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WinUpgrade.md

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Windows 10 Minimum Version Upgrade

Date: March 2026 Branch: master_Win10 Minimum OS: Windows 10 version 1809 (build 17763)

Summary

Notepad3's minimum supported Windows version has been raised from Windows 7 to Windows 10. This change enables the use of modern Win32 APIs, removes legacy compatibility code, and simplifies the codebase.

Changes Made

PR #5565 (RaiKoHoff)

  • Updated _WIN32_WINNT, WINVER, NTDDI_VERSION defines to _WIN32_WINNT_WIN10 / NTDDI_WIN10_RS5 across all .vcxproj files and source headers
  • Added #include <sdkddkver.h> for symbolic version constants
  • Removed IsWindowsVistaOrGreater() and IsWindows7SP1OrGreater() dead code paths in Notepad3.c
  • Simplified GetWinVersionString() by removing Win7/Win8/Win8.1 branches
  • Removed IsWindowsVistaOrGreater() guard from IsProcessElevated() in Helpers.c
  • Cleaned manifest supportedOS GUIDs in Notepad3.exe.manifest and MiniPath.exe.manifest
  • Removed #if _WIN32_WINNT < _WIN32_WINNT_WIN8 conditional in DarkMode.cpp
  • Updated all language resource.h files
  • Bumped major version in Version.ps1

Follow-up Commits (master_Win10)

  • Manifest cleanup: Removed Vista/Win7/Win8/Win8.1 supportedOS GUIDs from grepWinNP3/src/compatibility.manifest
  • Dead code removal: Removed 3 IsWindowsXPSP3OrGreater() checks from toolbar logic in Notepad3.c
  • Compile-time conditionals: Removed ~120 lines of #if (NTDDI_VERSION < NTDDI_WIN8) fallback code in URL escape/unescape functions (Helpers.c)
  • API modernization: Upgraded GetTickCount() to GetTickCount64() across Notepad3.c and Helpers.c (avoids 49.7-day DWORD rollover)
  • Legacy code cleanup: Removed disabled _GetTrueWindowsVersion() function (used deprecated GetVersionEx), removed commented-out ChangeWindowMessageFilter and SetProcessDpiAwarenessContext calls
  • Build infrastructure: Updated Build.ps1 vswhere version range from [17.0,18.0) to [17.0,19.0) for VS2026 support
  • Version bump: $Major changed from 6 to 7 in build.yml

Build Verification

  • ✅ VS2026 (v145, MSBuild v18.3.2) — x64 Release: PASS
  • ✅ VS2022 (v143) — verified compatible before changes

Remaining Evaluation Items

These items are optional modernizations noted for future consideration:

  • RtlAreLongPathsEnabled in PathLib.c — currently dynamically loaded; could link ntdll.lib directly on Win10+
  • PathCch* APIs — commented-out #include <pathcch.h> could be enabled to replace custom path functions
  • GetSystemMetrics() → GetSystemMetricsForDpi() — several call sites could benefit from DPI-aware metrics
  • Test file test/test_files/StyleLexers/styleLexCPP/Config.cpp still has old Win7 defines (syntax highlighting test data — not compiled)