Editing Notepad++

{{short description|Text editor and source code editor for Windows}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2019}}
{{Infobox software
| name = Notepad++
| logo = Notepad++ Logo.svg
| logo size = 125px
| screenshot = Notepad++ v7 on Windows 10, with MediaWiki 1.27.1 source code, with split window view and autocompletion.png
| screenshot size = 300px
| caption = Notepad++ v7 on [[Windows 10]], depicting [[MediaWiki]] 1.27.1 source code
| developer = Don Ho
| released = {{start date and age|2003|11|24|df=yes}}
| latest release version = {{wikidata|property|edit|reference|Q2033|P348|P548=Q2804309}}
| latest release date = {{start date and age|{{wikidata|qualifier|Q2033|P348|P548=Q2804309|P577}}}}
| programming language = [[C++]]
| operating system = [[Microsoft Windows|Windows]]<ref>{{cite web|url=https://github.com/notepad-plus-plus/notepad-plus-plus/blob/master/SUPPORTED_SYSTEM.md|title=Supported OS Table|website=GitHub|date=28 November 2021}}</ref>
| platform = [[IA-32]], [[x86-64]], [[AArch64]]
| language count = 90
| language = Afrikaans, Albanian, Arabic, Aragonese, Aranese, Azerbaijani, Basque, Belarusian, Bengali, Bosnian, Brazilian portuguese, Breton, Bulgarian, Catalan, Chinese Traditional, Chinese Simplified, Corsican, Croatian, Czech, Danish, Dutch, English, Esperanto, Estonian, Extremaduran, Persian, Finnish, French, Friulian, Galician, Georgian, German, Greek, Gujarati, Hebrew, Hindi, Hungarian, Indonesian, Irish, Italian, Japanese, Kabyle, Kannada, Kazakh, Korean, Kurdish, Kyrgyz, Latvian, Ligurian, Lithuanian, Luxembourgish, Macedonian, Malay, Marathi, Mongolian, Norwegian, Nynorsk, Occitan, Piglatin, Polish, Portuguese, Punjabi, Romanian, Russian, Samogitian, Sardinian, Serbian, Serbian Cyrillic, Sinhala, Slovak, Slovenian, Spanish, Spanish Argentinian, Swedish, Tagalog, Tajik Cyrillic, Tamil, Tatar, Telugu, Thai, Turkish, Ukrainian, Urdu, Uyghur, Uzbek, Uzbek Cyrillic, Venetian, Vietnamese, Welsh, Zulu
| genre = [[Source code editor]]
| license = 2021:{{efn|GPL-3.0-or-later since version 7.9.3.}} [[GNU General Public License|GPL 3.0 or later]]<ref>{{Cite web|title=Notepad++ 7.9.3 release|url=https://notepad-plus-plus.org/downloads/v7.9.3/|date=2021-02-15|website=notepad-plus-plus.org|language=en}}</ref><br/>2003:{{efn|GPL-2.0-or-later from version 1.0 to 7.9.2.}} [[GNU General Public License|GPL 2.0 or later]]<ref>{{cite web |title=Upgrade Notepad++ License|url=https://github.com/notepad-plus-plus/notepad-plus-plus/commit/ab5c1d3e2a9718a3cc365c1e44bfae09bb7355bc |date=2021-01-24 |website=GitHub |language=en}}</ref>
| website = {{URL|notepad-plus-plus.org}}
}}

{{distinguish|Notepad+|Windows Notepad}}'''Notepad++''' (sometimes '''npp''' or '''NPP''') is a [[text editor|text]] and [[source code editor]] for use with [[Microsoft Windows]]. It supports [[Tab (GUI)|tabbed]] editing, which allows working with multiple open files in one window. The program's name comes from the [[C (programming language)|C]] postfix [[increment operator]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Notepad++the most useful plugins for developer (npp) |website=Dirask.com |date=30 March 2021<!--from page source--> |url=https://dirask.com/posts/Notepad-the-most-useful-plugins-for-developer-npp-jEL2rp}}</ref>

