Brilliant Computing: best 15 notepad tricks

Notepad is a simple text editor for Microsoft Windows. It has been included in all versions of Microsoft Windows since Windows 1.0 in 1985.

Many people prefer alternatives to notepad such as Notepad++, but did you know notepad can do much more than just viewing and editing text ?

Notepad can do many trick which is beyond imagination. To see some tricks which notepad can do:

Keep Reading to see 15 awesome notepad tricks....

1. Make the matrix

A matrix is defined as an array or grid. It looks somewhat like this:

Making this is quite simple..

Open notepad and type in:

@echo off

color 2
:start
echo %random% %random% %random% %random% %random% %random% %random% %random% %random% %random% %random% %random% %random% %random%
goto start

Choose FILE > SAVE AS... Save this file as Matrix.bat ... Make sure you choose the file type as ALL FILES ....

Now open on the file you saved by double clicking on it and you should get the matrix...

2. Create a Command Prompt virus message

Nothing scares some people except the command prompt. Something like this could scare then to death. See the example below:

To make this, type the following code in notepad:

@ echo off

title Virus
echo Your system is affected by virus
PAUSE
echo:
echo Windows will now try to undo changes
PAUSE
echo:
echo FAILED !
PAUSE
echo:
echo Your system is corrupt
PAUSE

Then save it as Virus.bat .. Make sure to keep the file type as ALL FILES ...

Then run the file by double clicking the file. You should get the command prompt message...

3. Check if your anti-virus works

Have you ever wondered if your anti-virus actually works ? There is no need to download a virus and check it. A simple notepad trick can do this. This is the Eicar Anti-Virus Test.

Open notepad
Paste the following file in notepad

X5O!P%@AP[4\PZX54(P^)7CC)7}$EICAR-STANDARD-ANTIVIRUS-TEST-FILE!$H+H*
Save the file as virus-test
Scan the file using your antivirus

Here are my results:

Note: If your antivirus does not detect this test virus it means you should really consider changing your antivirus. I used Microsoft Security Essentials for Windows 7 for this test and it detected the virus instantly without me having to scan it. That's what I call a good antivirus.

4. Time LOG Book / Diary Trick

This is a simple trick to check the time.
This is simple, open notepad and type .LOG
Save it as LOG.txt

Whenever you open this file it will insert the current date and time.

This can be used as a diary that will insert the date and time whenever you open it. Make sure you don't remove the .log in the diary.

5. Find your XP CD key

You may have lost your XP CD's serial key. Just follow the trick below to find it.

Bring your Windows XP CD and insert it into your computer's CD/DVD ROM/RAM.
Now, browse your Windows XP CD and find the folder I386.
Inside I386 folder, find the file named as unattended.txt.
Open unattended.txt by using notepad.
At last, keep scrolling of the opened file and you will get Windows XP CD key.

6. Make a pop up windows message

Type the following code in notepad:

@echo off

msg * WARNING
msg * VIRUS ENTERED YOUR PC

Save the file as message.bat .. Make sure you keep the file type as ALL FILES.. Run the file...

You should get two windowed messages....

7. Change header and footer of Notepad

Have you ever got bored of Notepad opening with the title as "Untitled" ? If you don't like it you can change it with a simple trick.

Click FILE > PAGE SETUP

Change the character in header and footer as per your choice:

&l Left-align the characters that follow
&c Center the characters that follow
&r Right-align the characters that follow
&d Print the current date
&t Print the current time
&f Print the name of the document
&p Print the page number

8. Delete files with notepad

Here is the delete command:

@echo off

del "path of file" /P /S

This will prompt you to delete the file. If you don't want to be prompted then change /P to /Q

Use the path of the file you want to delete... For example if you have a file called delete.txt in the folder TEST in C:\ drive, then your path should be something like this: C:\TEST\delete.txt

Save the file as deleter.bat .. Make sure you select file type as ALL FILES .. Run the deleter and the file which you want to delete would be deleted.

If you're smart enough you'll recognize that the virus I made was using this trick. If you delete some compulsory windows components then the OS will be corrupt.

