How does the data: notepad work?
A data: address carries a whole web page inside the address itself. text/html says it
is a web page, and <html contenteditable> is that page: an empty document with editing
turned on. Chrome shows it, and because the page is editable, you can click and type.
- Open a new tab and click the address bar (or press Ctrl+L, Cmd+L on a Mac).
- Type
data:text/html,<html contenteditable>and press Enter. - Type your note. Bold (Ctrl+B) and italic (Ctrl+I) work too.
- Press Ctrl+D (Cmd+D) to bookmark the notepad for next time.
Want a larger font and a margin? Use this address instead:
data:text/html,<body contenteditable style="font:18px sans-serif;max-width:40em;margin:2em auto">
What are the limits?
- Nothing is saved. The text lives only in that tab. Closing, reloading or a browser crash loses it.
- One note per tab. No list of notes, no search.
- Bookmark opens a blank page, not your last text.
It is a good scratch pad for a phone number or a draft, and a poor place for anything you want to keep.
What about online notepad websites?
Sites that call themselves an online notepad give you a text box in a web page. Many save your text in that site's browser storage or on their server, some offer sharing links.
Good: nothing to install, works in any browser. Watch out for: you need the internet to open the page, your text may sit on a server you know nothing about, and clearing the site's data can delete it. Do not paste anything private into a site whose privacy policy you have not read.
A notepad that saves, offline
If you want the speed of the data: trick but with notes that are kept, use a notepad extension. NotePADD opens from the toolbar over any page:
- notes are saved as you type, on your computer, and are there after a restart;
- it works offline and needs no account;
- several notes with search, checklists and formatting;
- optional password encryption and backup to your own Google Drive.
It opens as a popup and closes when you click the page; your text stays saved.
| data: tab | Online notepad site | NotePADD | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Install | No | No | Chrome extension |
| Saves text | No | Usually, on that site | Yes, on your computer |
| Offline | Yes | Usually no | Yes |
| Several notes, search | No | Varies | Yes |
| Password | No | Rarely | Optional encryption |
More ways: how to take notes in Chrome.