Notepad++ v8.8.5 Release

Vitalii Dovgan

@donho
Looks like the behavior of NPPM_RELOADFILE has been changed in either 8.8.5 or 8.8.4.
Previously, NPPM_RELOADFILE activated the file being reloaded. In 8.8.5, the file is not activated.
Is it intended?

donho

@Vitalii-Dovgan

Looks like the behavior of NPPM_RELOADFILE has been changed in either 8.8.5 or 8.8.4.

I don’t think so.
Here is git blame for the API you’re talking about:

Obviously, the latest changing is the last year. So it was not changed in v8.8.4.
BTW, you’re the only one (AFAICT) who complains this problem.
If you find any issue, you’re welcome to create an issue on GitHub, and ping me - I’ll check it.

Vitalii Dovgan

@donho
Oh my God, you are right!
Looks like NPPM_RELOADFILE has actually never activated the file being reloaded.
The only change introduced in NPPM_RELOADFILE was between 8.6.4 and 8.6.5 where NPPM_RELOADFILE started to return TRUE on success. Previously it was always returning FALSE. And it was NppExec that activated the file when NPPM_RELOADFILE had returned FALSE.
And all this time I’ve been mistakenly thinking that NPPM_RELOADFILE activates the file being reloaded.
Actually, the following code in Notepad_plus::doReload seems to be related to activating the buffer, so I’m not sure what actually happens:

if ( ((currentView() == MAIN_VIEW) && mainVisible) || ((currentView() == SUB_VIEW) && subVisible))
{
	activateBuffer(id, currentView(), true);
}

Lycan Thrope

@donho ,
Quick question. Did 8.8.5 update get triggered? I’ve been checking to see if my Standard install can be updated and it keeps saying there is no update, so did it get delayed, or am I missing something?

Anurag Vaste

@Lycan-Thrope , No it wont be auto triggered, yet.

If there is a new version available, it may not have been triggered for auto-update yet. In order to avoid to spreading a new version which contains regressions or critical bugs, we wait for users’ feedback before triggering the auto-update, often one to two weeks. If a critical bug or regression is found, the auto-update will not be triggered for that release. On the other hand, after a reasonable delay, if we are confident there are no critical issues, the auto-update will be triggered. This safety delay prevents bad bugs or regressions from being widely spread throughout the Notepad++ user-base, limiting the exposure to those users who are watching for release announcements and are willing to manually upgrade Notepad++.

This is mentioned here: https://npp-user-manual.org/docs/upgrading/#new-version-available-but-auto-updater-find-nothing

donho

@Vitalii-Dovgan said in Notepad++ v8.8.5 Release:

Actually, the following code in Notepad_plus::doReload seems to be related to activating the buffer, so I’m not sure what actually happens:

if ( ((currentView() == MAIN_VIEW) && mainVisible) || ((currentView() == SUB_VIEW) && subVisible))
{
activateBuffer(id, currentView(), true);
}

What happen is exactly as its comment:

	// Once reload is complete, activate buffer which will take care of
	// many settings such as update status bar, clickable link etc.

:)

donho

@Lycan-Thrope said in Notepad++ v8.8.5 Release:

Quick question. Did 8.8.5 update get triggered? I’ve been checking to see if my Standard install can be updated and it keeps saying there is no update, so did it get delayed, or am I missing something?

Oups! I forgot it!
Thank you for your heads up. It’s triggered now.

Lycan Thrope

@donho ,
You’re welcome and thanks to you too.
I saw it’s been about a month since the annoucement and I realize, unless you find a showstopper, usually 2 weeks later it’s update triggered, and I didn’t see any discussions of showstoppers, which is why I asked. :-)

I got it updated since I check before I go to bed. :-)

hdtythgd sgxgxvb

@donho
When file backup is enabled, is it possible to add a comment to the beginning of the backup file in the form of information about the file: name, path, date of modification of the source file?
For example, the contents of the file test.txt.2025-09-17_152112.bak after saving:

/*

Name: test.txt
Path: D:/user/test/
Date of saving: 2025-09-15 21:54:33
Date of change: 2025-09-17 15:21:12
*/

File Contents…

PeterJones

@hdtythgd-sgxgxvb ,

The “Notepad++ vX.Y.Z Release” topics in the Announcements section isn’t the place for feature requests; these discussions are focused on reporting regressions (things that used to work but don’t work in a new version, or new features that were added in X.Y.Z that are broken immediately).

If you want @donho to see a feature request, you should go to the GitHub repository issues tracker and make your request there. If you want to talk it over with the Notepad++ community here first, then you can post in Help Wanted or General Discussion, where the fellow Notepad++ users can help give you advice, and help flesh out the idea before you put in the feature request. (See our FAQ about feature requests.)

(Personally, I disagree with your feature request: the backup files should be an exact copy of the file, otherwise it’s not a backup. The name and path and date-of-save are literally stored in the name of the backup file, so there’s no reason to put that information in the file contents as well. But this isn’t the right location for such discussions.)

hdtythgd sgxgxvb

@PeterJones
Thanks.