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How can I install the Notepad++ Hex-Editor plugin for Windows? The plugin seems to have been difficult to install in the past, and Notepad++ does not currently have integrated plugin management in the GUI.

(I no longer use the Notepad++ Hex-Editor, although I am using Notepad++ itself more and more. The Hex-Editor does not include undo support, which is a deal-breaker for me. Instead, I use HxD, which is both powerful and beginner-friendly.)

Josiah Yoder
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  • I am using Hex-Editor plugin, and Notepad++ always disable it when upgrading. It's because, in some cases, it display wrong values. You have been warned – Jimbot Dec 05 '18 at 14:02
  • Thanks. HxD looks like an excellent replacement until Hex-Editor is [repaired](https://github.com/chcg/NPP_HexEdit/issues/1#issuecomment-456273490). – Laurie Stearn Jan 22 '19 at 05:44

7 Answers7

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Update:

A lot of down votes for my answer and up votes for comment that HEX-Editor is no longer available. This is not the case, you are probably using 64-bit x64 Notepad++, install 32-bit x86 and you will have it available. Tested with Notepad++ 7.8.2 32-bit 2020-01-12.

https://notepad-plus-plus.org/downloads/

HEX-Editor source files:

https://sourceforge.net/projects/npp-plugins/files/Hex%20Editor/

If you want to use Notepad++ 64-bit you could try this unofficial repo:

https://github.com/chcg/NPP_HexEdit/releases

Original:

As of 13 Nov 2018 Plugins Admin is included in the notepad++ installer by default. Select the tab Plugins and click on Plugins Admin... then scroll down or search for HEX-Editor.

By the request of community, a built-in Plugins Admin is available in Notepad++ v.7.6.

https://notepad-plus-plus.org/news/notepad-7.6-released.html

https://notepad-plus-plus.org/features/plugin-admin.html

enter image description here

Ogglas
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    I have Notepad++ v7.7.1, but there is no Hex-Editor plugin available in the Plugins Admin. f0dder's URL in your screenshot (http://f0dder.dcmembers.com/nppplugs.index.php) does not exist anymore, and the plugins download on f0dder's current site (http://www.dcmembers.com/f0dder/download/81/) does not include Hex-Editor. – Remy Lebeau Jun 26 '19 at 23:51
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    I confirm that the unofficial plugin at https://github.com/chcg/NPP_HexEdit/releases works. Thank you – Alex Poca Feb 20 '20 at 08:35
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    @AlexPoca I have downloaded HexEditor.dll. How do I install it? – Old Geezer May 21 '20 at 03:55
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    @OldGeezer, enter C:\Program Files (x86)\Notepad++\plugins, create directory HexEditor, copy the DLL into it and restart Notepad++. You will see it under Menu Plugins. – Alex Poca May 22 '20 at 05:48
17

The Hex-Editor recommended here only works for the 32-bit version of Notepad++. Please see Ian's answer or another answer for a solution which works with a 64-bit version. I personally use HxD instead of a Notepad++ hexeditor because I'm not aware of a Notepad++ hexeditor which supports undo, which is a critical feature for me.

First, install Notepad++. I recommend installing the 64-bit version unless you have a VERY old machine. To find it, scroll down past the 32-bit version. If you know of a better link to the 64-bit version, please suggest it in the comments.

Next, download the latest HexEditor .dll plugin. I downloaded HexEditor_0_9_5_UNI_dll.zip. Do not click the big green download button (HTMLTag_plugin or etc) -- that's an ad and could be some app that's nearly impossible to get rid of.

Finally, open the zip file, select the HexEditor.dll file and place it in the folder

C:\Program Files (x86)\Notepad++\plugins\HexEditor

if you installed the 32-bit version of Notepad++ and

C:\Program Files\Notepad++\plugins\HexEditor

if you installed the 64-bit version. (For older versions of Notepad++, omit the HexEditor folder)

To test if your install was successful, restart Notepad++, and you should see a menu option Plugins -> Hex-Editor -> View in Hex. This will toggle whether you are viewing the file in hex.

The Notepad++ hex editor does not have to undo support, so I no longer use it. (I am still using Notepad++ itself.) Instead, I use HxD, which is both powerful and beginner-friendly.

