Notepad++ no longer working regardless of version. :-(

Cloud Walker

Hello,
Was using Notepad++ ver. 7.3, discovered inability to make changes to local “website”.
Using an HP Pavilion 17t-f100 with 1 terabit HDD, i-5 CPU @ 1.7GHz 2.40 GHz, 6.00GB RAM, MS Windows 7 Ultimate with 64bit Operating System.
Re-started computer and still no changes to local “website” after editing with Notepad++.
Un-installed Notepad++.
Installed ver 5.0 and tried that (remembered that working in the past). That didn’t work either.
Un-installed Notepad++.
Installed ver 5.5 and tried that. That didn’t work either.
Un-installed Notepad++.
Installed ver 6.8.7 and tried that. That didn’t work either.
I am at a loss.
Have used Notepad++ for many, many years and don’t want to go to another text editor.
Thank you in advance for your thoughts about this.
Be Well, Cloud

MAPJe71

Try plain Notepad.

Cloud Walker

@MAPJe71
That works. Hmmm

chcg

Is there any specific reason not to update to a newer version of n++ than 7.3? What exactly means “inability to make changes”? Are you trying to modify a local html file and view it in parallel in a browser? Are a you using some plugin? Please describe your use case a little bit more detailed.

PeterJones

Aside from @chcg 's pertinent questions, I have some more questions to elicit useful debug information:

how “local” is your file?
- Are you accessing it thru NppFTP (so it’s not really local at all)? Or thru the live-remote-edit feature of FileZilla? I am assuming not, since you claim to have edited it in windows’ notepad.exe without difficulty. But if you are, then let us know, and the debug can take a very different direction.
- is it on a network drive (\\machinename\directory\filename.html)? If so, then whether you run Notepad++ normally or “as administrator” may change whether or not you can see the file, which may be the cause of it
- is it on the same HDD as your OS (c:\...) or on a separate drive (eg, d:\...)?
- is it in the c:\windows\ hierarchy (especially in the system32 sub-hierarchy): if so, given that your Win7 is 64bit, what file/directory you’re actually editing will depend on whether you’ve got 32bit or 64bit notepad++. (Thanks to Windows stupid aliasing of c:\windows\system32 from a 32bit app, the directory you think it is isn’t always what it really is)
Since notepad.exe works, but Notepad++ does not, could you create a dummy file in your My Documents directory and successfully edit it with Notepad++?
given notepad.exe worked, I am going to assume you have write permission for the directory and file. But is that “you” that worked with notepad a standard user, or an administrator user, or a run-as-admin?
how are you determining whether or not “it works”?
- In notepad.exe, I assume you hit save, then reloaded your browser, and you saw whether or not the page updated.
- In Notepad++, are you certain you’ve saved the file before testing? The title-bar will show up with an asterisk * prefixing the name if it’s not saved. The browser won’t be able to see the updates if you haven’t saved them
- Is your browser pointed at file://.../path/to/filename.html (ie, opening a truly local file), or to http://localhost/filename.html (ie, thru a local webserver)
  - if it’s an http://localhost, then it may be that the browser cache is getting in the way, or the localhost’s webserver is serving a cached version, not noticing (yet) that the file has changed.

Cloud Walker

@PeterJones said:

Aside from @chcg 's pertinent questions, I have some more questions to elicit useful debug information:

how “local” is your file?

Are you accessing it thru NppFTP (so it’s not really local at all)? Or thru the live-remote-edit feature of FileZilla? I am assuming not, since you claim to have edited it in windows’ notepad.exe without difficulty. But if you are, then let us know, and the debug can take a very different direction.

is it on a network drive (\\machinename\directory\filename.html)? If so, then whether you run Notepad++ normally or “as administrator” may change whether or not you can see the file, which may be the cause of it

is it on the same HDD as your OS (c:\...) or on a separate drive (eg, d:\...)?
It is as follows:
file:///C:/Users/clouds/Documents/WEB-SITES/SouthernOregonServiceDogTraining/NewSite/index.html

is it in the c:\windows\ hierarchy (especially in the system32 sub-hierarchy): if so, given that your Win7 is 64bit, what file/directory you’re actually editing will depend on whether you’ve got 32bit or 64bit notepad++. (Thanks to Windows stupid aliasing of c:\windows\system32 from a 32bit app, the directory you think it is isn’t always what it really is)

Since notepad.exe works, but Notepad++ does not, could you create a dummy file in your My Documents directory and successfully edit it with Notepad++?
notepad.exe is no longer working

given notepad.exe worked, I am going to assume you have write permission for the directory and file. But is that “you” that worked with notepad a standard user, or an administrator user, or a run-as-admin?

how are you determining whether or not “it works”?
I open the file in a html editor such as MS Notepad or Notepad++ make changes, save and then refresh the open page.

In notepad.exe, I assume you hit save, then reloaded your browser, and you saw whether or not the page updated.
Correct

In Notepad++, are you certain you’ve saved the file before testing? The title-bar will show up with an asterisk * prefixing the name if it’s not saved. The browser won’t be able to see the updates if you haven’t saved them

Is your browser pointed at file://.../path/to/filename.html (ie, opening a truly local file), or to http://localhost/filename.html (ie, thru a local webserver)

if it’s an http://localhost, then it may be that the browser cache is getting in the way, or the localhost’s webserver is serving a cached version, not noticing (yet) that the file has changed.

Based on what is what, it seems that I should revert back to MS Windows 98 so that I don’t have to deal with the 32bit verses 64 bit. I am not interested in going to MS Windows 8 or 10 as the operating system is soooooo different.

throws hands in the air

PeterJones

That’s not what I said at all. I was saying that if (and ONLY IF) your files happened to be in the windows system folder hierarchy, there would be other issues we’d have to contend with. I didn’t say the problems were unsurmountable, or even difficult.

I was trying to elicit information, after which we would be able to give you better help. However, you have not given us any new information. So until you do, there is nothing that anyone in this forum can do to help you.

What happens next is completely up to you.

PeterJones

Moreover, going back to Win98 wouldn’t help, unless you also went back to an ancient version of NPP. NPP hasn’t supported Win9x for many versions, and is even moving away from supporting XP.

And in all good conscience, I cannot do anything but strongly recommend not going back to an operating system so old and insecure as that. From my experience, Win10 isn’t significantly different from Win7, and anything that I cannot intuitively do via my Win7 methodologies, I can easily accomplish after a quick web search.