Chrome tip: How to access Google Chrome's hidden built-in notepad

notepad Chrome tip: How to access Google Chromes hidden built in notepad Every once in a while, I need quick access to a simple notepad on my Chromebook. There are a ton of reasons why anyone might need one, but luckily, Chrome already has a built-in notepad ready for you to use, with no need to install other web apps or extensions – you just need to know what to do in order to access it.

To open the notepad, simply type data:text/html, <html contenteditable> in your omnibar. That may seem like a daunting task to remember each and every time you want to access the notepad, but it’s actually possible to add this to your bookmarks, making it easily accessible that way. Better yet, this little trick words on Chrome OS and the Chrome web browser, including desktop and mobile versions.

Granted, this is a very basic notepad – there are not fancy features that come with other notepads, and there isn’t even the ability to save what you’re typing. This is purely a basic notepad to get you by on the fly, and nothing more – but it’s perfect for what I usually use notepads for.

Have you got any Chrome tips of your own that you’d like to share? Let us know below!

7 Comments

Steven L January 31, 2013 at 3:51 pm - Reply

“and there isn’t even the ability to save what you’re typing.”

I tried this right now, and hitting Ctrl+S let me save the contents. Furthermore, when I opened up the file again, it let me continue editing the file.
- John Freml January 31, 2013 at 3:53 pm - Reply
  
  What platform are you using? I didn’t try saving on my desktop, but I tried in Chrome OS, and while it does save a file, it doesn’t let me open it (I get an error message).
  - Steven L January 31, 2013 at 4:04 pm - Reply
    
    I’m using Chrome 24 on Windows 7. Theoretically, this should work in any browser that supports HTML 5.
    - John Freml January 31, 2013 at 4:08 pm - Reply
      
      Is it saving as .mhtml on Windows? ChromeOS is my daily driver, and apparently can’t handle opening that file type.
      - Tyler Osborne January 31, 2013 at 4:41 pm -
        
        For me on Windows 7 it saves as, “dataurl.htm”
      - John Freml January 31, 2013 at 5:24 pm -
        
        Hmm… so yeah, definitely not consistent enough to save that “saving” is available across all platforms! Oh well… :-p
Aaron Orquia January 31, 2013 at 7:50 pm - Reply

This should be useful for my CR-48, but is also a universal hack for pretty much any HTML browser. Even Reconq, the WebKit based browser on my KDE /Linux desktop worked, and as Tyler mentioned I was also able to save and open the file.