Getting Notepad++ to update through a hardened firewall proxy

As usual for Windows dev apps, Notepad++ was written for the home Windows PC layman in mind, and no thought was given by the author to add support for use in hardened corporate environnments.

Most corporate environments have proxies that do not require login. The firewall proxies of hardened environments do.

The keys to getting this to work are:

• Entering the correct proxy URL syntax
• Ensuring that the HTTP proxy URL environment variable is enabled

Unfortunately, many applications, especially those in Python environments, require that the HTTP proxy URL environment variable be DISabled. A VBscript has been included in this folder that will enable the variable for Notepad++, then disable it once the update operation has finished.

To get this to work:

1. Ensure that there is a gupOptions.xml file in the updater folder. The contents of this file should like similar to this:

   <GUPOptions>
      <Proxy>
         <server>http://[your proxy userid]:[your proxy password]@[your proxy server domain name]</server>
         <port>[your proxy server port to outside internet URLs]</port>
      </Proxy>
   </GUPOptions>
          

   Note:
   • your proxy server may have different ports for inside and outside resources
   • your proxy server domain name is most probably the same entry as the one that Internet Explorer uses
2. Open the included HTTP proxy URL environment variable toggle vbscript in a text editor, and look for the following lines:

   objUserEnv("HTTP_PROXY") = "[your proxy server domain name]:[your proxy server port to outside internet URLs]"
   objUserEnv("HTTPS_PROXY") = "[your proxy server domain name]:[your proxy server port to outside internet URLs]"
          

   Change the lines to your corporate proxy configuration. It should be the same as in the gupOptions.xml file.
3. Run the included HTTP proxy URL environment variable toggle vbscript with the ON parameter. This will enable the variable.
4. Try updating Notepad++. If it works, you should get a dialog box similar to the one below, if Notepad++ is up to date:
   
5. Once Notepad++ has been updated, you can use the included HTTP proxy URL environment variable toggle vbscript with the OFF parameter to disable the variable, if your corporate environment or other software requires it.
6. CAVEAT: Due note that at any time during this process, especially while adding or updating plugins, an operation may require admin rights to complete. If your hardened corporate environment does not allow non-security employees to have accounts with administrative privileges, you'll have to complete those actions on a Windows system where you have an account that does have administrative privileges, then zip it up and take it to work.