How to create txt file on windows

How to create a text file

You can create a text file on your computer with a text editor. An example of a text editor is Notepad, which is included with Microsoft Windows.

When we refer to a «text file» we are talking about a plain text file without any text formatting (e.g., bold), images, different fonts, font sizes, etc. If you need to create a more rich document with any of these features see: How to create a document.

The below recommendations are for programs included with an operating system. You can also download and install a more powerful and free text editor such as Notepad++ to create, view, and edit text files.

Open and use Notepad

The easiest way to create a text file in Windows is to open up the Notepad software program on your computer. The Notepad is a text editor included with Microsoft Windows.

The Windows Notepad program can be opened using either of the methods below.

Save the file as a text file

You can also create a text file using any other word processing software program, like Microsoft Word or WordPad. When saving the file, change the file name or file type to Plain Text to save it as a text file. In many of these programs, you also have the option to save the file as a Rich Text Format.

After the file is created and saved, it can also be edited using Notepad or another word processing software program.

Create a new text file from the desktop

Another way to create a text file is to right-click an empty area on the desktop, and in the pop-up menu, select New, and then select Text Document.

Creating a text file this way opens your default text editor with a blank text file on your desktop. You can change the name of the file to anything you want. You can edit the file in the Notepad program or any other word processing software program, like Microsoft Word.

These same steps can be used in any other location on your computer, for example, another folder.

Create a text file from the Windows command line

While in the Windows command line, you also can create a new text file in the current directory. With earlier versions of Windows, a new file of any type, including text files, could be created using the edit command line command. Later versions of Windows removed the ability to use the edit command for this purpose. Instead, you can use the echo command at the Windows command line to create an empty text file in the current directory. An example of using this shown below.

In the example above, you are using the echo command to create a file named «myfile.txt» in the current directory. Note that there are no spaces between echo, the period, the greater-than sign (>), and the file name.

Another option for creating a text file from the command line is with the start command, as shown in the example below.

In this example, you are using the start command to open Notepad with the file «myfile.txt». Assuming this file does not exist, it would be created and saved in your current directory. If the file did exist, you would be editing that file.

Create a text file from within a Linux shell

Several commands can create a text file in a Linux shell. One easy-to-use text editor is pico. You can use it like this:

After entering the command above, the editor opens and lets you create a text file. When done, press Ctrl + X to exit the file. When prompted to save the file, if you want to keep the file, press «Y» for yes.

Creating a TXT file

Table of Content

Plain text is a public, standardized, and universally readable document and file format. That’s why we selected this format for our interactive e-mail validation thru DeBounce dashboard! Using plain text instead of bit-streams to explicit markup makes them in large part resistant to system architecture incompatibilities.

Earlier than uploading the file containing the e-mail addresses, you or your sub-accounts simply need to comply with these commands:

What is a Plain Text format (.txt) File?#

TXT is a file extension for a text file, used by a variety of text editors. Text is a human-readable sequence of characters and the words they form that can be encoded into computer-readable formats. There is no standard definition of a text file, though there are several common formats, including ASCII (a cross-platform format), and ANSI (used on DOS and Windows platforms).

How to Create a text (.txt) File?#

You can create a text file on your computer with a text editor. An example of a text editor is Notepad, which is included with Microsoft Windows. The following section includes instructions for three of the most used ones – Windows, macOS, and Ubuntu.

Ms Windows: Notepad#

The easiest way to create a text file in Windows is to open up the Notepad software program on your computer. The Notepad is a text editor included with Microsoft Windows. The Windows Notepad program can be found by following either of the steps below:

Mac: TextEdit#

TextEdit is an application on every Mac that you can use to create and edit text files. It’s included with all versions of macOS and OS X. Find TextEdit in the Applications folder on your Mac computer. By default, it creates formatted documents saved in rich text format, but you can use it to create a plain text file on a Mac. To do so, launch the program, click the “Format” menu and select “Make Plain Text.” Use the “Open” command in the “File” menu to find, open and edit existing text documents.

Ubuntu: gEdit#

gEdit is a Linux text editor commonly deployed as part of the GNOME desktop environment. If it is not included in your Ubuntu system, you can install this software by either selecting gedit in Synaptic (System → Administration → Synaptic Package Manager) or by typing the following command on your Terminal (or ALT+F2):

How to Quickly Create a New, Blank Text File on Windows, Mac, and Linux

Do you create a lot of text files? Learn how to quickly create a new, blank text file in Windows, Mac, and Linux.

Text files are useful for all kinds of things. Jot down a quick note, store information, and keep a log or journal are just a few of the things you can do with text files.

