Plugin Admin issues 7.6.3

Scott Boyd

I know there are other posts out there about issues with Plugin Admin in 7.6.x. I’ve looked through them and still cannot get mine to install or update plugins.

Environment:
Corporate laptop on Windows Domain
Windows 10 Pro
I have admin rights to the machine
I have tried both 32-bit and 64-bit versions of NPP

The other threads have stated that plugs in in the Program Files (x86) or Program Files directories depending on which version installed. This is true for me as well. They also mention that the plugins can be found under %LOCALAPPDATA%\Notepad++\plugins. This is where mine seems different. Nothing ever gets created in %LOCALAPPDATA% directory for NPP. It does however create a Notepad++ folder under %USERPROFILE%\AppData\Roaming.

When I launch NPP and go to the Plugins menu item, I see the pre-installed plugins as well as Plugin Admin. I select Plugin Admin which brings up the dialog box to install new or update existing plugins. I have tried to install the Compare plugin and NPP closes after I click Yes to the popup about exiting and restarting NPP. However, after restart, the new plugin is not in the list, nor are any of the files listed in the above mentioned directories. Additionally, the DSpellCheck plugin that comes with NPP is 1.4.6 and there is an update to 1.4.9. This also does not work. After restart, the update still shows under the Updates tab and the Installed version still shows 1.4.6.

Any help is greatly appreciated.

Notepad++ v7.6.3 (32-bit)
Build time : Jan 27 2019 - 17:20:30
Path : C:\Program Files (x86)\Notepad++\notepad++.exe
Admin mode : OFF
Local Conf mode : OFF
OS : Windows 10 (64-bit)
Plugins : DSpellCheck.dll mimeTools.dll NppConverter.dll NppExport.dll

Meta Chuh

welcome to the notepad++ community, @Scott-Boyd

reading your experience, it seems that your notepad++ is probably not able to download the plugins from their respective download locations.
unfortunately the current plugins admin build does not contain error messages, so we will have to guess what the reason could be.

if you are sitting behind a corporate proxy, you will need to set your company’s values at ? > set updater proxy as seen at the screenshots below.

Imgur

if you are behind a corporate firewall, make sure that your firewall allows direct downloads from the urls listed >>> here <<<

Scott Boyd

@Meta-Chuh ,

Thanks for the quick response. I tried adding the proxy but it didn’t change the issue. I found that it wouldn’t hold the proxy setting until I ran NPP as administrator even though I’m an admin on my machine. Once I got the proxy setting to stay I tried running NPP as admin again and then doing the update and still it would fail. Although now, NPP restarts much faster. So I think the proxy was definitely an issue but the program still won’t allow me to update the plugins or install new ones. Is there a way to manually install the plugins and if so, what path do I use for plugins? I have a plugins directory under \Program Files\Notepad++ and one under %HOMEPATH%\AppData\Roaming\Notepad++.

Meta Chuh

@Scott-Boyd

So I think the proxy was definitely an issue but the program still won’t allow me to update the plugins or install new ones.

yes, this happens if, for example, your corporate proxy needs user authentication, as credentials are currently not supported in notepad++.

Is there a way to manually install the plugins and if so, what path do I use for plugins? I have a plugins directory under \Program Files\Notepad++ and one under %HOMEPATH%\AppData\Roaming\Notepad++.

yes, a manual install of any notepad++ plugin is quite easy.

if your current installation is still the same as your debug info from above (7.6.3 32 bit):

download your required plugins by copying the official repository url from this list >>> here <<< and paste it to your browser’s address field, to download the corresponding zip file.
(for the following i will use “compare plugin” as an example, and it’s repository
download url is: https://github.com/pnedev/compare-plugin/releases/download/v2.0.0/ComparePlugin_v2.0.0_x86.zip .)
extract this zip to your downloads folder, desktop, or anywhere you like (it will only be needed temporarily).
open this extracted folder. you should see the plugin’s .dll file and eventually extra folder(s) for some of the plugins.
open C:\Program Files (x86)\Notepad++\plugins in another explorer window.
create a folder with the same name as the plugin’s dll, but without the .dll extension.
in this example the folder will be: C:\Program Files (x86)\Notepad++\plugins\ComparePlugin
copy the content of the extracted plugin into this folder.
your new plugin’s folder structure should be like this now:
C:\Program Files (x86)\Notepad++\plugins\ComparePlugin\ComparePlugin.dll (the plugin itself)
C:\Program Files (x86)\Notepad++\plugins\ComparePlugin\ComparePlugin (the plugin’s extra data folder)
now restart notepad++ and your plugin should be installed, if all files were copied to the correct locations.
repeat with all other plugins you need.

note: this guide is for the 32 bit version of notepad++ 7.6.3 only, matching your debug info.
if anything vital, e.g. location or 32/64 bit, has changed since then, the guide will not work, and we would need a new debug info.

Scott Boyd

@Meta-Chuh

Thanks. I found the issue. The updater proxy setting was not staying until I ran NPP as admin. Then it would let me modify that setting and keep it regardless of whether I ran it as admin or under my ID. Once I figured this issue was happening and corrected it, I was able to update and install plugins through the Plugin Admin option.

Thanks very much for your assistance. I’ll keep the manual install instructions handy, just in case.

Meta Chuh

@Scott-Boyd

Then it would let me modify that setting and keep it regardless of whether I ran it as admin or under my ID. Once I figured this issue was happening and corrected it, I was able to update and install plugins through the Plugin Admin option.

this is perfect and nice to hear.
thanks for reporting back.