What is Notepad?
Notepad is a text editor program. It is simple, and it lacks what many other text editor programs have.
For example, you cannot make selective text bold in Notepad, but it is a popular text editor and easy to use.
In this post you will see:
Let’s get started.
How to Open Notepad in Windows 10
Method #1
Open the Start menu.
Type notepad and then click the Notepad app in the search results.
Method #2
Click the “Start” button.
Click on the folder “Windows Accessories.”
Click on “Notepad,” which is above “Paint.”
Method #3
Use the notepad command in one of the following programs to start the Windows 10 Notepad app.
- Task Manager (In it, click File > Run new task to use the command)
- File Explorer address bar
Method #4
Go to C: > Windows > System32 folder, where you will find the executable notepad file.
Double-click on the “notepad” file.
Note: You can also find Notepad executable file in C: > Windows.
How to Open Notepad as Administrator
Method #1
Click the “Start” button or press the “Windows” button.
Type notepad. Right-click on the “Notepad” app in the search results.
Click on the “Run as administrator” option.
In the UAC pop-up, hit “Yes.”
Method #2
Open Run.
Type notepad and press CTRL + Shift + Enter keys together.
Click the “Yes” button in the UAC pop-up.
Method #3
Click the “Start” button.
Click on the folder “Windows Accessories” folder.
Right-click on the “Notepad.”
Move the mouse over “More.”
Click on the “Run as administrator” option.
In the UAC pop-up, hit “Yes.”
Method #4
Go to C: > Windows.
Find the “notepad” file.
Right-click on it.
Click on the “Run as administrator” option in the context menu.
Click the “Yes” button in the UAC pop-up.
Read: How to Open Paint 3D
How to Create a Windows 10 Notepad Shortcut
Check out the steps to create a Notepad shortcut on your Windows 10 desktop or File Explorer.
Right-click on the empty area of the File Explorer or desktop.
Move the mouse over “New.”
Click on “Shortcut” located under “Folder.”
In the pop-up, type notepad. Hit the “Next” button.
Enter the name of the shortcut if you don’t like the suggested one. Click the “Finish” button.
That’s it. You can see the shortcut on your desktop.
Read: How to Create a Calculator Shortcut
To create a shortcut that starts Notepad as administrator:
Create a shortcut of Notepad using the steps above.
Right-click on it and click on “Properties.”
Click the “Advanced” button.
In the pop-up, select the “Run as administrator” option.
Hit the “OK” button. Hit the “OK” button.
That’s it. From now on, when you open the shortcut, you’ll see a UAC pop-up. Click “Yes” and you’ll see the Notepad open as administrator.
How to Assign a Shortcut Key to a Notepad Shortcut
Right-click on the Notepad shortcut.
Click on “Properties.”
On the “Shortcut” tab, you will see the “Shortcut key” field.
In this field, provide the key you want to use to start Notepad. I’m providing ,.
Hit the “OK” button.
That’s it. From now on, every time I press CTRL + Alt + , keys, Notepad will be launched.
Note: You can apply the above steps to the shortcut, which opens Notepad as administrator.
How to Add Notepad to Right-click Menu
Open Registry Editor. Make a backup of the Registry before proceeding.
In the left pane, expand Hkey_Classes_Root > *.
Right-click on the “shell” key, and then select New > Key.
Enter the desired key name. Here, I enter it as Notepad. Press the “Enter” key.
Right-click on the key you’ve created and then select New > Key.
Provide the name of the key as command and then hit the “Enter” button.
In the right pane, double-click “Default.”
In the “Value data” field, provide Notepad %1 and then hit the “OK” button.
That’s it. From now on, right-click on the file you want to open on the Notepad. In the context menu, press the option “Notepad.” The file is open on Notepad.
Note: Do you want to remove Notepad from the context menu? Delete the first key you created (in my case, it is Notepad).
How to Add Notepad as Administrator to Right-click Menu
Open Registry Editor. Make a backup of the Registry before proceeding.
Expand Hkey_Classes_Root > *. Right-click on the “shell.” Select New > Key. Provide the key name as runas.
Double-click “Default” in the right pane.
Provide the name (in our instance: Notepad Admin) in the “Value data” field as you like.
Remember that this is the one you see in the context menu. Hit the “OK” button.
Right-click on the runas and then select New > Key. Provide the key name as command.
Double-click “Default” in the right pane.
Provide notepad %1 in the “Value data” field. Hit the “OK” button.
That’s it. From now on, right-click on the file you want to open. You’ll see the option (in our instance: Notepad Admin) in the context menu.
