ComparePlus 2.1.1 crashes on compare

[dodmi]

• Notepad++ 8.8.7 x64
• ComparePlus 2.1.1 x64

If in Notepad++ the rendering mode is set to "Direct Write (draw to GDI DC)", Notepad++ will close unexpectedly, everytime I try to compare a file. It works in "GDI mode" or "Direct Write (default)" mode, but I need the "Direct Write (draw to GDI DC)" mode for other things to work correct.

Could you please have a look at it?

[pnedev]

@dodmi , Sure, I'll check it but maybe during the weekend. Meanwhile you could disable NavBar before comparing - it seems to be the culprit. After the files are compared and colored you could re-enable NavBar - it seems to work then. Is it the same on your side as well?

[dodmi]

NavBar settings don't seem to have any impact. But I did some more tests:

• The issue first occured with version 2.0.0, version 1.2.0 (which I used before) is fine.
• The issue is independent from my NavBar settings
• I can reproduce the issue having ComparePlus as only plugin and a vanilla NP++, only setting changed is the rendering mode to "Direct Write (draw to GDI DC)"

[pnedev]

OK, thanks for the details, I'll check it some time soon. Could you please also paste here the Notepad++ debug info from its menu ? section?

[dodmi]

Sure, this is the information from my minimal test (no other plugins, default settings, but changed rendering mode):

Notepad++ v8.8.7 (64-bit) Build time: Oct 19 2025 - 16:19:15 Scintilla/Lexilla included: 5.5.7/5.4.5 Boost Regex included: 1_85 Path: C:\Program Files\Office\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_DIRECTWRITEDC (3) Multi-instance Mode: monoInst asNotepad: OFF File Status Auto-Detection: cdEnabledNew (for current file/tab only) Dark Mode: OFF Display Info: primary monitor: 1920x1080, scaling 100% visible monitors count: 1 installed Display Class adapters: 0000: Description - Intel(R) UHD Graphics 620 0000: DriverVersion - 31.0.101.2137 OS Name: Windows 11 Enterprise (64-bit) OS Version: 24H2 OS Build: 26100.6901 Current ANSI codepage: 1252 Plugins: ComparePlus (2.1.1)

[pnedev]

@dodmi , Could you try on your side again with this dev build: Win32 / Win64? Thanks 👍

[dodmi]

This one still crashes. Can I provide more helpful information?

[pnedev]

I can't think of anything else ATM. I will probably ask you occasionally to re-test as I cannot reproduce the issue on my side the way you describe it. Thank you.

[dodmi]

I'm not sure, if it's helpful. I've setup a VM with Oracle VirtualBox and Windows 10, the crash also happens there. So the crash seems to be independent of hardware and operating system.

I've attached my minimum settings (from %APPDATA%), debug info:

Notepad++ v8.8.7 (64-bit) Build time: Oct 19 2025 - 16:19:15 Scintilla/Lexilla included: 5.5.7/5.4.5 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_DIRECTWRITEDC (3) Multi-instance Mode: monoInst asNotepad: OFF File Status Auto-Detection: cdEnabledNew (for current file/tab only) Dark Mode: OFF Display Info: primary monitor: 1226x811, scaling 100% visible monitors count: 1 installed Display Class adapters: 0000: Description - Microsoft Hyper-V Video 0000: DriverVersion - 10.0.19041.3636 0001: Description - VirtualBox Graphics Adapter (WDDM) 0001: DriverVersion - 7.2.2.20484 OS Name: Windows 10 Enterprise (64-bit) OS Version: 22H2 OS Build: 19045.6332 Current ANSI codepage: 1252 Plugins: ComparePlus (2.1.1)

Notepad++.zip

[pnedev]

Thanks for the details and the tests @dodmi 👍 I appreciate it. Will write back when I figure out what's going on but it might take a while because I hardly find time to work on the plugin.