Horizontal line question

JillPlaysMC

How do I make it so there’s only a certain amount of text per line? Like I want to make the length horizontal shorter but idk how to do it

Ekopalypse

@jillplaysmc

are you talking about word wrap (menu View->Word wrap)?
Or something else?

JillPlaysMC

@ekopalypse Idk maybe. What I want to do is similar to a margin/border so I can only have 129 characters per line before it automatically goes to the next line

Ekopalypse

@jillplaysmc

Word wrap is just a visual line break, and there is no setting to allow a wrap at a specific column.
The function you are looking for is afaik not available in the built-in version but could be scripted with an installed PythonScript plugin.
Do you want to go this way? If so, what should be the rule for wrapping to the next line? Wrap before the word that reaches the border, or after?

JillPlaysMC

@ekopalypse So I have to get a plugin to get what I want? If so how do I do that?

Ekopalypse

@jillplaysmc

You need the Python script plugin. Ready to install via Plugins->Plugin Admin. Select Python Script and press install.

Make sure you have saved all unsaved documents beforehand to avoid possible data loss.

After that, we can write a little script that will automatically insert a line break
either before or after the word that reaches the boundary or,
if you prefer, break the word right at the column.

Neil Schipper

@jillplaysmc
First you should get clarity on the difference between

text with line wraps currently visible onscreen
text with line breaks that persist across file re-openings

Eko’s comments pertain to the former. With Word wrap on, you can adjust the width of the NP++ window (not maximized) to temporarily make the width of lines as you like. You’d only need the plug-in if this interfered with how you may wish to view other tabs.

If you wish to actually split lines in a persistent way, you can make the window adjustments described above, then select the lines of interest and issue Edit -> Line Operations -> Split lines (default Ctrl + i)

JillPlaysMC

@ekopalypse Ok so I got the plugin, what do I do now?

Ekopalypse

I meant a real insertion of a line break, not just the visual break. Sorry if that didn’t come across clearly.

JillPlaysMC

@ekopalypse So I’m confused now, so I know the other thing makes a line that is only visual but doesn’t actually change the line but how do I make it actually change the line?

Ekopalypse

@jillplaysmc

How should this work?
For all files you edit? Only for certain ones?
Where do you want it to wrap? Before the word that reaches the border, after it, or at that exact column?

Neil Schipper

@jillplaysmc said in Horizontal line question:

how do I make it actually change the line?

I believe I answered that.

Ekopalypse

@neil-schipper

but this does not do it automatically when you edit text.

JillPlaysMC

@neil-schipper I’m just confused on what you mean. I know a good amount of tech stuff but I’m not a wizard and what you told me, I’m a little confused on it

Neil Schipper

@jillplaysmc said in Horizontal line question:

I’m just confused on what you mean.

Me too!

Which of these are causing difficulty?

turning Word wrap on and off
adjusting the overall application window width
selecting some or all lines
issuing Split Lines command

Play around for ten minutes and then report back.

JillPlaysMC

@neil-schipper Ok so I just found out that turning on warp wrap and making the window smaller does what I want. But how do I keep it like this when I put it back on maxed window mode?

Neil Schipper

@jillplaysmc
So you’ve executed 2 out of 4 steps, but you don’t want to continue with the instructions to see if it meets your need?

You also haven’t stated whether you want to control the appearance “for now” vs. change the file so it persistently has the shorter lines.

Neil Schipper

@ekopalypse said in Horizontal line question:

but this does not do it automatically when you edit text

Right. Maybe Jill will clarify that aspect of what she wants.

JillPlaysMC

@neil-schipper As for steps 3 and 4, what do you mean by select some or all lines, and what does split lines do?

Neil Schipper

@jillplaysmc
Selecting is when you hold down Shift and cursor around or click-and-drag around. Selected text gets differently colored, and can then be copied (Ctrl-c) or cut (Ctrl-x) or undergo other operations.

So, select a bunch of lines, issue Ctrl-i and see if you are happy with the result.

Play around a lot. As you try different things you can issue undo (ctrl-z) commands to get back to where you were.