Editing Windows Notepad (section)

== Features ==
Notepad is a [[text editor]], i.e., an app specialized in editing [[plain text]]. It can edit [[text file]]s (bearing the ".txt" [[filename extension]]) and compatible formats, such as [[batch file]]s, [[INI file]]s, and [[log file]]s.

Notepad offers only the most basic text manipulation functions, such as finding and replacing text. Until [[Windows ME]], there were almost no keyboard shortcuts and no line-counting feature. Starting with [[Windows 2000]], shortcuts for common commands like "New", "Open", and "Save" were added, as well as a status bar with a line counter (available only when word-wrap is disabled). Before [[Windows 10 version 1809]], Notepad could not properly interpret either [[Unix]]-style or [[Classic Mac OS|Mac]]-style [[newline]] characters.<ref>{{cite web |date=May 8, 2018 |title=Introducing extended line endings support in Notepad |url=http://blogs.msdn.microsoft.com/commandline/2018/05/08/extended-eol-in-notepad/ |website=Windows Command Line Blog |publisher=[[Microsoft]] |access-date=2018-05-09 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180509202114/https://blogs.msdn.microsoft.com/commandline/2018/05/08/extended-eol-in-notepad/ |archive-date=2018-05-09}}</ref> Windows 10 version 1809 also introduced the {{keypress|Ctrl|Backspace}} keyboard shortcut (deletes the previous word), zoom functionality, the ability to zoom in and out, and the "Search with [[Microsoft Bing|Bing]]" function.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Huculak |first1=Mauro |title=Check out all the changes in Notepad in the October 2018 Update |url=http://www.windowscentral.com/whats-new-notepad-windows-10-october-2018-update |website=Windows Central |date=5 October 2018}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=New features in Notepad in Windows 10 |url=https://www.thewindowsclub.com/new-features-in-notepad-in-windows-10-v1809 |website=The Windows Club |date=9 October 2018}}</ref>

Improving performance has been the main focus of Notepad's development. As part of this effort, Notepad is capable of reading text files even when other apps have acquired a [[file locking|range-based lock on the file]].<ref>{{cite web |last=Chen |first=Raymond |date=21 May 2018 |title=Maintaining Notepad is not a full-time job, but it's not an empty job either |url=http://devblogs.microsoft.com/oldnewthing/20180521-00/?p=98795 |access-date=21 June 2021 |website=The Old New Thing |publisher=[[Microsoft]] |quote=To load a file, Notepad maps a view of the file as a memory-mapped file and uses that as the source. The code figures out the encoding, performs a code page conversion to UTF-16LE if necessary, puts the result in a memory block, and then uses the EM_SETHANDLE message to hand that entire block to the edit control. }}</ref>

On [[Windows 95]] and earlier, Notepad renders text files in the [[Fixedsys]] [[font]]. Starting with [[Windows NT 4.0]] and [[Windows 98]], it allows users to choose their own font to display the text. They cannot, however, select individual parts of the text and change their fonts.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://archive.org/details/windowsntworksta0000wyat|title=Windows NT Workstation 4.0 Bible|last=Wyatt|first=Allen L.|publisher=[[IDG Books]]|date=1996|access-date=2022-03-08|page=239|isbn=0-7645-8011-6}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|url=http://archive.org/details/upgradingtowindo00russ|title=Upgrading to Windows 98|last1=Russel|first1=Charlie|last2=Crawford|first2=Sharon|publisher=[[Sybex]]|date=1998|access-date=2022-03-08|page=304|isbn=0-7821-2190-X}}</ref> Its default font changed to [[Lucida Console]] on [[Windows 2000]], and [[Consolas]] on [[Windows 8]].

Notepad can print files. It allows customizing headers, footers, and margins before printing. The date, file name, and other information can be placed in the headers and footers with various codes consisting of an ampersand ('&') followed by a letter.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=n-ZwffW4XcYC&pg=PA94|title=Windows XP Power Hound: Teach Yourself New Tricks|last=Gralla|first=Preston|publisher=[[Pogue Press]]|date=2005|access-date=2022-03-08|pages=94–95|isbn=0-596-00619-5}}</ref>

Notepad accepts text from the Windows [[clipboard (software)|clipboard]], but only in the CF_TEXT format.<ref>"{{cite web |url=http://www.cs.binghamton.edu/~reckert/360/15_clipboard_f03.html |title=The Clipboard |access-date=September 29, 2009 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090226035433/http://cs.binghamton.edu/~reckert/360/15_clipboard_f03.html |archive-date=2009-02-26}}</ref> It strips the pasted text of any embedded font and style information. One could temporarily paste formatted text into Notepad, then immediately copy it again to obtain the raw text.

Notepad has a simple logging function. Each time it opens a file with ".LOG" on its first line, the app inserts a timestamp on the file's last line.<ref>{{cite web|date=July 19, 2005|title=Features of LOG and Time/Date Command in Notepad|url=http://support.microsoft.com/kb/81067|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070628221631/http://support.microsoft.com/kb/81067|archive-date=June 28, 2007|website=Support|publisher=[[Microsoft]]}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|date=December 20, 2004|title=How to Use Notepad to Create a Log File|url=http://support.microsoft.com/kb/260563|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050406104758/http://support.microsoft.com/kb/260563|archive-date=April 6, 2005|website=Support|publisher=[[Microsoft]]}}</ref>

===Encoding support===
Notepad supports the following [[character encoding]]s:
*"ANSI" (the locale-dependent [[codepage]])
*Unicode, encoded as:
**[[UCS-2]] (Windows NT 3.5 to 2000)
**[[UTF-16]] (Windows 2000 or later), both little- and big-endian
**[[UTF-8]] (Windows 2000 or later)
***Before Windows 10, Notepad always inserted a [[byte order mark]] character at the start of the file. Since Windows 10, the BOM has been optional.
Starting with Windows 10 1809 Insider build, it supports Unix-style (LF) and Classic Mac OS -style (CR) [[newline|line endings]], along with the native DOS/Windows CRLF style. Before this, only CRLF line endings were recognized.<ref>{{cite web|date=2018-05-08|title=Introducing extended line endings support in Notepad|url=https://devblogs.microsoft.com/commandline/extended-eol-in-notepad/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230330091723/https://devblogs.microsoft.com/commandline/extended-eol-in-notepad/|url-status=dead|archive-date=2023-03-30|publisher=[[Microsoft]]}}</ref>

Opening and editing in left-to-right and right-to-left based languages are done via [[RichEdit]] controls and [[input method editors]], available in versions for Windows XP or later.