Sometimes tabs in notepad++ won't make a new window when dragged out

Question

Long-time Linux user on a Windows 7 machine, using Notepad++ to edit multiple text files.

Sometimes I can drag a tab out of the notepad++ window onto the desktop to get a new notepad++ window. This is a very nice feature. But sometimes when I try to drag a tab out, nothing happens. I don't see what is different about these tabs or the files they contain. It is repeatable; the same tab still won't make a new window.

I'm not familiar enough with Windows and its strange ways to begin to guess what is going on, unless it's a bug. How can I make all tabs draggable-to-new-windowable, no exceptions?

Answer 1

Notepad++ doesn't allow the "drag tab to create a new window" feature unless the file that has been modified is saved (or if the file is new). If this problem persists even after the file is saved, try right-clicking the tab and choosing 'Move to New Instance'.