windows notepad LOG facility

mikeh3's picture
Submitted by mikeh3 on Tue, 05/08/2025 - 19:47

Notepad on Windows has a built-in feature that allows it to act as a basic log file creator by automatically adding a timestamp to the beginning of the file each time it's opened. This is achieved by simply starting the file with the line ".LOG" (in all caps). Notepad will then recognize this and append the current date and time to the file whenever it's opened in the future

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mikeh3

Tue, 05/08/2025 - 20:12

Part of a demo to access a file with a tool that has different functions. The Windows Textpad (9) has a spell checker under key F7. Both notepad and Textpad are text editors as opposed to word processors. When opened separately there are no locking issues. I used Notepad sometimes to verify my spelling - and just notice and tested - that Textpad responds to the .LOG command like Notepad.