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Cathrine Wilhelmsen

Series: Notepad++ Tips and Tricks

Notepad++ is a free text editor that comes with a lot of cool features. For instance, auto-save, syntax highlighting, tab support, multiple views, macros, and much more. If the core functionality is not enough, there are also many plugins available. My personal favorite is TextFX.

I use Notepad++ pretty much every single day. It can be used for everything from writing down random notes to advanced text manipulation. In these posts, I show you some of my favorite tips and tricks. Learn how to quickly remove duplicates, use macros, edit columns, and more! 🤓

  1. Remove Duplicates, Remove Blank Lines, and Sort Data in One Operation
  2. Macros Example
  3. Column Editing
  4. Multi-Editing Text
  5. Word Count

Notepad++ Remove Duplicates, Remove Blank Lines, and Sort Data in One Operation

This post is part 1 of 5 in the series Notepad++ Tips and Tricks
Logo for blog post "Remove Duplicates, Remove Blank Lines, and Sort Data in Notepad++"

You can use the 32-bit version of Notepad++ with the TextFX plugin to quickly remove duplicates, remove blank lines, and sort data – in one operation! This is a fast and easy way to get the results you want in just a few seconds. And as with any kind of automation: the more data you work with, the more time you save 🤓

Animation showing how to remove duplicates, remove blank lines, and sorting data in Notepad++

The quick version:

  • Install the 32-bit version of Notepad++
  • Install the TextFX plugin (this is not available in the 64-bit version of Notepad++)
  • Enable Sort outputs only UNIQUE
  • Click Sort lines case [in]sensitive
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Notepad++ Column Editing

This post is part 3 of 5 in the series Notepad++ Tips and Tricks
Logo for blog post "Column Editing in Notepad++"

Spoiler alert! Column editing is super simple in Notepad++ 🤓 All you have to do is press the Alt key while selecting text. You can use either Alt+Mouse Dragging or Alt+Shift+Arrows. This works perfectly on text that is already aligned. But what if your text is not formatted as columns already? You can quickly fix that by using the TextFX plugin.

Animation showing column editing in Notepad++
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Notepad++ Multi-Editing Text

This post is part 4 of 5 in the series Notepad++ Tips and Tricks
Logo for blog post "Multi-Editing in Notepad++"

You can use Notepad++ to quickly insert, edit, or delete text in multiple locations in one file – at the same time! All you have to do is enable Multi-Editing, and then hold CTRL while you click or select text. This is a fast and easy way to edit parts of your document in just a few seconds.

Animation showing Multi-Editing in Notepad++
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Notepad++ Word Count

This post is part 5 of 5 in the series Notepad++ Tips and Tricks
Logo for blog post "Word Count in Notepad++"

In Notepad++, you can quickly find information about your text. For example, what is the document length and total word count? You can do this by using a built-in feature or by using the TextFX plugin. They count words differently, though, so be aware! Make sure you use the one that is right for you 🙂

Word Count in Notepad++

If you have no plugins installed, you can use the built-in Summary feature. If you are using the TextFX plugin you can use the Word Count feature:

  • Click View → Summary
  • Double-click on Length / Lines on the Status Bar (shortcut to Summary)
  • Use TextFX → TextFX Tools → Word Count

Differences between Notepad++ and TextFX

The Notepad++ Summary only shows the total word count, not the selected word count. If you have text selected, it shows you how many characters you have selected, but not how many words are in your selection.

The TextFX Word Count shows the total and selected word count. It only works when you have text selected. It shows you how many words and characters are in your selection.

More importantly, Notepad++ and TextFX counts words differently. Notepad++ counts hyphenated words as two words, while TextFX counts hyphenated words as one word.

Fun fact: TextFX and Microsoft Word counts words the same way.

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