How to Use Notepad (with Pictures)

2024 Author: Jason Gerald | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 10:50

Notepad is a very standard text editing program, available as an included application in the Windows operating system. Notepad is a great program for writing short documents that you might want to save as plain text. Notepad has some additional features that you can take advantage of as well. However, Notepad is just a text editing program so it is not compatible for images. Since Notepad is basically the same on both Windows 7 and Windows 8.1, the only difference is how you open the program. Learning the basics of Notepad is quick and easy!

Step

Part 1 of 3: Getting to know Notepad

Step 1. Open Notepad

On Windows 7, open your "Start" menu and type "Notepad" in the search box. Select Notepad to open the application. You can also switch to the “Accessories” folder on the “Start” menu and select Notepad from the application list

On Windows 8.1, type “Notepad” in the search box on the Start screen

Step 2. Explore the user interface of Notepad

When Notepad opens, you'll see a simple screen with a limited set of text editing options. Look at the menu options for "File", "Edit", "Format", "View", and "Help".

Step 3. Open the "File" menu

You will see a list down with "New", "Open", "Save", "Save As", "Page Setup", and "Print". These menus are the basic options for editing text. Select “New” to create a document.

Whenever you save a file with "Save" or "Save As", Windows automatically saves the file in.txt format, which can be opened in Notepad.
You can choose to save your Notepad document in HTML by selecting "Save As" then selecting "All Files" from the list of options, and your file will be saved with.htm or.html as the extension. Type your HTML code directly into the document like you would write plain text.
In order for your document to properly save in HTML, you need to enable "Word Wrap". Later in this article, you will find instructions on how to enable this feature.

Step 4. Set your paper settings

Switch to "Page Setup" from the "File" menu. You will see several setting options. Select the paper size and orientation, as well as the header and footnotes you want from the options in this menu.

Step 5. Add a header ("Header") and a foot ("Footer") note

Notepad automatically inserts a header, i.e. the name and date of the document at the time the document was printed. These footnotes are page numbers. You can remove these automatic settings by selecting the “Header and Footer” option from the File menu in the menu bar and then deleting the codes in the menu. All header and footnote settings must be typed manually each time you want to print a document. These settings cannot be saved. To change the headings and footnotes, select "Page Setup" from the "File" menu and then enter the commands you want in the header and footnote boxes. The following is a short list of header and footnote commands:

&l Aligns to the left the characters given this command
&c Aligns to the center of the characters given this command
&r Right aligns the characters given this command
&d Print the current date
&t Print current time
&f Print document name
&p Print page number
If you leave your header and footnote text boxes blank, there will be no header or footnote in the document you print.
You can enter words into the header and footnote text box and they will be printed in the correct position. The letters after the "&" do not need to be capitalized.
In the Notepad application, your header is centered, regardless of the format code you use, if it is not the first item in the header text box. For example, to align a title to the left of the paper, use &|Title text.

Part 2 of 3: Using Notepad

Step 1. Get to know the “Edit” label on the menu bar

Undo is the first item you'll find when the "Edit" menu opens downwards. You can use a quick method with your keyboard to activate this function, namely by clicking Ctrl-Z. When you use "Undo", you will also find "Redo" as another option.

Other menus; "Cut", "Copy", "Paste", "Delete", "Find", "Find Next", "Replace", "Go To", "Select All", and "Time/Date", is quite a menu standard on most Windows programs that use word-filled documents.
The “Go To” option is only available if “Word Wrap” is disabled and if your document contains numbered lines. In Notepad's default settings, "Word Wrap" is disabled.

Step 2. Enable "Word Wrap"

Unless “Word Wrap” is enabled, all the text you type will be on the same line until you click the “Return” button and the lines will scroll indefinitely. To fix this problem, open the “Format” menu on the menu bar. "Word Wrap" is the first option you'll see. Select Word Wrap and your document will be adjusted as desired.

Step 3. Adjust your text type

Select "Font" from the "Format" option on the menu bar. Now, you can choose from a range of fonts that are not loaded yet, choose the option "Bold" (to bold the text), "Italics/Oblique" (to italicize the text), or "Bold/Italics" (to bold and italicize the text). You can also select your text size from this window.

Changes to the typeface will affect the entire document. You cannot use one type of text in one part of the document and another type of writing in another part of the document.
From the dropdown menu options listed as “Script” in the “Fonts” window, you can find characters that are not available in standard “Western” typefaces.

Step 4. Use the “View” dropdown menu on the menu bar

The only option you will find is called “Status Bar”. This option is only available when "Word Wrap" is disabled. When "Word Wrap" is disabled, a notification will appear on the bottom border of your document window, indicating where your cursor is in the document.

Step 5. Start typing

It is recommended that you enable "Word Wrap" at this step. Set the typeface as you wish and remember that the typeface you use must be consistent throughout the text of the document.

Keep in mind that the “Tab” key will move your cursor ten spaces into your line of text, unlike Microsoft Word which only has five spaces

Step 6. Save your document

When you're done, switch to the “Save As” option from the “File” dropdown menu on the menu bar. Notepad by default uses the “My Documents” folder on Windows 7, and the “OneDrive” folder on Windows 8.1.

If you want to save your document in a different place, find the folder you want from the “Save As” window and select it. Notepad will move to the folder you selected to save future documents.
Note that all your files will be saved with a.txt extension.

Step 7. Print your finished document

Click the "File" menu then select the "Print" option from the dropdown menu. This option will take you to a separate window where you can select a print tool and some other options you want, then click "Print". To change the settings that determine how your document looks after printing, click the "File" menu and then click "Page Setup":

To change the paper size, touch or click the size you want in the Size list.
To change the paper source, touch or click a tray or feeder name in the "Source" list.
To print the file vertically, click "Portrait"; to print the file horizontally, click "Landscape".
To change the paper border, enter a border width in any of the "Margins" boxes.

Part 3 of 3: Utilizing the Quick Way (Shortcut)

Step 1. Use the “Escape” key

You can use the "Escape" key as a quick and easy way to exit dialog boxes. The "Escape" button is basically a "cancel" button. By pressing the "Escape" key, you can also hide the outputs. The "Escape" key is usually located on the right-hand side of the keyboard and is sometimes represented by a small arrow pointing to the left.

Step 2. Move to another window

To move to the next window, you can use either Ctrl-Tab or Ctrl-F6. Click and hold these buttons together to activate your quick way. Depending on your choice, this method will move navigating through the documents in Window's own current window order, or will use a "Visual Studio" window stacking system.

You can hold down the "Shift" key, either by these combinations or by scrolling the window in the opposite direction

Step 3. Switch your outer window

Click the F8 key located along the top of your keyboard and the Shift key located on your left hand to scroll through the stacked outer windows and individual outer windows.

Step 4. Learn more fast ways

You can save time making small adjustments when working on your document by using the quick method. Notepad has many quick ways, ranging from those related to simple to complex processes. Here are some popular quick fixes on Notepad: