How to Create a Macro in Notepad++ That Will Save a File as a Different Name?

Question

In Notepad++, how can you create a macro that will save the current file with a different name?

When I use the macro recorder in Notepad++, it doesn't seem to record any Save operation.

Ideally, I would like to have Notepad++ save the current file in the same location as it was opened, but delete the last 9 characters in the filename. For example, if the current file is:

c:\foo\bar123456789.c

I would like to have a Notepad++ macro save it as:

c:\foo\bar.c

(overwriting any file with that name)

That's the ideal goal, but even if I can just get a Notepad++ macro to come close to that, it will be an improvement over manually performing that operation.

Answer 1

You can run a python script within the PythonScript plugin.

If it is not yet installed, follow this guide

Create a script (Plugins >> PythonScript >> New Script)

Copy this code and save the file (for example replace.py):

import re

# Define the new filename
newFilename = notepad.getCurrentFilename()

# remove up to 9 characters before extension
newFilename = re.sub(r'.{1,9}(?=\.\w+$)', '', newFilename)

# Save current file with new name
notepad.saveAs(newFilename);

Open the file you want to change
Run the script (Plugins >> PythonScript >> Scripts >> replace)
Done

Regex explanation:

.{1,9}          # 1 upto 9 any characters
(?=             # positive lookahead, make sure we have after (without capturing)
    \.              # a dot
    \w+             # 1 or more word characters
  $               # end of string
)               # end lookahead

If there is always 9 char to remove, use .{9} instead of .{1,9}

How to Create a Macro in Notepad++ That Will Save a File as a Different Name?

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How to Create a Macro in Notepad++ That Will Save a File as a Different Name?

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Elena Rostova