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:
2. Create a subkey named View Source Editor
3. Under View Source Editor, create a subkey named Editor Name
4. Select the following key:
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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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
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.
awesome! Thanks for this. Really appreciate it,
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
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”
Thank you very much you are solved my complicated problem about Html language
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!
Thanks. This is very usefull! I love notepad :)
Thanks for the first method, I have been looking all night trying to figure it out. Very simple fix thanks to you! :)
I tried the second method and there is no view source editor in my ie tree very odd.