Notepad++ 8.8.7 "select and search next/previous (Ctrl-F3 / Ctrl-Maj-F3) don't work anymore

MM tsuchi

Hi Don ho and devloppers,
Notepad++ 8.8.7 "select and search next/previous (Ctrl-F3 / Ctrl-Maj-F3) don’t work anymore, neither with menu or shortcut keys.

Neither with no plugin (notepad++ -noPlugin).

Kindest regards.

Notepad++ v8.8.7   (64-bit)
Build time: Oct 19 2025 - 16:19:15
Scintilla/Lexilla included: 5.5.7/5.4.5
Boost Regex included: 1_85
Path: C:\Program Files\Notepad++\notepad++.exe
Command Line: 
Admin mode: OFF
Local Conf mode: OFF
Cloud Config: OFF
Periodic Backup: ON
Placeholders: OFF
Scintilla Rendering Mode: SC_TECHNOLOGY_DEFAULT (0)
Multi-instance Mode: monoInst
asNotepad: OFF
File Status Auto-Detection: cdEnabledNew (for current file/tab only)
Dark Mode: OFF
Display Info:
    primary monitor: 1920x1080, scaling 100%
    visible monitors count: 1
    installed Display Class adapters: 
...
OS Name: Windows 10 ... (64-bit)
OS Version: 22H2
OS Build: 19045.6456
Current ANSI codepage: 1252
Plugins: 
    CodeAlignmentNpp (14.1.107)
    ComparePlugin (2.0.2)
    CSVLint (0.4.6.8)
    Explorer (1.9.9)
    LuaScript (0.12)
    mimeTools (3.1)
    NppConverter (4.7)
    NppExport (0.4)
    NppXmlTreeviewPlugin (2)
    PythonScript (2.1)

We really appreciated Notepad++ very much, with custom languages syntax colors, plugins, rectangular selections, Regex search & replace, goto line, monitoring, scriptable and light and free and good quality.
It is ideal for writing programs without the complexity and heavyweight of VScode, Eclipse, Code::blocks…
Moreover, no linux equivalent as good as Notepad++. Some tries : notepadqq…
Very great work

Terry R

@MM-tsuchi said in Notepad++ 8.8.7 "select and search next/previous (Ctrl-F3 / Ctrl-Maj-F3) don't work anymore:

Notepad++ 8.8.7 "select and search next/previous (Ctrl-F3 / Ctrl-Maj-F3) don’t work anymore, neither with menu or shortcut keys.

I can confirm that the newly portable versions of both 8.8.5 and 8.8.7 64bit DO work with the “select and search next/previous” (out of the box).

However my “installed” version of 8.8.7 64bit does not (it has been updated for a couple of years or more). At least it did not until I ticked the option “fill find field with select text” under Settings/Preferences/Searching. Then I went into the 8.8.5 portable version and deselected the “fill find field with select text” but the “select and search next/previous” still worked.

So all I can gather at the moment is that is seems that the “select and search next/previous” process relies on something else (to be enabled/disabled). Nothing in the online manual suggest any other settings need to be set to operate this search mode.

Terry

guy038

Hello, @mm-tsuchi, @terry-r and All,

@mm-tsuchi, The behavior, that you’ve found out, seems definitively a bug , I’m afraid :-((

Let’s test with the beginning of the change.log file, copied in a new tab :

Notepad++ v8.8.7 new features & bug-fixes:

 1. Sign Notepad++ binaries with GlobalSign certificat to fix false-positive alerts.
 2. Fix Monitoring in one view affects selections and position in second view.
 3. Fix Shortcut Mapper memory leak issue.
 4. Enhance Perl FunctionList for class.
 5. Fix pressing Alt or Tab causes controls redrawing problem in UDL dialog.


Notepad++ v8.8.6 new features & bug-fixes:

 1. Add capacity of pasting multiline into Find/Replace fields.
 2. Improve UAC in Notepad++ for seamless elevated operations.
 3. Fix Pin Tab operation being too long with many opened documents.
 4. Add 2 new full-readonly modes via command line argument (-fullReadOnly & -fullReadOnlySavingForbidden).
 5. Add apply/remove read-only for all documents commands.
 6. Column Editor enhancement: GUI input fields now support radix to match the output format.
 7. Add Window dialog "File Modified Time" sorting capacity.
 8. Fix NPPN_CMDLINEPLUGINMSG not working issue & define the pluginMessage usage protocol.
 9. Fix pasting from column mode to multi-selection issue due to different EOL.
10. Add NPPM_GETNPPSETTINGSDIRPATH message to get Notepad++ settings directory path.
11. Enhance SQL function list parser.
12. Fix C# function list not working with comments.
13. Add function list ability for CSS.
14. Allow user to customize max selected chars to auto-fill "Find what" field.
15. Restore undo/redo behaviour in Find/Replace fields after Copy/Paste or Ctrl-F.
16. Fix text corruption issue caused by selection within multibyte characters.
17. Fix DOCTYPE styling in xml and html.
18. Fix double clicking on edit zone border creates a new tab issue.
19. Update cURL in WinGUp (Notepad++ updater) for fixing security issue CVE-2025-5399.

And let’s start with a fresh portable v8.8.7 release of N++. After launching Notepad++.exe for the first time, if you move to the Preferences... > Searching panel, you should see this snapshot :

ba0aed16-e512-4b4d-bf11-8d3cbde6d7b5-Capture d'écran 2025-11-18 103552.png

So, you can verify that, by default, the two options Fill Find Field with Selected Text and Select Word Under Caret when Nothing Selected are checked

In this configuration, no problem at all regarding the Select and Find Next and Select and Find Previous commands which work as expected !

Now, as soon as you unchecked the Fill Find Field with Selected Text option, note that it also unchecks, automatically the Select Word Under Caret when Nothing Selected option and the Max characters to Auto-Fill Find Field from Selection option, as well !

With that new configuration :

Double-clic on the first Add word of the text
Open the Find dialog ( Ctrl + F )

=> The Find what zone should be empty ( logical, because of the settings ! )

Note that the Wrap around option is checked by default and the search mode is set to normal

Type the word Add in the Find what zone
Click once on the Find next button to jump to the next occurrence of the Add word
Close the Find what zone ( Esc )
You can check that the F3 / Shift + F3 shortcuts ( Normal search ) or the Ctrl + Alt + F3 / Ctrl + Shift + Alt + F3 shortcuts ( Volatile search ) work as expected
However, the Select and Find Next and Select and Find Previous commands do nothing. This is also logical because of the new settings !
Now, just put the caret within any Add word. if you hit the F3 key, it does find the next Add word ! Don’t be mistaken : it found the Add word just because the Find what zone still contains the Add word as the Select Word Under Caret when Nothing Selected is uncheked

To be convinced, simply put your caret within an other word Fix : hitting the F3 key still search the next occurrence of the Add word and not the Fix word !

Now, double-click on any Fix word. The only possibility to search this new word is to use the Alt + Ctrl + F3 or Alt + Ctrl + Shift + F3 shortcuts. However, if you open the Find dialog, as this kind of search is volatile, the Find what zone will still contains the Add word !

So, IMO, how to fix this issue :

Forbid the Select And Find ... options when the Fill Find Field with Selected Text option, in settings, is unchecked. This seems logical as current selected text never fills the Find what zone !
But, allow the Select Word Under Caret when Nothing Selected setting to be checked, independently of the Fill Find Field with Selected Text option. So, putting caret within any word, would still select this word and placed it in the Find what zone of the Find dialog for search !

Best Regards,

guy038