Cannot open xml files with notepad++

Question

All of a sudden all my notepads show: this xml file does not appear to have any style information associated with it. the document tree is shown below.

I never use my browser to open any docs with notepad++ nor would I ever need to. Nothing has changed and I am using Edge 148.

Answer 1

The message “this XML file does not appear to have any style information associated with it. The document tree is shown below.” is generated by the browser’s XML viewer, not by Notepad++.

This indicates that XML files are currently associated with Microsoft Edge (or another browser) instead of Notepad++ in Windows. When double‑clicking an XML file, Edge opens it and shows that message.

To open XML files in Notepad++ again, change the default app for .xml files back to Notepad++:

1. In Windows 11, right‑click any .xml file and select Open with > Choose another app.
2. Select Notepad++ from the list. If it is not listed, choose More apps and browse to the Notepad++ executable.
3. Check Always use this app to open .xml files.
4. Click OK.

After this, double‑clicking XML files will open them in Notepad++ instead of Edge, and the browser XML style‑information message will no longer appear.

---

References:

• Internet Explorer may not display local XML content that has multibyte character paths
• XML document renders as blank in Internet Explorer 9
• Can't open a local XML document that contains a multibyte character resource path link in Internet Explorer 9 or later