How to Save and Print in Microsoft Notepad (Windows 11)

This tutorial covers:

How to Save a File With Menu
How to Save a File With Keyboard Shortcut
How to "Save as" With Menu
How to "Save as" With Keyboard Shortcut
How to Save Multiple Files With Menu
How to Save Multiple Files With Keyboard Shortcut
How to Print With Menu
How to Print With Keyboard Shortcut
How to Change the Printer
How to Add a Printer
How to Change Printing Orientation With Print Menu
How to Change Printing Orientation With More Settings
How to Change Printing Orientation With Page Setup
How to Change the Number of Copies
How to Change Color Settings With Print Menu
How to Change Color Settings With More Settings
How to Print to File
How to Let Notepad Change Printing Preferences
How to Exit the Print Window
How to Print on Both Sides
How to Change Page Order
How to Change Paper Source With Print Menu
How to Change Paper Source With Page Setup
How to Change Paper Media
How to Change Paper Size
How to Change Margins
How to Remove the Header or Footer
How to Specify the Header or Footer
What Are the Header and Footer Codes?
How to Add Custom Words to the Header or Footer

Too much scrolling? Click through this tutorial presentation instead:

Follow along with this tutorial video:

How to Save a File With Menu

Step 1: Go to the upper left of the Notepad window and click the "File" button.

The edited Notepad window displays the text of "Chapter 1". The cursor clicks the "File" button in the upper left of the edited Notepad window.

Step 2: In the menu that opens, click "Save".

A menu appears below the "File" button in the upper left of the Notepad window. The cursor clicks the "Save" option in the menu.

Step 3: In the "Save as" window that opens, in the "File name" field type any text to name the file. Click the "Save" button at the bottom of the window.

The "Save as" window opens. Towards the bottom of the window, a blue rectangle highlights the "File name:" field that displays "Chapter 1". The cursor clicks the "Save" button at the bottom of the window.

How to Save a File With Keyboard Shortcut

Step 1: Click inside a Notepad window and on the keyboard press Ctrl + S.

The edited Notepad window displays the text of "Chapter 2". A graphic of the keyboard keys "Ctrl + S" appears at the bottom of the Notepad window.

Step 2: In the "Save as" window that opens, in the "File name" field type any text to name the file. Click the "Save" button at the bottom of the window.

The "Save as" window opens. Towards the bottom of the window, a blue rectangle highlights the "File name:" field that displays "Chapter 2". The cursor clicks the "Save" button at the bottom of the window.

How to "Save as" With Menu

Step 1: Go to the upper left of the Notepad window and click the "File" button.

The cursor clicks the "File" button in the upper left of the empty Notepad window.

Step 2: In the menu that opens, click "Save as".

A menu appears below the "File" button in the upper left of the Notepad window. The cursor clicks the "Save as" option in the menu.

Step 3: In the "Save as" window that opens, in the "File name" field type any text to name the file. Click the "Save" button at the bottom of the window.

How to "Save as" With Keyboard Shortcut

Step 1: Click inside the Notepad window and on the keyboard press Ctrl + Shift + S.

A graphic of the keyboard keys "Ctrl + Shift + S" appears at the bottom of the empty Notepad window.

Step 2: In the "Save as" window that opens, in the "File name" field type any text to name the file. Click the "Save" button at the bottom of the window.

Towards the bottom of the open "Save as" window, a blue rectangle highlights the "File name:" field that displays "Chapter 4". The cursor clicks the "Save" button at the bottom of the window.

How to Save Multiple Files With Menu

Step 1: In a Notepad window with two or more tabs, go to the upper left and click the "File" button.

The edited Notepad window displays two tabs, where the left tab displays "1" and the right tab displays "2". The cursor clicks the "File" button in the upper left of the edited Notepad window.

Step 2: In the menu that opens, click "Save all".

Step 3: A "Save as" window opens for each tab. In the "File name" field type any text to name the file, and click the "Save" button at the bottom of the window.

How to Save Multiple Files With Keyboard Shortcut

Step 1: Click inside a Notepad window with two or more tabs, and on the keyboard press Ctrl + Alt + S.

A graphic of the keyboard keys "Ctrl + Alt + S" appears at the bottom of the empty Notepad window that has two "Untitled" tabs at the top.

Step 2: A "Save as" window opens for each tab. In the "File name" field type any text to name the file, and click the "Save" button at the bottom of the window.

