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In the current version of Notepad++ opening .sql files results in Notepad applying SQL syntax highlighting to it. I'd like Notepad++ to do the same for other extensions as well, is there some setting where I can define this?

gogogadgetinternet
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Sathyajith Bhat
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3 Answers3

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When you open a file in notepad++ it will attempt to load syntax highlighting for the contents based on file extension.

If you use a custom extension for one of the existing languages you can add the custom extension in Settings -> Style Configurator. Select language and add the extension in the "User extension" edit box. To add multiple extensions separate them using Space.

You then need to re-open your file to see the syntax highlighting applied.

You can also change syntax highlighting style by selecting a different language from the language menu.

Mysterious Wolf
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T. Kaltnekar
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  • I have tried this, but it assigns only to 1 extension, I want to assign multiple extensions. – Sathyajith Bhat Sep 14 '09 at 11:39
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    you can add multiple extensions by separating them with space, added that into my post – T. Kaltnekar Sep 14 '09 at 12:23
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    Note that making this change will not effect files that are currently open in Notepad++. Also, closing and re-opening Notepad++ still will not effect files that remain open between sessions. The individual files must be closed and re-opened for the effect to be seen. – mwolfe02 May 10 '12 at 16:12
  • This method also does not work for user-defined languages. For those, see the answer below, but instead of the langs.xml, edit the userDefineLang.xml – Chase Sandmann Jun 12 '14 at 16:15
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    This method seems to be working only when opening Notepad++ as an administrator. See this issue: https://github.com/notepad-plus-plus/notepad-plus-plus/issues/67 Also it seems to persist the changes in program files (that's why the permission issue) in C:\Program Files (x86)\Notepad++\themes\SelectedTheme.xml which means this setting is not used when you switch themes. – Daniel Bogdan Aug 18 '17 at 08:31
  • This cannot be used for extensions with ".". For example files names "abc.cs.cmd" will always rendered as Windows batch, never as C# even if configured so. – ygoe Feb 07 '23 at 20:04
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Find the langs.xml file (usually under C:\Users[username]\AppData\Roaming\Notepad++), open it with Notepad++, find the line that begins with <Language name="sql" ext="sql" and add the extensions you want in the ext field, separating them with a space.

To do this for a user-defined language, look instead for userDefineLang.xml and edit ext="".

If you installed notepad++ in "portable"-mode, then the langs.xml and userDefineLangs.xml will be directly in the folder where notepad++ is located.

Community
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alex
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    This approach works fine as well, but T. Kaltnekar's approach is a bit more user friendly, thanks! – Sathyajith Bhat Sep 14 '09 at 13:59
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    It's the only way I knew how :). – alex Sep 14 '09 at 14:01
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    Nice, I prefer this approach, I've got a lot of custom extensions and its easier to copy and past them in this way. – James Feb 28 '11 at 19:27
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    This method worked for me. I don't understand why adding the extension with the GUI does not work. "C:\users(user)\appdata\roaming\notepad++\langs.xml" – jmmr Jul 18 '12 at 16:42
  • I do not have Notepadd++ installed, just unzipped, so the lang.xml file is in application directory ;-) – Betlista Nov 26 '15 at 14:19
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In case one is using Notepad++ session files (I named them *.nppxml) you could edit them and change the <File lang="..."> attribute, e.g.

<File ... lang="Normal Text" ... filename="httpd.conf"
<File ... lang="Normal Text" ... filename="some.log"

to:

<File ... lang="Powershell" ... filename="httpd.conf"
<File ... lang="log" ... filename="some.log"

to get nice default (or user-defined as in my case with *.log files) syntax highlighting immediately without reopening each single file etc..

Andreas Covidiot
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