Session Manager 1.4.2

• Installation
• Basic Concepts
• Plugins Menu
• Context Menu
• Sessions Dialog
• Settings Dialog
• Tips & Tricks
  • Categories
  • Combining Sessions
  • Changes Not Saved
• Feedback & Support
• Advanced
  • Context Menu
  • Manual Settings
  • Global Properties
  • Shutdown
  • P2P API
• Revision History

Session Manager has not been updated since 15Feb2015. Many people report that it now causes problems with the latest versions of Notepad++, so I caution against installing Session Manager <= 1.4.2.

I took a break from programming because of some personal issues. I then had a job change where I was no longer using Notepad++. I really loved Notepad++ and I had loads of fun developing Session Manager.

I am especially grateful for all the people that used Session Manager and sent me such nice comments on it. I hope someone will fork the npp-session-manager project and make it their own.

Wishing you all the best of Life,
Mike Foster

Please note: If you are upgrading from a version older than v1.2 you must configure your settings again after the upgrade.

Use the Notepad++ Plugin Manager for easy installation or upgrade of Session Manager. New releases of Session Manager may be available here before they are available in the Plugin Manager. In that case use the following manual installation/upgrade procedure.

1. Exit Notepad++.
2. When upgrading from a previous version:
   • Rename the existing SessionMgr.dll file (located in the Notepad++ plugins folder) so that it does not have a .dll extension, for example: SessionMgr-1.3.dll.bak (assuming its version is 1.3).
   • Make backup copies of all existing session files, the settings.xml file, and the global.xml file. If you are running v1.4 or newer Session Manager has already made these backups for you unless you have disabled this feature.
   • If you are upgrading from a version older than v1.2 you will have settings.ini instead of settings.xml. Version 1.2 or higher will create settings.xml after which you should configure your settings again. You can then delete settings.ini.
   • If you are upgrading from a version older than v0.8 you will not have global.xml.
3. Download the Session Manager plugin archive file.
4. Extract the archive file (with subfolders) into the Notepad++ plugins folder.
5. Start Notepad++.
6. Open the Settings dialog and configure Session Manager as you wish.

That completes the manual installation/upgrade procedure, but please note...

Session Manager will create its configuration files, if they do not already exist, in the plugin configuration folder reported by Notepad++. For more information see the Installation Folder and Configuration Files Notepad++ wiki pages (search for "doLocalConf.xml" and "allowAppDataPlugins.xml").

Session: A Notepad++ session consists of the pathnames of all the currently open files, their containing view, their tab order, their language, their folded lines, their cursor position, and more. These properties are stored in an XML file referred to as a session file. Some of these properties can be synchronized across different session files. See Global Properties for details.

Selected: The selected session is the highlighted session in the list of session names on the Sessions dialog.

Current: The current session is the active session – the one most recently loaded. In the sessions list it is marked with a diamond (◊, or ♦ if also a favorite) and is selected when the Sessions dialog is opened.

Previous: The previous session is the prior current session. In the sessions list it is marked with a bullet (◦, or • if also a favorite).

Default: When there is no current session a default session is used (you can also load it from the Sessions dialog). In the sessions list it is marked with a triangle (▵, or ▴ if also a favorite). You can rename the default session but you cannot delete it.

Favorites: Up to 20 favorite sessions are listed in the Notepad++ Plugins menu and optionally in the context (right-click) menu so you can quickly load them without opening the Sessions dialog. In the sessions list they are marked with a dot (·) except when a favorite is the current, previous or default session. After making changes to favorites you must restart Notepad++ for your changes to appear in the menus.

Loading: In general when loading a session, the current session will be saved then all its files closed. The selected sessions' files will be opened and it then becomes the current session. See below for options that affect how a session is loaded.

Saving: Saving a session means saving information about the currently open files in a session file. Saving a session does not save the session's open files.

Session Manager creates a submenu in the Notepad++ Plugins menu. You can customize Session Manager's menu item labels and shortcut keys (see the Manual Settings section). The default labels and shortcuts follow. Favorite sessions are listed after the About item.

Main Menu Item

Session Manager (alt+p,s): Opens the Session Manager submenu.

Submenu Items

Sessions (alt+p,s,s): Opens the Sessions dialog.

Settings (alt+p,s,t): Opens the Settings dialog.

Save current (alt+p,s,v): Saves the current session.

Load previous (alt+p,s,p): Loads the previous session.

Help (alt+p,s,h): Opens this HTML help file in your default web browser.

About (alt+p,s,a): Displays Session Manager version and other information.

Session Manager creates a submenu in the context (right-click) menu if you have Use context menu checked in Settings. The submenu is only created or updated when you make a change to your favorite sessions. You must restart Notepad++ for the changes to appear in the menus. The menu labels used in the context submenu are the same as those used in the Plugins menu and favorite sessions are listed after the About item.

If you have Use context menu enabled and you change existing menuLabel* settings, Session Manager does not remove the old items from the "contextMenu.xml" file. You have to remove those manually. See the Advanced/ContextMenu section for more information.

Lists

Filters: This combo-box displays your current filters and allows you to add new filters. Sessions will only be displayed in the sessions list if their names match the filter, except that the current and previous sessions are always displayed in the list. A * filter matches all session names. Filters are applied as you type them.

Sessions: This list-box displays your sessions. You can select a session either with the mouse or with the keyboard arrow keys. Pressing an alphanumeric key will select the first session beginning with that letter or digit. When the Sessions dialog is opened the sessions list has the focus. You can shift+tab to the filters list and from there tab back to the sessions list. A mark will be to the left of a session name to indicate if it is the current, previous, default or a favorite session. You can specify the characters used as marks (see the Manual Settings section).

Buttons

Load (alt+l): Loads the selected session. You can also double-click a session name to load it. After a session is loaded it becomes the current session.

Previous (alt+p): Loads the previous session.

Save (alt+s): Saves the current session.

New: Opens the Create New Session dialog. Creating a new session does not load the new session – it creates it, adds it to the list and selects it. You can then load it if you wish. There are three options for creating a new session.

• As an empty session: Creates a new, empty session. Note that an empty session contains no files, however Notepad++ always has at least one editor tab open. In this case it is a new buffer which has not yet been saved to a file. If you haven't edited it Notepad++ will close it when you open some other file.
• As a copy of the current session: Creates a new session by copying the current session.
• As a copy of the selected session: Creates a new session by copying the selected session.

Rename: Opens the Rename Selected Session dialog.

Delete: Opens the Delete Selected Session dialog. Deleting a session does not delete the files the session contains – it only deletes the session file itself, and it will be removed from the list. The current and default sessions cannot be deleted.

Favorite (alt+f): Toggles the favorite mark on the selected session. Up to 20 favorite sessions are listed in the Notepad++ Plugins menu and optionally in the context (right-click) menu but you must restart Notepad++ for your changes to appear in the menus.

Close: Closes the Sessions dialog. You can also press the ESCape key to close it.

Options

Wildcards: This option is located to the right of the filters list and is labeled "* ?". If it is checked the filter can contain "*" and/or "?" wildcards. If it is not checked it's a match when the session name starts with the filter. The matching is not case sensitive.

The following options affect how a session is loaded. See the Combining Sessions topic in the Tips section for more information on their usage.

• Load into current (alt+i): If this option is checked the selected session will be loaded but it will not become the current session although the currently open files will be closed unless you check the next option. Your changes to this option are not saved.
• Load without closing (alt+w): If this option is checked the currently open files will not be closed before the selected session is loaded. For convenience this option is checked automatically when the above option is checked. Your changes to this option are not saved.

The following options determine how the sessions list is sorted.

• Sort by alpha (alt+a): Sorts alphabetically. Your changes to this option are saved.
• Sort by date (alt+d): Sorts by most recently used. Sessions with the same last-modified time are sorted alphabetically. Your changes to this option are saved.

Resizing

The Sessions dialog is resizable and remembers its size. Drag one of the corners or sides of the dialog to resize it.

Options

Auto save: If this is enabled the current session is saved...

• when any file is saved;
• when a file's language changes;
• when a bookmark or fold margin is clicked;
• before a new session is loaded;
• when any file is opened, except when files are being opened due to a session being loaded;
• when any file is closed, except when files are being closed due to a session being loaded or due to a Notepad++ shutdown.

If Auto save is disabled sessions will only be saved when you select Save current from the plugin menu or click the Save button on the Sessions dialog. The default for Auto save is enabled.

Auto load: If this is enabled the most recently opened session will be loaded when Notepad++ starts up. Important: If you enable Auto load you must disable the Notepad++ Remember current session for next launch feature. The default for Auto load is disabled.

Load into current: This setting is applied any time a session is loaded. It also determines the initial state of the Load into current checkbox on the Sessions dialog. The default is disabled.

Load without closing: This setting is applied any time a session is loaded except on startup where it is considered enabled. It also determines the initial state of the Load without closing checkbox on the Sessions dialog. The default is disabled.

