Notepad++ 7.6 and the plugin TextFX ?

[Dominique Lavarenne]

Hello,
Could you tell me how to set up the TextFX plugin in version 7.6 just released? Or, if it is no longer compatible, where can we find its rich features? In particular sorting lines of a file, inserting a numbering, regular expressions, etc.
I am French and I practice little English. Please be simple and clear in your answers. Thanking you in advance, and looking forward to your expert advice,
Cordially…

[patrickdrd]

This post is deleted!

[patrickdrd]

you have to create a folder with name “NppTextFX” and copy NppTextFX.dll and NppTextFX.ini in there and it will work

[dinkumoil]

@patrickdrd said:

you have to create a folder with name “NppTextFX” and copy NppTextFX.dll and NppTextFX.ini in there

That is not exact and partially wrong. Where the folder has to be created depends on which kind of Notepad++ installation you run. The INI files which store the plugins settings can stay in their current location in every case.

So called “local installation”

Notepad++ has been installed/updated be a setup program. Its installation directory is C:\Program Files or C:\Program Files (x86) (which in turn depends on the architecture of the operating system and the architecture Notepad++ was compiled for, 32 bit or 64 bit). In this case in Notepad++ versions prior to v7.6 the plugins had been stored in directory <Npp-installation-directory>\Notepad++\plugins. After upgrading to v7.6 they have to be moved to %Userprofile%\AppData\Local\Notepad++\plugins, but every plugin needs to be copied to a separate subdirectory of this directory that is named like the DLL file of the plugin. Example: plugin DLL name is ABC.dll => the complete path to the folder which has to be created for this plugin has to be %Userprofile%\AppData\Local\Notepad++\plugins\ABC. Additionally all files and folders related to a certain plugin have to be moved to this folder too. I wrote a script that automates the most important part of plugin migration to the new directory, you can download it here. It only copies the files and folders of all plugins to the new location, deletion has to be done by the user. Furthermore it is not guaranteed that all files and folders related with a certain plugin are copied because the script uses a generic algorithm to do its job. Specially named files and folders you have to move manually to the correct location.

So called “portable installation”

Notepad++ has been unpacked from a ZIP or 7z file to an arbitrary folder on your harddisk or an USB stick. In this case plugins are stored in directory <arbitrary-folder>\plugins. After upgrading to Notepad++ v7.6 for every plugin needs to be created a separate subdirectory in this directory that is named like the DLL file of the plugin. Example: plugin DLL name is ABC.dll => the complete path to the folder which has to be created for this plugin has to be <arbitrary-folder>\plugins\ABC. Additionally all files and folders related to a certain plugin have to be moved to this folder too. For this installation scenario there is no script available to automate plugin migration.

So called “hybrid installation”

Notepad++ has been installed/updated be a setup program. Its installation directory is C:\Program Files or C:\Program Files (x86) (which in turn depends on the architecture of the operating system and the architecture Notepad++ was compiled for, 32 bit or 64 bit). Due to the presence of a file called allowAppDataPlugins.xml in the installation directory of Notepad++ versions prior to v7.6 it was possible to store plugins in the user profile of the user who had installed them. In this case the plugins had been stored in directory %Userprofile%\AppData\Roaming\Notepad++\plugins. Since in v7.6 this feature has been removed from Notepad++, after upgrading the plugins have to be moved to %Userprofile%\AppData\Local\Notepad++\plugins, but every plugin needs to be copied to a separate subdirectory of this directory that is named like the DLL file of the plugin. Example: plugin DLL name is ABC.dll => the complete path to the folder which has to be created for this plugin has to be %Userprofile%\AppData\Local\Notepad++\plugins\ABC. Additionally all files and folders related to a certain plugin (except the settings files) have to be moved to this folder too. For this installation scenario there is no script available to automate plugin migration.

@Meta-Chuh
Since you seem to be experienced with the “hybrid installation” variant it would be nice if you review what I wrote above. If there are more installation and migration variants in conjunction with the file allowAppDataPlugins.xml it would be good you would add additional informations about them.

@Scott-Sumner
Do you think this is another case for adding a FAQ? If you think my explanations are too long feel free to shorten them.

[dinkumoil]

I wasn’t exact too. :-(

Under So called “local installation” the 3rd sentence has to be:

In this case in Notepad++ versions prior to v7.6 the plugins had been stored in directory <Npp-installation-directory>\plugins.

[Scott Sumner]

@dinkumoil said:

Do you think this is another case for adding a FAQ? If you think my explanations are too long feel free to shorten them.

Probably, although I’d prefer to not be the one doing that posting (I guess there are a limited number of us with FAQ write permission), mainly because I don’t have the enthusiasm for fact-checking it all first. Reason: I won’t be using the new plugin system for a long time yet, if ever. Thus I don’t see myself answering questions or participating in discussions here relating to it.

BTW, your explanations read very well (again, not fact-checking), your English is excellent, shortening them would be a shame.

[Michael DiGregorio]

@dinkumoil

Thank you for your explanation. I was having issues with my plug-ins until reading this. (I use a portable installation.) Though the one difference that I found is that, though the DLL files need to go in the folder named after the DLL, the config/ini files for each plug-in need to reside in the …/plugins/config folder.

