Notepad++ release 8.9.9

PeterJones

@andrecool-68 ,
If the Notepad++ window is already open, then the file (ANY) does not open at all through the context menu. If the Notepad++ window is closed, open it through the context menu. This appeared only in this new version; if you take any older version of Notepad++, then such a problem was not observed.

~~Are you sure? …~~ {deleted my original answer}

see @donho’s answer, below… my memory seems to be wrong; and like Don, when I try to replicate it (rather than going off of memory) with my installed 8.9.9 running in Admin mode, whether I open a protected file or a non-protected file from explorer, Notepad++ opens it just fine. (I was apparently misremembering things)

PeterJones

@guy038 said:

I did not notice any change at all, even after modifying the new option in Settings > Preferences… General > Dialog Font

I am not sure when Notepad++ assigns the font to the various dialogs. It may have already assigned fonts when it created the dialog (maybe even behind the scenes), and not dynamically changed them. If you exit Notepad++ and restart, it should take effect.

When I did:

Open Notepad++
Open FIND, take screenshot, close dialog
Set General > Dialog Font = Comic Sans MS
Open FIND, it’s still original font
Exit Notepad++
Open Notepad++
Open FIND. it’s Comic Sans MS now, take screenshot

Continuing the procedure:
8. Exit Notepad++
9. Run Notepad++
10. Set General > Dialog Font = Segoi UI
11. FIND => still shows comic sans
12. Exit Notepad++
13. Rerun Notepad++
14. FIND => back to normal UI font

It appears that, at least for some dialogs, that option requires restarting Notepad++.

donho

@andrecool-68 said:
If the Notepad++ window is already open, then the file (ANY) does not open at all through the context menu. If the Notepad++ window is closed, open it through the context menu. This appeared only in this new version; if you take any older version of Notepad++, then such a problem was not observed.
I checked ‘Notepad++ Release Candidate 2 v8.9.9’, and it turned out that this version does not have this problem at all, unlike the final version.

Official released Notepad++ v8.9.9 opened in Administrator mode from C:\Program Files\Notepad++\notepad++.exe,
and I cannot reproduce the bug you reported - File is opened as expected.

One thing you should ensure that the opened Notepad++ path should be the one that NppShell.dll points to (Normally C:\Program Files\Notepad++\notepad++.exe), otherwise the operation will be abandoned for the security reason (harden in v8.9.9).

donho

@peter-fb

The “culprit” is:
https://github.com/notepad-plus-plus/notepad-plus-plus/blame/master/PowerEditor/src/ScintillaComponent/FindReplaceDlg.rc#L93

It was introduced at least 16 years ago for being able to use ALT+y to check/uncheck Transparency checkbox.
So it’s rather a feature, not a bug.

peter-fb

@donho And it somehow only shows up now with version 8.9.9, not with version 8.9.8.1. Do I understand that correctly?

andrecool-68

@donho said:

One thing you should ensure that the opened Notepad++ path should be the one that NppShell.dll points to (Normally C:\Program Files\Notepad++\notepad++.exe), otherwise the operation will be abandoned for the security reason (harden in v8.9.9).

I always have the portable version in which there is no NppShell.dll file at all, and for many years I have added Notepad++ via a batch file. These problems only started in the final version.

REM Open file in Notepad++ (Открыть файл в Notepad++)
Reg.exe add "HKCR\*\shell\Open file in Notepad++" /v "Icon" /t REG_SZ /d "%~dp0notepad++.exe,0" /f
Reg.exe add "HKCR\*\shell\Open file in Notepad++\command" /ve /t REG_SZ /d "\"%~dp0notepad++.exe\" \"%%1\"" /f

donho

@peter-fb said:

@donho And it somehow only shows up now with version 8.9.9, not with version 8.9.8.1. Do I understand that correctly?

PeterJones

@donho, regarding your reply about @peter-fb’s visual difference:

This is the extra / new line that @peter-fb is talking about:

The left images are from @peter-fb’s 8.9.8.1 screenshot (upper is normal, lower is zoomed 4x); the right images are from @peter-fb’s 8.9.9 screenshot (upper is normal, lower is zoomed 4x). I showed a green arrow to the extra line that shows up in the newest version.

Your screenshot from 8.7.8 does not have the extra line, either:

It appears v8.9.9 grew the vertical height of the FIND dialog slightly, and that you can now see the bottom border line for the tab-selector object that used to be hidden under the status bar on that dialog.

peter-fb

@PeterJones Thank you so much! You explain it far better than I ever could. Here’s a comparison I just made, but the one you posted is much clearer.

And if I’m completely misunderstanding what Don Ho means, then I’m sorry.