Notepad++ is released as [[free and open-source software]] under a [[GNU General Public License]] (GPL) 3.0 or later. At first, the project was [[Web hosting service|hosted]] on the [[SourceForge]] [[software repository]] (2003–2010), from where it was downloaded over 28 million times,<ref>{{cite web |title=SourceForge.net: Project Statistics for Notepad++ |work=[[SourceForge.net]] |url=http://sourceforge.net/project/stats/detail.php?group_id=95717&ugn=notepad-plus&type=prdownload&mode=alltime&package_id=0 |access-date=2 April 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite web
|url= http://sourceforge.net/top/topalltime.php?type=downloads
|title= Top Downloads - For all time, updated daily
|access-date= 18 April 2011
|publisher= [[SourceForge]]
}}</ref> and twice won the SourceForge Community Choice Award for Best Developer Tool.<ref>{{cite web
|url= http://sourceforge.net/community/cca09/winners/
|title= SourceForge's 4th Annual Community Choice Awards
|access-date= 1 October 2009
|publisher= [[SourceForge]]
|archive-date= 19 September 2009
|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20090919045650/http://sourceforge.net/community/cca09/winners/
|url-status= dead
}}</ref> Then, the project moved to TuxFamily (2010–2015), and then to [[GitHub]] (2015–present).<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://notepad-plus-plus.org/news/notepad-plus-plus-on-github.html|title=Notepad++ on GitHub|website=notepad-plus-plus.org|access-date=2 June 2016|archive-date=1 July 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160701052506/https://notepad-plus-plus.org/news/notepad-plus-plus-on-github.html|url-status=dead}}</ref> Notepad++ uses the [[Scintilla (software)|Scintilla editor component]].

==History==
Notepad++ development began in September 2003 by Don Ho, a former [[Paris Diderot University]] [[computer science]] student.<ref name="theinitialcommit/don-ho"/><ref>{{cite web |last1=HO |first1=Don |title=CV |url=https://donho.github.io/ |website=donho.github.io}}</ref><ref name="LH2015AU">{{cite web|url=http://www.lifehacker.com.au/2015/06/behind-the-app-the-story-of-notepad/|title=Behind The App: The Story Of Notepad++|first=Andy|last=Orin|date=18 June 2015|publisher=Lifehacker Australia}}</ref> Ho first used JEXT (a [[Java (programming language)|Java]]-based text editor)<ref name="jext.org">{{cite web |title=Jext - Free Software (Logiciel Libre) Source Code Editor |url=http://www.jext.org/ |website=jext.org |access-date=24 July 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080901083056/http://www.jext.org/ |archive-date=1 September 2008 |url-status=usurped |date=1 September 2008}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=Guy |first1=Romain |title=jext |url=https://github.com/romainguy/jext |website=romainguy |publisher=github |access-date=24 July 2024 |date=8 February 2024}}</ref> at his company but, dissatisfied with its poor performance, he began to develop a text editor written in [[C++]] with [[Scintilla (editing component)|Scintilla]].<ref name="LH2015AU"/> He developed it in his spare time since the idea was rejected by his company.<ref name="LH2015AU"/> Notepad++ was built as a Microsoft Windows application; the author considered, but rejected, the idea of using [[wxWidgets]] to [[Porting|port]] it to the [[macOS|Mac OS X]] and [[Unix]] platforms.<ref name="LH2015AU"/>

Notepad++ was first released on [[SourceForge]] on 25 November 2003, as a Windows-only application.<ref name="theinitialcommit/don-ho">{{cite news |last1=Long |first1=Maddison |date=30 May 2017 |title=An Interview With Notepad++ Creator Don Ho |url=https://theinitialcommit.com/2017/05/30/don-ho/ |website=_theInitialCommit |access-date=24 July 2024 |language=en}}</ref> It is based on the [[Scintilla (editing component)|Scintilla editor component]], and is written in [[C++]] with only Windows API ([[Win32]]) application programming interface ([[API]]) calls using only the [[Standard Template Library]] (STL) to increase performance and reduce program size.<ref name="Features" /><ref>{{cite web|url=http://news.filehippo.com/2015/06/notepad-is-changing-code-and-changing-the-world/|title=Notepad++ Is Changing Code And Changing The World|first=Arianna|last=Gael|date=24 June 2015|publisher=Filehippo}}</ref>

