10 Awesome Notepad Tricks

Notepad is the default text editor in the Microsoft Windows OS. Many people prefer alternatives to notepad such as Notepad++, but did you know that notepad can do much more than just view and edit text ? In fact, I’ll tech you how to make a fake virus using notepad so that you can fool your friends

Here are some awesome trick you can do with notepad…..

1. Log Diary Trick
Have you ever wanted to make your own diary on your computer ? Why not try notepad..

• Open notepad
• Type .LOG
• Save the file as LOG.txt

Now when you open notepad, the date and time will automatically be inserted. Write anything you want and the date and time is auto inserted. Your own notepad Diary

2. The 4335 Rule
This trick may not work on all computers
This has been surprising users for quite some time. When you enter a few secret codes, notepad hides them.

• Open notepad and type in BUSH HID THE FACTS
• Close notepad and open it again to see the magic

Can you read it again ? This is called the 4335 Rule. This means, if the first word is four words, the second and third as three words, and the fourth as five words, then you follow the 4335 rule and the text is hidden.

The same happens with this app can break.

3. Open a file using notepad
Here is a simple trick to open any file or program with notepad.

Open notepad and type the following:

Start path of file

Then save the file as Shortcut.bat
Please note that the file type should be kept as ALL FILES while saving it as a .bat file.

Change path of file with your actual file path. For example if you have a file called run with an extension .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 programs such as Firefox, then use this code:

START /d “path of folder” program.extension

Change path of folder with the actual path of the folder, and put the name of the program with its extension. For example if you have a file called run with an extension of .exe in the folder TEST in C:\ drive, then your code should be something like this: START /d “C:\TEST” run.exe

4. Make Questions
Want to make something interactive ? Need to make questions ? Here is an example of a question made with notepad where the user got the answer correct.

To do this, just type the following code in notepad.

@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 Fun PC Life
ECHO 2 – This info was not given by Fun PC Life
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

Now save the file as Question.bat and run the file.
Please note that the file type should be kept as ALL Files while saving it as a .bat file.

You can modify the code for your convenience. Change the bold text and try it out.

5. Make the Matrix

To make this, open notepad and type the following:
@echo off
color 2
:start
echo %random% %random% %random% %random% %random% %random% %random% %random% %random% %random% %random% %random% %random% %random%
goto start

Save this file as Matrix.bat
Make sure the file type is kept as ALL FILES while saving it as a .bat file.

Open the saved file and see the magic.

6. Alternative Single Character Matrix

Type in 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 run the file.
The file type should be kept as ALL FILES while saving a .bat file.

7. Lock Folders using Notepad
This trick may not work on all computers

Lets say you want to lock a folder named PICS in your D:\ drive , whose path is D:\PICS

Then the code should be something like this:
ren pics pics.{21EC2020-3AEA-1069-A2DD-08002B30309D}

Pics is your folder name. Use the name of the folder in place for pics. Save the text file as lock.bat in the same drive.

To unlock this locked folder:

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. Here again, pics is the name of the folder. Change it to the folder you want to lock.

8. Make a fake Virus POP UP
Type the following code in notepad:

@echo off
msg * WARNING
msg * VIRUS ENTERED YOUR PC

Save the file as pop.bat and run it. You should get two pop up messages. There has been an issue on some computers, but it should work on most computers.

9. Create a command prompt Virus message

Type the following 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

Save the file as virus.bat and run the file.

10. Test your antivirus by EICAR STANDARD ANTIVIRUS TEST
Now, you can check if your antivirus really works. Type the following in notepad:

X5O!P%@AP[4\PZX54(P^)7CC)7}$EICAR-STANDARD-ANTIVIRUS-TEST-FILE!$H+H*

Save the file as virus-test.txt
Scan the file. If your antivirus detects this file as a virus and tries to remove it, then you can be sure your antivirus is a good one. This is a much easier way, than actually downloading a virus to test it. This sample virus code is perfectly harmless and allows you to test your antivirus. A good antivirus like MS Security Essentials will detect this test virus even before you scan it.

That's all the tricks I'm sharing, at least for now. All the tricks above are perfectly safe and will not harm your computer in any way. There are many destructive notepad tricks as well, like making a real virus which kills the Operating System, but personally, I believe that is only meant for developers who want to make their OS security better. Use these tricks in your best behavior

Try these out and give us your comments......

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