PeterJones

@andrecool-68 said:

I always have the portable version in which there is no NppShell.dll file at all, and for many years I have added Notepad++ via a batch file. These problems only started in the final version.

I have no such problem:

see video:

Equivalent to what Don said, you need to make sure that the registry entry and the active Admin Notepad++ have the exact same path (from their own perspective). See my screenshot, where I show both the REG QUERY results for the keys created, and the Debug Info which confirms they are the same:

guy038

Hello, @peter-fb, @donho, @peterjones and All,

Ah … @peter-fb, I clearly see, now, what you meant !

Indeed, with the last N++ v8.9.9 release, here are two snapshots of the Find dialog :

So, you can also notice this problem within the reduced / compact version !

BR

guy038

PeterJones

@guy038 said:

So, you can also notice this problem within the reduced / compact version !

Personally, I wouldn’t call it a “problem”, just a change in appearance.

If anything, I would consider the old to be the problem, and the new to be “correct” (except for maybe the ^ button).

In the old, the status bar was covering the bottom line of the border for the tabbed subview control. In the new, the bottom border for the tabbed subview is visible, as would be expected.

Here’s a conceptual version:

on the left is the v8.9.8.1 (and earlier) layout
- the bottom edge of the tabbed view (green outline) is covered by the status bar (orange)
on the right is the v8.9.9 layout
- the bottom edge of the tabbed view is above the status bar, so you can see the entirety of both

Really, that’s not quite it, either, because as you can see in my screenshots, for some environments, the ^ button slightly covers the bottom and right edges still:

But your screenshot do not show that.

And to me, this is rather unimportant, as I wouldn’t’ve noticed it if @peter-fb hadn’t pointed it out. But I’d prefer it as it is in v8.9.9, rather than the cover-the-border from v8.9.8.1-and-earlier. (If there was a change, I’d say move the button 1 up and 1 left, to make sure that it doesn’t extend over the edge of the border in the different environments… but I don’t really care if that’s not done.)

guy038

Hi, @peter-fb, @peterjones, @donho and All,

When I said :

So, you can also notice this problem within the reduced / compact version !

Those words went beyond what I was thinking. I should have said :

So, you can also notice the changes within the reduced / compact version !

Do note that, initially, I did even not see where the “problem” was, at first place !

BR

guy038

andrecool-68

@PeterJones said:

I have no such problem:

see video:

Deleted the folder npp.8.9.9.portable.x64
Unpacked the same archive npp.8.9.9.portable.x64.7z
Installed all the necessary plugins
Made the necessary settings for notepad++
Added notepad++ to the context menu via my old bat file

And a “miracle” happened: my notepad++ began to behave as expected when opening files and “folders as a project”. I don’t understand what’s going on at all. About a month ago there was a situation where the “manage plugins” menu item disappeared.

Can anyone tell me what the problem might be?

xomx

@andrecool-68

For surety, I tried the right-clicking shell context menu after the v8.9.9 installation in a Win7 VM and it works ok for me as well. Even with your “Admin mode: ON” N++.

Can anyone tell me what the problem might be?

Maybe a previously registered NppShell.dll remained loaded in the Windows Explorer shell, then after you logoff/reboot, the new one (in a new registered location) is finally loaded by rightclick.

xomx

@donho said:

Vulnerability: Fix TOCTOU risk when saving temp file under UAC. CVE ID not assigned yet

This caused a regression in the v8.9.9 (PR fix).

andrecool-68

@xomx said:

Maybe a previously registered NppShell.dll remained loaded in the Windows Explorer shell, then after you logoff/reboot, the new one (in a new registered location) is finally loaded by rightclick.

Read all my messages in this thread. As I said above, in the portable version there is ABSOLUTELY no such file!

PeterJones

@andrecool-68 said:

Can anyone tell me what the problem might be?

I gave you a practical step, which would have provided useful information to try to find the problem, had you grabbed that information before deleting/re-unzipping. That information is obviously gone now, so the best anyone can do is guess.

And the best guess is still what Don and I were both indicating: a mismatch in apparent paths (two different strings that possibly refer to the same physical drive location: maybe junctions or symbolic links or similar) or a mismatch in real paths (two different portable copies, where the one actively running is not the same as the one your registry was invoking).

Modern security prevents the non-elevated registry command from passing data across the “boundary” to the elevated Admin Notepad++ that was running (though if they are using the same path to the executable, as in my experiements where it worked, then the data can cross that boundary)

And a “miracle” happened:

Not a miracle. your deletion and re-unzip likely got rid of the mismatch that we were trying to help you find.

About a month ago there was a situation where the “manage plugins” menu item disappeared.

“Plugins Admin”. It would have disappeared because of Mark of the Web. As, IIRC, we told you, about a month ago.