In January 2010 the US government obliged US-based [[open source]] project hosts to deny access from Cuba, Iran, North Korea, Sudan, and Syria to comply with U.S. law.<ref>{{cite web|title=Clarifying SourceForge.net's denial of site access for certain persons in accordance with US law|url=https://sourceforge.net/blog/clarifying-sourceforgenets-denial-of-site-access-for-certain-persons-in-accordance-with-us-law/|website=SourceForge.net|publisher=Slashdot Media|date=25 January 2010}}</ref> As a response to what the developer felt was a violation of the [[free and open-source software]] (FOSS) philosophy, in June 2010 Notepad++ moved out of US territorial jurisdiction by releasing a version on TuxFamily, in France. Some community services of Notepad++ (such as the forums and bug tracker) remained on SourceForge until 2015 when Notepad++ left SourceForge completely.<ref name="new-site-notepad-plus-plus.org">{{cite web|url=http://notepad-plus-plus.org/news/notepad-new-site-notepad-plus-plus.org.html|title=Notepad++ hosted on new website|publisher=Notepad++|date=6 June 2010|access-date=11 January 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140419073303/http://notepad-plus-plus.org/news/notepad-new-site-notepad-plus-plus.org.html|archive-date=19 April 2014|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://notepad-plus-plus.org/news/notepad-5.7-release-(outside-the-usa).html|title=Notepad++ 5.7 released on French servers|publisher=Notepad++|date=5 July 2010|access-date=11 January 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120125053654/http://notepad-plus-plus.org/news/notepad-5.7-release-(outside-the-usa).html|archive-date=25 January 2012|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name=":0">{{Cite web|url=https://notepad-plus-plus.org/news/notepad-plus-plus-leaves-sf.html|title=Notepad++ leaves SourceForge|website=notepad-plus-plus.org|access-date=2 June 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160701060335/https://notepad-plus-plus.org/news/notepad-plus-plus-leaves-sf.html|archive-date=1 July 2016|url-status=dead}}</ref>

In 2011 ''[[Lifehacker]]'' described Notepad++ as "The Best Programming Text Editor for Windows", stating that "if you prefer a simple, lightweight, and extensible programming plain-text editor, our first choice is the free, open-source Notepad++".<ref name="lh2011">{{cite web|url=http://lifehacker.com/5818674/the-best-programming-text-editor-for-windows|title=The Best Programming Text Editor for Windows|first=Adam|last=Pash|date=6 July 2011|publisher=[[Lifehacker]]}}</ref> ''Lifehacker'' criticized its [[user interface]], stating that "It is, in fact, fairly ugly. Luckily you can do a lot to customize its looks, and what it lacks in polish, it makes up for in functionality".<ref name="lh2011"/>

In 2014 ''Lifehacker'' readers voted Notepad++ as the "Most Popular Text Editor", with 40% of the 16,294 respondents specifying it as their most-loved editor.<ref name="LH2014">{{cite web|url=http://lifehacker.com/five-best-text-editors-1564907215/1567287033|title=Most Popular Text Editor: Notepad++|publisher=[[Lifehacker]]|date=24 April 2014|first=Alan|last=Henry}}</ref> The Lifehacker team summarized the program as being "fast, flexible, feature-packed, and completely free".<ref name="LH2014"/>

