Support for Plugins Admin & NppPluginList

Jeffrey Morley

Wow. This is really pretty heavy-handed isn’t it?

So our plugin for Rainmeter code “lexer”, which has worked with Notepad++ like forever, is now not only not working for all our users that upgrade Notepad++, but apparently I have to jump through a ton of hoops and add our plugin to a public list maintained and vetted by you guys in order to make it available?

Our users download the plugin from here:

https://github.com/poiru/rainlexer/releases

And it has an installer that used to put it in the right place to be seen by Notepad++

We have no interest in being hosted or given permission to exist by the team here. We simply want to know how we can have our users locally install a plugin, and have it work.

Jeffrey Morley

Ok, I think I figured it out.

Currently, with Notepad++ 7.5

The plugin file RainLexer.dll is in
C:\Program Files (x86)\Notepad++\plugins\RainLexer.dll

A supporting .xml file is in
C:\Users\YourName\AppData\Roaming\Notepad++\plugins\config\RainLexer.xml

With Notepad++ 7.6 you need to move RainLexer.dll to:

C:\Users\YourName\AppData\Local\Notepad++\plugins\Rainlexer\RainLexer.dll

The .xml file can stay were it is…

dinkumoil

@Jeffrey-Morley said:

I have to … add our plugin to a public list … in order to make it available?

Not sure where you read this…

Jeffrey Morley

@dinkumoil said:

@Jeffrey-Morley said:

I have to … add our plugin to a public list … in order to make it available?

Not sure where you read this…

I shouldn’t have assumed that from the pretty strong push for the plugin-admin feature that seems to encourage it.

It’s still pretty heavy-handed to have an upgrade to the product just invalidate goodness-knows how many local 3rd-party plugins folks have installed in Notepad++ without the installer just automatically moving them to the required new locations or having some backwards-compatible approach that would still use old ones in the old locations while supporting new ones in the new location.

A LOT of people, who just “use” Notepad++, and are not technical, got a big, unpleasant surprise today.

Fake4d

Could someone tell me if it is possible to rescue the PythonScript? https://sourceforge.net/projects/npppythonscript/

Maybe there is a good alternative? I really need that one …

SaturnusDJ

When I want to use the new Npp ‘Plugin Admin’ I have to run notepad++.exe as administrator. Why?

Jeffrey Morley

So we want to fix the installer for our 3rd-party plugin RainLexer

https://github.com/poiru/rainlexer

Currently, the installer installs the plugin .dll to %APPDATA%\Notepad++\Plugins\RainLexer.dll and the supporting .xml file to %PROGAMFILES%\Notepad++\Plugins\Config\RainLexer.xml (64bit) or %PROGAMFILES(x86)%\Notepad++\Plugins\Config\RainLexer.xml (32bit).

With 7.6 of Notepad++, I gather than for a “normal” install, it will now be the plugin .dll to %LOCALAPPDATA%\Notepad++\Plugins\RainLexer\RainLexer.dll and the supporting .xml file to %PROGAMFILES%\Notepad++\Plugins\Config\RainLexer.xml (64bit) or %PROGAMFILES(x86)%\Notepad++\Plugins\Config\RainLexer.xml (32bit).

How do we handle those who install Notepad++ as “portable”? Is the structure the same, only self-contained in Notepad++'s single install folder?

This really has nothing to do with the new Plugin Admin functionality, at this time we have no interest in using that.

dinkumoil

@Jeffrey-Morley

For local/normal installations your current and your new locations for the DLL and the supporting .xml file are wrong.

Old:
DLL file: %PROGAMFILES%\Notepad++\plugins\RainLexer.dll (64bit) or %PROGAMFILES(x86)%\Notepad++\plugins\RainLexer.dll (32bit)
Config file: %Userprofile%\AppData\Roaming\Notepad++\plugins\config\RainLexer.xml

New (since v7.6)
DLL file: %UserProfile%\AppData\Local\Notepad++\plugins\RainLexer\RainLexer.dll (all architectures)
Config file: %Userprofile%\AppData\Roaming\Notepad++\plugins\config\RainLexer.xml (no changes)

How do we handle those who install Notepad++ as “portable”? Is the structure the same, only self-contained in Notepad++'s single install folder?

Portable installations are and have ever been self-contained. The location for the supporting .xml file should be <Notepad++ directory>\plugins\config\RainLexer.xml and the loaction for the plugin itself (since v7.6) <Notepad++ directory>\plugins\RainLexer\RainLexer.dll.

