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Testing

sasumner edited this page Apr 17, 2021 · 9 revisions

How to test different versions of Notepad++

Before you open a new issue to report a bug, please make sure it's also reproducible in the latest release of the program. If you'd like, you can also test the current build version. If the problem is not strictly related to the Notepad ++ installation process (and in the installation version in general) then testing the problem in the portable version is the best solution. Here are the reasons:

  • The portable version does not require any installation and runs completely independent and isolated from your installed version. All custom settings, as well as anything you might want to experiment with changing, will not modify your installed version.
  • The portable version allows you to quickly determine if the problem is due to incorrect / outdated configuration files (usually located in the user's system folders - check manual).
  • The portable version may allow you to quickly determine if the problem is due to your sets of plugins. The portable version comes with a minimal set of plugins that are under the Notepad++ development team's tighter control than other plugins.
  • You can test same or different portable versions at the same time (just copy the current portable version to another folder or download another version).
  • After finishing the tests you can simply remove all unnecessary portable versions.

Using the latest-release portable version of Notepad++

Please follow the steps below:

  1. Download the latest portable version from the official page (.zip or .7z package).
  2. Extract the above package to some folder (for example NPP).
  3. Important note: make sure to close all instances of notepad++ that might be running, before starting the portable version at the next step, to make sure you are actually running this portable version. If you have a running Notepad++ and you attempt to run another, you really will just be switched to the already-running instance!
  4. Open the extracted NPP folder and start this portable version by double-clicking on notepad++.exe inside this folder. (note: notepad++.exe will just be seen as notepad++, if you have enabled hiding all known file extensions in your Windows Explorer settings)
  5. Try to reproduce the problem in this portable version. If you can reproduce, then creating a new bug report is probably your next step. Be sure to mention in the report that you tested in the above manner.

Tip: you can run different versions of Notepad ++ at the same time with the -multiInst argument (which allows you to skip step 3):

notepad.exe -multiInst

Using the current-build version of Notepad++

To make sure that the bug you are reporting has not been fixed in the current-build version please follow the steps below:

  1. Download and extract the latest portable version as described in "Using the latest-release portable version of Notepad++" (above).
  2. Go to the official current-build page.
  3. Click on the Job name in the list for the Unicode Debug job compatible with your version of Notepad ++ (platform = Win32 for 32-bit Notepad++ or platform = x64 for 64-bit Notepad++). Ignore completely the mingw build jobs, the Unicode Release jobs, and probably the amd64 jobs (unless you know you need that) .
  4. Click on the blue Artifacts link located in the upper right corner.
  5. Download the appropriate .exe file (depending on step 3, it will be either Notepad++.Win32.Debug.exe or Notepad++.x64.Debug.exe).
  6. Add this .exe file to your portable Notepad++ folder and start the program with this executable instead of the normal notepad++.exe that is present in this folder.
  7. Try to reproduce the problem in this current-build version.

If the problem still exists in the current-build version of Notepad++ then please report it. In the report you can add a note that you have performed the test procedure in accordance with the official guidelines.

Using a Pull-Request (PR) build version of Notepad++

To verify that a specific PR has fixed a bug or implemented a feature, please follow the steps below:

  1. Download and extract the latest portable version as described in "Using the latest-release portable version of Notepad++" (above).
  2. Go to the github web page of the PR that you wish to test. If you know the PR number (e.g. 9508) then the link is https://github.com/notepad-plus-plus/notepad-plus-plus/pull/9508. The formula to find a link for any PR is to take the base link https://github.com/notepad-plus-plus/notepad-plus-plus/pull/ and add the PR number to it after the final /. If you don't know the PR number, but you know there is one, locate the original issue web page and there should be a way to find the PR number from reading the issue comments.
  3. After getting to the page of the PR, click on the Commits tab visible on the PR page and you'll be taken to a different page.
  4. On this page, locate the bottom-most commit and locate a small green-colored checkmark -- it is actually a link -- to the right of the commit-time; click on it and a small box will open and a Details link will be visible; click on that to be taken to a different page.
  5. Proceed from the "Click on the job name in the list..." step in the instructions for "Using the current build version of Notepad++" (above).