Today we’ll show you how to quickly create a new, blank text file in Windows, Mac, and Linux. In Windows, it’s easy. But on Mac and Linux, it requires some initial setup, then creating a new text file is quick and easy.

Windows 10

Microsoft provides a way of creating a new, blank text file using the right-click menu in File Explorer.

Open File Explorer and navigate to the folder where you want to create the text file. Right-click in the folder and go to New > Text Document.

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The text file is given a default name, New Text Document.txt, but the file name is highlighted. Type a new name for the file and press Enter. Or just press Enter to accept the default name.

There’s no built-in equivalent for Windows’ New > Text Document option on the Mac. But we can create a one-click option in Finder using the built-in Automator app.

Another option is to use a simple command in a Terminal window.

Use an Automator App to Create a New Blank Document in Any Folder on a Mac

Automator is a handy automation tool included in macOS. We’ve covered the basics of using Automator, but today we’ll go over how to use it to add an option for creating a new text file in Finder.

Launch Automator from the Applications folder. On the dialog box that displays, choose a location for the app you’re going to create. You can save it in the Applications folder. But if you’d rather not store it there, you can choose another location. Just make sure it’s a permanent location.

Once you’re in the chosen location, click New Document.

Automator asks what type of document you want to create. Click Application in the Choose a type for your document box. Then, click Choose.

Make sure Actions is selected above the far-left pane and Library is selected in the pane. Scroll down in the list of actions and drag the Run AppleScript action to the workflow pane.

Delete the text currently in the Run AppleScript box. Copy the following line and paste it into the Run AppleScript box.

Then, go to File > Save.

Enter a name for the app in the Save As box, keeping the “.app” extension.

Make sure Application is selected for File Format. This should be the default choice. Then, click Save.

Now that we’ve created our Automator app, we will add it to the toolbar in Finder.

Open Finder and go to the folder where you saved the Automator app.

Hold down the Option and Cmd keys and drag the app file to the toolbar.

To use your new app to create a blank text file, go to the folder where you want to store the file and click the Automator button on the toolbar.

A text file called “untitled” is created in the folder.

This method of creating a blank text file does not put the “.txt” file extension on the file. If you’re planning on transferring that file to a Windows machine, you should add the “.txt” file extension to the file. It’s harder to work with files that don’t have extensions in Windows.

To add the “.txt” file extension, and change the file name, if you want, right-click on the text file. Then, select Rename and type a new name for the file, making sure to type: .txt at the end of the file name.

Click Add when the following dialog box displays.

Double-click the new text file to open it in your default text editor, add content to it, and save it.

Use Terminal to Create a New Blank Document in Any Folder on a Mac

You can also use the Terminal to create a new, blank text file. The easiest way is to open Finder and select the folder to save the text file. Go to Finder > Services > New Terminal at Folder.

A Terminal window opens to the selected folder. Type the following command at the prompt, replacing “MyTextFile.txt” with the name you want to use for your text file.

The file is created and saved in your chosen folder. You can double-click on the file to open it in your default text editor, add content, and save it.

Linux

In Linux, you can use the command line to create a new, blank text file, in the same way you do on the Mac. If you prefer using Nautilus to deal with files, you can quickly create text files there also.

Use the Command Line to Create a New Blank Text Document in Linux

To use the command line to create a new, blank text file, press Ctrl + Alt + T to open a Terminal window. Type the following command and press Enter.

Change the path and the file name (

/Documents/TextFiles/MyTextFile.txt) to what you want to use. The tilde character (

) is a shortcut for your home directory. For example, the full path to my text file above is /home/lori/Documents/TextFiles/MyTextFile.txt.

This method works in any Linux distribution, but the shortcut key to open a Terminal window might differ.

Add a Blank Document Template to Nautilus in Ubuntu Linux

We will cover how to add an option to Nautilus in Ubuntu to create a new text file. File managers in other distributions of Linux, like Linux Mint, Fedora, Red Hat, etc., may already have this option. If not, you can use the command line method mentioned above.

Before Ubuntu 17.10, Nautilus contained an option on the right-click menu that allowed you to create a new, blank document in the current folder. But that option was removed in 17.10 and 18.04. We’ll show you how to add the option back to Nautilus.

In your “Home” directory, you’ll see a folder called Templates. Initially, it’s empty. Adding files to this folder allows you to quickly create new files using the right-click menu in Nautilus.

You can use the touch command we discussed in the previous section to create a new blank document template file.

Press Ctrl + Alt + T to open a Terminal window. Then, type the following command and press Enter.

