The Simple Notepad Built-in Windows: More Than Just a Note-Taking Tool

The simple-looking notepad built into Windows is great for taking notes and writing basic code, but it's missing out on other cool features and tricks that might surprise you. In this article, we'll explore some of these hidden gems and show you how to make the most of this often-overlooked tool.

Automating Time and Date Stamp

One of the more useful features of notepad is its ability to automatically add a time and date stamp to every file you create. This can be especially helpful if you keep journals or logs to keep track of things over time. To enable this feature, simply open notepad by typing "notepad" in the search bar (in all caps) followed by a period, then type "log". Save this file and exit notepad. The next time you create a new file, it will automatically include the current date and time.

You can also insert a time and date stamp manually by hitting F5 on your keyboard or by going to Edit > Time/Date. This is great for taking quick notes where you need a time reference.

A Tip from Notepad's History

Notepad has been around since 1983, and it's always had a light theme that can cause eye strain for some users. Thankfully, Microsoft added a dark theme option just a couple of years ago, making it easier on the eyes. To switch to the dark theme, go to Settings > Appearance > Theme. Choose from the three available options: Light, Dark, or Use System Theme.

Customizing Printing Options

Before printing a document from notepad, you can change how the header and footer looks by using special commands. To do this, go to File > Print Setup (or press Ctrl+P). In the print dialog box, click on "Header" and "Footer" and use the "Insert Field" button to add the date and current time. For example, to align the header to the left, you can input "an" followed by the letter "L". For a different effect, try entering "ad" (aligning to the right) or "cd" (centered).

Opening Websites in Notepad

Notepad may not be the most obvious choice for opening websites, but it's surprisingly capable. To open any website in notepad, simply type the URL followed by a space and then save the file as a .bat file (for example, "iFixIt.dobot"). When you double-click this file, it will open the specified website in your default browser.

The Matrix Code Effect

In a nod to the popular film The Matrix, notepad can be used to create a simple green code effect. To do this, you'll need to type a batch script into notepad and save it as a .bat file. Here's an example of how you can do it:

Copy and paste the following script into your notepad:

```

Hello World!

```

Save this file as "Matrix.dobot". When you double-click this file, it will open in your default browser with a green font effect.

Speaking Out Loud

Notepad can even be used to create a simple text-to-speech feature. To do this, save the script below as a .vbs file (for example, "Speak.dobot"):

```

Dim objFSO

Set objFSO = CreateObject("Scripting.FileSystemObject")

objFSO.TextFileOpen "input.txt", ForOutput

objFSO.TextFile.WriteLine objFSO.TextFile.OpenText(1), "Hello World!"

objFSO.TextFile.Close

objFSO.Quit

```

Replace "input.txt" with the name of your desired output file. When you double-click this file, it will open and play out loud.

Conclusion

As we've seen in this article, notepad is more than just a simple note-taking tool. With its range of features and tricks, it's worth exploring to see what else it has to offer. Whether you're looking to automate tasks, customize printing options, or simply have some fun with the Matrix code effect, notepad has got you covered.

"WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: enthe simple looking notepad built into Windows is great for taking notes and writing basic code but if that's all you're using it for you're missing out on the other cool features and tricks that are hiding within that might surprise you so coming up I'll show you tricks with notepad that can help you with productivity along with some others that are meant just for fun let's get started let's start with the more useful ones first for this one here's how you can have notepad automatically added time and date stamp every time you open the file this can be helpful if you keep journals or logs to keep track of things over time open notepad you can find it in search by typing notepad at the very top in all caps type a period and then log now you'll want to save this file so go to file then select save as name it anything you want I'll just call this one log.txt then click on Save and I'll close this out now you'll see when I reopen the file a time and date stamp has been added I'll add a note you can also insert a time and date stamp manually by hitting F5 on your keyboard another way is to go to edit and select time/date this is great for taking quick notes where you need a Time reference this next one is more of a tip than trick since notepad first launched way back in 1983 it's always had a light theme which for some can cause eye strain a couple years ago they finally added a dark theme to notepad that's easier on the eyes if you want to switch to the Dark theme go to settings you're in the upper right corner in appearance where it says app Theme click the drop- down arrow you have three choices light dark and use system setting in your Windows settings if you don't have it set to dark mode choose dark here if you do select use system setting this will be a quick one you can try out on your own prior to printing a document from notepad you can change how the header and footer looks when printed on the screen are the commands for alignment and additional stuff to print like the date and current time to use these go to file and select page setup for example if you wanted to align the header to the left you would input the an sign and the letter L and another example if you wanted to print the current date in the footer enter the an sign and the letter d for additional information about these codes they have a link here that you can click on where it says input values this will open a web page to get help using commands it also shows the various commands that can be used when printing this next trick will let you open any website using notepad to do this type start add a space followed by the URL of any website I've already copied it so I'll paste it here and for this one I'm using the site for iix it to save it go to file save as and this has to be a bat file so I'll name this one iFix it dobat and save it now when you double click that file you had created it will open the website you had entered now for some fun tricks we'll call this one the Matrix code effect it simulates the green code falling which is similar to what is seen in the popular film The Matrix I'll make this easy for you you could type this simple batch script into notepad or copy and paste it from the description of this video whichever you do you'll want to save the file as a bat file and we'll call it Matrix dobat when you double click on the file you'll see this folling green code effect in an earlier video I showed you how to create a desktop shortcut to shut down your computer entering this code into notepad or copying it from this videos description will have the same effect when you go to save it you'll want to save it as a VBS file name it whatever you want I'll call it shutdown. VBS then click save now when you double click that file your system will turn off this VB script makes it sure your computer can speak to you this one's also in the description of this video after creating this with notepad the text you entered gets spoken out loud for you we'll save this one as a VBS file and name it speak. VBS click save double click on the file enter your text when you're done with that click on okay would you like to play a game thanks for watching if this video was useful for you give it a thumbs up and share it with others if you use a cool notepad trick not mentioned let me know about it in the comments and if you're new to our Channel subscribe and hit the Bell icon so you don't miss out on our latest tutorials and other Tech related stuffthe simple looking notepad built into Windows is great for taking notes and writing basic code but if that's all you're using it for you're missing out on the other cool features and tricks that are hiding within that might surprise you so coming up I'll show you tricks with notepad that can help you with productivity along with some others that are meant just for fun let's get started let's start with the more useful ones first for this one here's how you can have notepad automatically added time and date stamp every time you open the file this can be helpful if you keep journals or logs to keep track of things over time open notepad you can find it in search by typing notepad at the very top in all caps type a period and then log now you'll want to save this file so go to file then select save as name it anything you want I'll just call this one log.txt then click on Save and I'll close this out now you'll see when I reopen the file a time and date stamp has been added I'll add a note you can also insert a time and date stamp manually by hitting F5 on your keyboard another way is to go to edit and select time/date this is great for taking quick notes where you need a Time reference this next one is more of a tip than trick since notepad first launched way back in 1983 it's always had a light theme which for some can cause eye strain a couple years ago they finally added a dark theme to notepad that's easier on the eyes if you want to switch to the Dark theme go to settings you're in the upper right corner in appearance where it says app Theme click the drop- down arrow you have three choices light dark and use system setting in your Windows settings if you don't have it set to dark mode choose dark here if you do select use system setting this will be a quick one you can try out on your own prior to printing a document from notepad you can change how the header and footer looks when printed on the screen are the commands for alignment and additional stuff to print like the date and current time to use these go to file and select page setup for example if you wanted to align the header to the left you would input the an sign and the letter L and another example if you wanted to print the current date in the footer enter the an sign and the letter d for additional information about these codes they have a link here that you can click on where it says input values this will open a web page to get help using commands it also shows the various commands that can be used when printing this next trick will let you open any website using notepad to do this type start add a space followed by the URL of any website I've already copied it so I'll paste it here and for this one I'm using the site for iix it to save it go to file save as and this has to be a bat file so I'll name this one iFix it dobat and save it now when you double click that file you had created it will open the website you had entered now for some fun tricks we'll call this one the Matrix code effect it simulates the green code falling which is similar to what is seen in the popular film The Matrix I'll make this easy for you you could type this simple batch script into notepad or copy and paste it from the description of this video whichever you do you'll want to save the file as a bat file and we'll call it Matrix dobat when you double click on the file you'll see this folling green code effect in an earlier video I showed you how to create a desktop shortcut to shut down your computer entering this code into notepad or copying it from this videos description will have the same effect when you go to save it you'll want to save it as a VBS file name it whatever you want I'll call it shutdown. VBS then click save now when you double click that file your system will turn off this VB script makes it sure your computer can speak to you this one's also in the description of this video after creating this with notepad the text you entered gets spoken out loud for you we'll save this one as a VBS file and name it speak. VBS click save double click on the file enter your text when you're done with that click on okay would you like to play a game thanks for watching if this video was useful for you give it a thumbs up and share it with others if you use a cool notepad trick not mentioned let me know about it in the comments and if you're new to our Channel subscribe and hit the Bell icon so you don't miss out on our latest tutorials and other Tech related stuff\n"