How do I automatically trim trailing whitespace with Notepad++?

Question

I don't want to delete the empty lines completely, but I want to remove the trailing tabs and whitespaces in them. Eclipse usually does it (through a preference setting) when we save the file.

For example, the file before saving ($ = end of line):

def shuffle(list):$
    import random $
    $
    random.shuffle(list)
    $
$

... and when I save this in the editor, Eclipse does the following:

def shuffle(list):$
    import random$
$
    random.shuffle(list)
$
$

How can I automatically trim trailing whitespace with Notepad++?

To trim whitespace from multiple files at once, do a Find & Replace for the regular expression [ \t]+$. (Screenshot) (Source) — Stevoisiak, Sep 27 '17 at 20:13

score 107 · Accepted Answer · edited Nov 19 '15 at 17:59

107

You should be able to do a regular expression find/replace in Notepad++ using a pattern like \s+$.

There are also a few options under menu Edit -> Blank Operations that may fit your needs.

Under the "Macro" menu there's an option for "Trim trailing and save". If you need to do a regular expression it may be possible to create a macro however I've never tried them.

edited Nov 19 '15 at 17:59

Peter Mortensen

12,190

answered Jan 09 '14 at 18:30

johanno

1,184

14

yes in my version of Notepad++, there's an Edit -> Trim Trailing Space, but can I trigger that automatically for every save? – Srikanth Jan 09 '14 at 18:36
8

There's an option for "Trim trailing and save" under the Macro menu – johanno Jan 09 '14 at 18:39
30

I have bound the Ctrl+S key to the Macro -> Trim Trailing and save option, using the Settings -> Shortcut Mapper... option. This is much better than having to remember to run the macro all the time. :) – Casey Kuball Jan 09 '14 at 22:54
3

Searching \s+$ will match any empty line, regardless of whitespace. I recommend using [ \t]+$ instead. (See How do I remove trailing whitespace using a regular expression?) – Stevoisiak Sep 27 '17 at 19:48
^\s+$ should do as well. – Wolf Mar 26 '24 at 14:00

score 91 · Answer 2 · edited Apr 11 '17 at 16:44

91

Alt+Shift+S does what you want. In fact it also saves the file.

Update

As 10basetom noted, you can assign a different shortcut to this macro. You can control your shortcuts under Settings > Shortcut Mapper > [Macros].

edited Apr 11 '17 at 16:44

Stevoisiak

14,394
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answered Jan 27 '15 at 18:31

kon psych

1,011

14

To strip trailing spaces when you save: (1) Remove the default Save shortcut (Ctrl+S), then (2) assign the "Trim Trailing and save" macro to Ctrl+S. – thdoan Mar 03 '15 at 04:33
2

And to remove the default Save shortcut, double click on Shortcut field and then select None from the combo box. – Mitch Dec 06 '15 at 11:50
2

I found this page, updated my shortcuts as you suggested and used it happily ever after. Then recently I had to setup a new machine and had completely forgotten how I had done it before... Searched again and found this answer again! You should get +2 for helping me like this! – Stijn de Witt Jan 11 '16 at 20:59
Settings > Shortcut Mapper, then tab 'Macros' – bonob Feb 26 '16 at 09:22
1

This should be the selected answer for me ^^ – Nam G VU Feb 29 '16 at 04:17
In newer versions you find in the top Menu in Run->Modify Shortcut/Delete command->tab Main menu. Then clear the default CTRL+S, and then assign in tab Macro "Trim Trailing and save" to CTRL+S – João Pimentel Ferreira Aug 05 '17 at 15:51

score 8 · Answer 3 · answered Apr 16 '18 at 11:43

8

The existing answers look old.

Try below path:

Notepad++ > Edit (menu) > Blank Operations > Trim Trailing Space

answered Apr 16 '18 at 11:43

Manohar Reddy Poreddy

359

1

I recorded a macro to "Trim Trailing Spaces" AND "convert Tabs to Spaces", for consistency in version control. I then Saved the macro with keycode combination Atl-T. Alt-T, Ctrl-S is Quick combo to trim, convert and save. I purposely do this in two steps, as I do not want to trim markdown files, or change tabs/trailing when editing other maintainer's files that may default to a different standard than I use. Notepad++ > Edit (menu) > Blank Operations > Trim Trailing Space and Notepad++ > Edit (menu) > Blank Operations > TAB to Space. (N++ also has ... Space to TAB options.) – SherylHohman Jan 13 '19 at 23:21

score 6 · Answer 4 · answered May 06 '15 at 19:46

6

Plugins > Plugin Manager > Show Plugin Manager
Under the Available tab, select EditorConfig and click [Install]

Add an .editorconfig file to the folder (name it .editorconfig. to avoid Windows error "You must type a filename" - the last dot will be removed)