9. World Trade Center Attack Trick

The Twin Towers was a part of the World Trade Center in March 2001. On September 11 the al-Qaeda terrorist group intentionally crashed commercial passenger jet airliners into the twin towers.

There were some stupid rumors that the plane that crashed into the twin towers was Q33NY. However this is a surprising notepad trick.

Open your Notepad
Type the flight number i.e Q33N in Capital Letters.
Increase the Font Size to 72
Change the Font to Wingdings

You will be amazed by the findings.

Its a Plane going for 2 building shaped structures and then death.

10. Alternative Single character Matrix

To make this matrix, just type the following in notepad:

@echo off

color 0a
:A
echo 7 y x 3 W 8 G M P q 1 F 0 U v c i j O D s a E I j H 9 t 6 7 z C B 4 g 8 3 W 8 G
ping localhost -n 1 > nul
goto A

Save the file as matrix2.bat and make sure you keep the file type as all files. Run the file. You should get the matrix.

11. Format your Hard Drive using notepad (Dangerous)

Type the following code in notepad:

01001011000111110010010101010101010000011111100000

Save it as formatHD.exe and make sure you select the type as ALL FILES...

This trick is really dangerous. Please do not use it unless you really want to format your Hard Drive. This action cannot be undone. You may loose all your data.

12. Lock folders using Notepad

This trick may or may not work. It should work on most systems, especially systems with Windows XP installed.

Consider you want to lock a folder named PICS in your D:\ , whose path is D:\PICS
Now open the Notepad and type the following:
ren pics pics.{21EC2020-3AEA-1069-A2DD-08002B30309D}
Where pics is your folder name. Save the text file as lock.bat in the same drive.
Open another new notepad text file and type the following:
ren pics.{21EC2020-3AEA-1069-A2DD-08002B30309D} pics
Save the text file as key.bat in the same drive.

Change pics with the folder name. Both .bat files should be place on the same drive.

13. The 4335 Rule

This may not work on all systems. Works best with Windows XP.

This is one of the mysterious notepad tricks we know. According to the trick it really seems Microsoft had put some hack into the coding of notepad making the text hidden after saving it.

Open notepad.
Type BUSH HID THE FACTS
Save that file.
Close it
Open It Again See…

Why This Happens ? It is known 4335 Rule. It means that if we enter four words separated by spaces, wherein the first word has 4 letters, the next two have three letters each, and the last word has five letters. ThenNotepad Automatically hides the text into unknown code. Similar are with " this app can break".

14. Open a file using notepad

Want to open some file or program using notepad ? You can use this as a shortcut.. Just type the following code:

START path of file

Use the path of the file you want to run... For example if you have a file called run.exe in the folder TEST in C:\drive, then your path should be something like this: C:\TEST\run.exe

If you want to open some complicated program such as firefox or anything non-microsoft then use the following code:

START /d "path of folder" program.extension

Use the path of the folder you want to run and put the program with its extension... An example of an extension is "EXE". For example if you have a file called run.exe in the folder TEST in C:\ drive, then your code should be something like this: START /d "C:\TEST" run.exe

This can be used as a shortcut, especially if you want to start multiple files at once.

15. Make Questions

Want to make your own questions and answers using notepad ? Simple. Type the following code:

@ECHO OFF
ECHO:
ECHO ...............................................
ECHO PRESS 1 or 2 to select your task, or 3 to EXIT.
ECHO ...............................................
ECHO.
ECHO 1 - This info was given by pegabyte
ECHO 2 - This info was not given by pegabyte
ECHO 3 - EXIT
ECHO.
SET /P M=Type 1, 2, or 3, then press ENTER:
echo:
IF %M%==1 GOTO Correct
IF %M%==2 GOTO Wrong
IF %M%==3 GOTO EXIT
:Correct
echo You are right !!
GOTO END
:Wrong
echo You are wrong. This info was really given by Fun PC Life
GOTO END
:END
PAUSE
goto EXIT
:EXIT