Notepad++ v6.9.2 released

Gilad Denneboom

@guy038
Sorry, I meant blue… Didn’t double-check it, it was from memory.

PeterJones

I am glad that the problem hasn’t re-occured since the fresh re-install. But that clue could give insight into the cause: it may be that some specific configuration setting or plugin was different in your 6.9.2; when you downgraded overtop of the old installation, that setting or plugin remained, but when you deleted and reinstalled, you removed that setting.

You probably don’t want to spend more time on it, but this is what I would suggest if you ever need to debug the problem again, instead of just hoping 6.9.0 will continue to work for you. I’d grab the ? > Debug Info from this working setup, move all of the Notepad++ 6.9.0 directory to a backup location; install 6.9.2, and see if it starts happening again. If it does happen, I would look at the 6.9.2 ? > Debug Info and the config files and plugins, and try to determine what’s different. If just a simple compare didn’t give enough insight to finish the debug, I’d archive 6.9.2 to a backup location as well, do another clean 6.9.0 install, and start copying things, one at a time, from 6.9.2-backup to the “test” installation.

Other debug ideas I had: use the Notepad++ File > Open Containing Folder > Explorer to open an Explorer window in the folder it’s actually editing from; then, after hitting save, watch the file’s timestamp and size change (and maybe even record it somewhere). Then, the next time you open the file and it’s not the most recent edit you saved, you can open the local Explorer again, and see if it perhaps regressed backward in time, or if it was somehow edited again after you’d saved the last time.

But, like I said, either are probably more than you want to do while it’s working. I’m glad it’s working, and hope it continues for you.

Gilad Denneboom

@PeterCJ-AtWork
I actually suspected that the plugins might have something to do with it, so when I did a fresh installation the only one I kept is Compare. Previously I also had Session Manager, Bookmark Manager and XML Tools, I believe. Maybe that helps…

Daniel Carter

@Claudia-Frank
Yes the files i am trying to monitor are not in the root directory.

Josh-D. S. Davis

@Gilad-Denneboom said:

Just to clarify:

The files I was opening where this problem happened were not located under C:\Windows, they were also not NPP configuration files, but files created by me, located under my own folders on the C drive.

I was opening them via the File menu of NPP, and maybe also by double-clicking them in my file manager application, can’t be sure exactly.

I was saving the files using Ctrl+S in NPP.

I confirmed they were saved because their title changed from red to black and I was not prompted to save them when I closed them.

I noticed this happening while NPP was still running. It might have also happened between sessions when I re-opened a file after closing NPP down (along with the entire computer), but can’t be sure of that, either. As I wrote, this did not happen all the time, so it was very difficult to keep track of the exact circumstances when it did.

System type is 64-bit (Windows 7 Home Premium)

%windir% is C:\windows

I’ve been fighting this issue for a while too, and have had trouble finding a solution.

The Jist of it is, in some situations, NPP will think the memory buffer has not changed, even though it has. If NPP thinks no content has changed, it will not write out a file.

The expected behavior is, if I use ^S, or Alt-F+S, or mouse over to File -> Save, then the file should be written out, no matter whether it has been modified or not.

However, if I save a file, wait 10 mins without modifying the file, save again, the modification time is 10 mins ago. This is a deviation from everything I’ve seen for editors of all types over the last 35 years.

This has shaken my confidence in NPP as a whole, because save means “write to disk”, not “maybe write to disk.”

My reproduction steps are:

Use ^N to create a new file
Add some text
Wait a while (minutes? Hours? Depends on the project)
Alt-F + S to file->save (desktop, or E:\Documents, or anywhere)
Wait a while (minutes? Hours? Depends on the project)
Add more text
Alt-F + S to file->save
Alt-F4 Close NPP
Re-open NPP
First save of the file is shown.
No backup files in the backup dir

INTERMITTENT

For me, it’s not 100%, but it happens enough to be a serious problem.
It’s not isolated to any specific drive or folder.
It may be a timing thing. Unfortunately, I usually don’t notice it until after the data is lost. I close for a reboot, or windows search across my worklogs only to find data is missing, or file timestamps have not changed.
I do not recall ever seeing it happen if I open a file, and then do edits. Only when it started life as a new file, and during that first time to be open.
For all I know, every file is unlinked and relinked by some unknown process, and maybe NPP is just writing back to a stale filehandle, or overwriting an unlinked file.

Workaround:

Close and re-open the file. Now everything will work properly, as long as I still have the data to add to the file.
Only works if I suspect, or notice the red bar has stopped working, or if I remember to make a file, save it, close it, then re-open it.

HISTORY:

This started this year, but I do not know what version. Prior to 6.9.2.
I originally had the PortableApps version.
I moved to the full installer once an autoupdate brought this issue.
I’ve uninstalled and reinstalled NPP.
I’ve wiped and reloaded my laptop entirely.
I have the issue on a system that never had the PA version.

MULTIPLE SYSTEMS:

Customer issued laptop
Work laptop from last year
Newly reinstalled work laptop from this year.

RELATED:
NPP also periodically sees that all of the open files have been changed (they have not. Same timestamps). I do not know if that is related. Maybe it’s a Google Drive thing, or an MSE thing, or something else entirely. Does not happen daily.

My current test is:

Saved my session
closed NPP
wiped C:\Users\jdavis\AppData\Roaming\Notepad++
re-installed NPP
re-configured NPP
Set my shortcut to “run as administrator”
Imported my session

DEBUG INFO
Notepad++ v6.9.2
Build time : May 18 2016 - 00:34:05
Path : C:\Program Files (x86)\Notepad++\notepad++.exe
Admin mode : ON
Local Conf mode : OFF
OS : Windows 7
Plugins : mimeTools.dll NppConverter.dll NppExport.dll PluginManager.dll

Claudia Frank

@Josh-D.-S.-Davis

this basically means, that you manually save the file(s) each time you change it
and in addition you have automatic backup enabled to let npp do it, correct?
Sounds strange, indeed.
Did you thought about using procmon to find out what’s going on?
Set either a filter for npp exe or for a file you are curently using,
maybe this points you in the direction of the issue.

In regards to the second issue procmon could be helpful too. I assume this
has something to do with samba, cifs etc… setup.

Cheers
Claudia

Josh-D. S. Davis

@Claudia-Frank all local NTFS, no network filesystems.

I’ve pulled down procmon, but usually, I don’t notice the problem until after I’ve closed NPP. It’s on the re-open that I notice most.

When I have noticed it, I would type in the NPP window, and the tab would not turn red.

However, deleting the NPP directory seems to have resolved the issue. I’m not sure though. I’ll come back if it resurfaces, and hopefully I can catch it with procmon.

Faust Jonson

hi everi one