How to use the online notepad
- Note: click the large box and type or paste. The status beside "Your note" changes from "Saving..." to "Saved at 3:42 PM" about half a second after you stop typing.
- Read the characters, words, lines and reading time under the box. They update as you type.
- Press Find and replace to open Find and Replace with. Tick Match case if capitals matter, then use Find next or Replace all. Undo replace or Ctrl+Z restores the old text.
- Press Copy, Download .txt, Download .md or Print. Print sends only the note to the printer.
- New note asks you to confirm, then empties the box and the saved copy.
How autosave and the counts work
Each change is written to your browser's localStorage 0.4 seconds after you stop typing, and again when you switch tabs or close the page. The text never goes to a server. Words are runs of characters separated by spaces or line breaks, so "well-known" is one word. An accented letter or an emoji counts as one character. Reading time divides the word count by 238 words per minute, the average adult silent reading speed for English non-fiction found by Brysbaert (2019), rounded to the nearest minute.
Worked example
An empty box reads 0 characters, 0 words, 0 lines and 0 min. Type two lines, "Buy milk, eggs and bread." and "Call the dentist at 9.", and the tool shows 48 characters, 10 words and 2 lines. The reading time says "under 1 min", because 10 words take about 2.5 seconds at 238 words per minute. Type dentist in Find and doctor in Replace with and the message reads "1 match in the note." Replace all turns the second line into "Call the doctor at 9." and the count drops to 47 characters.
Limits and edge cases
- The note belongs to one browser profile on one device. Clearing site data or using a private window removes it. If storage is blocked, the status line says autosave is unavailable.
- If you edit in two tabs, the tab that missed the latest save shows a banner asking which version to keep.
- Words are counted by spaces, so Chinese, Japanese and Thai text is undercounted. Use the word and character counter for those.
- The Tab key moves focus instead of inserting an indent, and the .md file is plain text with a different extension. For a checklist use the to-do list, and to compare two drafts use the text diff merger.
Frequently asked questions
Where is my online notepad saved?
In your browser's localStorage, on this device only. Nothing goes to a server, so the note is tied to this browser and profile. Another browser, another device or a private window starts empty.
Will my note disappear if I close the tab or restart my computer?
No. localStorage survives closing the tab and restarting. The note is lost only if you clear the browser's site data, use a private window that closes, or confirm New note.
How do I get my note onto my phone or another computer?
Download it as .txt or .md and send the file to yourself, or press Copy and paste the text into an email or chat. There is no account or sync, so each browser keeps its own note.
How long can a note be?
Browsers allow each site roughly 5 MB of localStorage. In a Chromium browser the limit measured about 5.2 million characters, around 800,000 words. If saving fails, the status line says so.
Is it safe to keep passwords in an online notepad?
No. The note is stored as plain, unencrypted text, so anyone who can open your browser profile can read it. Keep passwords in a password manager.
Sources: MDN, Web Storage API; Brysbaert, M. (2019), "How many words do we read per minute?", Journal of Memory and Language 109, 104047.