ZeroBasedColumn

ZeroBasedColumn is a lightweight plugin for Notepad++ that changes the column number displayed in the status bar from 1-based to 0-based.

If the cursor is positioned on the first character of a line, Notepad++ normally displays:

Col: 1

With ZeroBasedColumn enabled, it displays:

Col_: 0

This is useful when working with programming languages, fixed-width files, data processing, APIs, databases, or any environment where character positions are conventionally zero-based.

Features

• Displays the current column using zero-based indexing
• The first character of a line is column 0
• The second character is column 1
• Works with the current document/view
• Lightweight and unobtrusive
• No configuration required

Example

Standard Notepad++:

ABCDEF
^
Col: 1

With ZeroBasedColumn:

ABCDEF
^
Col_: 0

Moving the cursor:

ABCDEF
 ^
 Col: 1

ABCDEF
  ^
  Col_: 2

Why zero-based columns?

Many programming languages and APIs use zero-based indexing.

Character	Notepad++	ZeroBasedColumn
A	1	0
B	2	1
C	3	2
D	4	3
E	5	4

This makes the column displayed by Notepad++ consistent with zero-based indexes commonly used in software development.

Installation

Manual installation

Download the latest Bin from the Bin section.

In Notepad++, open:

Plugins → Open Plugins Folder

Create a folder named:

ZeroBasedColumn

Inside the folder ZeroBasedColumn, copy the ZeroBasedColumn.dll file into it.

If you built the project yourself, use the DLL from the appropriate build folder:

• 32-bit Notepad++: copy ZeroBasedColumn.dll from the Debug folder.
• 64-bit Notepad++: copy ZeroBasedColumn.dll from the Debug-x64 folder.

The resulting structure should be:

plugins
└── ZeroBasedColumn
    └── ZeroBasedColumn.dll

Restart Notepad++ to load the plugin.

Plugins Admin

If ZeroBasedColumn is available in the official Notepad++ Plugin List, it can be installed directly from:

Plugins → Plugins Admin

Usage

Once installed, restart Notepad++.

To enable zero-based column numbering, open the Plugins menu and select:

Plugins → ZeroBasedColumn → Use zero-based column

When Use zero-based column is enabled, the column displayed in the Notepad++ status bar starts from 0 instead of 1.

For example:

Notepad++       ZeroBasedColumn

Col: 1    →     Col_: 0
Col: 2    →     Col_: 1
Col: 3    →     Col_: 2
Col: 4    →     Col_: 3

You can disable the feature at any time by selecting Use zero-based column again.

Important

ZeroBasedColumn changes the displayed column number only.

It does not modify:

• document contents
• cursor position
• line numbers
• file format
• text encoding

For example, if Notepad++ internally reports:

Col: 25

ZeroBasedColumn displays:

Col_: 24

The actual document remains unchanged.

Compatibility

ZeroBasedColumn is intended for use with modern versions of Notepad++.

The plugin is designed for Windows.

Build

Clone the repository:

git clone https://github.com/pasqualeambrosio/ZeroBasedColumn.git

Open the project in Visual Studio and build the solution.

The resulting plugin DLL can then be copied to the Notepad++ plugins directory.

Repository

GitHub repository:

https://github.com/pasqualeambrosio/ZeroBasedColumn

License

This project is released under the MIT License.

Author

Pasquale Ambrosio

GitHub:

https://github.com/pasqualeambrosio

Contributing

Issues, suggestions and pull requests are welcome.

If you find a problem or have an idea for improving ZeroBasedColumn, please open an issue on GitHub.

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ZeroBasedColumn — because sometimes column 0 really is the first column.