When you click the View Source command in Internet Explorer 8, it uses the built-in viewer, which is part of the Developer Tools in Internet Explorer 8. The built-in viewer lets you dynamically refresh the view source window, increase or decrease the text size and lists other standard options.

The new viewer does not allow editing the source though. Previous versions of Internet Explorer use Notepad as the default source editor, which lets you modify the source before saving. To set Notepad as the default view source editor in Internet Explorer 8 (and previous versions), use the instructions below.

Changing the View Source Editor in Internet Explorer

Method 1: Using the Built-in Option in IE8

Internet Explorer 8 includes a built-in option to change the default view source editor. The setting is provided in the Developer Tools.

1. Open Internet Explorer

2. Press the F12 button to start the Developer Tools

3. From the File menu, click Customize Internet Explorer View Source

4. Select one of the following options:

  • Default Viewer
  • Notepad
  • Other…

If you choose Other…, you’ll be prompted to select the executable file of your preferred text editor. Use this option to set your third-party text editing program (e.g. Notepad+) to set as the default source editor.

Method 2: Manual Registry Edit

1. Launch Regedit.exe and navigate to:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE \ SOFTWARE \ Microsoft \ Internet Explorer

2. Create a subkey named View Source Editor

3. Under View Source Editor, create a subkey named Editor Name

4. Select the following key:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE \ SOFTWARE \ Microsoft \ Internet Explorer \ View Source Editor \ Editor Name

5. Double-click (default) and set Notepad.exe as its data

Note: If you prefer a third-party text editor (such as Notepad+, Notepad Lite etc), type the full path to the executable.

6. Exit the Registry Editor.

Registry Fix

Download viewsrc_ie8.zip, unzip the file and extract the contents to a folder. Double-click the file viewsrc-notepad.reg to set Notepad as the default View Source editor. To restore the original setting (built-in viewer as the default), run the file viewsrc-default.reg.

Note: The above REG files can be used with previous versions of Internet Explorer as well.

(Last Updated on March 22, 2009. Article modified for IE8 Final.)


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15 Comments

  1. CSGreen
    said this on Thursday, March 17th 2011 9:20 pm

    I was trying to find the editor used because I liked the code coloring and the line count, but wasnt the ability to edit . . . should have know Microsoft would cripple it just like everything else

  2. Bernd
    said this on Tuesday, December 28th 2010 10:21 pm

    Thanks for this tip! I was desperate because Outlook insisted in using an editor which needed a registratio instead of my preferred HTML editor. I tried that editor once and it seems that I did not pay enough attention where it set itself as the preferred editor …

    Note for other users: for some reason does not launch the Developer Tools in my IE8; but it works via the menu: “Tools” – “Developer Tools” and then as described.

  3. Brett
    said this on Wednesday, December 8th 2010 8:37 am

    awesome! Thanks for this. Really appreciate it,

  4. said this on Monday, October 18th 2010 12:59 am

    Thank you, thank you , thank you
    I upgraded to IE8 about 12 months ago, but went back to using 7 for a number of reasons, this beeing one of them.
    Upgraded again at weekend, but not having notepad as the default was driving me mad.
    After finding this page my sanity has been restored

  5. nb
    said this on Tuesday, October 5th 2010 9:01 pm

    Great, thanks. This also helps to get rid of a strange error message when trying to view source code in Internet Explorer 8:
    German: “NA konnte nicht gefunden werden”
    English: “NA could not be found”

  6. abu.ahmed
    said this on Tuesday, August 31st 2010 11:47 pm

    Thank you very much you are solved my complicated problem about Html language

  7. Doug
    said this on Thursday, August 12th 2010 11:07 pm

    I had upgraded to IE8 but then needed to back down to IE7 for some compatibility issues. After that when I tried to view source it would open up Windows Explorer for my desktop! I’ve searched for a solution and your registry edit suggestion worked like a charm. Thank you!

  8. eto
    said this on Thursday, June 17th 2010 1:16 pm

    Thanks. This is very usefull! I love notepad :)

  9. danzig
    said this on Tuesday, March 30th 2010 8:18 am

    Thanks for the first method, I have been looking all night trying to figure it out. Very simple fix thanks to you! :)

  10. lisa
    said this on Wednesday, March 10th 2010 10:26 pm

    I tried the second method and there is no view source editor in my ie tree very odd.

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