6 Easy Ways to Access Notepad in Windows 10

Notepad is a simple basic text editor in Microsoft Windows 10. It enables computer users to write short documents, and make important quick notes in plain text, so images are not compatible. What’s more, Notepad offers you to write or edit HTML for a web page as well as open and edit text files created on UNIX, Linux, and Mac and display them correctly.

Notepad is listed on the Microsoft Store already. With Windows version 10 20H1, Microsoft is turning the classic Notepad app into a standalone Store app. It is going to be updated independently from the core OS but will remain bundled with the OS. Independent updates will be available in the Microsoft Store without relying on Windows update. This change will allow Microsoft to deliver the essential updates and new features, and respond to users’ feedback and issues much faster.

Part 1: New Features of Windows 10 NotepadPart 2: Where to Find Notepad in Windows 10Part 3: Tips to Easily Access Notepad on Windows 10Part 4: How to Use Notepad With HTMLPart 5: In Summary

Part 1: New Features of Windows 10 Notepad

Microsoft offers plenty of new features and improvements in Notepad. Now, it comes with vital performance improvements, display bug fixes, ability to handle large text files without issues, and incorporates the following new features:

#1: Bing Search

Notepad enables you to find quickly the spelling or meaning of a word just within the app by using a Bing search. To use this feature, select some text. Click “Edit” from the menu, and then select “Search with Bing…” The shortcut key is CTRL + E.

#2: Wrap Around

Notepad offers a” Wrap around” option in Find and Replace dialog windows. Meaning, if you want to search or replace a text and use wrap-around, Notepad will find the text or replace it in the entire file. To use it, check the “Wrap around” checkbox in the “File” or “Replace” dialog window.

#3: Text Zooming

Microsoft’s text editor now allows you to “zoom” the text to make it smaller or larger. Go to “View” menu, click “Zoom”, and select “Zoom In”, “Zoom Out”, or “Restore Default Zoom” to adjust the zoom level.

Keyboard shortcuts:

• Zoom In – Press Ctrl+ Plus sign (+)
• Zoom Out – Press Ctrl+ Minus sign (-)
• Restore Default Zoom – Press Ctrl+ 0 (zero)

#4: Support for the UNIX-style End of Line (EOL) Characters

Finally, Microsoft is adding support for UNIX-style End of Line (EOL) characters in Notepad. It supports UNIX, Linux, and Mac line breaks. You can now copy a file created from UNIX, Mac, or Linux then paste it in Notepad. It maintains the file’s current line ending format and preserves the line breaks.

#5: Shortcut to Delete the Previous Word

Now, you can use a simple shortcut to delete the previous word you typed. Press Ctrl + Backspace keys to do this.

#6: Line and Column Numbers in the Status bar

The status bar is located in the bottom part of the Notepad screen. If enabled, it displays the text information connected to column, line number with word wrapping, and current zoom level. The status bar is enabled by default. You can disable it by clicking “View”, and selecting “Status Bar”.

Part 2: Where to Find Notepad in Windows 10

There are several options to access Notepad in Windows 10. Follow the steps below:

Open Notepad from the Run Window

• Step 01: Open the “Run” window. Shortcut: Press the Windows logo + R keys at the same time.
• Step 02: Type in “notepad” and hit “Enter”. This will open the Notepad

Open Notepad From the Start Menu

• Step 01: Go to the “Start” menu.
• Step 02: Type “notepad” and press“Enter”.

-OR-

• Step 01: Go to the “Start” menu.
• Step 02: Then, go to Windows Accessories
• Step 03: Expand the folder and select Notepad.

Open Notepad via Create a New Text Document

• Step 01: Right-click in the empty area of your Desktop.
• Step 02: Click “New”, then select “Text document”. This will open the Notepad

Open Notepad via File Explorer

• Step 01: Go to this location to find Notepad: “C:\Windows\” or “C:\Windows\System32”
• Step 02: Click “notepad” or “Exe” to open the app.
• Step 03: If you can't find the notepad, enter the keyword "notepad" in the File Explorer search bar to find it.

Open Notepad From the Command Prompt / PowerShell

• Step 01: Open the “Run” window. Shortcut: Press the Windows logo + R keys at the same time.
• Step 02: Type “cmd” or “PowerShell” and hit “Enter”. The Command Prompt / PowerShell is opened.
• Step 03: Type: “EXE”

Open Notepad via Search in Windows 10

• Step 01: Go to “Windows Search bar”.
• Step 02: Click “Search”.
• Step 03: Type “Notepad” and hit “Enter”.
• Step 04: Click “Notepad” from the search result.

Part 3: Tips to Easily Access Notepad on Windows 10

There are two ways to easily access Notepad in Windows 10. It is by creating a shortcut or pinning it to the taskbar. Follow the steps below:

Pin Notepad to Taskbar

• Step 01: Open “Notepad”.
• Step 02: Right-click the “Notepad window” icon in the taskbar.
• Step 03: Select “Pin to Taskbar”.

-OR-

• Step 01: Open “Notepad”.
• Step 02: Save a blank text document to your Desktop.
• Step 03: Drag the Notepad file to your taskbar to pin the program for quick access.

Create Notepad Shortcut in the Desktop

• Step 01: Go to the “Start” menu.
• Step 02: From the program list, select “Notepad”.
• Step 03: Drag Notepad to the Desktop. A shortcut to Notepad will be created.
• Step 04: Open the Notepad via the newly created shortcut.

Part 4: How to Use Notepad With HTML

Notepad can also be used in writing HTML scripts; hence, you can create a web page through Notepad. Make sure to save the document in HTML format. Below are the steps:

• Step 01: Open Notepad. Write HTML scripts in the document.
• Step 02: To save the file, select the “File” menu and click “Save as”.
• Step 03: Enter the name “.htm” and select “UTF-8” in the “Encoding” dropdown.
• Step 04: Use either “.html” or “.htm” for the extension. Do not save the file with a .txt extension.
• Step 05: Double-click the file to open it in a browser. Alternatively, you can right-click the file and choose “Open with” to view your work.
• Step 06: To make changes to the web page, open the saved Notepad file. Make the changes and save the file again. View the changes in your browser.

Part 5: In Summary

Although now, there exist a lot of text editors with many features available for use, still Notepad is a great simple, the basic text editor that you want to utilize may it be for writing short documents or large text files, editing configuration files, writing codes, and scripts, or making quick notes. Much more with its new features and improvements, you can be more productive with Notepad. Start exploring the new Windows 10 Notepad!