Big Foot Web Marketing

Long ago I started automatically replacing notepad text editor with the feature rich Notepad++.

I lover having tabs and have multiple text files open and can very easily toggle back and forth. More importantly lines are numbered and can easily navigate to line of code.
This is especially handy when getting dreaded error messages with WordPress after adding a new plugin and there is a problem. Error messages will the line code of where to find the error.

Recently I got a new laptop and swapped out my notepad.exe file for notepad++.exe

I edit most of my files on the server in ftp. I replaced notepad with my trusty notepad++ I kept getting error-

Scintilla error: can not load the dynamic library

If you are getting this error most likely you have fiddled with notepad or did as I did and not copied over properly.
My problem was my new laptop was a Windows 64-bit operating system and I needed to copy over to one more system folder.
Read through my introductions below on how to replace notepad with notepad++ (or similar) and you will likely find your source of the problem.

Download Notepad.exe File

If you think you have completely effed it up – you can download original notepad.exe below
Download notepad.exe for 64-bit system HERE.

Instructions for replacing Notepad With Notepad++ or Other Text Editor

1. Download your Notepad replacement.

I highly recommend notepad++.

Install.

2. Back up notepad.exe in your system files.

If you have 32 but system you only have to do this in 2 folders. If you have windows 65-bit there are 3 system folders you need to work with.

C:\Windows
C:\Windows\System32
C:\Windows\SysWOW64 (64-bit versions)

Navigate to each system folder above and do the following in each folder.
– Find notepad.exe in C:\Windows and copy then paste into same folder.
– Find notepad.exe in C:\Windows\System32 and copy then paste into same folder.
If you haev 64-bit operating system
– Find notepad.exe in C:\Windows and copy then paste into same folder folder.

The file will be renamed “notepad – Copy.exe” I would hang on to these files in case you need to re-install notepad.

3. Copy into System Folders

Find the notepad++ (or other notepad replacement) executable file, notepad++.exe in program files. Copy.
Now, paste into those system folders as above.
C:\Windows
C:\Windows\System32
C:\Windows\SysWOW64 (64-bit versions)

You need to do for each System folder.

4.Deleting Notepad and Changing Permissions

Next this may be tricky- delete the notepad.exe file. You will have to change permissions/owner of the file or it wont let you delete. Right click and go to Properties, then Advanced. Change “owner” of the file from “Trusted Installer” to Admin or other user i.e. yourself.

Close. Then right click again and re-open Properties. Go to “security” and give new owner of “notepad.exe” full control. Do this by going to ” edit” and checking and saving “full control option” for user you are assigning control.

It sounds more complicated written down than it really is.
Taking me much longer to type this out than to to actually do 🙂
Save. You can double check your permissions if you like before you proceed. The owner of file should be name you assigned and they should have “full control” of file.

Okay. So… delete the notepad.exe file.

5. Re-name notepad++.exe to notepad.exe

You will now have two files in each system folder,
notepad – Copy.exe ( your original copy of notepad should you ever need it again)
and
notepad.exe (formally named notepad++.exe).

You are done! Now whenever you click on file formally associated with notepad, notepad++ will open!

If you were trying to fix the Scintilla error: can not load the dynamic library but aren’t replacing notepad as your editor do as above with clean copy of notepad.exe.