That’s a backslash and a space between “Empty” and “Document.” If there’s a space in your path or file name, you must put a backslash before it.

A new file called “Empty Document” is added to your Templates directory. You can use a different name for the template file but save it in the Templates directory.

If you’re not comfortable with the command line, you can create the blank document template using gedit. Hit the Windows key and type: gedit in the search box. Then, click the Text Editor icon that displays.

Click Save without entering any text in the file.

Go to the Templates directory in your Home directory.

Enter a name, like “Empty Document,” in the Name box and click Save.

Use the New Blank Document Template to Create a New Text File in Linux

Once you’ve created a blank document template using the steps in the previous section, you can now create a new text file in Nautilus.

Right-click in any directory and go to New Document > Empty Document. The Empty Document option shows whatever you named your template file so that the option may be different for you.

Save Time When Creating Text Files

Of course, you can always use a text editor to create a new text file. But the methods we showed you here are handy if you create a lot of text files.

How To Create “.txt” File on Windows

You’ve perhaps been in a situation where you wanted to copy something on your computer or save a minor detail, and you needed somewhere to type and store it. Then you tried to open a Microsoft Word file but realized that it’s quite much for a set of numbers to save and also that it takes longer to load than a simple text file.

You might have decided to just put up with that because you didn’t know how to make a text file; that’s why we’re here. Today, in this article, we’ll teach you how to create a text file on your windows system.

What’s a Text File?

A text file is a file on which valuable and pertinent data that human beings can read is stored. A text file cannot be formatted with bold, italics, and font size. It’s completely plain without any form of editing or interference and has different formats.

Text files can also be defined as a rudimentary space where readable data can be written, deleted, copied, and pasted.

Creating Text Files on Windows

Text files can be used to good effect, but first, you must know how to make one. Creating text files on windows is a simple process that can be done in various ways on the recent Windows versions. Below are four methods to make a .txt or text file on your windows computer.

Method #1: Creating Text Files Using Notepad

The first and, arguably, most popular way people make text files on windows computers is through notepad software, and notepads are text editors within the OS. A notepad can only create and edit plain text files, which is what a text file is.

Method #2: Saving as Text File

This is the fastest way to create a text document, and it starts from your desktop.

The steps are straightforward:

Method #4: Creating a Text File From the Command Line

The command line, commonly called command prompt or cmd for short, is the standard interpretation service for commands in Windows and other devices. It performs the function of executing administrative orders that are input into it, mainly the advanced tasks. You could make a new text document in the current directory using the command prompt.

Step #1: Echo Command

Step #2: Start Command

Summary

Frequently Asked Questions

Yes, you can. It follows the same procedure as the desktop method, with the only difference being that you open the file explorer first before right-clicking on an empty space.

Text documents are also used to write code for all programming languages and store them.

How To Create A Text File In Windows

Text files are super useful and I use them all the time to save temporary information in them whether its a note to remind me of something, a phone number or even a link to a website I’ve come across.

However, if you’re a computer newbie, or don’t do this kind of thing very often, you might not be in the know.

If you’re in that category, then this post if for you so let’s get stuck in, shall we?

What you will learn

What is a Text File?

So a text file does exactly what it says on the tin.

It’s a file containing just «text» and nothing else. So you don’t get any text formatting (such as «bold», «italics» etc) and you don’t get any images, different font sizes or different fonts to choose from.

If you need to create a document with images, different fonts etc, then you need to create a Microsoft Word document or similar.

How to access Notepad

Personally I use Notepad++ which, in my opinion, is one of the best Notepad applications out there, and certainly a lot better than the standard Notepad application that comes with Windows.

If you install Notepad++, you can launch it in a similar way, just by typing Notepad++ in the «Run» window, as above.

How to create a new text file from your Desktop

So that will create you a brand new text document on your desktop. You can name it what you like and you can edit the file in Notepad, Notepad++, Microsoft word or whatever you like.

To edit the file, right click on the file and select «Edit».

If you’re using Notepad++, there’s a shortcut that says «Edit with Notepad++». Or if you want to open it in Word, simply click «Open with» and then find the app on your computer that you’d like to open the file.

Don’t want the file on your desktop? No worries, this will work in any location on your computer. So you can create a new text file on your C drive for example.

How to create a text file from the command line

Another way of creating a text file is from the command line.

This will create an empty text file in the current directory. Be sure to enter it exactly as above without spaces.

You can also create a new text file by typing start notepad mytextfile.txt.

So there you go, two very simple ways of creating text files. It’s very handy to create a text file to quickly type a note for yourself, to take down a telephone number whilst your on the phone or anything your fancy.