Friday, December 9, 2011

Using notepad as a log file - Automatic timestamp on open - Who Knew?

 I am an old school guy.  I like to write text in a plain text editor whenever possible.  It helps me focus on the text, instead of the font, spacing, italicizing, indenting etc. 

I have just enough ADHD that all those bells and whistles always pull me in.

Anyway,
I often use notepad when I am stuck on my corporate machine.  I take nearly all my notes with notepad.

I just stumbled across this little gem (Source)
Notepad can be used to log data manually. This adds the current date and time when you open the particular notepad log file..
Use the following instruction to create a log file:

  1. Open a new Notepad. (Start -> Program -> Accessories -> Notepad)
  2. Type .LOG in the first line and press ENTER.
  3. Save this file in the name of your choice.
  4. Now, whenever you open this file, the current system date and time will be appended to the bottom of the contents in the notepad.
It works REALLY nicely. Give it a try!