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Why does Ctrl + F4 not close a document that has been opened in Notepad++? Is there a way to enable it?

I have started using Notepad++ today and I expected Ctrl + F4 to close the current document as in most other applications on the Microsoft Windows platform (both non-Microsoft and Microsoft applications) with MDI (multiple document interface) or TDI (Tabbed document interface) interfaces: UltraEdit, Opera, Eudora, Firefox, OpenOffice, Visual Studio, etc.

Is there a reason for this?

Platform: Notepad++ v5.4.5, Windows XP 64 bit SP2, 8 GB RAM.

(Note: it is not enabled by default, but actually it can be enabled by changing the keyboard shortcut from Ctrl + W to Ctrl + F4: menu Settings -> Shortcut Mapper -> line 8, Close -> <right click> on Ctrl+W -> Modify -> Ctrl, F4 -> OK -> Close.)

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2 Answers 2

Reset to default
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I don't actually know why it is set to be Ctrl + W but to answer your other question: To change the default tab closing behaviour, go to Settings > Shortcut Mapper. Change the Close shortcut [8] to Ctrl + F4

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  • 9
    Ctrl + W is widely used within FLOSS applications. Gnome f.e. uses that shortcut to close windows, and I bet so does KDE...oh, and Firefox btw too. Commented Aug 3, 2010 at 6:51
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    @Bobby: It isn't just FLOSS apps. Ctrl+W is a standard CUA shortcut for Close, introduced by MacOS and adopted by Windows in the 1980s. Commented Sep 17, 2011 at 11:21
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    Ctrl+W works with almost all tabbed or multi-document applications like Excel, Word, Eclipse... Commented Feb 23, 2016 at 6:42
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By default, Ctrl + W will close the current window. Notepad++ is not a Microsoft product, so it shouldn't be too surprising that it doesn't follow Windows 'conventions". If you go to Settings -> Shortcut Mapper you can change the Close function to map to whatever key combination you would like.

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  • 3
    @Ciaran: Actually I'm used to ctrl-w, I mean, seriously, what microsoft app has tabs?! IE only got them after firefox, and in firefox it was ctrl-w, so I got used to that. Commented Aug 1, 2009 at 22:12
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    @hasen: It's not about tabs. Every windows MDI application should implement ctrl-f4 to close a document en alt-f4 to close the application. Commented Aug 1, 2009 at 23:22
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    Both Microsoft and Apple have had user interface guidelines for more than 20 years. For instance expressed in the books "The Windows Interface. An Application Design Guide" (1987, ISBN 1-55615-439-9) and "Human Interface Guidelines: The Apple Desktop Interface" (1987, ISBN 0-201-17753-6). From the former, page 16, table 2.6, "Recommended PC Function Key Assignments", Ctrl+F4: "Close document window". Commented Aug 2, 2009 at 0:40
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    It's about time MS changed thier guidelines then. Ctrl+F4 is an easy way to get wrist-ache. Commented Aug 24, 2009 at 15:40
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    Alt+F4 and Ctrl+F4 is a legacy carried over from the MS-DOS days, when all the popular apps had different keyboard shortcuts, while Ctrl+W is a standard introduced in MacOS and copied by Microsoft, along with Ctrl+C, Ctrl+X, V, O, N, etc.; Commented Sep 17, 2011 at 11:24

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