The top image displays the "Save as" window where a blue rectangle highlights the "File name:" field that displays "3". The cursor clicks the "Save" button at the bottom of the window. The bottom image displays the "Save as" window with a blue rectangle highlighting the "File name:" field that displays "4". The cursor clicks the "Save" button at the bottom of the window.

How to Print With Menu

Step 1: Go to the upper left of the Notepad window and click the "File" button.

Step 2: In the menu that opens, click the "Print" option.

A menu appears below the "File" button in the upper left of the Notepad window. The cursor clicks the "Print" option in the menu.

Step 3: In the "Print" window that opens, click the "Print" button.

The cursor clicks the "Print" button at the bottom of the "Notepad - Print" window that opens.

How to Print With Keyboard Shortcut

Step 1: Click inside the Notepad window and on the keyboard press Ctrl + P.

A graphic of the keyboard keys "Ctrl + P" appears at the bottom of the empty Notepad window.

Step 2: In the "Print" window that opens, click the "Print" button.

How to Change the Printer

Step 1: Click inside the Notepad window and on the keyboard press Ctrl + P.

Step 2: In the "Print" window that opens, under the "Printer" section click the drop-down menu to select a printer.

The top image displays the "Notepad - Print" window. Under the "Printer" section of the window, the cursor clicks the drop-down menu. The bottom image displays two more printer options in the drop-down menu list and the cursor clicks the last menu option.

How to Add a Printer

Step 1: Click inside the Notepad window and on the keyboard press Ctrl + P.

Step 2: In the "Print" window that opens, under the "Printer" section click the "+ Add a printer" option.

In the open "Notepad - Print" window, under the "Printer" section the cursor clicks the "+ Add a printer" option.

Step 3: In the Windows 11 "Bluetooth & devices" settings window that opens, click the "Add device" button. The computer adds a new printer through a Bluetooth connection.

In the Windows 11 "Bluetooth & Devices" Settings window that opens, on the far right side of the "Add a printer or scanner" section the cursor clicks the "Add device" button.

How to Change Printing Orientation With Print Menu

Step 1: Click inside the Notepad window and on the keyboard press Ctrl + P.

Step 2: In the "Print" window that opens, under the "Orientation" section click the drop-down menu to select either the "Portrait" or "Landscape" option.

The top image displays the "Notepad - Print" window, with the cursor hovering over the "Orientation" drop-down menu. The "Orientation" drop-down menu displays the option of "Portrait". The bottom image displays the open "Notepad - Print" window, with the cursor hovering over the "Orientation" drop-down menu. The "Orientation drop-down menu displays the option of "Landscape".

How to Change Printing Orientation With More Settings

Step 1: Click inside the Notepad window and on the keyboard press Ctrl + P.

Step 2: In the "Print" window that opens, go to the lower left side and click "More settings".

The cursor clicks the "More settings" option in the lower left of the open "Notepad - Print" window.

Step 3: In the "Printing Preferences" window that opens, under the "Orientation" section click the drop-down menu to select either the "Portrait" or "Landscape" option and click the "OK" button.

The left image displays the "Printing Preferences" window. A blue rectangle highlights the drop-down menu below the "Orientation" section of the window. The "Orientation" drop-down menu displays the option of "Portrait". The right image displays the "Printing Preferences" window with a blue rectangle highlighting the "Orientation" drop-down menu. The "Orientation" drop-down menu displays the option of "Landscape".

How to Change Printing Orientation With Page Setup

Step 1: Go to the upper left of the Notepad window and click the "File" button.

Step 2: In the menu that opens, click "Page setup".

A menu appears below the "File" button in the upper left of the Notepad window. The cursor clicks the "Page setup" option in the menu.

Step 3: In the Page Setup window that opens, under the "Orientation" section click to select either the "Portrait" or "Landscape" option and click the "OK" button.

The top image displays the "Page setup" window with the cursor clicking the "Portrait" option below the "Orientation" section of the window. The bottom image displays the "Page setup" window with the cursor clicking the "Landscape" option below the "Orientation" section of the window.

How to Change the Number of Copies

Step 1: Click inside the Notepad window and on the keyboard press Ctrl + P.

Step 2: In the "Print" window that opens, under the "Copies" section click the up arrow to increase the number of copies. Click the down arrow to decrease the number of copies.

The top image displays the "Notepad - Print" window. Under the "Copies" section the window displays "1" and to the right is the cursor clicking the up arrow button. The bottom image displays the "Notepad - Print" window. Under the "Copies" section the window displays a "5" and to the right is the cursor clicking the down arrow button.

