Creation of a file and saving it/ file extension within Windows 10

roger schmeits

Use windows 10, when i create a file it is saved a file as opposed to a text document.
Is there a setting that changes the default behavior within notepad++? I have looked in the settings and tried to change a number of items but to no success.
I even un-install notepad++, ran ccleaner and re-installed.
No luck.
Listed below are the test files, note the difference between a standard text file, but my notepad++ always saves it as straight file.
05/23/2019 07:37 AM <DIR> .
05/23/2019 07:37 AM <DIR> …
05/23/2019 06:50 AM 0 new 1
05/23/2019 06:38 AM 0 New Text Document (2).txt
05/23/2019 07:25 AM 9 New Text Document (3).txt
05/23/2019 06:38 AM 0 New Text Document (4).txt
05/23/2019 07:26 AM 0 New Text Document (5).txt
05/23/2019 06:46 AM 2 New Text Document.txt
05/23/2019 07:39 AM 2 stuff <why is it saving in this format?>
05/23/2019 07:24 AM 0 test2 <why is it saving in this format?>
05/23/2019 06:42 AM 0 teste
05/23/2019 06:47 AM 0 teste.txt
10 File(s) 13 bytes

PeterJones

@roger-schmeits , Welcome to the Notepad++ Community.

My guess is you currently have this option (Settings > Preferences > Default Directory > Use new style dialog (without file extension feature…) turned on:

With that option on, Windows expects you to manually type any extensions, so you would have to type stuff.txt if you want to save it as stuff.txt. This is true whether you have the Save As Type entry selected as All Types (*.*) or Normal text file (*.txt) or any of the others.

If you turn off that option, then it will use an older save-as dialog, but that older one will automatically apply the extension from the Save as type to whatever file name you choose.

Because of the difference in the sidebar (the old stle just has the 5 or so buttons on the left, whereas the new style gives you the whole directory tree on the left), and because I find it easier to type my extension rather than pull down through a list of extensions and then remembering that it will only automatically apply the first of a list of extensions, but I want to apply the third option for a given type… by the time I’ve gone through all that, it is more efficient to just type .blah myself. But that’s just my personal preference.

(Acknowledgement: embedded @Meta-Chuh’s image from this other thread )

roger schmeits

That did the trick. Thanks.