Maxima Language Syntax Highlighting in Notepad++

Notepad++ is lots of people’s favorite text editor for Windows.  I use it every day.

A little googling around led me to a Notepad++ user-defined syntax highlighting  file for the Maxima language, written by David Scherfgen and shared at the Maxima-Discuss list.

I made a little change to the file that overcame a nagging difficulty —  I found that .mac file extensions weren’t automatically being recognized upon opening.

Here’s a link to my modifed file.

To include Maxima syntax highlighting in Notepad++ do this:

1. unzip the downloaded file MaximaNotepadDS.zip
2. in Notepad++, go to Language –> Define your language…
3. Press Import and navigate to the file MaximaNotepadDS.xml
4. Quit Notepad++ and then start the program again.
5. Now in Language menu, you’ll see Maxima in the list of languages at the bottom of the drop-down menu
6. A  .mac file already open won’t display with the new syntax highlighting, but any .mac file you open or save from new will automatically show with syntax highlighting.