Cool Notepad Tricks
The simple looking Notepad built into Windows is great for taking notes and writing basic code. However, if that’s all you’re using it for, you’re missing out on a treasure trove of cool features and tricks that might surprise you! In this blog post, we’ll explore some cool Notepad tricks that can boost your productivity and add a little fun to your day-to-day tasks. Let’s dive in!
Automatic Time and Date Stamps
One of the most useful tricks is having Notepad automatically add a time and date stamp every time you open a file. This feature is particularly helpful for keeping journals or logs to track events over time.
To set this up, follow these steps:
- Open Notepad (you can find it by typing “Notepad” in the Windows search bar).
- Type a period and then “log” (e.g., “.log”).
- Go to File and select Save As.
- Name your file (e.g., “log.txt”) and click Save.
- Close and reopen the file to see the time and date stamp added automatically.
You can also insert a time and date stamp manually by hitting F5 on your keyboard or by going to Edit and selecting Time/Date.
Switch to Dark Theme
Since its launch in 1983, Notepad has only had a light theme, which can cause eye strain for some users. Thankfully, a dark theme was added a few years ago that is easier on the eyes.
To switch to the dark theme:
- Open Notepad.
- Go to Settings in the upper right corner.
- In the Appearance section, click the drop-down arrow next to App Theme.
- Select Dark or Use system setting if your Windows settings are set to dark mode.
Custom Print Page Setup
Before printing a document from Notepad, you can customize how the header and footer appear when printed.
- Go to File and select Page Setup.
- Enter commands for alignment or additional information such as the date and current time.
- For example, to align the header to the left, input &L. To print the current date in the footer, enter &D.
For additional information about these codes, you can find help on the Microsoft Support page.
Open Websites Directly from Notepad
You can even open any website directly from Notepad! This is a handy trick for quickly accessing your favorite sites.
To create this functionality:
- Open Notepad and type start [URL] (for example, start https://www.example.com).
- Go to File and select Save As.
- Name the file with a .bat extension (e.g., “OpenWebsite.bat”) and click Save.
Now, when you double-click that file, it will open the website you entered!
Creating the Matrix Code Effect
If you want to have a little fun, you can create a Matrix-like code effect in Notepad!
To do this:
- Type or copy this script into Notepad:
@echo off color 02 :start echo %random%%random%%random%%random%%random%%random%%random%%random%%random%%random% goto start
- Save the file as a .bat file (e.g., “Matrix.bat”).
- Double-click the file to see the green code effect!
Shut Down Your PC with Notepad
You can create a script that shuts down your computer when executed. This is a handy trick for quick shutdowns.
Follow these steps:
- Open Notepad and type the following:
@echo off msg * System will now shut down shutdown -c "Bye!" -s
- Save the file as a .vbs file (e.g., “Shutdown.vbs”).
Now, double-clicking this file will shut down your computer.
Create a Speaking Computer
Finally, you can create a script that makes your computer speak the text you enter. This can be a fun way to interact with your machine.
To set this up:
- Open Notepad and enter the following:
Dim message
message = InputBox("Enter the text you want me to say:")
Set sapi = CreateObject("sapi.spvoice")
sapi.Speak message
- Save it as a .vbs file (e.g., “Speak.vbs”).
When you double-click this file, it will prompt you to enter text, and your computer will speak it out loud!
Conclusion
These cool Notepad tricks can significantly enhance your productivity and add some fun to your daily tasks. From automatic time stamps to creating a speaking computer, Notepad is more versatile than you might have thought. If you have any cool Notepad tricks not mentioned here, feel free to share them in the comments!
For more tech tips and tricks, check out Brett In Tech on YouTube!
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