Can Notepad++ be made to open with a tab for every file contained in its Backup folder?

EmptyNester

I regularly use NotePad++ because it lets me quickly takes notes, add new tabs, etc, without needing to perform a Save operation (click Save, type a filename, pick a destination path, etc.). I was hoping to add the ability to open NotePad++ on other PCs and have the same unsaved tabs open.

I enabled the Cloud option, pointing it to a special folder in OneDrive. Afterwards, the Backups folder has moved to that special OneDrive folder and all my unsaved tabs are still present. I then configured NotePad++ on another PC to sign into the same OneDrive account. The same Backups folder and content is present on that PC, but the new instance of NotePad++ does not open them as tabs.

As a test I installed NotePad++ in a Windows 10 VM and copied the contents of the original NotePad++ Backup folder to the default location:

C:\Users\Owner\AppData\Roaming\Notepad++\backup

Upon opening the new Notepad++ it doesn’t open with any tabs, despite its Backup folder having a bunch of files that correspond to tabs in the original installation. This suggests to me that my problem is not with the Cloud feature but with Notepad++ not automatically opening a tab for every file in its Backup folder. Is there a setting or ini file or whatever that can be modified to make Notepad++ open all Backup files as tabs?

BTW, I tried saving all the tabs in the original installation as a Session in the special OneDrive folder. When I opened that Session file in another PC’s Notepad++ set to use the same cloud folder, it opened nothing.

Terry R

@EmptyNester said in Can Notepad++ be made to open with a tab for every file contained in its Backup folder?:

it doesn’t open with any tabs, despite its Backup folder having a bunch of files that correspond to tabs in the original installation.

In my mind this is a stupid idea. You of course realise that the backup exist for a particular reason. Now you want to usurp that and use an existing process for an entirely new reason.

My 2cents worth
Terry

Saiapatsu

Notepad++ not automatically opening a tab for every file in its Backup folder.

The Backup folder sometimes has files that don’t correspond to any open tabs. So the Backup folder is not where the session is kept!

What you need is the actual session file. It is exported with File>Save Session..., and physically located at %AppData%\Notepad++\session.xml.
Edit: to easily get to this file, open any folder, and in the address bar at the top, paste in %AppData%\Notepad++. Or open that link with Run.

To get Notepad++ to use the session, this exact file needs to be synced. If OneDrive can’t do that, then you may have to symlink this file (or entire folder, even) with a place where OneDrive can put it.

You can learn how to symlink elsewhere on the internet; it essentially makes a shortcut, except fully live and not just a file that Windows Explorer can follow to open something else.