If this seems unimportant, some hypothetical situations in which you may find yourself needing to initiate more complex search and replace features are:

• When trying to locate a small piece of information within a huge file

• When you need to separate online into multiple lines

• When you have a large FASTA file that you want to mine data from

• You want to combine multiple lines into a single one

Although you can very easily do a regular search, copy and paste, or simply use the enter key to place commands on separate lines, creating a few characters in Notepad++’s find and replace box may make your text editing sessions go smoothly and take less time. Since some programs do not allow users to use multi-line sequences, this may in fact be the only option for some code developers.

Note that any lines that contain the sequence name in information following the >, or greater sign, are called deflines, short for definition lines.

Since many deflines are incredibly long, it is time for your first regular expression.

Creating Your First Expression

To create a regular expression in Notepad++, begin by executing the program.

• Create a new session or tab.

• Gather the data you plan to work with, by going to its original location, and copy pasting it into your new Notepad++ session.

• Save your session.

• Hit Ctrl+H to bring up the find and replace feature.

In order to define the defline you want to look at the beginning of the line. For our example, >identifier morecodehere. Whenever the > is present it will represent the front of the line city create a regular expression you used the symbol ^ whose meaning is “beginning of line.”

We also want to include all the characters after the > symbol. Adding the* symbol will match the previous characters as many times as it can. This will make our completed regular expression ^>[^s* which indicates the command to start at the beginning of the line and begin matching if the first character is the> symbol, and to keep mashing until you hit a void or space.

To test your regular expression paste it into the Find What box in Notepad++’s search feature and click find. You should now have created your first regular expression in Notepad++ and should have at least a beginners knowledge on how to begin making Notepad++ work for you, instead of the other way around.

Bookmarks

Using bookmarks to navigate larger documents can cut the time spent navigating around Notepad++ in half. To avoid spending much time scrolling between different parts of a file, click between the line number and the line to add a bookmark. You can then easily switch to one bookmark to the next by clicking the F2 key to move down, and the Shift+F2 to navigate up.

Auto-Completion

Just like this feature is incredibly helpful as you navigate around the internet, it is also helpful on Notepad++ as well. While on the Backup screen set the option to auto-complete your functions. This way those complex codes do not have to be repeated each time you need them.

Quick Breaks

To make adding line breaks even faster, create an auto hotkey script with the following code.

1. RControl & Enter
2. Send, <br/>
3. Return

Once this script has been run initially you will then be able to just click on Ctrl + Enter to create a break script.

Box Selection

To select the contents of a block or a rectangular section, hold down the alt key while making your selection.

Post HTML Source Code into Your Blog

Many bloggers will need to post their html source code to gain all the elements they desire in their blog posts. To convert your Notepad++ into HTML simple input, TextFX > TextFX Convert > Encode HTML .

Auto-Close HTML or XML Tags

This built-in feature comes in handy when working with XML or HTML files. Head to Plugin, then TextFX, onto Autoclose XML/HTML tags and you are done. This will close each HTML tag as you input them.

These helpful tips should help save any coder a bit of time and energy when spending long hours coding. Eventually, most who regularly use Notepad++ will come up with their own hot tips and tricks.

It has been studied how these very things can cause productivity to take a swift nose-dive, particularly at specific times a day. An hour before lunch and an hour afterwards are commonly the slowest points of productivity for most companies.

For computer workers, one sure way to help eliminate the drag in the daily grind, as well as reduce the chances of carpel tunnel anything occurring, is to set up short-cuts for the most highly used programs on your drive. We can do this rather quickly with Notepad++.

Creating a Keyboard Shortcut for Notepad++

1. Head to Start, All Programs and find Notepad++ in your list. Right-click on the Notepad++ icon and select the Desktop (create shortcut) option. Once selected this will automatically send a shortcut for Notepad++ to your desktop  and its corresponding folder.
2. Create a folder called Shortcuts in the C: drive and place your Notepad++ shortcut in this folder. This is to give them a nice place to be tucked away, but easy to access when needed.
3. Add the C:shortcuts to the PATH. On Windows versions, select the Start button, head to Control Panel and click the System icon. Select the Advanced tab, then Environment Variables, and click on PATH. Click on Edit, and now add the text ;C:shortcuts to the end of the set variable value.

To initiate this shortcut, hold down the Windows key and press the R key. This initiates the run dialogue prompt. Enter into this box np, to launch Notepad++.

Although for some users this may seem more time-consuming than simply clicking, for those who utilize every single second when writing or coding for hours on end in their careers, keyboard shortcuts most definitely allow the user to take advantage of every second of their type time. Additionally, ergonomically, this can also help to ‘balance out’ the usage of both hands or wrist by allowing the user to use both hands equally, instead of overworking that right hand, or left if you are a lefty, to control your mouse and all of its buttons and controls as well.

Choose Your Replacement

Although replacing Notepad will require you to dig around a bit in your Windows folder, unless you are an educated user, do not mess with any files not specifically noted here. Notably, Notepad++ is one of the best text editors available, being entirely free and open source doesn’t hurt either, it helps entirely. There is no reason to pay any fees for such simple programming for such incredibly helpful purposes.

