19

Notepad++ is available in a 64-bit version in addition to a 32-bit version.

What benefits does the 64-bit version of Notepad++ have over the 32-bit version when running in Windows 7? What about in Windows 10?

I imagine one of the benefits is being able to load enormous, multi-gigabyte files. Is that correct? Are there other benefits?

EDIT 1: There seemed to be much interest in the release of a 64-bit version of Notepad++, but it's hard to imagine that so many people are using it to edit files over 4GB in size, even if multiple files are open. That made me wonder "What are all the advantages to the 64-bit version of Notepad++?".

EDIT 2: I don't think this is a duplicate of Other benefits of 64-bit OS apart from memory expansion? because I'm asking about specific benefits for this particular application. What makes this case even more curious is that, it's probably safe to say that a majority people don't need to edit more than 4GB of text at a time, and that the 64-bit version of Notepad++ has a major limitation (fewer plugins).

Improve this question
9
  • 4
    don't know but note that can also try asking notepad-plus-plus.org/community
    – barlop
    Commented Mar 7, 2019 at 17:37
  • 1
    @barlop Thanks. I took a look at logging in to that site before posting here, but it appears they don't have a way to directly login. They force you to login using a third-party, most of which are social media sites. I'm not a fan of third-party logins. Am I missing something, or is that a requirement to post on their site?
    – End Antisemitic Hate
    Commented Mar 7, 2019 at 17:41
  • I would assume the same slightly vague benefits as every other 64-bit program (also possible dupe)
    – Mokubai ♦
    Commented Mar 7, 2019 at 17:51
  • 1
    @Mokubai Thanks for what you wrote. I agree completely, yet the amount of interest in a 64-bit version of Notepad++ seems disproportional to that benefit.
    – End Antisemitic Hate
    Commented Mar 7, 2019 at 18:05
  • 1
    @Mokubai I've seen lots of posts like that as well. At least in my experience, there is almost always at least one critical item (often software that came with a piece of hardware) that is 32-bit, which prevents a "truly" 64-bit system.
    – End Antisemitic Hate
    Commented Mar 7, 2019 at 18:11

3 Answers 3

Reset to default
10

The Show Stopper for 64-bit is: "check if all plugins you need are available for 64 bit". ref. - https://community.notepad-plus-plus.org/topic/17356/change-from-32-bit-to-64-bit

As a longtime NotePad++ user, I have always chosen 32-bit to ensure a maximum selection of Plugins. I will, of course, review the list of plugins that don't work in 64-bit the next time I install NotePad++.

Improve this answer
1
  • 1
    Yes, it's surprising, given the popularity of NotePad++, that quite a few popular plugins have not been updated for many years.
    – End Antisemitic Hate
    Commented Jan 8, 2020 at 7:03
6

It's the same reason as any other 64 bit vs 32 bit program; it's able to use more RAM. Therefore a 64-bit version of Notepad++ is most likely able to open and handle bigger files, than the 32-bit version.

Same question on Notepad++ forum

Improve this answer
4
  • 1
    Are you serious? What is the size of a text file that a 32bit version wouldn't be able to handle? Where would text files of that size be used?
    – Alexey
    Commented Aug 4, 2021 at 11:29
  • For the average user, it probably isn't going to matter. But I have had a few use cases, where i had to load out data/dump data from a database and also view logfiles with a lot of data, and then check for something specific in those file. I can't remember if it was 100mb or several gigabytes, I just remember that most of my sophisticated editors crashed hard, when trying to open it. I'm not sure of the max capacity of Notepad++ in 32 bit, except, that its not able to use more than around 4gb of ram. 64bit is practically unlimited ram. Check here: stackoverflow.com/a/4077938/1016987
    – Djensen
    Commented Aug 5, 2021 at 14:22
  • I also believe 64-bit programs can also run under later versions WinPE which doesn't have the WOW subsystem to support 32-bit programs.
    – LawrenceC
    Commented Dec 1, 2021 at 16:28
  • According to NPP community forums 32-bit NPP fails to open files larger than ~500MB. But even 64-bit NPP cannot open files larger than 2GB due to the limitation of the underlying text engine Scintilla.
    – Alex Che
    Commented Nov 2, 2022 at 12:14
1

I too have had a few times where I needed to open huge log files or files created from a data extract from a database, and even Notepad++ 32 bits choked on it. In this day and age, I take the 64 bit version anytime over the 32 bit one. Myself, I don't use any plugins anyways, except for the "Compare" plugin which does what its name implies; it compares two files and marks the difference between the two. So, for me, I'll stick with the 64 bit version.

Improve this answer
2
  • 1
    Interesting. How big were the log files? By "choked on it", do you mean crashed, became completely non-responsive, become laggy, or something else?
    – End Antisemitic Hate
    Commented Dec 2, 2021 at 6:42
  • @RockPaperLz-MaskitorCasket, Only now reading this question... If I remember correctly, a flat out error message from Notepad++ 32bits reading the file was too large to be opened by Notepad++. This was years ago, versions ago. Haven't used Notepad++ 32bits in years now... I would imagine the limitation still exists. And, big, as in many thousand records (lines of texts, "wide" as well). Mostly plain text files from a T-SQL query result straight from the DB. Logs were from an LMS I am a sysadmin for. I found the 32bit limit is ~2GB, and 64bits is ~8.2PBs, depending on system memory as well. R.
    – RFerreira.DBA
    Commented Apr 9, 2023 at 21:03

You must log in to answer this question.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged .