Thank you for the reply and taking the time.

I've been leaning towards KDE. As to my workflow most of it uses open source tools under the hood anyways so I'm just looking for Linux GUI wrappers. Thanks for the advice.

Workflow, ugh. Well of course on some level I'd like to keep what parts of it I can. Do you like suddenly changing long-learned routines? If you buy a new phone are you DELIGHTED to see the settings sections have been all scrambled from what you're used to? I understand things will be different. I'm okay with this. But if I can find tools that let me keep parts of my workflow while working great, why wouldn't I?

I'm trying to replicate tool-sets I use to do things.

Thank you for your suggestions. I appreciate it.

I'm not asking for a control-scheme that works identically, just functional equivalence where possible and alternatives to achieve my desired functionalities where not possible.

I'm asking for tools to help me do the things I use my computer for. I need something that can do powerful searching in text files which is why I mention that. I mentioned "DESIRED" not required features. Powerful text editors are a very personal thing, lots of people have preferences and reasons for them which is why I ask while informing others what I need above and beyond basic inputting of text.

I'm a shopper shopping for a new OS. I'm listing things I'd like to those in the know and one person here has taken it upon themselves to act like I'm some arrogant entitled spoiled nepo baby demanding to be supplied with an exact copy of what I have when I'm merely asking if comparable things exist and what are they or how would I accomplish this. (My goodness, my original question list was twice this length but I managed to find a lot of answers myself however thought I'd avail myself of Linux's famously social and positive community)

Fortunately from the many people here who've commented I've decided I think I have a basis for a start. So thank you nearly everyone.

I have things I need to do. If Linux cannot help me do them then in what way is it a widely suitable mass operating system as proponents are constantly claiming instead of merely a hobby tool that can do a very limited range of things.

Notice other than games I'm fond of I haven't demanded compatibility of specifics. I've presented problems (ex. I own an iPhone, I'm happy with it, I'm not changing it, I can either work around it with Windows via a VM a few times a year or I can't).

For my ask about Notepad++ I'm looking for features I use commonly. If a text editor doesn't have them all I might be able to get along but this is trimmed down list. Fact is I don't like the idea of having to have a dozen different pieces of software when I used to be able to use just one. Who would?

I've searched extensively for replacements for many of my programs and these are about the last of the hold-outs. Don't want to give advice based on personal experience? Then don't. Want to tell me that Linux can't do these things for me? Then do so in a straight-forward manner.

Frankly answers like yours that are just a brush-off don't help. People say it's okay to switch to Linux because the community is helpful, that they will help you when you have problems.

So my problem is whether to switch and people like you think I'm a lost cause. You talk about workflows. I'm talking about tools, software, programs. As in replacements and equivalents. I'm okay with replacing some of my NPP workflow with another program, I'd like if something existed that did it all which is why I ask, to source knowledge from those who have experience and may know off the top of their head an option.

You are telling me and everyone else watching this post that it's TOO MUCH for Linux to ask to be able to play a handful of games, to do some simple text manipulation tasks that one program in Windows can handle, to find a GUI wrapper for a freely usable open source mass adopted program like FFmpeg and to find a powerful renamer that's GUI driven. Because that's all I've really asked. The rest at the end is just opinions and context about my previous experiences and how I use a computer.

Thank you for taking the time. I appreciate it!

Thank you for the education on linux executables.

Thank you so much! Especially for the NVIDIA advice and it does seem like KDE is the best option. I've used some KDE stuff before and liked it.

However I disagree on the the shell one-liner for renaming. I often do complex multi-step operations. Incrementing and decrementing for example one set of numbers in naming while not touching another, changing capitalization, removing x number of characters at the start or end, and so on. The time saved by a GUI compared to remembering and typing all this out (and dealing with my errors in syntax) each time is easily worth some money to me. I already have a number of scripts I use for managing my media and working with mkvtoolnix for instance but looking at how I do renaming, the number of scripts would be endless and editing them each time would be more trouble than it's worth. I'll find something though, this I'm willing to spend time on to save time haha.

Thank you so much.