Thanks to Bálint and momolang momo for pointing out the need for the HexEditor folder in newer versions.

Josiah Yoder
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    HxD was a great tip. Easy to install and use. – Casper Nov 30 '18 at 09:33
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    The downloadable binary for the plugin seems to only work with 32bit - my 64bit NPP refused to load the plugin saying that it's incompatible because it's 32bit. – ChrisWue Feb 07 '19 at 01:54
  • [momolang](https://superuser.com/a/1437884/252292) suggests that it must also go within a folder called "HexEditor". I have not confirmed this. – Josiah Yoder May 17 '19 at 14:31
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    @JosiahYoder Just confirmed it for you. It wouldn't load without placing it inside a folder with the same name. – Bálint May 18 '19 at 00:34
  • @Bálint Thank you. I've edited the question accordingly. – Josiah Yoder May 18 '19 at 19:11
  • "which looks like a dead-end to me' -- it's an ad – jcollum Oct 18 '19 at 01:49
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    -1, this only works for 32bit Notepad++, which is very outdated – jcollum Oct 18 '19 at 01:52
  • @jcollum Thanks for leaving a comment on how the post can be improved. However, it already gives instructions for both the 32 and 64 bit versions. Could you check again? – Josiah Yoder Oct 23 '19 at 21:00
  • The first url does not have a 64 bit version – jcollum Oct 23 '19 at 21:01
  • It appears to have a 64 bit version to me. https://notepad-plus-plus.org/downloads/v7.8/. If you know of a better URL, please suggest one. – Josiah Yoder Oct 26 '19 at 20:44
  • The first url does not have a 64 bit version. The first url. Not the one you just linked. – jcollum Nov 20 '19 at 00:43
  • @jcollum The first URL links directly to the URL I linked above. I can't find any prominent links from the first URL that take you ONLY to the 32-bit version, although admittedly, the 32-bit version does come first. If you can suggest a better URL, please do so. – Josiah Yoder Nov 23 '19 at 19:10
  • @jcollum I have edited the page to make it clearer how to find the 64 bit version. Your specific edit suggestions are most welcome! – Josiah Yoder Nov 23 '19 at 19:16
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    @JosiahYoder The problem is not NPP, the problem is that the HexEditor plugin is only 32bit and therefore can't be loaded by x64 NPP. – Ian Kemp Dec 09 '19 at 10:30
  • @IanKemp Thank you. I added a comment to clarify this from the start. – Josiah Yoder Dec 10 '19 at 17:24
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Notepad++ does not have integrated plugin management in the GUI.

Notes:

  • The Plugin Manager was removed from Notepad++ 7.5 because of sponsored advertising (see the second screenshot in the answer), although it will still be there if you upgraded from an older version of Notepad++.

    You may notice that Plugin Manager plugin has been removed from the official distribution. The reason is Plugin Manager contains the advertising in its dialog. I hate Ads in applications, and I ensure you that there was no, and there will never be Ads in Notepad++. A built-in Plugin Manager is in progress, and I will do my best to ship it with Notepad++ ASAP.

  • This is currently being worked on (the maintainer of the plugin and the plugin list will be integrating free hosting into the plugin manager to get rid of the advertising)

  • In the meantime you can install it manually (download here).

It is advised to still use the Plugin Manager (as this manages updating of your installed plugins)

