Selection of Appropriate NetPad++ and Plug-In Installation

[Ron Zarnick]

Hello,

We are using a Windows PC using Windows 10 Professional (x64). I was advised to use “NotePad++ with the GEDCOM lexer plug-in“ to fix a genealogy software issue. I am not familiar with either.

Would someone please tell me which version of NotePad++ I should download and where I can find instructions to add any plug-in to it.

Thank you,

Ron Zarnick

[PeterJones]

@Ron-Zarnick ,

Download the most recent Notepad++ from the official downloads page at https://notepad-plus-plus.org/downloads/

Once installed, run it an go to Plugins > Plugins Admin, checkmark GEDCOM Lexer plugin, then click Install

[Ron Zarnick]

@PeterJones
Hello Peter,

Thank you for the quick response.

I downloaded and installed the current version as you suggested. I also downloaded the offline user manual. However, I have not found a method to access either one as nothing appears on my desktop for Notepad++. (I am guessing the offline manual can be accessed only through Notepad++)

Should an icon for Notepad++ have been added to the desktop and, if so, what should I do to get it? If not, how do I access Notepad++ without the icon?

Ron

[PeterJones]

@Ron-Zarnick said in Selection of Appropriate NetPad++ and Plug-In Installation:

I downloaded and installed the current version as you suggested. … However, I have not found a method to access either one as nothing appears on my desktop for Notepad++.

If you ran the Notepad++ installer after you downloaded it, then it should be installed. I thought it would put an icon on your Desktop (but it’s been a while since the last time I installed it on a new computer, so maybe it doesn’t do that, or maybe you were able to tell it to not do that). But even if it’s not on your Desktop, it should be available in your Windows Start Menu. [*] You can run it from there. Or right-click on a file and choose Edit with Notepad++. Once you run it, you can pin it to your task bar.

If it’s not anywhere in your Start Menu, then I don’t think you actually ran the installer after downloading it. Go to your browser’s Downloads directory, and run the installer from there.

[*: In Windows 11, it might show up on the main part of the Start Menu, since it’s a new/recently-installed file. If not, click on All in the Start Menu, then scroll down to Notepad++ in the N section. You can Right Click and Pin to Start to get the Notepad++ icon to stay in the main Start Menu area.]

I also downloaded the offline user manual. … I am guessing the offline manual can be accessed only through Notepad++

Nope. The offline user manual is a zipfile (nppUserManual.zip) containing HTML. You unzip it into whatever directory you want, then open the index.html with your favorite browser. It is not integrated with Notepad++ in any way. In Notepad++, the ? menu has a Notepad++ Online User Manual link which goes to the online webpage, but since it has no clue where you unzipped the offline user manual (or even if you have downloaded and unzipped it), and since Notepad++ has no integrated HTML renderer, it doesn’t integrate with it. (You could, of course, use Notepad++ to look at the HTML source of the offline user manual, if you were so inclined, but it wouldn’t be like looking at a webpage in your browser.)