How to Change Color Settings With Print Menu

Step 1: Click inside the Notepad window and on the keyboard press Ctrl + P.

Step 2: In the "Print" window that opens, under the "Color mode" section click the drop-down menu to select either the "Color", "Grayscale", or "Monochrome" option.

How to Change Color Settings With More Settings

Step 1: Click inside the Notepad window and on the keyboard press Ctrl + P.

Step 2: In the "Print" window that opens, go to the lower left side and click "More settings".

Step 3: In the "Printing Preferences" window that opens, click the "Paper/Quality" tab at the top.

At the top of the open "Printing Preferences" window, the cursor clicks the "Paper/Quality" tab which is to the right of the "Layout" tab.

Step 4: Under the "Color" section click to select either the "Black & White" or "Color" option and click the "OK" button.

The left image displays the "Printing Preferences" window with the "Paper/Quality" tab open. Under the "Color" section of the window, the cursor clicks the "Black & White" option. The right image displays the "Printing Preferences" window with the "Paper/Quality" tab open. Under the "Color" section of the window, the cursor clicks the "Color" option.

How to Print to File

Step 1: Click inside the Notepad window and on the keyboard press Ctrl + P.

Step 2: In the "Print" window that opens, under the "Print to file" section click to toggle this option on or off.

The top image displays the "Notepad - Print" window. Under the "Print to file" section of the window, the cursor clicks the toggle switch which is now light blue and displays the text of "On". The bottom image displays the "Notepad - Print" window. Under the "Print to file" section of the window, the cursor clicks the toggle switch which is now gray and displays the text of "Off".

-With "Print to file" on, Notepad creates a .prn file that outlines specific printing requirements of the file. Often these .prn files are transferred from computers lacking the necessary printer to other computers with printers that can handle the specific printing requirements.

-With "Print to file" off, Notepad does not create .prn files.

How to Let Notepad Change Printing Preferences

Step 1: Click inside the Notepad window and on the keyboard press Ctrl + P.

Step 2: At the bottom of the "Print" window that opens, click the "Let the app change my printing preferences" to toggle this option on or off.

The top image displays the "Notepad - Print" window. At the bottom of the window the cursor clicks the "Let the app change my printing preferences" option which now displays a light blue box with a check mark to the left of the option. The right image displays the "Notepad - Print" window. At the bottom of the window the cursor clicks the "Let the app change my printing preferences" option which now displays an empty box to the left of the option.

-With "Let the app change my printing preferences" on, Notepad overrides any selected printing options.

-With "Let the app change my printing preferences" off, Notepad saves any selected printing options.

How to Exit the Print Window

Step 1: Click inside the Notepad window and on the keyboard press Ctrl + P.

Step 2: Go to the bottom left of the "Print" window that opens and click the "Cancel" button.

At the bottom right corner of the open "Notepad - Print" window, the cursor clicks the "Cancel" button.

Alternatively, go to the upper right corner of the "Print" window and click the "Close" or "X" button.

In the upper right corner of the "Notepad - Print" window, the cursor clicks the "Close" or "X" button.

How to Print on Both Sides

Step 1: Click inside the Notepad window and on the keyboard press Ctrl + P.

Step 2: In the "Print" window that opens, go to the lower left side and click "More settings".

Step 3: In the "Printing Preferences" window that opens, under the "Print on Both Sides" section click the drop-down menu to select either the "None", "Flip on Short Edge", or "Flip on Long Edge" option and click the "OK" button.

The left image displays the "Printing Preferences" window. The cursor clicks the drop-down menu under the "Print on Both Sides" section of the window. The right image displays the three possible menu options of "None", "Flip on Short Edge", and "Flip on Long Edge".

How to Change Page Order

Step 1: Click inside the Notepad window and on the keyboard press Ctrl + P.

Step 2: In the "Print" window that opens, go to the lower left side and click "More settings".

Step 3: In the "Printing Preferences" window that opens, under the "Page Order" section click the drop-down menu to select either the "Front to Back" or "Back to Front" option and click the "OK" button.

The left image displays the "Printing Preferences" window. The cursor clicks the drop-down menu under the "Page Order" section of the window. The right image displays the two possible Page Order options of "Front to Back" and "Back to Front".

How to Change Paper Source With Print Menu

Step 1: Click inside the Notepad window and on the keyboard press Ctrl + P.

