Default settings, PLEASE CHANGE!!!
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Hello,
I have a beef to pick with defaulting preference Backup->‘Remember current session for next launch’
My company uses Notepad++ extensively for editing server-side administration XML files. Often we open 2-3 files, edit them, then save, and exit. Next time, we open a new file, edit, exit. If I have more than one file open, I am unconsciously aware I need to make sure that I either save them or undo my changes. More files are open=>more WIP=>more subconscious ‘stress’.
I believe this is how a simple text editor such as Notepad++ is used most of the time.
So, I find it extremely annoying that by default Notepad++ opens up all my old files! I think it is trying to be more than it really is meant to be - an excellent TEXT editor. Forget “sessions” - this is not an IDE, or a Netflix viewer. I don’t want to go back to 15 files I had open last Friday!!!
Ok, rant is over. Hope y’all understand.
Also, auto-update feature is annoying too - I want to install the editor and forget about it. It should just work. I don’t need to update anything. Perhaps an out of the way marker or small message on window frame would be better than a modal dialog that pops up every time I need to quickly edit a file.
Great editor, otherwise!
Thanks for awesome product!Alex
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Not everyone agrees with your rant. One of Notepad++'s primary use cases is for editing source code when programming. Many programmers are editing the same source files, day after day, week after week. They want those same files to be opened every time, despite closing NPP, rebooting, whatever. So they really want the “Remember current session for next launch” to default to on, not to off.
That’s why it’s available as a configurable option. When you install a newer version, it should keep all (though sometimes, it seems more like it just keeps most) of your settings, so you generally should only have to set that option once.
Regarding auto-update: Many people like getting the newest version automatically – to get bugfixes and new features whenever possible. If you don’t like that, go to
Preferences > MISC.and uncheck☐ Enable Notepad++ auto-updater. You might even go to your install directory’supdatersubdirectory… I think it’s the GUP.exe is what runs the NPP updater, and that if you delete that executable, it won’t be able to update.If you want to deploy the same settings company-wide, you can copy the configuration file(s) (usually from
%AppData%\Notepad++), and distribute them. -
Thanks for prompt reply.
A good product should have clear mission and identity. I guess I am very surprised to hear that Notepad++ “primary use case is for editing source code when programming”, since it lacks most of IDE features. That was exactly my point: Notepad++ is NOT an IDE, but just a darn-good text editor.
We’ll probably act on your suggestion about distributing configuration files, thanks.
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Agreed that NPP is not an IDE, but, once one adds the proper plug-ins to it, these are some of the things that can be done with it:
- Compile and link programs and jump to errors in the source code (NPP Exec)
- Tag and use tags on source files (TagsJump and TagsView)
- Keep many sets of files (sessions) at hand for editing (Session Manager)
- Easily compare editor files to files in source control and check in files (Tortoise SVN)
- Open files by name/pattern that are part of a solution (Solution Hub)
I suspect that a fair portion of long-time NPP users are programmers of one sort or another, and for good reason: it has a lot of features we use (syntax highlighting and the like) and it supports plug-ins that allow it to function pretty much like an IDE.
