Notepad++ is a free, open-source text editor that supports syntax highlighting, code checking, and auto-completion. Compared to Windows Notepad, it offers:

• Support for over 80 programming languages
• Multi-tabbed editing interface
• Regular expression search/replace functionality
• Expandable via plugins
• Customizable themes and keyboard shortcuts

Notepad++ is completely free and ad-free. There is no official paid version, but donations are accepted to support development. Always download from the official website to avoid bundled software from third-party platforms.

1. Open Notepad++, click the Plugins → Plugin Manager → Show Plugin Manager menu item
2. Select the plugins you want to install (e.g., NppFTP, Compare)
3. Click Install, then restart Notepad++ for changes to take effect

If the Plugin Manager is not available, you can manually download .dll files and place them in the Notepad++\plugins\ directory.

1. Open Settings → Preferences → New Document/Default Directory
2. Set Encoding to UTF-8 or ANSI (depending on the file type)
3. Check Apply to opened ANSI files and UTF-8 without BOM

1. Press Ctrl + Shift + F to open the Find in Files dialog
2. Enter the text you want to find/replace
3. Select the file path in the Directory and set the file type (e.g., *.txt)
4. Click Replace All

In the Find/Replace dialog, check the Regular Expression option. Notepad++ supports standard regular expression syntax, such as:

• \d: Matches digits
• .*: Matches any character
• ^: Line start
• $: Line end

• Column selection mode: Hold down the Alt key and drag the mouse to select a rectangular area for editing
• Multi-cursor editing: Hold down Ctrl + Alt and click the mouse to add multiple cursors for simultaneous input

Yes. You can click the +/- symbol in the margin to collapse or expand a code block. You can also use the View → Code Folding menu.

Notepad++ automatically saves temporary files. Click File → Recover Last Closed File or press Ctrl + Shift + T to try to recover. If automatic saving is not enabled, you can check the backup files in %APPDATA%\Notepad++\backup\.

1. Open Settings → Keyboard Mapper
2. In the Functions or Commands tab, select the action you want to modify
3. Click Modify and enter a new key combination

Go to Run → Run (or press F5), enter the command (e.g., python "$(FULL_CURRENT_PATH)"), click Save, and set a shortcut. For example:

• Python: python "$(FULL_CURRENT_PATH)"
• Java: java "$(NAME_PART)"

Click View → Show Line Numbers or press Ctrl + Shift + L to toggle line number display.

1. Open Settings → Preferences → Backup
2. Check Enable Auto-Save
3. Set the backup interval (recommended: 1-5 minutes)

After installing the Compare plugin:

1. Open the two files you want to compare
2. Click Plugins → Compare → Compare (or press Ctrl + Alt + D)
3. The differences will be highlighted in color.

1. Open Settings → Preferences → Language Format Settings
2. In the Tab Settings, select Spaces or Tab characters
3. Set Indentation Width (usually 2 or 4)

1. Go to Language → User-Defined Language
2. In the User-Defined Language tab, click New
3. Set keywords, comments, and color rules
4. Click Save and Close

• Use Plugins → Large File Tools → Open Large File
• Temporarily disable unnecessary plugins
• Upgrade to a 64-bit version (better performance with large files)
• For very large files (GB level), consider using a dedicated large file editor

1. Right-click a text file → Open With → Choose another application
2. Click Browse and find the Notepad++ installation path (e.g., C:\Program Files\Notepad++\notepad++.exe)
3. Check Always use this application to open .txt files

Click View → Show Symbols → Show Spaces and Tabs. Spaces will be displayed as ·, and tabs as →.

Notepad++ supports Windows (XP and later versions), including both 32-bit and 64-bit versions. It does not natively support macOS or Linux, but can run on Linux via Wine.