Step 2: In the "Print" window that opens, go to the lower left side and click "More settings".

Step 3: At the top of the "Printing Preferences" window that opens, click the "Paper/Quality" tab.

Step 4: Under the "Tray selection" section click the drop-down menu to select either the "Automatically select", "Multipurpose tray", or "Tray 1" option and click the "OK" button.

The left image displays the "Printing Preferences" window with the "Paper/Quality" tab open. The cursor clicks the drop-down menu below the "Paper Source:" section of the window. The right image displays the three possible Paper Source options of "Automatically select", "Multipurpose tray", and "Tray 1".

How to Change Paper Source With Page Setup

Step 1: Go to the upper left of the Notepad window and click the "File" button.

Step 2: In the menu that opens, click "Page setup".

Step 3: In the "Page setup" window, under the "Paper" section, click the "Source" drop-down menu to select either the "Automatically select", "Multipurpose tray", or "Tray 1" option and click the "OK" button.

The left image displays the "Page setup" window. The cursor clicks the drop-down menu under the "Source" section of the window. The right image displays the three possible Source options of "Automatically Select", "Multipurpose tray", and "Tray 1".

How to Change Paper Media

Step 1: Click inside the Notepad window and on the keyboard press Ctrl + P.

Step 2: In the "Print" window that opens go to the lower left and click "More settings".

Step 3: At the top of the "Printing Preferences" window that opens, click the "Paper/Quality" tab.

Step 4: Under the "Tray Selection" section, click the "Media" drop-down menu, click to select one of the options, and click the "OK" button.

The left image displays the "Printing Preferences" window. The cursor clicks the drop-down menu under the "Media" section of the window. The right image displays the "Printing Preferences" window. The cursor clicks the "Media" drop-down menu and browses among the seven options listed in the menu. The seven options are "Plain paper", "Heavyweight paper", "Lightweight paper", "Glossy paper", "Photo paper", "Label", and "Envelope (plain)".

How to Change Paper Size

Step 1: Go to the upper left of the Notepad window and click the "File" button.

Step 2: In the menu that opens click "Page setup".

Step 3: In the "Page setup" window that opens, under the "Paper" section click the "Size" drop-down menu, select one of the options, and click the "OK" button.

The top image displays the "Page setup" window. The cursor clicks the drop-down menu under the "Size" section of the window. The bottom image displays the "Page setup" window. The cursor clicks the "Size" drop-down menu and browses the thirteen options. The thirteen options are "A4", "A5", "A6", "B5 (JIS)", "Envelope #10", "Envelope B5", "Envelope C5", "Envelope DL", "Envelope Monarch", "Executive", "Legal", "Letter", and "North America 3x 5".

How to Change Margins

Step 1: Go to the upper left of the Notepad window and click the "File" button.

Step 2: In the menu that opens, click "Page setup".

Step 3: In the "Page setup" window that opens, under the "Margins" section type a number in the left, top, right, and bottom fields, and either press Enter or click the "OK" button.

In the middle of the "Page setup" window, a blue rectangle surrounds the "Margin" section. The Left, Right, and Top margin fields display the value of "0.5". The bottom margin field is selected and displays a value of "0.50".

How to Remove the Header or Footer

Step 1: Go to the upper left of the Notepad window and click the "File" button.

Step 2: In the menu that opens, click "Page setup".

Step 3: In the "Page setup" window that opens, click inside the "Header:" or "Footer:" fields and press either Delete or Backspace to clear them. Emptying the Header and Footer fields removes the header and footer from the printed Notepad document.

A blue rectangle highlights the bottom of the "Page setup" window where the "Header:" and "Footer:" fields are. Both the "Header:" and "Footer:" fields are empty.

How to Specify the Header or Footer

Step 1: Go to the upper left of the Notepad window and click the "File" button.

Step 2: In the menu that opens, click "Page setup".

Step 3: In the "Page setup" window that opens, click inside the "Header:" or "Footer:" fields, type a code, and either press Enter or click the "OK" button.

A blue rectangle highlights the "Header:" and "Footer:" fields at the bottom left of the "Page setup" window. The "Header:" field displays the code "&l&p". The "Footer:" displays the code "&r&d". The cursor clicks the "OK" button at the bottom right of the window.

See the following section for more about the Header and Footer codes that Notepad accepts.

What Are the Header and Footer Codes?

There are two types of codes:

I) Print codes

II) Alignment codes

Four print codes tell Notepad what to print.