Now that that my plug-in issue is solved, the only remaining issue is that I don’t see any mention of a Plugins Admin when I open NPP. Though I guess perhaps it doesn’t work on portable installs. I don’t know.

[dinkumoil]

@Scott-Sumner

Yes, I understand you. This new Plugin Admin is not the best idea Don had the last time…

But v7.6 introduces also some useful fixes (e.g. better automatic encoding detection) and I guess the old Plugin Manager will die soon. Nevertheless, in the near future I stay at Npp v7.5.6 and use the good old Plugin Manager, until the the worst quirks of Npp v7.6 have been removed.

[dinkumoil]

@Michael-DiGregorio said:

the one difference that I found is that, … , the config/ini files for each plug-in need to reside in the …/plugins/config folder.

You are right. I wrote that in the header of my explanations:

@dinkumoil said:

The INI files which store the plugins settings can stay in their current location in every case.

I would have preferred to repeat that explicitly in the explanation for every installation scenario but the 3 minute deadline for changing a comment had been expired.

@Michael-DiGregorio said:

I guess perhaps it doesn’t work on portable installs

That is correct. Currently there is a problem that has to be solved before portable installations are able to use Plugin Admin.

[Dominique Lavarenne]

Thank you all but, as I feared, your answers are too complex for my understanding.
Here is my configuration: Windows 7 Pro SP1 x64
NotePad ++ 32bit (voluntarily), installed in C: \ Program Files (x86) \ Notepad ++
with NppTextFX.dll installed in C: \ Program Files (x86) \ Notepad ++ \ plugins
Where is the problem ? And the solution ?

[rinku singh]

@Dominique-Lavarenne C:\USERS\ PCNAME\APPDATA\LOCAL\NOTEPAD++\PLUGINS\NppTextFX\NppTextFX.DLL

[Dominique Lavarenne]

In the directory C: \ Users \ DRJMLAPS \ AppData \ Local \ Notepad ++ \ plugins, I created the NppTextFX folder and installed the DLL. The TextFX menu reappeared in the NotePad ++ menu bar.
Problem solved. Thanks a lot !

[guy038]

Hello, @Dinkumoil,

I think I would be able to move, or if you prefer copy, your post from the General Discussion section to the FAQ section.

So, just review your post to complete it, quietly. An when OK, send it to me, by e-mail ;-))

Don’t forget to add which title of FAQ you would like. Note that it would be preferable that it begins with the FAQ Desk: string, to be coherent with the other FAQ posts !

May be, it would be interesting, too, that it refers, at one moment, to the PeterJones’s explanation of %Appdata% in the FAQ :

https://notepad-plus-plus.org/community/topic/15740/faq-desk-what-is-appdata

And don’t worry : I’ll update this FAQ by including later modifications that you want to, if any !

Best Regards,

guy038

[Meta Chuh]

@dinkumoil
sorry, i didn’t have time yet to test everything after reviewing it but it seems correct

[MrOuzo]

I burned now my 5.5.9… i never update to newer versions, so no problems

[Joe Bruns75]

Do let us know when the plugin issues are fixed. I tried the dll and ini copy to correct folder and no change. Going back to 7.5.9 and probably will stay there.

[Joe Bruns75]

@dinkumoil How about just making plugin admin do that work? Why burden the user to do all of that ‘thinking’ and ‘acting’?

[dinkumoil]

@Joe-Bruns75 said:

@dinkumoil How about just making plugin admin do that work? Why burden the user to do all of that ‘thinking’ and ‘acting’?

I’m sorry, I am not responsible for the situation like it is. The Notepad++ project has one main developer, user @donho . He has founded this project, he makes the major decisions about the direction the program evolves and he decides which features contributed by other programmers make it into a release version and which not.

I’m also not happy with the current situation and I agree with you that it is nasty for users to be left alone with the required tasks to switch to v7.6 but I can not change anything.

I wrote a batch script to automate the steps required for getting plugins back to a functional state. You can download it here.

Please note: I have tested the script under Windows 7 (64 bit). Nevertheless I can not guarantee that it works correctly under all circumstances. Thus, use this script on your own risk. I’m not responsible for any damage caused by executing it. Before using it back up all important data on your hard disk and all directories related to Notepad++ and its configuration.

Even after running the script it is not guaranteed that all plugins will work properly, especially plugins coming with companion files may fail to work. This depends on how a plugin internally assembles the access paths to these files. You should thoroughly test every plugin. If you find any regression (e.g. help or documentation doesn’t open, missing icons, error messages at Notepad++ startup concerning a certain plugin) try to copy back the files/folders related with the plugin in question to their previous location. Additionally you should contact the developer of the plugin to request an update that adopts the new plugin hosting model of Notepad++.

[Dominique Lavarenne]

Hello all!

About a month ago, I asked you to know how to put in the menu bar of NotePad ++ the TextFX menu, disappeared since the transition to version 7.6.

Gurikbal Singh gave me the solution in his answer here: https://notepad-plus-plus.org/community/topic/16629/notepad-7-6-and-the-plugin-textfx/11

Unfortunately, when I installed version 7.6.1 today, I lost the TextFX menu again. Where is the error?

I thank you in advance for helping me out…

[dinkumoil]

@Dominique-Lavarenne

The location for storing plugins has been changed once more. Have a look at this and this posting to fix that.