Windows 11 64bit, not able to install compareplus plugin either by pluginAdmin or manually on NP++ v8.6. Please help !

vnuta9

opened PluginAdmin, I could see both compare and comparePlus plugins listed, but the install button is disabled or not clickable.
Created ComparePlus folder in Notepad++'s plugins installation folder(C:\Program Files\Notepad++\plugins) and copied the entire unzipped contents of the ComparePlugin_v2.0.0_X64.zip file. Exited the Notepad++ and restarted it again. I checked under ‘Plugins’ menu, I can’t see compare option.
Settings–> Import --> Import Plugin(s)–> comparePlugin.dll --> restarted the NotePad++.
Updated the NotePad++ to 8.6.2 64 bit. Still no use.

All the above methods could not help me install Compare Plugin on NotePad 8.6, with Windows 11 64 bit.

Will some one help me to install it and let me know what mistake I am doing ?

PeterJones

@vnuta9 said in Windows 11 64bit, not able to install compareplus plugin either by pluginAdmin or manually on NP++ v8.6. Please help !:

comparePlus plugins listed, but the install button is disabled or not clickable

Did you click the checkmark first? In Plugins Admin, you have to have the checkbox checked before Install will be clickable.

created ComparePlus folder … and copied the entire unzipped contents of the ComparePlugin_v2.0.0_X64.zip

Putting the ComparePlugin.dll in ComparePlus folder will not work. The folder name and DLL must match exactly.

Also, the old ComparePlugin 2.0.0 will not work for Notepad++ 8.2.2 or newer – and you say you are using Notepad++ v8.6. (Well, actually, you said you were using “NotePad 8.6”, but I assume you meant “Notepad++ v8.6”.)

Settings–> Import --> Import Plugin

Just don’t. That only works if a plugin doesn’t have any associated files (it was a holdover from the days before Plugins Admin, and is not really relevant in the modern plugin ecosystem)

To sum up:

You must checkmark the checkbox, not just click on the name, for Install to be available.
Plugin directory name and Plugin DLL name must match, otherwise Notepad++ will ignore it.
You chose an incompatible version of ComparePlugin for the version of Notepad++ you are using.
There is no reason to still use ComparePlugin since ComparePlus has been released.
With a successful ComparePlus v1.1 installation in Notepad++ 64bit, the structure should be:

> dir /S
 Volume in drive C is Windows
 Volume Serial Number is ...

 Directory of C:\Program Files\Notepad++\plugins\ComparePlus

01/09/2023  10:17 AM    <DIR>          .
01/09/2023  10:17 AM    <DIR>          ..
01/09/2023  10:17 AM           647,168 ComparePlus.dll
01/09/2023  10:17 AM    <DIR>          libs
               1 File(s)        647,168 bytes

 Directory of C:\Program Files\Notepad++\plugins\ComparePlus\libs

01/09/2023  10:17 AM    <DIR>          .
01/09/2023  10:17 AM    <DIR>          ..
01/09/2023  10:17 AM         1,414,656 git2.dll
01/09/2023  10:17 AM         2,159,616 sqlite3.dll
               2 File(s)      3,574,272 bytes

vnuta9

@PeterJones
Oh my dear @PeterJones , how much dumb and distracted I should have been not to mind checking the check box. Yes, I am that dumb. It resolved the issue. Thanks for painstakingly respond to my post. Appreciate your help a lot.
From now on, let me be little less dumb :)

Alan Kilborn

@vnuta9 said :

how much dumb and distracted I should have been not to mind checking the check box. Yes, I am that dumb.

Don’t feel too bad. Someone else had the same experience recently.

PeterJones

Don’t feel too bad. Someone else had the same experience recently.

In fact, that’s come up often enough that I just pushed an update to the npp-user-manual.org website, in the so the Plugins Admin screenshot now explicitly shows the checkmark there, and the description paragraph explicitly describes the difference between just clicking on the plugin name (which only shows the description) and checking the checkbox (which enables the Install button to install that plugin)

vnuta9

@PeterJones
Even better would be taking the freedom to select the checkbox once the user highlights a certain plugin name. A little aggressive, but serves in a beneficial way, plus, if the user does not want to select multiple plugin at once, he unchecks them.
Just my 2 cents…

Venkata (vnuta9)

Alan Kilborn

@vnuta9 said in Windows 11 64bit, not able to install compareplus plugin either by pluginAdmin or manually on NP++ v8.6. Please help !:

if the user does not want to select multiple plugin at once, he unchecks them.

This just creates a “problem” like the original.
In this case, user clicks on plugins to see descriptions appear, finally finds the one he wants, then installs and realizes he’s getting more than he wants.

I suppose your suggested approach would be OK if user is prompted with a count of plugins that will be installed (if he has more than one checkmarked) and has to confirm it before install proceeds.

PeterJones

Even better would be taking the freedom to select the checkbox once the user highlights a certain plugin name. A little aggressive, but serves in a beneficial way, plus, if the user does not want to select multiple plugin at once, he unchecks them.

I wasn’t stating my opinion of what would be best. I was stating what is.

If you feel strongly enough that it would change, you may read our FAQ about making a feature request and follow the instructions there to put a feature request in the right place.

Personally, I feel that either implementation will be equally annoying to a similar-sized subset of the user base. If you’re going to annoy half the users either way, why not just leave it as is. But my stating my opinion in no way prevents you from maintaining your opinion or from making an official feature request.

Addendum: Not everyone uses the mouse for everything, either. Imagine someone who has difficulty using scrollbars with a mouse, so they click on the name of the first plugin in the list, then use arrow keys to scroll down until they find the right plugin. Under the current implementation, they they hit spacebar on only the right plugin to mark the checkbox, and then use TAB or Alt+I to install that one plugin. Under your system, that initial click (and probably every arrow key, because every time you arrow, it highlights the next plugin in exactly the same way a click does) would actually checkmark the plugins as they were trying to navigate to the one they want. Now instead of installing one plugin, choosing Install would actually install at least two (the first, and the one they wanted) and maybe even all the ones in between (if there’s no way to distinguish between clicking on a plugin name and arrowing to a plugin name).