How to Turn a Browser Tab Into a Handy Notepad

Hello, PCWorld friends! I’d like to share a nifty browser hack that I stumbled upon in an article we published back in 2014. It’s especially handy if you’re setting up a new computer without a word processor or if you prefer to take notes without launching a full program.

I personally use this trick all the time while browsing and researching stories for PCWorld. By consolidating all the relevant facts and product images I need into one spot, I can minimize the number of open tabs, making it much easier to find the information I’m looking for.

How to Get Started:

• Launch your preferred browser—be it Microsoft Edge, Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, or Opera.
• Paste the following line into the address bar: data:text/html,
• Press enter, and just like that, you’ll have a functional notepad right in your browser! You can even paste images if you’d like.
• To save your work as an HTML file, simply hit Ctrl + S and select your desired saving location.

That’s all there is to it! There are plenty of variations created by clever users that allow for advanced formatting options like colors or headers. If you’re interested, search the bolded text above followed by “alternatives” for some fun enhancements.

I hope this helps you manage your browser windows more efficiently! Thank you for checking out this tip. If you’re interested in receiving more useful tricks like this in your inbox every week, don’t forget to subscribe to our PCWorld Try This newsletter.