The Notepad++ message interface provides the NPPM_GETPLUGINSCONFIGDIR message to query the location of the config dir.

Since v7.6 there is also the NPPM_GETPLUGINHOMEPATH message to query the path to the directory that contains the subdirectories of all plugins, i.e. currently %Userprofile%\AppData\Local\Notepad++\plugins and in the future maybe %ProgramData%\Notepad++\plugins. You have to append the name of your plugin DLL file (excluding the .dll extension) and you get the path to your personal plugin directory.

dinkumoil

@SaturnusDJ said:

When I want to use the new Npp ‘Plugin Admin’ I have to run notepad++.exe as administrator. Why?

Did you select the option “Do not use %APPDATA%” during installation? If yes, perform an uninstall. Then remove %LOCALAPPDATA%\Notepad++ and %PROGRAMFILES%\Notepad++ before reinstalling (enter %LOCALAPPDATA% in your explorer adress bar and delete the Notepad++ folder, repeat the same in %PROGRAMFILES%).

scootergrisen

How do i start Plugins Admin/Plugins Manager?

Eric YWY

I found that if I checked “Don’t use %APPDATA%” during the installation, the whole “Plugin” tab will be disappear from the tab menu
Can it be resumed on next version of Notepad++?

Meta Chuh

@Eric-Yau152

you just have to delete the file DoLocalConf.xml inside your C:\Program Files\Notepad++ folder if you installed the 64 bit version, or in C:\Program Files (x86)\Notepad++ if you installed the 32 bit version.

in case the plugins have never been installed to the correct path %localappdata%\Notepad++:
just download and reinstall your desired (32/64 bit) installer from here : https://notepad-plus-plus.org/download/v7.6.html

you don’t have to uninstall first, just install over it

samcan

I just installed 64-bit v7.6 on Windows 7, and I don’t have the plugins menu appear at all unless I run the program as an administrator. Then, the plugins menu does appear.

It seems like even if I can’t install any plugins as a standard user using the plugin manager, I still should be able to use the installed plugins, correct?

I don’t have Local Conf mode enabled like Eric Yau152.

Debug info as standard user follows:

Notepad++ v7.6 (64-bit)
Build time : Nov 13 2018 - 00:12:05
Path : C:\Program Files\Notepad++\notepad++.exe
Admin mode : OFF
Local Conf mode : OFF
OS : Windows 7 (64-bit)
Plugins : none

Debug info as admin user (in standard user, right-clicking and running as admin):

Notepad++ v7.6 (64-bit)
Build time : Nov 13 2018 - 00:12:05
Path : C:\Program Files\Notepad++\notepad++.exe
Admin mode : ON
Local Conf mode : OFF
OS : Windows 7 (64-bit)
Plugins : DSpellCheck.dll mimeTools.dll nppConverter.dll NppExport.dll

Eric YWY

@Meta-Chuh

Thanks for you reply

I have

uninstalled the program and removed the custom settings in program file folder
removed folder “%localappdata%\Notepad++”
installed the program and checked “Don’t use %APPDATA%”
the whole “Plugin” tab is still NOT appeared at the tab menu

Env:
WIn 10 Pro 64 bit
i7 7600u + 16GB RAM

Please note, thanks

jackpoz

It would be nice to have in Plugin Admin the same list of plugins previously available through Plugin Manager, for example TextFX and “Poor Man’s T-Sql Formatter” are missing. I had to revert to version 7.5.9 to be able to load these plugins.
It would be also nice to have the plugin list sorted by name.

Meta Chuh

@Eric-YWY

i think you misunderstood:
you should never select “Don’t use %APPDATA%” if you install to C:\Program Files or plugins and updater will not be shown

so your options are:

install to a custom folder you create
(example C:\Applications\Notepad++)
there you can activate "Don’t use %APPDATA%” in the installer
this type of installation allows every user to see the same plugins and setting

or

make a default install without selecting "Don’t use %APPDATA%”
this way every user has its own plugins folder inside %APPDATA%

Eric YWY

@Meta-Chuh

noted, it works now, thank you!

donho

FYI, the new plugins schema (simplified) has been modified:
https://notepad-plus-plus.org/community/topic/16645/new-plugins-home-where-notepad-will-load-from

Eric YWY

Found that the Notepad++ main program cannot be restarted after installing the update of plugin from Plugin Admin

dinkumoil

@Eric-YWY

Which plugin did you install?

It seems like the plugin has to be changed to adopt the new plugin hosting model of v7.6. Look for a folder with companion files and move this folder to <Npp-install-dir>\plugins.