# trims trailing whitespace for all files; filter like [*.{json,xml}]
[*]
trim_trailing_whitespace = true

EditorConfig can also specify encoding, indent and newline character(s), etc.

answered May 06 '15 at 19:46

Webveloper

161

1

Seems that the EditorConfig plugin for Notepad++ does not actually support the trim_trailing_whitespace option: https://github.com/editorconfig/editorconfig-notepad-plus-plus – jpa Sep 01 '15 at 08:32
1

Support for trim_trailing_whitespace was added on 2016-04-20. /cc @jpa – Stijn Dec 05 '17 at 21:37
I wish I could upvote this more, even if only for the .editorconfig. trick. To think that I had been resorting to creating dot-files via the Command Prompt like a caveman for all of these years. – jamesdlin Jan 18 '18 at 13:17

score 5 · Answer 5 · edited Apr 11 '17 at 17:48

5

I changed the shortcuts to find a solution to this. I removed the save shortcut (shortcut mapper -> main menu -> save) and mapped Ctrl+S to the "Trim Trailing and Save" macro (shortcut mapper -> macros -> trim trailing and save). This way the macro replaces the save functionality and there's no need to remember the Alt+Shift+S shortcut.

edited Apr 11 '17 at 17:48

Stevoisiak

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answered Jan 29 '15 at 18:06

Halcyon

577

score 3 · Answer 6 · answered Apr 11 '17 at 17:10

3

Alt+Shift+S is the default shortcut for this. It's in the menu bar as Macro -> Trim Trailing and save. You can rebind this under Settings -> Shortcut Mapper -> [Macros].

Building on kon psych's answer, if you want to automatically trim whitespace any time you save, you can set this to replace the default Ctrl+S behavior. Just remember to change or remove the original save shortcut to prevent conflicts.

answered Apr 11 '17 at 17:10

Stevoisiak

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+1 for 'Just remember to change or remove the original save shortcut to prevent conflicts.' – Wafeeq May 17 '18 at 12:03

score 1 · Answer 7 · answered Mar 08 '18 at 18:16

1

These are the precise steps to redirect the standard "Save" shortcut Ctrl+S to do instead "Trim Trailing and Save"

Settings->Shortcut Mapper...
Main Menu tab, double click on "Save", change S to None
Macros tab, double click on "Trim Trailing Space and Save", change to Ctrl+S

The Macros shortcut can also be modified from Macro->Modify Shortcut/Delete Macro...

answered Mar 08 '18 at 18:16

Antonio

397

Thanks, this is absolutely the best answer – simon tan Aug 19 '19 at 19:11

score 1 · Answer 8 · edited Nov 19 '15 at 18:01

1

Ctrl + F -> Switch to tab Replace ->

Find what: \t\r

Replace with: \r

Make sure Extended search mode is on, then replace all.

If you want to save as well, johanno has the correct solution. Macro -> Trim Trailing and Save works as specified.

edited Nov 19 '15 at 18:01

Peter Mortensen

12,190

answered Jan 09 '14 at 18:33

dr4g1116

21

This answer is outdated – Antonio Mar 08 '18 at 18:18

score 1 · Answer 9 · edited Apr 11 '17 at 17:48

1

In order to preserve the existing menu commands, map (previously unassigned) Ctrl+T to trim trailing spaces. Then, do Ctrl+T and Ctrl+S together.

This lets you make a small change to a file without confusing text comparison utilities and source control programs by changing (potentially) hundreds of lines.

edited Apr 11 '17 at 17:48

Stevoisiak

14,394
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answered May 17 '15 at 21:27

al h

11

Do you know that Shift+Ctrl+T is for reopen recently last closed tabs? This is the same as in modern browsers where you use Ctrl+T to open a new tab. That's why Ctrl+T could be a bit confusing. – Wolf Mar 26 '24 at 13:53

score 0 · Answer 10 · answered Feb 03 '17 at 20:34

0

Another way -

Edit > Blank Operations > Remove Unnecessary Blank and EOL
Plugin > XML Tools > Pretty print (XML only - with line breaks)

'XML Tools’ is a plugin that we can install for notepad++

answered Feb 03 '17 at 20:34

Pritam Karmakar

109

score 0 · Answer 11 · answered Sep 27 '23 at 12:25

0

I only wanted to trim non-empty lines. Building off an earlier comment, I searched for (\S)[ \t]+$ and replaced with $1. This leaves blank auto-indented lines unchanged.

answered Sep 27 '23 at 12:25

Andy

1

1

As it’s currently written, your answer is unclear. Please [edit] to add additional details that will help others understand how this addresses the question asked. You can find more information on how to write good answers in the help center. – Community Sep 27 '23 at 13:32

How do I automatically trim trailing whitespace with Notepad++?

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