In 2015 [[Stack Overflow]] conducted a worldwide Developer Survey, and Notepad++ was voted as the most used [[text editor]] worldwide with 34.7% of the 26,086 respondents claiming to use it daily.<ref name="so2015ds">{{cite web|url=https://insights.stackoverflow.com/survey/2015#tech-editor |title=Stack Overflow Developer Survey 2015}}</ref> Stack Overflow noted that "The more things change, the more likely it is those things are written in [[JavaScript]] with NotePad++ on a Windows machine".<ref name="so2015ds"/> The 2016 survey had Notepad++ at 35.6%.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://survey.stackoverflow.co/2016#technology-development-environments |title=Stack Overflow Developer Survey 2016 Results |date=18 March 2016 |url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160318113033/http://stackoverflow.com/research/developer-survey-2016#technology-development-environments |archive-date=18 March 2016}}</ref>

In 2015, in response to the [[SourceForge#Adware_controversy|staff hijacking of projects hosted on SourceForge]], Notepad++ left SourceForge completely with the forums being moved to NodeBB and the bug tracker to [[GitHub]].<ref name=":0" /><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://notepad-plus-plus.org/news/new-notepad-plus-plus-community.html|title=Notepad++ Community|website=notepad-plus-plus.org|access-date=2 June 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160701055852/https://notepad-plus-plus.org/news/new-notepad-plus-plus-community.html|archive-date=1 July 2016|url-status=dead}}</ref> In 2019, the website, ''notepad-plus-plus.org'', moved to [[Hostinger]].<ref>{{cite web |last1=C |first1=Damien |title=Notepad++: Why the World’s Best Software Will Always Be Free |url=https://www.hostinger.com/blog/notepad |website=Hostinger Blog |access-date=24 July 2024 |date=17 November 2022}}</ref><ref name=":0"/><ref name="new-site-notepad-plus-plus.org"/>

== Features ==
Notepad++ is a [[source code editor]]. It features [[syntax highlighting]], [[code folding]] and limited [[autocompletion]] for [[Programming language|programming]], [[Scripting language|scripting]], and [[markup language]]s, but not [[intelligent code completion]] or syntax checking. As such, it may properly highlight code written in a supported scheme, but whether the syntax is internally sound or compilable, cannot be verified.<ref name="so2015ds"/><ref name="udf">{{cite web |url= http://docs.notepad-plus-plus.org/index.php?title=User_Defined_Language_Files |title=User Defined Language Files |work=notepad-plus-plus.org |access-date=10 November 2015 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20161223212433/http://docs.notepad-plus-plus.org/index.php?title=User_Defined_Language_Files |archive-date=23 December 2016 |url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=DeCarlo |first=Matthew |title=Download of the Week: Notepad++ |website=TechSpot |date=26 May 2009 |url= http://www.techspot.com/news/34846-Download-of-the-Week-Notepad.html |access-date=1 October 2009}}</ref><ref name="Features">{{cite web |url=https://notepad-plus-plus.org/features/ |title=Notepad++ Features |publisher=notepad-plus-plus.org |access-date=10 November 2015 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20130624005854/http://notepad-plus-plus.org/features/ |archive-date=24 June 2013 |url-status=dead}}</ref> As of version 7.6.3, Notepad++ can highlight the elements of 78 syntaxes:
{{div col|colwidth=10em}}
*[[ActionScript]]
*[[Ada (programming language)|Ada]]
*[[ASN.1]]
*[[Active Server Pages|ASP]]
*[[Assembly language|Assembly]]
*[[AutoIt]]
*[[AviSynth]] scripts
*BaanC
*[[batch file]]s
*[[Blitz Basic]]
*[[C (programming language)|C]]
*[[C Sharp (programming language)|C#]]
*[[C++]]
*[[Caml]]
*[[CMake]]
*[[Cobol]]
*[[CoffeeScript]]
*[[Csound]]
*[[CSS]]
*[[D (programming language)|D]]
*[[Diff]]
*[[Erlang (programming language)|Erlang]]
*[[escript]]
*[[Forth (programming language)|Forth]]
*[[Fortran]]
*[[FreeBASIC]]
*Gui4Cli
*[[Haskell]]
*[[HTML]]
*[[INI file]]s
*[[Intel HEX]]
*[[Inno Setup]] scripts
*[[Java (programming language)|Java]]
*[[JavaScript]]
*[[JSON]]
*[[JavaServer Pages|JSP]]
*[[KiXtart]]
*[[LaTeX]]
*[[Lisp (programming language)|Lisp]]
*[[Lua (programming language)|Lua]]
*[[Makefile]]
*[[MATLAB]]
*[[MMIX]]
*[[Nim (programming language)|Nim]]
*nnCron
*[[NSIS (installer)|NSIS]] scripts
*[[Objective-C]]
*OScript
*[[Pascal (programming language)|Pascal]]
*[[Perl]]
*[[PHP]]
*[[PostScript]]
*[[PowerShell]] (Broken)
*[[PureBasic]]
*[[Python (programming language)|Python]]
*[[R (programming language)|R]]
*[[Rebol]]
*[[.reg|Registry script (.reg)]]
*[[Resource (Windows)|Resource file]]
*[[Ruby (programming language)|Ruby]]
*[[Rust (programming language)|Rust]]
*[[Scheme (programming language)|Scheme]]
*[[Bash (Unix shell)|Shell script]]
*[[Smalltalk]]
*[[SPICE]]
*[[SQL]]
*[[Swift (programming language)|Swift]]
*[[SREC (file format)|S-Record]]
*[[Tcl]]
*[[Tektronix HEX]]
*[[TeX]]
*[[txt2tags]]
*[[TypeScript]]
*[[Visual Basic]]
*[[Visual Prolog]]
*[[VHDL]]
*[[Verilog]]
*[[XML]]
*[[YAML]]
{{div col end}}
The language list also displays two special-case items for ordinary [[plain text]]: "Normal text" (default)  or "[[MS-DOS]] Style", which tries to emulate [[DOS]]-era text editors.

