Chrome page preview not working in NotePad++ anymore!

Hi,

I noticed in recent months that my Notepad++ would not show the previews of my pages.

I mean this function: RUN > LAUNCH IN CHROME.

It used to work. But now it's not working. The source code appears instead of the clean site.
Firefox works, though. But I need Chrome.

Anyone had this problem? What is the solution?

 

Don't rely on the editor to handle that. Save it to a file, then open it in chrome. Easy-peasy lemon-squeezy.

 

Hi there Mr.Dog,

I normally, just like @deathshadow, open the saved files in the browser.

But, as a matter of interest, I tested the Run > Launch in Chrome option
in Notepad++ v7.5.6 and Windows 7 without any problems.
​

coothead

 

Being ESL as I am, I am always looking to improve my command of English. Today I learnt something new....thanks DP!

 

The files are PHP files, so Chrome will open them just like Notepad++: shows the source code.

But I need to see the pages themselves. No idea why, but in the past it worked for many years! (This is how I built webpages).

 

... and since when has notepad++ had PHP built into it?!? That's news to me.

I mean if you're writing PHP you should be testing in ACTUAL PHP... by testing on a real server (not always practical) or a local testing server such as XAMPP. That way you have access to SQL and all sorts of other fun (and often essential) stuff.

That's not something I would even expect an editor to have baked in, and if it did I sure as shine-ola wouldn't trust it! Ends up as silly and pointless as the mentally enfeebled "preview pane" BS.

 

I don't know, but I use to open the .PHP files through Notepad++ with Chrome. And they would open just like .HTM files.

Any ideas on how to get this to work? How Chrome could load .PHP offline?

I am doing a lot of work offline as well, can't keep up/down-loading for checking tiny details.

 

NEVER heard of it doing that, not something I would expect to work much less be trustworthy unless the editor is installing a full copy of PHP alongside itself (which would be stupid), or even be useful without also installing whatever SQL engine you are using along with that (which would also be just strange)

... at which point, just install a testing server.

If not up to creating a testing server VM, I suggest installing XAMPP:

https://www.apachefriends.org/index.html

Which gives you a reasonable approximation of a real world server -- apache, php, mysql. (well, mariaDB, but that's splitting hairs -- for now)

Install it, open the panel for it and start apache and SQL, go to the /XAMPP/htdocs directory, create a subdirectory for testing your code it, move your code to that directory, the to test you just localhost as the domain name. No remote server needed and you can edit the files directly in said directory.

That's how I've always done it when not testing on a local VM.

Doing that with the editor? That's just unreliable garbage I'd never even consider a valid approach. Admittedly, I say that about most "IDE/RAD" style editors and all the buggy, unreliable half-assed garbage they are weighed down with.

But what do I know?!? I consider Flo's Notepad2 the pinnacle of programmer's editor development because it doesn't have any of that malarkey. In fact I rank it so highly because of what it's missing and what I can turn off!

 

Too complicated. Is there a simpler way?

Chrome could simply open my .PHP files offline. Now it's impossible. Firefox can do it, though... but I need Chrome.

 

Firefox should NOT be doing it. Some tool you installed must be providing that functionality to it. By itself firefox cannot run PHP.

 

It is hard to get less difficult than LAMP, WAMP or XAMPP. You can accept the default settings for your OS on install and use as-is. Everything else is a PITA by comparison.

gary

 

Gary, I don't know much about what LAMP, WAMP, XAMPP means.

Is there any way that I can make local (offline) .PHP site page files run on Chrome (I intend to use the "Launch in Chrome" function in Notepad++).

Could it be the Chrome version that I'm using? Perhaps newer Chrome versions cannot run .PHP files offline/locally for some reason.
But for some reason, I am unable to replace the new version with a... let's say 2016 or 2017 version. It just doesn't let it, keeps updating automatically to the newest version.

 

Hi there Mr.dog,

Why don't you at least try this suggestion...
​

coothead

 

I installed XAMPP. Not sure how to use it. It seems like all of its functions are being blocked by the Windows Firewall. Anyway, I unblocked them and Chrome still cannot load .PHP files.

Isn't there a simpler way?

If I remember correctly until this summer I was still able to load the .PHP files in Chrome from Notepad++.

Something happened since then and now I just can't get it to run

 

Hi there Mr.Dog,

Then you, obviously, must learn how to work with it.

One of these....

XAMPP tutorials

...should help you on your road to enlightenment.

​

coothead

 

1) Start XAMPP.

2) Open up the easy control panel it provides.

3) Next to PHP, click "start" to start the server services. (also click the one next to mysql if needed, you really shouldn't "need" the others)

4) access its root directory via

http://localhost

Code (markup):

Done. If you're on windows the directory being served as localhost is at C:\xampp\htdocs.

You shouldn't be having to screw around with windows firewall unless you're trying to access it from a different computer than the one you're running XAMPP on.

It doesn't get simpler than that really -- the behavior you describe working in FF being complete nonsense unless you've installed something LIKE XAMPP already or your editor did... something I don't think and last I knew notepad++ doesn't provide. though admittedly it's been a decade since I looked at it last.

 

Thanks for the tips, I will research these XAMPP things.

What the heck did I have in Chrome a few months ago? .PHP was running without any problem. Why is it still running in Firefox?

 

Maybe some sort of cache?

 

I would be wondering just what you have installed that makes it run in FF in the first place. Something like XAMPP has to be present/running for that to even happen. AT MINIMUM PHP itself must be installed somewhere.

 

I have no PHP server installed on my computer.

Notepad ++ ->Run->Launch in:
I can preview .php and .htm pages in firefox 63.0.1
Not in Chrome or IE.