A table lists the four possible print codes. "&d" prints the current date. "&t" prints the current time. "&f" prints the document name. "&p" prints the page number. Below the table are examples of the print codes. Under the first example of "Header: &d", the text of "3/9/24" appears on the top of a document. Under the second example of "Header: &t", the text" 8:00 PM" appears on the top of a document. Under the third example of "Footer: &f", the text "File name" appears at the bottom of a document. Under the fourth example of "Footer: &p", the text "6" appears at the bottom of a document.

Three alignment codes tell Notepad where to print information.

A table lists the three possible alignment codes. "&l" aligns text to the left. "&c" aligns text in the center. "&r" aligns text to the right. Below the table are three examples. Under the first example of "Footer: &l&t", the text of "8:00 PM" appears on the lower left side of a document. Under the second example of "Header: &c&f", the text "File name" appears at the top center of a document. Under the third example of "Header: &r&p", the text of "6" appears in the upper right of a document.

Either type a print code by itself, or combine the alignment code first with the print code second.

All the Header left-aligned codes:

A table lists the four possible left-aligned Header codes. "Header: &l&d" prints the current date such as "3/9/24" on the upper left of the document. "Header: &l&t" prints the current time such as "8:00 PM" on the upper left of the document. "Header: &l&f" prints the document name such as "File name" on the upper left of the document. "Header: &l&p" prints the page number such as "6" on the upper left of the document.

All the Header center-aligned codes:

A table lists the four possible center-aligned Header codes. "Header: &c&d" prints the current date such as "3/9/24" on the top center of the document. "Header: &c&t" prints the current time such as "8:00 PM" on the top center of the document. "Header: &c&f" prints the document name such as "File name" on the top center of the document. "Header: &c&p" prints the page number such as "6" on the top center of the document.

All the Header right-aligned codes:

A table lists the four possible right-aligned Header codes. "Header: &r&d" prints the current date such as "3/9/24" on the upper right of the document. "Header: &r&t" prints the current time such as "8:00 PM" on the upper right of the document. "Header: &r&f" prints the document name such as "File name" on the upper right of the document. "Header: &r&p" prints the page number such as "6" on the upper right of the document.

All the Footer left-aligned codes:

A table lists the four possible left-aligned Footer codes. "Footer: &l&d" prints the current date such as 3/9/24 on the lower left of the document. "Footer: &l&t" prints the current time such as 8:00 PM on the lower left of the document. "Footer: &l&f" prints the document name such as "File name" on the lower left of the document. "Footer: &l&p" prints the page number such as "6" on the lower left of the document.

All the Footer center-aligned codes:

A table lists the four possible center-aligned Footer codes. "Footer: &c&d" prints the current date such as 3/9/24 on the bottom center of the document. "Footer: &c&t" prints the current time such as "8:00 PM" on the bottom center of the document. "Footer: &c&f" prints the document name such as "File name" on the bottom center of the document. "Footer: &c&p" prints the page number such as "6" on the bottom center of the document.

All the Footer right-aligned codes:

A table lists the four possible right-aligned Footer codes. "Footer: &r&d" prints the current date such as "3/9/24" on the lower right of the document. "Footer: &r&t" prints the current time such as "8:00 PM" on the lower right side of the document. "Footer: &r&f" prints the document name such as "File name" on the lower right side of the document. "Footer: &r&p" prints the page number such as "6" on the lower right side of the document.

How to Add Custom Words to the Header or Footer

Step 1: Go to the upper left of the Notepad window and click the "File" button.

Step 2: In the menu that opens, click "Page setup".

Step 3: In the "Page setup" window that opens, click inside the "Header:" or "Footer:" fields and type a code as follows;

A) "Custom word" + print code

Example: Footer: Page &p prints "Page 6" at the bottom of the Notepad document

The top image displays the "Page setup" window. A blue rectangle highlights the bottom of the window where the "Footer:" field displays the code of "Page &p". The bottom image displays the text of "Page 6" at the bottom center of the printed document.

B) Alignment code + "Custom word"

Example: Header: &cThe Story prints "The Story" at the top center of the Notepad document

The top image displays the "Page setup" window. A blue rectangle highlights the bottom of the window where the "Header:" field displays the code of "&cThe Story". The bottom image displays the text of "The Story" on the top center of the printed document.

Refer to these instructions for later in this PDF tutorial.

Quickly How Tutorials

Search This Blog