Show in title bar: If this is enabled the current session name will be prepended to the text in the Notepad++ title bar. The default is disabled.

Show in status bar: If this is enabled the current and previous session names will be displayed in the Notepad++ status bar. The default is disabled.

Global properties: This enables or disables the global properties feature (see the Global Properties section). Note that if Auto save is disabled your global properties will only get updated when you manually save the current session. The default for Global properties is enabled.

Use context menu: This enables or disables the creation of a Session Manager submenu in the context (right-click) menu. The submenu is only created or updated when you make a change to your favorite sessions. The default for Use context menu is enabled.

Session files folder: This specifies the location of the session files Session Manager will display in the Sessions dialog. Click the ... button to browse for a folder. Set to an empty string to get the default value: plugins\config\SessionMgr\sessions.

Session file extension: This specifies the file name extension of the session files Session Manager will display in the Sessions dialog. Set to an empty string to get the default value: .npp-session.

Buttons

OK: Click the OK button to save and activate your changes and close the Settings dialog.

Cancel: Click the Cancel button, or press the ESCape key, to cancel your changes and close the Settings dialog.

Resizing

The Settings dialog is resizable and remembers its size. Drag one of the corners or sides of the dialog to resize it.

Here are some tips for using Session Manager more efficiently.

Categories

Name your sessions with categorized prefixes or suffixes. This will group related sessions together in the list when it is sorted alphabetically. For example, I prefix some sessions with an underscore because I want those to appear at the top of the list. I have many web-related projects and I prefix those session names with "www_". An example of using a suffix is: "my-project_trunk", "my-project_rev-123", etc. That keeps them grouped together in the list when sorted alphabetically.

Usage Scenarios

Here are two basic usage scenarios.

• Open the Settings dialog. Disable Load into current and Load without closing. Now loaded sessions become current and change to always reflect the latest changes to their files.
• Open the Sessions dialog and load a "main" session. Open the Settings dialog. Enable Load into current and disable Load without closing. Now the main session is always current. When other sessions are loaded they are loaded into the main session. Other sessions do not change but always contain the same files and the main session always contains the most recently edited files.

Combining Sessions

Let's say the Sessions dialog is open and you have two sessions, A and B. Session A is current and session B is selected.

• Add B to A: Check the Load into current checkbox. The Load without closing checkbox is automatically checked. Load session B. Now session A is current and includes all of session B's files.
• Add A to B: Uncheck the Load into current checkbox and check the Load without closing checkbox. Load session B. Now session B is current and includes all of session A's files.
• Replace A with B: Check the Load into current checkbox and uncheck the Load without closing checkbox. Load session B. Now session A is current and only contains session B's files (it is now a copy of B).

Changes Not Saved

Here are a few ways changes may not get saved to the session file.

• If you change bookmarks or folded lines via the menu or a keyboard shortcut then terminate Notepad++ without doing anything that would cause the session to be saved. This is because a plugin cannot detect those events. Clicking in the bookmark or fold margins is detected.
• If you close a file then immediately terminate Notepad++ (see sessionSaveDelay in Manual Settings).
• If you do anything that results in a change to one of the following then immediately terminate Notepad++ (see settingsSavePoll in Manual Settings).
  • bookmarks
  • folded lines
  • filters
  • favorites
  • sort order
  • dialog window sizes
  • default session name

Look for the newest Session Manager thread in the Notepad++ Plugins Forum. Ask questions, request features, submit bug reports, or just drop in to chat. We look forward to hearing what you think about Session Manager!

This section contains advanced and technical topics which are not necessary to understand for normal usage of Session Manager.

Context Menu

Manual Settings

<currentMark value="9674"/>     <!-- ◊ -->
<currentFavMark value="9830"/>  <!-- ♦ -->
<previousMark value="9702"/>    <!-- ◦ -->
<previousFavMark value="8226"/> <!-- • -->
<defaultMark value="9653"/>     <!-- ▵ -->
<defaultFavMark value="9652"/>  <!-- ▴ -->
<favoriteMark value="183"/>     <!-- · -->

<menuLabelMain value="Session &Manager"/>
<menuLabelSub1 value="&Open..."/>
<menuLabelSub2 value="&Configure..."/>
<menuLabelSub3 value="&Save current"/>
<menuLabelSub4 value="Load &previous"/>
<menuLabelSub5 value="&Help"/>
<menuLabelSub6 value="&About..."/>

Global Properties

Shutdown

Plugin-To-Plugin API