Notepad++ has features to consume and create [[Cross-platform software|cross-platform]] [[plain text]] files. It recognizes three [[Newline#Representation|newline representations]] ({{mono|CR}}, {{mono|CR+LF}}, and {{mono|LF}}) and can convert between them on the fly. In addition, it supports reinterpreting plain text files in various [[character encoding]]s and can convert them to [[ASCII]], [[UTF-8]] or [[UCS-2]]. As such, it can fix plain text that seem gibberish only because [[Bush hid the facts|their character encoding is not properly detected]].

Notepad++ also has features that improve plain text editing experience in general, such as:
* [[Autosave]]
* Finding and replacing strings of text with [[regular expression]]s
* Searching text strings within opened tabs
* Searching text strings in a directory
* Guided indentation
* Line bookmarking
* [[Macro (computer science)|Macros]]
* [[Simultaneous editing]]<ref>{{cite web|url=https://notepad-plus-plus.org/features/multi-editing.html|title=Notepad++ Multi-editing|access-date=17 June 2016|archive-date=9 August 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160809222901/https://notepad-plus-plus.org/features/multi-editing.html|url-status=dead}}</ref>
* [[Split screen (computer graphics)|Split screen]] editing and synchronized scrolling
* Line operations, including sorting, case conversion (Uppercase, lowercase, camel case, sentence case), and removal of redundant whitespace
* [[Tabbed document interface]]<ref>{{cite news |last=Fox |first=Geoff |title=Notepad++ Does It Again Again |work=AppScout |publisher=[[Ziff Davis Media]] |date=7 July 2008 |url=http://www.appscout.com/2008/07/notepad_does_it_again_again.php |access-date=1 October 2009 |archive-date=6 September 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100906040510/http://www.appscout.com/2008/07/notepad_does_it_again_again.php |url-status=dead}}</ref>

