Accidental open

Menoulmop

So i was about to paste code into my notepad++ and randomly a new small windows popped up in the middle of my notepad++ with all the files i have opened and there was a save icon right to them, far away from them but still on the same line. Does anyone know how it was done? Or why it happened? It closed once i clicked the save on my current file. But when that thing was opened i couldnt press any text on my code or the app, it would make windows sounds because of that thing. I just want to know how it happened and what it is. Its not Document map or list btw

mkupper

@Menoulmop Take a look at the Window / Windows... dialog box to se if it matches what you saw. Normally there are no keyboard shortcuts to that box but Alt+W+W will cause it to pop up.

PeterJones

@Menoulmop ,

It’s hard to tell, but based on your description, I am guessing you (accidentally) hit Ctrl+Tab, which pops up the Document Switcher – try that intentionally to see if it’s what you did.

It may be that Windows OS got into it’s “Sticky Keys” accessibility mode, where it left the Ctrl key “active” even though you weren’t hitting Ctrl any more, and then typing Tab in that OS-controlled state would activate Notepad++'s Ctrl+Tab Document Switcher feature. (You can search the internet for how to turn off Windows Sticky Keys if it’s happening often.)

The Online User Manual describes the preference setting to turn off the Ctrl+Tab=Document Switcher feature.

Menoulmop

@PeterJones Thank you

Alan Kilborn

@Menoulmop said in Accidental open:

But when that thing was opened i couldnt press any text on my code or the app, it would make windows sounds because of that thing

Likely pressing Esc would have dismissed the Ctrl+Tab doc switcher.

@Menoulmop said in Accidental open:

It closed once i clicked the save on my current file

You didn’t press “Save”, you just pressed the entry for the file in the popup. The icon there is merely showing you the saved/unsaved status; you can’t actually save a file there, only switch to it.

mkupper

@Alan-Kilborn said in Accidental open:

Likely pressing Esc would have dismissed the Ctrl+Tab doc switcher.

Releasing the Ctrl button gets rid of the document switcher. There’s no need to press Esc. There seems to be is a Notepad++ bug in this area but it’s unrelated to the OP’s issue.

You didn’t press “Save”, you just pressed the entry for the file in the popup. The icon there is merely showing you the saved/unsaved status; you can’t actually save a file there, only switch to it.

I still think the OP did Alt+W+W which pulled up Notepad++'s Windows dialog box. That dialog box is modal and so does not allow you to work on the documents while it’s up. The dialog box also has a save button at the right side.

Alan Kilborn

@mkupper said in Accidental open:

Releasing the Ctrl button gets rid of the document switcher.

But clearly OP was having trouble getting rid of it.
One assumes that a releasing of all keys (which would include Ctrl) was tried, although this was not explicitly stated.
Others have had such problems in the past.

I still think the OP did Alt+W+W which pulled up Notepad++'s Windows dialog box

Dubious. OP said “there was a save icon right to them, far away from them but still on the same line”. Window > Windows… popup has no such “save icon”, whereas Ctrl+Tab Doc Switcher does.

mkupper

@Alan-Kilborn said in Accidental open:

But clearly OP was having trouble getting rid of it.

That’s part of what seems like the bug I mentioned earlier. I started to write up the issue but it is turning into a long post plus I realized there were hints in the github issues that it has been reported, so I’ve parked the bug report it pending review, testing, and thinking.

If someone does Ctrl+Tab or Ctrl+Shift+Tab to bring up the document switcher and you then while holcing Ctrl down you type Esc to exit document switcher the Ctrl+Esc or Ctrl+Shift+Esc are sent to Windows. Ctrl+Esc brings up the start menu and Ctrl+Shift+Esc activates task manager. That’s issue one.

If you then switch back to Notepad++ you’ll see the document switcher dialog box but can’t get focus onto it other then via the mouse. Thus the box can appear to be stuck in the way. That’s issue two. The document switcher dialog box is model which means Notepad++ itself is locked up. It’s not a crisis as you mouse click within the box and it’ll activate the tab you happened to select via the dialog box.

You can also trigger the second issue’s behavior by Ctrl+Tab and while holding the Ctrl key down you click on the task bar to bring another application the foreground. When you switch back to Notepad++ you’ll be moderately stuck with the document switcher. It turns out that pressing and then releasing Ctrl will clear the document switcher.

github issue 10950 seems to describe what I saw but at the time that issue was raised it also seemed to be intermittent or hard to reproduce.