0.6.5)
XMLTools (3.1.1.13)

xomx

@donho
I still have the “Edit with Notepad++” context menu after this RC installation.

After running “C:\Program Files\Notepad++\contextMenu>regsvr32 /i NppShell.dll”:

This is a wrong switch use, /i is not intended for the NppShell, should be only regsvr32 NppShell.dll.

But I see that there is a significant change in the NppShell.dll export table:

previous v8.9.8:

Ordinal   Entry Point   Name
      2   0x0000E690    CleanupDll
      3   0x000055A0    DllCanUnloadNow
      4   0x000055B0    DllGetClassObject
      5   0x00005500    DllMain
      6   0x00005520    DllRegisterServer
      7   0x00005530    DllUnregisterServer
      1   0x00005520    RegisterDll

RC:

Ordinal   Entry Point   Name
      1   0x0000E680    CleanupDll
      2   0x00005590    DllCanUnloadNow
      3   0x000055A0    DllGetClassObject
      4   0x000054F0    DllMain
      5   0x00005510    DllRegisterServer
      6   0x00005520    DllUnregisterServer

donho

Thank you @snabel42 @xomx for checking.

This is a wrong switch use, /i is not intended for the NppShell, should be only regsvr32 NppShell.dll.

Yes indeed, it’s better without /i.

But I see that there is a significant change in the NppShell.dll export table:

I just changed the build machine, re-installed VS Studio Community edition from scratch, and re-compiled all the binaries of v8.9.8.1 RC.

From your table, I see RegisterDll entry is missing.
I’ll update my VSStudio and re-build NppShell.dll to improve it.

xomx

@donho said:
This is a wrong switch use, /i is not intended for the NppShell, should be only regsvr32 NppShell.dll.
Yes indeed, it’s better without /i.

/i is for inproc DLL servers having specific DllInstall exported func. That’s why you got that error msg saying that the DLLInstall entry-point was not found, as the NppShell.dll is not designed to use that func.

I just changed the build machine, re-installed VS Studio Community edition from scratch,

Do you have any idea what happened there?

donho

@xomx said:

Do you have any idea what happened there?

I have no old build machine with me currently.
I’ll let you know tonight when I get home.

donho

@xomx

Here’s the old build machine’s state, and it explains why:

However, though I know that it was me who did this modification, I don’t remember why.

xomx

@donho said:

Note that I noticed a crash of this RC while I typed “Notepad++” after canceling the save of change.log on “C:\Program Files\Notepad++”. However, I can no more reproduce it.
If you guys can reproduce the crash steadily, please report it here.

This problem has been fixed in the latest master, thanks to @donho .

xmm852003204

Tried the RC this morning. I also don’t see the “Edit with Notepad++” right-click entry after install. Ran the regsvr32 command and hit that exact same DllInstall not found error. Win11 24H2 here.

donho

@xmm852003204 said:

Tried the RC this morning. I also don’t see the “Edit with Notepad++” right-click entry after install. Ran the regsvr32 command and hit that exact same DllInstall not found error. Win11 24H2 here.

Before installing v8.9.8.1 RC, did you uninstall the old version of Notepad++, or you just install RC on a PC without any Notepad++ installation?

Which installer did you use?