  1. Click Menu > Plugins > Plugin Manager > Show Plugin Manager

    enter image description here

  2. This now shows a list of available plugins, including Hex-Editor:

    enter image description here

  3. Select the Hex-Editor plugin and then click Install.

    enter image description here

DavidPostill
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    I do not see that menu option. I have a "Plugins" menu, but no "Plugin Manager" sub-menu. I'm using Notepad++ v7.5.6 32 bit. Could the plugin manager itself be a plugin? – Josiah Yoder May 23 '18 at 15:28
  • Indeed it is now, I didn't realise. See updated answer. – DavidPostill May 23 '18 at 17:39
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    Perhaps things have changed since May, but HEX-editor is no longer in the list of available plugins in the plugin manager. (edit: this might be because I'm running 64-bit npp) – csauve Aug 30 '18 at 18:34
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    @csauve Could be. I'm running 32bit notepad++ – DavidPostill Aug 30 '18 at 19:24
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    @csauve I found a 64-bit version on GitHub: [NPP HexEdit](https://github.com/chcg/NPP_HexEdit/releases). Just download the `HexEditor_0.9.5.19_x64.zip` version. – Mr. Polywhirl Sep 18 '18 at 23:56
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As of 2019, the original HexEditor plugin for Notepad++ has been abandoned for a decade. The source and 32-bit binary of version 0.9.5 is available on SourceForge, but this isn't helpful for users of 64-bit NPP (probably the majority nowadays).

Thankfully there are various forks of the original HexEditor source code available on GitHub, and one of them has prebuilt x64 binaries available for download:

https://github.com/chcg/NPP_HexEdit/releases/tag/0.9.5.19

Download HexEditor_0.9.5.19_x64.zip from the above link, create the directory %ProgramFiles%\Notepad++\plugins\HexEditor, extract the downloaded HexEditor.dll into that directory, and restart NPP.

Ian Kemp
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    This is the right answer, and the right *path* to put the plugin once [downloaded](https://github.com/chcg/NPP_HexEdit/releases/download/0.9.5.19/HexEditor_0.9.5.19_x64.zip). – not2qubit Jan 11 '20 at 12:05
  • Using HexEditor_0.9.5.19_x64.zip together with Notepad++ version 7.9.5 (64-bit) resulted in an Access Violation. But HexEditor_0.9.8_x64.zip worked fine, it can be downloaded from https://github.com/chcg/NPP_HexEdit/releases. – Anlo Apr 16 '21 at 08:01
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If the solutions above do not work, try the following:

  1. Get the correct DLL from this folder https://github.com/chcg/NPP_HexEdit/releases (you're probably on 64bit Windows if you aren't sure)

  2. Open the following folder (insert your username):

    C:\Users\<User name>\AppData\Local\Notepad++\plugins

  3. Create a subfolder HexEditor

  4. Copy the HexEditor.dll file into this subfolder. Windows will probably request permission to do this.

  5. Restart Notepad++

This worked for me on Notepad++ 7.6 32bit

jcollum
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Martin Evans
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  1. Extract dll file from zip after downloading from https://github.com/chcg/NPP_HexEdit/releases
  2. Have Notepad++ open, Click settings->Import->Import Plugin(s)...
  3. Select the dll file needs to be import
  4. Close Notepad++ and reopen
  5. The Hex-Editor will show under plugins
Tony
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-2

Adding HexEditor.dll to AppData does not work for me. But by create a C:\Program Files\Notepad++\plugins\HexEditor and put the dll into it, then it work fine for me.

I am using Npp v7.6.6 (64-bit) on window 10

Momolang momo
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    This solution was suggested a year ago. – Ramhound May 17 '19 at 03:18
  • oh really? I did not see it on this thread. Anyway hope it work for others. – Momolang momo May 17 '19 at 03:20
  • It was submitted on May 19 2018. – Ramhound May 17 '19 at 03:21
  • As i mentioned it does not work for me with that approach. I need to create a "HexEditor" inside the plugins directory to make it work. – Momolang momo May 17 '19 at 03:30
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    [This](https://superuser.com/questions/1324217/how-do-i-install-the-notepad-hex-editor-plugin/1324218#1324218) suggested exactly that. – Ramhound May 17 '19 at 03:44
  • @Momolangmomo, I think what you are adding is that there should be a "HexEditor" folder within the "plugins" folder. I don't know if this is true, but it might be useful to someone else. When you have enough reputation to comment, this is the sort of thing you should write as a comment on the existing answer. Until that time, I recommend linking to the answer you are improving on by clicking the "share" link. – Josiah Yoder May 17 '19 at 14:30
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    This question **did** make a contribution to my answer above. Thank you, momolang momo! – Josiah Yoder May 18 '19 at 19:12
  • Lol. I am must be overlook of post#10. Thank for correcting it. – Momolang momo May 21 '19 at 03:22