Notepad++ is an actively maintained piece of software, and new versions come fast. There are basically four ways to keep abreast of changes:

Auto-Trigger

If you used installation package when you originally installed, the Auto Update feature is active by default. Every 15 days auto-updater (WinGUp) will be launched for checking, and you will be notified if a new version is available. You are presented with the option of installing that newer version.

Upgrade On-Demand

Using the ? > Update Notepad++ menu command. This will check whether there is a new version and whether the safety delay is over. If so, you are presented with the opportunity to download and install the newer version.

Upgrade Manually

Going to the main website and downloading the latest installer and running it yourself. You can watch the Announcements category in the Notepad++ Community Forum to see when new release-candidates or final versions are released.

Download Zip Package

Going to the main website and downloading the latest zipped archive. You can then use it as a separate portable version, or compare its files to another installed or portable version, so you can decide how and when to upgrade.

No New Version Found: Safety Delay

There are two reasons that would cause there to be no new version found during an auto-triggered upgrade check or an on-demand upgrade check:

First, there might not be a new version.

Second, if there is a new version available, it may not have been triggered for auto-update yet. In order to avoid to spreading a new version which contains regressions or critical bugs, we wait for users’ feedback before triggering the auto-update, often one to two weeks. If a critical bug or regression is found, the auto-update will not be triggered for that release. On the other hand, after a reasonable delay, if we are confident there are no critical issues, the auto-update will be triggered. This safety delay prevents bad bugs or regressions from being widely spread throughout the Notepad++ user-base, limiting the exposure to those users who are watching for release announcements and are willing to manually upgrade Notepad++.

The safety delay will never prevent you from downloading the installer or portable zip package yourself.

WinGUp Project

The WinGUp project was started for the need of Notepad++ for upgrading Notepad++ automatically. It has since become a more generic solution for updating purposes. This project has been forked for more Notepad++ specific need so Plugin Admin can share its basic functionalities.