Per-Desktop Instance
-
I like to keep all my open documents on a desktop in a single window. The single instance option works great for this when I only have one desktop open. However, when I have more than one desktop I would like any newly opened documents to show up in the current desktop.
Multi-instance mode allows me to do this, but then I have to manually move each new window into the already-existing one for the current desktop. It would be great if Notepad++ could do this for me automatically. -
Hello @VICTOR-GRAY,
which operating system do you use. Afair windows >=8 supports this.
Cheers
Claudia -
What Victor is saying is that, while you can have a Notepad++ window open on each desktop using Multi-Instance mode, whenever you open something outside of notepad (for example, by right clicking > Edit with Notepad++), it always opens an entirely new Notepad++ instance for just that document even if there is already an instance of Notepad++ open on that desktop. Ideally it should be able to tell whether an instance is open in the active desktop and, if so, open the document there.
-
Why not just drag the file over to Notepad++ and drop it? That also works.
-
@Jason-E184 Actually, it is worse than that.
When using multiple desktops (I use 10+ all the time - I keep one open per ‘active’ client) NP++ opens new files in an existing instance which may be in another desktop which then switches desktop on open. You then have to drag out the file and move the instance to the new desktop. After which every file you subsequently open in the desktop will open in the local instance.
This is pretty lame, but manageable, however not sure that it coherently remembers instance state between desktops (open files, etc).
Desktops should be an ‘first class’ paradigm in NP++ that should have its own settings to determine how separate desktops are handled. This is likely a major pain architecturally because there is some amount of state carried between instance instantiations. That should not preclude the issues being resolved.
It is true that MS themselves don’t really handle multiple desktops in any kind of serious way - even recent updates to explorer to reopen folders after a reset doesn’t track which folder belongs which desktop on restart - it just happily dumps a 1000 open folders right into the first desktop.
I would say that now NP++ updates seem to be mostly ‘maintenance’ updates, this is something that should be reviewed.
-
@KoliadaES-Release said :
I would say that now NP++ updates seem to be mostly ‘maintenance’ updates, this is something that should be reviewed.
Why do you say that?
New features are introduced all the time.Desktops should be an ‘first class’ paradigm in NP++
Notepad++ is provided free-of-monetary-charge to its users.
Changes are coordinated by a single author that dedicates his free (unpaid) time to the project.
Thus, there is a limit to what one person can reasonably do.
Yes, others contribute code, but it all funnels through a single responsible person, not a paid staff.So maybe you write and contribute some code to make “desktops a first class paradigm in N++”.
-
@Alan-Kilborn said in Per-Desktop Instance:
Why do you say that?
Mostly because the last 5 or so updates seem to be massaging existing material. But it is quite possible I’m missing something important.
@Alan-Kilborn said in Per-Desktop Instance:
Thus, there is a limit to what one person can reasonably do.
Yes, others contribute code, but it all funnels through a single responsible person, not a paid staff.This was certainly not obvious to me (other than the ‘free’ part). I was under the impression that NP++ had a fairly significant dev. effort behind it. Clearly I was mistaken, and certainly the scope and depth of the product felt like it must have some form of industry sponsor (c.f. Firefox or similar). It certainly deserves it.
@Alan-Kilborn said in Per-Desktop Instance:
So maybe you write and contribute some code to make “desktops a first class paradigm in N++”.
Trust me, it is impossible to convey how much I wish I had the time!!
-
@KoliadaES-Release said in Per-Desktop Instance:
Mostly because the last 5 or so updates seem to be massaging existing material. But it is quite possible I’m missing something important.
What you’re missing (IMO) is that Notepad++ has very few automated tests, so new features have an increased risk of causing regressions in weird unpredictable ways. This is very suboptimal, but nobody has the time or motivation to add more automated tests, especially since UI tests would probably be very difficult to implement.