=== Plugins ===
Notepad++ has support for [[Macro (computer science)|macros]] and [[Plug-in (computing)|plugins]],<ref>{{cite news
 |last1=Smith
 |first1=Tim
 |date=21 September 2009
 |url=http://www.computeractive.co.uk/computeractive/downloads/2196837/notepad
 |title=Notepad++ 5.5
 |access-date=1 October 2009
 |publisher=[[Computeractive]]
 |url-status=dead
 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090719155339/http://www.computeractive.co.uk/computeractive/downloads/2196837/notepad
 |archive-date=19 July 2009
}}</ref> and has been remarked for its robust plugin architecture which enabled various new features to be integrated into the program.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.itworld.com/article/2833295/open-source-tools/tools-we-love--notepad--.html |title=Tools we love: Notepad++ |first=Matthew |last=Mombrea |publisher=ITWorld Magazine |date=15 November 2013 |access-date=18 February 2016 |archive-date=7 January 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190107233407/https://www.itworld.com/article/2833295/open-source-tools/tools-we-love--notepad--.html |url-status=dead}}</ref> Currently, over 140 compatible plugins are developed for Notepad++, 10 of which are included by default in the program.<ref name="download">{{cite web |url=http://notepad-plus.sourceforge.net/uk/download.php |title=Notepad++ |publisher=sourceforge.net}}</ref> The first plugin to be included in the program was ''"TextFX"'', which includes W3C validation for HTML and CSS, text sorting, character case alteration and quote handling.<ref name="textfx">{{cite web |title=TextFX's_Future |url=http://docs.notepad-plus-plus.org/index.php/TextFX's_Future |work=SourceForge |access-date=8 March 2022 |archive-date=27 January 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190127001612/http://docs.notepad-plus-plus.org/index.php/TextFX%27s_Future |url-status=dead}}</ref>

=== Internationalization ===
Notepad++ supports internationalization through XML files in an application-specific format containing all internationalized strings (dialog captions, menu titles and items, etc.) in a certain language; this file can be reloaded from the application settings. Translations to new languages can thus be written by simply editing an existing file.

== Political messaging ==
Notepad++ is notable for being vocal in politics, particularly in [[human rights]] and [[opposition to war]].

In March 2008, the "[[Concerns and controversies over the 2008 Summer Olympics#Boycotts|Boycott Beijing 2008]]" banner was placed on Notepad++'s SourceForge.net homepage.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://notepad-plus.sourceforge.net/uk/site.htm |title=About Notepad++ |access-date=20 October 2011 |url-status=unfit |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080326203742/http://notepad-plus.sourceforge.net/uk/site.htm |archive-date=26 March 2008}}</ref> A few months later most users in China were unable to reach the SourceForge.net website from 26 June to 24 July 2008. This led to the widespread belief that China had banned SourceForge.net in retaliation for the Boycott banner.<ref name="moonblog">[http://www.moon-blog.com/2008/06/sourceforge-blocked-in-china.html SourceForge Blocked In China]. Moonlight Blog. 26 June 2008.</ref><ref>[http://www.moon-blog.com/2008/07/sourceforge-unblocked-in-china.html SourceForge Unblocked in China]. Moonlight Blog. 24 July 2008.</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.gamedev.net/community/forums/topic.asp?topic_id=500647|title=Sourceforge.net was blocked in China|work=GameDev.net}}</ref>

In January 2015, the Notepad++ website was [[Hacker|hacked]] by activists from the Fallaga Team who objected to an Easter egg endorsing [[Je suis Charlie]].<ref>{{cite news |last=Kovacs |first=Eduard |date=15 January 2015 |title=Notepad++ Site Hacked in Response to "Je suis Charlie" Edition |url=http://www.securityweek.com/notepad-site-hacked-response-%E2%80%9Cje-suis-charlie%E2%80%9D-edition |newspaper=SecurityWeek |access-date=24 March 2017 |archive-date=21 January 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150121063445/http://www.securityweek.com/notepad-site-hacked-response-%E2%80%9Cje-suis-charlie%E2%80%9D-edition |url-status=dead}}</ref> The Fallaga Team has been linked to [[Islamic State|ISIL]] and is also believed to be responsible for the 2017 hacking of websites of the British [[National Health Service]].<ref>{{cite news |url= https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/crime/isis-islamist-hackers-nhs-websites-cyber-attack-syrian-civil-war-images-islamic-state-a7567236.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220621/https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/crime/isis-islamist-hackers-nhs-websites-cyber-attack-syrian-civil-war-images-islamic-state-a7567236.html |archive-date=21 June 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live |title=Isis-linked hackers attack NHS websites to show gruesome Syrian civil war images |first=Kim |last=Sengupta |date=7 February 2017 |work=The Independent |location=London |access-date=24 July 2017}}</ref>