As soon as you hit that option, you will see a UAC pop-up. Hit the “Yes” button. The file will open on the Notepad that was started as administrator.
Note: Do you want to remove the option you have added from the context menu? Delete the runas key.
How to Add Notepad to Start Menu or Taskbar
Open the Start menu.
Type notepad. In the search results, you will see the “Notepad” app.
Right-click on it and you will see four options:
- Run as administrator
- Open file location (opens the “Windows Accessories” folder which contains the Notepad shortcut)
- Pin to Start
- Pin to taskbar
Click “Pin to Start” if you want to pin Notepad as a tile in the Start menu.
Click “Pin to taskbar” if you want to add Notepad to the taskbar.
How to Add Notepad to Send To Menu
Copy the shortcut of Notepad.
Launch Run. In it, type shell:sendto and then hit the “Enter” key.
Paste the Notepad shortcut into the “SendTo” folder.
Notepad Keyboard Shortcut Keys
| Shortcut | Action |
|---|---|
| F10 or left Alt | Displays or hides KeyTips. |
| CTRL + A | Select everything in the document. |
| CTRL + N | Create a new document in the same Notepad window. |
| Shift + CTRL + N | Create a new document in the new Notepad window. |
| CTRL + O | To open a document. |
| CTRL + S | Save the document. |
| Shift + CTRL + S | Save the document as a new document. |
| CTRL + P | To print. |
| CTRL + + | Zoom in. |
| CTRL + – | Zoom out. |
| CTRL + 0 | Restore default zoom. |
| Delete | Delete the letter on the right side of the cursor. |
| CTRL + Delete | Delete the word on the right side of the cursor. |
| CTRL + X | Cut the selected text. |
| CTRL + C | Copy the selected text. |
| CTRL + V | Paste. |
| CTRL + Z | Undo. |
| F5 | Include the current date and time into the document. |
| CTRL + E | Open “Bing” if the cursor has no words on the left side of it. If there’s a word on the cursor’s left side, then you can see the Bing search results for it. |
| CTRL + F | Open the “Find” pop-up. |
| CTRL + H | Open the “Replace” pop-up. |
| CTRL + G | Open the “Go To Line” pop-up. |
| F3 | Find the next. |
| Shift + F3 | Find the previous. |
| CTRL + Home | Bring the cursor to the top of the document. |
| CTRL + End | Bring the cursor to the end of the document. |
How to Reinstall Notepad in Windows 10
Right-click on the “Start” button.
Click on the “Apps and Features” option.
Click on the “Optional features” link in the “Apps & features” section.
Click “Add a feature” at the top.
Select “Notepad” and then hit the “Install” button.
How to Uninstall Notepad in Windows 10
Right-click on the “Start” button.
Click on the “Apps and Features” option.
Click on the “Optional features” link in the “Apps & features” section.
Click on “Notepad.”
You will see the Uninstall button. Hit it.
Read: How to Open Settings App
How to Reset Notepad in Windows 10
Open the Registry Editor. Make a backup of the Registry before proceeding.
Expand Hkey_Current_User > Software > Microsoft.
Find the “Notepad” key.
Right-click on it and then hit the “Delete” option.
In the confirmation pop-up, tap “Yes.”
That’s it. Open the Notepad and you will see the change.
How to Change Notepad Default Font, Size, Style, and Script
The default Notepad font is “Consolas.” The default style is “Regular.”
The default font size is “11,” and the default script is “Western.”
Let us now see the steps.
Start Notepad.
Click on “Format.”
Hit “Font.”
In the pop-up, you will see a list of fonts under “Font.”
Choose the one you prefer.
If you prefer, change the default font size, script, and style from here.
Hit the “OK” button.
Note: Note that you cannot change the font for selective text in the Notepad.
How to Enable Status Bar and Word Wrap
Status Bar is by default enabled on Notepad and Word Wrap is not.
The latter is enabled to display the file contents within the window size. In other words, you do not have to scroll horizontally to view the file contents.
Not only that, but it also puts the cursor on the new line when you reach the end of the current line as you type.
With that said, let’s see the steps to enable them.
Start Notepad.
Click on the “View” at the top.
You will see the “Status Bar” option. Hit it to activate or deactivate the Status Bar.
Click “Format” at the top. You will see the “Word Wrap” option. Click it to enable or disable Word Wrap.
How to Delete a Notepad Document in Windows 10
Open the Start menu.
Type the name of the Notepad file.
Right-click on the file name in the search results.
Click on the “Open file location” option and you will see the file.
Right-click on it and then hit the “Delete” option.
