Instantly open any file from Visual Studio in Notepad++!
✨ Features
🖱️ Right-click to open - Open any file directly from Solution Explorer
🌐 Works everywhere - Solutions, projects, folders, and individual files
🔍 Auto-detection - Automatically finds Notepad++ in the default install location
⚙️ Configurable - Custom executable path via Tools > Options
📋 Prerequisites
This extension requires Notepad++ to be installed on your machine.
🛠️ Installation
Visual Studio Marketplace
Open Visual Studio 2022 or 2026
Go to Extensions > Manage Extensions
Search for "Open in Notepad++"
Click Download and restart Visual Studio
Manual Installation
Download the latest .vsix from the Releases page and double-click to install.
⚙️ Configuration
The extension automatically detects notepad++.exe in the default installation directory. If you've installed Notepad++ to a custom location, configure the path in Tools > Options > Open in Notepad++.
🤝 Contributing
Contributions are welcome! Whether it's bug reports, feature requests, or pull requests - all feedback helps make this extension better.
🔧 Development Setup
Clone the repository
Open src/CodingWithCalvin.OpenInNotepadPlusPlus.slnx in Visual Studio 2022 or 2026
Ensure you have the "Visual Studio extension development" workload installed
Press F5 to launch the experimental instance
📄 License
This project is licensed under the MIT License - see the LICENSE file for details.