In October 2019, Notepad++ released a version codenamed "[[Xinjiang internment camps|Free Uyghur]]" (v7.8.1). In the release notice, the author expressed concern that hundreds of thousands of Uyghurs have been "subjected to political indoctrination, and sometimes even torture" in the [[Xinjiang re-education camp]]. He called for "additional pressure on the Chinese government to stop their oppressive actions and crimes concerning the Uyghur people".<ref>{{cite web |last1=Ho |first1=Don |title=News - Notepad++ v7.8.1 : Free Uyghur |url=https://notepad-plus-plus.org/news/v781-free-uyghur-edition/ |website=Notepad++ |access-date=13 November 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191030062121/https://notepad-plus-plus.org/news/v781-free-uyghur-edition/ |archive-date=30 October 2019 |url-status=dead}}</ref> The software's dedicated site came under a [[distributed-denial-of-service]] attack and its [[GitHub]] issue page was bombarded with nationalistic rhetoric, though it later recovered after being moved behind [[Cloudflare]]'s anti-DDoS service.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://twitter.com/Notepad_plus/status/1189155537977532416 |title=Notepad++ on Twitter |date=29 October 2019 |work=Twitter |access-date=31 October 2019}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.zdnet.com/article/chinese-users-attack-notepad-app-after-free-uyghur-release/ |title=Chinese users attack Notepad++ app after 'Free Uyghur' release |first=Catalin |last=Cimpanu |date=30 October 2019 |work=ZDNet |access-date=31 October 2019}}</ref>

In July 2020, Notepad++ released a version codenamed "[[2019–2020 Hong Kong protests|Stand with Hong Kong]]" (v7.8.9). In the release notice, the author expressed his concern about the Chinese government implementation of the [[2020 Hong Kong national security law|National Security Law]] in Hong Kong.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Notepad++ v7.8.9 : Stand with Hong Kong|url=https://notepad-plus-plus.org/news/v789-stand-with-hong-kong/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200717173254/https://notepad-plus-plus.org/news/v789-stand-with-hong-kong/|archive-date=2020-07-17|date=2020-07-16|language=en|url-status=live |access-date=2020-07-18}}</ref> In retaliation, mainland Chinese browsers developed by [[Tencent]] ([[QQ Browser]] and [[WeChat]]'s built-in browser), [[Alibaba Group|Alibaba]] ([[UC Browser]]), [[360 Secure Browser|360]] and [[Sogou]] started blocking the official site's ''Download'' page, but not other pages.<ref>{{Cite news |last1=Liao |first1=Rita |date=17 August 2020 |title=Text editor Notepad++ banned in China after 'Stand With Hong Kong' update |url=https://techcrunch.com/2020/08/17/notepad-plus-plus-blocked-in-china/ |access-date=2020-08-17 |website=TechCrunch |language=en-US}}</ref>

In early and mid-February 2022, Notepad++ released a version codenamed "[[Concerns and controversies at the 2022 Winter Olympics|Boycott Beijing 2022]]" (v8.3) and (v8.3.1). In the release notice, the author expressed his concern about [[human rights in China]], especially for [[Uyghurs]] and [[Hongkongers]]. He suggest his audience "not watch or pay attention to the games".<ref>{{Cite web|title=Notepad++ 8.3 - Boycott Beijing 2022
|url=https://notepad-plus-plus.org/news/v83-boycott-beijing-2022/|access-date=2022-02-04|website=Notepad++ Official website|language=en-US|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220204000912/https://notepad-plus-plus.org/news/v83-boycott-beijing-2022/|archive-date=2022-02-04|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=Notepad++ 8.3.1 - Boycott Beijing 2022|url=https://notepad-plus-plus.org/news/v831-boycott-beijing-2022/|access-date=2022-02-16|website=Notepad++ Official website|language=en-US|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220216041002/https://notepad-plus-plus.org/news/v831-boycott-beijing-2022/|archive-date=2022-02-16|url-status=live}}</ref>

In late February 2022, Notepad++ released a version codenamed "Declare variables, not war" (v8.3.2). In the release notice, the author condemned the [[Russian invasion of Ukraine]] and called for support for [[Ukraine]].<ref>{{Cite web|title=Notepad++ 8.3.2 - Declare variables, not war|url=https://notepad-plus-plus.org/news/v832-declare-variables-not-war/|access-date=2022-02-27|website=Notepad++ Official website|language=en-US|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220227162251/https://notepad-plus-plus.org/news/v832-declare-variables-not-war/|archive-date=27 February 2022|url-status=live}}</ref> In March 2022, Notepad++ released a version codenamed "[[Make love, not war|Make Apps, not war]]" (v8.3.3). The author continued to express his views on the Russian invasion of Ukraine.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Notepad++ 8.3.3 - Make Apps, not war|url=https://notepad-plus-plus.org/news/v833-make-apps-not-war/|access-date=2022-03-15|website=Notepad++ Official website|language=en-US|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220315012226/https://notepad-plus-plus.org/news/v833-make-apps-not-war/|archive-date=15 March 2022|url-status=live}}</ref>

In summer of 2024, Notepad++ released updates supporting [[Taiwan]], including "Support Taiwan's Sovereignty" (v8.6.8),<ref>{{Cite web |title=Notepad++ v8.6.8: Support Taiwan's Sovereignty {{!}} Notepad++ |url=https://notepad-plus-plus.org/downloads/v8.6.8/ |access-date=2025-05-13 |website=notepad-plus-plus.org}}</ref> "Support [[Taiwan independence movement|Taiwan's Independence]]" (v8.6.9),<ref>{{Cite web |title=Notepad++ v8.6.9: Support Taiwan's Independence {{!}} Notepad++ |url=https://notepad-plus-plus.org/downloads/v8.6.9/ |access-date=2025-05-13 |website=notepad-plus-plus.org}}</ref> and "Support Taiwan's return to the [[United Nations|UN]]" (v8.7).<ref>{{Cite web |title=Notepad++ v8.7: Support Taiwan's return to the UN {{!}} Notepad++ |url=https://notepad-plus-plus.org/downloads/v8.7/ |access-date=2025-05-13 |website=notepad-plus-plus.org}}</ref>

In November 2024, Notepad++ showed support for Ukraine again, with a release titled "in a world of [[Elon Musk|Elon]], be a [[Volodymyr Zelenskyy|Zelensky]]" (v8.7.2),<ref>{{Cite web |title=Notepad++ 8.7.2: in a world of Elon, be a Zelensky {{!}} Notepad++ |url=https://notepad-plus-plus.org/downloads/v8.7.2/ |access-date=2025-05-13 |website=notepad-plus-plus.org}}</ref> and another criticism of Elon Musk with "leaving [[Twitter|X]] for [[Bluesky]]" (8.7.3).<ref>{{Cite web |title=Notepad++ 8.7.3: leaving X for Bluesky {{!}} Notepad++ |url=https://notepad-plus-plus.org/downloads/v8.7.3/ |access-date=2025-05-13 |website=notepad-plus-plus.org}}</ref>

== See also ==
{{Portal|Free and open-source software}}
* [[Comparison of text editors]]
* [[List of text editors]]

== Notes ==
{{Notelist}}

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

== External links ==
{{Commons category}}
* {{Official website}}

{{HTML editors}}

[[Category:2003 software]]
[[Category:Free HTML editors]]
[[Category:Software that uses Scintilla]]
[[Category:Software using the GNU General Public License]]
[[Category:Windows text editors]]
[[Category:Windows-only free software]]
[[Category:Free text editors]]
[[Category:Free software programmed in C++]]
[[Category:Notepad replacements]]