notepad-plus-plus / notepad-plus-plus/notepad-plus-plus

[Feature request] Restore tab order on startup

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#16,620 10 comments 0 reactions 0 assignees View on GitHub

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Dominant language
C++
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Description

Is there an existing issue for this?
  • I have searched the existing issues
Description of the Issue

I usually have a lot of tabs opened, but work with a small subset of them on a given task, switching between the last 2 or 3 visited tabs (using CTRL-TAB).
If I close Notepadd++ and reopen it, it reopens the last tab, but the order of the other tabs is lost. If I navigate using CTRL-TAB, it opens the first tab of the document list instead of what was my "previous" tab.
Since I have a lot of tabs, finding the other tabs I worked with last is tiresome.

Describe the solution you'd like.

The tab order when cycling through tabs (using CTRL-TAB and SHIFT-CTRL-TAB) should be saved and restored when exiting and starting Notepad++.

Debug Information
Notepad++ v8.8.1   (64-bit)
Build time : May  3 2025 - 18:41:09
Scintilla/Lexilla included : 5.5.6/5.4.4
Boost Regex included : 1_85
Path : C:\Program Files\Notepad++\notepad++.exe
Command Line : 
Admin mode : OFF
Local Conf mode : OFF
Cloud Config : OFF
Periodic Backup : ON
Placeholders : OFF
Scintilla Rendering Mode : SC_TECHNOLOGY_DEFAULT (0)
Multi-instance Mode : monoInst
File Status Auto-Detection : cdEnabledNew (for current file/tab only)
Dark Mode : OFF
OS Name : Windows 10 Pro (64-bit)
OS Version : 22H2
OS Build : 19045.5854
Current ANSI codepage : 1252
Plugins : 
    mimeTools (3.1)
    NppConverter (4.6)
    NppExport (0.4)
    XMLTools (3.1.1.13)
Anything else?

No response

Contributor guide

Open the contributing guide

First steps

  1. Read the whole issue, then the project's contributing guide.
  2. Comment on the issue to say you are picking it up — it saves two people doing the same work.
  3. Fork the repository and make your change on a branch.
  4. Open a pull request that references the issue number.

Research direction

Start by tracing how Notepad++ restores open tabs on startup and how CTRL-TAB and SHIFT-CTRL-TAB determine cycling order. No files or tests are named in the issue, so locate the session-restoration and tab-navigation entry points first. Done means the cycling order is preserved across exit and restart in both directions.

Written by the indexing model from the issue text.

Assessment

Tech stack
cpp
Domain
desktop
Issue type
Feature
Difficulty
4/5
Estimated time
3-5 days
Activity status
Stale
Clarity
Mostly clear
Newbie friendliness
38/100

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