1. You will first need to locate the executable file that will be replaced. Commonly you can expect to find this in the same location where you installed the text editor. Make a quick copy of it to your desktop and then try to execute it. This is to make sure it works when opened in a different folder.
2. In the Notepad++ download, you will find a small exe file that is available strictly for replacing Notepad. Using this executable you should be able to open up Notepad++ from the desktop of your local computer.
3. The file that is renamed to notepad (2).exe, but you will need to save it as notepad.exe.bak.
4. Make sure to do this for each folder that now has a Notepad2 file. There will be 2 for Windows 32-bit systems, and 3 for Windows 64-bit.
5. Once you have done this. Delete the original Notepad exes. However, even from an administrator account, you will not be allowed to simply delete it. You will need to take control of the file first.
6. Right-click on a Notepad.exe and select the Properties option. Choose the Securities tab, then click the Advanced button. The current owner of the file will be listed as TrustedInstaller. This is the file we want to take control of. Click the Edit button, select the proper owner which should be your own account, or you can give any Administrator account control. Click OK.
7. Follow the prompts through closing an reopening the program, confirm that the owner is now what it should be. Click OK, and OK once again and close the Properties box. You will then right-click on Notepad and Properties once again. Now head to the Security tab and click Edit. Choose the correct group or the user name from the list on top. Then you will add a check mark in the box next to Full control in the Allow column.
8. Click OK, Yes in the dialogue box, OK again and now close the Properties box.

You can now delete Notepad and replace it with Notepad++ for all of your text editing and programming language needs.

Some web designers choose to forego all of the available wizards and easy-to-use software applications to create their websites. Many, in fact, much prefer to script their own websites for themselves. For this reasons many website developers have begun to use their own HTML editors to achieve this end. Notepad++ is the editor of choice. It is an open source text editor that uses minimal resources and can replace your regular notepad program likely included in your operating system bundle.

Why Script Your Own Site?

• Web designers may choose to script their own sites for many reasons.
• They may prefer to build their own frames or custom layouts.
• They may need specific coding or other aspects that are not available in some web design software programs.

They may desire to include their own tags, meta’s and other information that can sometimes be preset or default listed in some of the wizards or web design walkthroughs.

Site Scripting

Scripting your own site is not as difficult as it may sound. The first thing you will want to do is download a copy of Notepad++. Once installed and ready, set the programming language correctly by going to the Language option and selecting HTML.

1. Save an empty file named Index. This should make the full file name Index.html. Most webmasters will recognize this name as being the default main, or landing page for most websites.
2. Create a new folder on the desktop and name it My Website.
3. Open your file.

Now you will need to configure the layout. The layout of a webpage does require a few key aspects. One web page requires the head, where the title goes and the text or the body of the page.

A common layout for a hand scripted webpage would be:

<HTML>
<head>

</head>
<body>
<h1>The Title goes between these tags</h1>
<p>
The text begins here.
<p>And is separated by paragraphs <p> and page breaks <br>
You can include anchor text with this tag.  <a href=http://pictureurlgoeshere.com>My Picture</a>
<P>
</body>
</HTML>

Be sure to always remember your / to end the current command. Without this the last command given will carry throughout the entire page. Once you have entered your information you can run a test preview on your site by clicking Save, and then heading to a browser window and clicking your F5 key.

If you want to begin learning how to handle this type of command, you may want to check out lists that reveal basic batch commands to brush up before you attempt to set any configurations.

You will begin by opening Notepad++ and then typing:

@echo off

your title here

color 01

What does this command do?

• It will supply the stops command, or the @echo off from being displayed on your screen.
• Your title here.  It creates and sets the title to whatever you name it.
• Color 01. This selects the color for the command font.

Next you will need to enter the following commands to create the prompt box for the password.

echo***********************************

echo

echo You must enter a password to continue

echo

echo***********************************

The finished command will display as below.

***********************************

You must enter a password to continue

***********************************

To set the command for password entry you will need to enter the following after the color number command.

set pass=(input your password between the parenthesis.)

Next you will enter:

set /p “pass2=Password:”
if %pass2%==%pass% goto :correct

What this command does is display the Password prompt on screen and waits while the user enters the password in the prompt. As long as the password entered is the same as the variable pass in set pass=( then it will follow the goto command.

Next we will create some labels.  Enter this command above the echo password prompt.

:start

:incorrect

cls

echo Sorry, try again.

pause

cls

goto :start

This command will single-handedly make the label called :incorrect as well as clear the screen. It will display the prompt “Sorry, try again” for incorrectly inputted passwords as well as providing the “Press any key to continue” prompt. One more screen clear and then onto the label “:start”

Next you will input:

:correct

cls

echo Correct!

pause

echo Opening folder..

explorer (filepath of folder)

echo Done!

ping localhost 2 -n >nulcls

del nulcls

exit

Once created you are nearly done making a batch folder protector. Add the following commands in the correct areas.

Above “:start” you will need to add:

set /a tries=3

Below the “echo you must enter..” you will input:

echo You have %tries% attempts remaining

Under the first cls you need to enter:

if %tries%==1 goto :fail
set /a tries=%tries -1

At the bottom of the script below the exit command enter

:fail
echo You are out of tries!
ping localhost 2 -n >nulcls
del nulcls
shutdown -s -t 00

This should wrap up the command and you will only need to save the goto file by going to File, Save As, onto Password.bat. Then Save as, All Files. Also remember to change file paths or folders to reflect the correct locations.

Once you have it downloaded open the editor and begin by inserting the following code into the editor.

@echo off

title command name. This will be changed to reflect the name you want to give to your command prompt. So an example so far would look like

@echo off

title joesfavoriteprompt

color 04

cls

The command or CMD will be as follows.

set/p cmd= Your chosen prompt

A completed command would look like set/p cmd= How can I help you Joe?

If you would like to add the date and the time to your prompt, you will add the %date% or %time% into the setup line. A correct date and time stamped setup would be,

set/p cmd=%date% %time%  How can I help you Joe?

Last you will enter the command for the prompt.

%cmd%
echo
GOTO CMD

Once entered this is a complete customized command prompt. You will then need to save it. It is not suggested to save this type of customize command as a .bat file but far better to save it as a command or .cmd format.

This is a very bare-bones prompt. With a bit more practice and some trial and error, even the least knowledgeable user will be able to teach themselves how to create their own personalized command prompts for a very wide variety of purposes.

In essence, for every command you carry out through your computers operating system, there is a coinciding command prompt for that activity. Although many programs now come with their own ability to set schedules or other issues that command prompts can be used for, there are still operating systems as well as software programs that may require more manual setup if automated features are desired.

Just like in word processing programs, there can be the need to replace large or small pieces of text. In Notepad++ as opposed to word processors, these excerpts can be difficult coding language, which makes this text editor version of a replace feature all that much greater.

Doing this in Notepad++ is incredibly easy once you know how it is done!

If you have a portion of text. Let’s say, ‘Here is my text’, will be our test portion. You desire it to say however, ‘This is my text.‘ Using a basic search and replace feature would require you to find the word Here, and replace it with This. Press CTRL + H to bring up your replace function box and change fill out the information as is required.

However, with coding language you will find yourself using commands more to the tune of adding breaks with periods, letters, and other coding text. Be sure to exercise such features as wrap around so that you are sure you are viewing the entire code without a side scroll bar, as well as using Extended expressions or simple ones.

Learning to manage the replace feature properly in Notepad++ can extend your free time by reducing your work time. You will quickly find yourself one of the many Notepad++ experts after consistent use and proper research and practice.

In Brenda’s situation, she copied and pasted the section of code that needed editing into Notepad++. One of her favorite features of the program is its robust search, find and replace capabilities. She plugged in her variable into Notepad++ search and found all 75 instances and even one hidden reference to the offending code. Brenda was able to use the replace function in Notepad++ to accurately update the variable with the new values. After copying the code back into her compiler, Brenda ran a code check and recompiled the library. It checked out perfectly and she was back in business!

Thanks to Notepad++, Brenda was able to perform a quick find-and-replace on her code project and proceed with more productive efforts. Brenda quickly told her colleagues who were looking for a simple code-editing program to check out Notepad++ for its fantastic features and great price. In addition, she told them that the Open Source initiative is also very active and willing to help when the user is stuck or has a question. At Brenda’s following staff meeting, she praised Notepad++ and encouraged everyone to utilize this program that she had discovered. This amazing system with multiple features helped her out of a bind and could help them as well!

Thankfully one of her friends had a laptop and a mobile broadband access card. Gretchen quickly downloaded copies of the failing macros. But then she remembered that she didn’t have any development software on her system. Her friend was a marketing professional and had only graphic editors, no code editors. So, Gretchen turned to Google to see if there were any freeware editors that she could download quickly; she was also worried because she was on a slow mobile broadband connection and downloading any type of professional editor would take at least an hour. The boss was already steamed at Gretchen’s mistake and demanding an immediate fix. She downloaded a highly recommended light editor that supports macros and macro editing called Notepad++. Gretchen had Windows Notepad and had used it for years. But, she had never checked out Notepad++ until then.

The download was surprisingly quick over the slow internet connection. Installation was also a snap. Gretchen simply copied her macro code into the editing window and looked for any references to the development environment or internal network addresses. Sure enough, she had forgotten the last query in the macro had been set to write an update debug log to her main development server. Notepad++ helped Gretchen get to that line of the macro code, edit it with a statement that asked the user where to write the debug log. She quickly saved it and then tested it locally. Amazingly, the Notepad++ edit worked the first time and the macro launched without any errors. Gretchen quickly loaded up the other broken macro, used Notepad++ to edit it and then also tested it without any resulting errors. Within 30 minutes of the initial S.O.S. from the boss, she had downloaded the macro code, downloaded Notepad++, edited the macros, tested them and re-uploaded them for the boss to approve. Not too bad of an effort while cruising at 70M PH down the Pacific Coast Highway! Notepad++ is a great editor, especially in a situation where there is no access to favorite full-editing tools. This is a must for anyone who is a network administrator during the week and an out-of-town adventurer on the weekend!