Non-Standard Behavior of Save-As Dialog
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Until a couple of updates ago, N++ behaved consistent with other Windows apps in this regard. Then after one of the recent updates, it began behaving peculiarly. This morning, I was prompted to update Notepad++ again, so I did. I was hoping that this behavior had been resolved, but it hasn’t. So I decided to voice my dislike for the current behavior.
The behavior in question involves use of wildcards within the “save” or “save-as” dialog boxes. In most Windows apps and in N++ until a few months ago, one could use wildcards as a tool for determining the name of the file to save, or to save it as a variation. For example, typing “File*.txt” will filter the visible files to only those files that begin with the letters “File” and have the extension of “.txt”. So “File1.txt”, “File2.txt”, “File3.txt”, “FileBefore.txt”, and “FileAfter.txt” would all appear in the file list, but “Colors.txt”, “UniCode.txt”, “File1.csv”, and so forth would be filtered out of the file list. This is a technique that I use regularly when creating a series of files (usually when troubleshooting some matter). In the pattern of “File*.txt”, I can review what all numbers have been used, even if non-sequential, and then choose an unused name or one of the existing ones as preferred. I also use it when I want to make a snapshot of the file in which I am working. I accomplish that by opening the “Save-As” dialog and placing an asterisk at the end of the default file name. This filters the list down to only that active file, and then I can quickly select it (and only it), and drag and drop a copy in case my next edit screws up the process and I want to back up to try again.
After a recent update, Notepad++ began exhibiting different behavior. Sine the update that changed things, that no longer works in N++, but still does in other apps. That tells me that it is a N++ change and not something in the OS. After the change, any wildcard entered into the “File name” field causes a new dialog box to pop up informing the user “The file cannot be saved and it may be protected. Do you want to launch Notepad++ in Administrator made? [Yes] [No]”
The active file is NOT protected in these cases, and N++ can do anything it wants with this file otherwise, provided I don’t use a wildcard in the Save-As dialog. Furthermore, that action does not even ask N++ to do anything to that or any other file. All it should be doing is re-scanning the list of files in the current folder and filtering them based on the partial name and the wildcard.
Is this behavior purposeful? If so, what was it intended to accomplish? If not, can it be returned to behave in the conventional manner?
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may I ask you to check if settings->preferences->default directory->use new style dialog… has been checked?
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@Ekopalypse said:
may I ask you to check if settings->preferences->default directory->use new style dialog… has been checked?
It was not. It is now, and that seems to bring about the behavior desired.
So, I’m a bit curious. What am I loosing? What goes away then I select that option where the subtitle says “(without…”?
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tbh, don’t know. I guess the wording is a bit misleading. The without belongs, afaik,
to the file extension feature - meaning, you can now save a file without having an extension. This is something which is possible on unix as well. -
Well, I’m fat, dumb, and happy now. You don’t have anything to do with the fat part, but you made me a bit less dumb and you are totally responsible for me now being happy, at least regarding this issue. I would never have looked in that location for the solution and I would not have recognized that checkbox as having the potential to solve it, even if I had looked there. Thanks!
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:-) LOL and you are responsible making me laugh - so we both are lucky :-)
Btw. Fat, is that this what my wife calls rescue rings and looking at me? :-D
