Writing.Com 101

Notepad

NotePad is a private storage space in your portfolio. It can be used as an electronic sticky note, useful for jotting down ideas, to do lists, or testing a bit of WritingML code. It can be a convenient place to keep track of your personal notes.1

With easy access from any page, it can be a handy tool to organize your thoughts and ideas and compose them in saved draft form before posting later in other places, such as forums, replies to newsletters, and your Notebook. This can be helpful if your internet connection is unreliable, or if you might be interrupted, or if you're posting text anywhere that can't be previewed before submitting or edited after submitting.

You can access your NotePad by clicking on Notepad in the left navigation menu, which loads the most recently modified Notepad page.

In addition, the left navigation menu shows a + at the right end of the Notepad button. This opens the Add a Quick Note area, a utility box that allows you to add text to any existing Notepad page at either the top or the bottom of the current text, with the option of adding a date tag, all without leaving your current page. The Add a Quick Note area also gives you the option of choosing which existing Notepad page to open directly.

Basic+ Members can choose whether to have Notepad pages open in a pop-up window or in the current window. The My NotePad Launch: option is in My Account/Account Settings under Other Options. You may need to give Writing.Com permission to use pop-up windows.

Upgraded+ Members will also find a NotePad link in their Extended IM Console, which is accessed by clicking on Messenger in the left navigation menu.

ScratchPad Page
All members have a ScratchPad page, which can be accessed from any Notepad page. It has the same functions for preview, spellcheck, character counter, and the WritingML button bar as a Notepad page, but the content is never saved. This page is handy for quick testing.

NotePad Pages
When you open your NotePad, you will see a link to the ScratchPad page followed by a button to create a new Notepad page. Below that is a list of existing Notepad pages displayed in alphanumeric (0-9,a-z) sort order by page name. Each page is limited to 20,000 characters. The number of pages that you can store varies by membership level. Paid memberships are allotted multiple pages within the NotePad:

          ^{Free Membership: 1 NotePad page
Basic Membership: 2 NotePad pages
Upgraded Membership: 5 NotePad pages
Premium Membership: 25 NotePad pages
Premium Plus Membership: 50 NotePad pages}

To add a new page to your NotePad, click the New Page link at the top of the screen. On the new Notepad page, type in a unique page name of 20 characters or less, enter your notes into the text box provided, choose a background for your "paper" and click on the Submit/Store button to save your note. If you don't provide a name, the system uses Default.

You can give each page in your NotePad a unique look by personalizing the following options:

Name of the page
Number of rows displayed in the edit text box
Stationery color and background design

The Revert to Orig button undoes all changes since the page was last saved.

After storing, pages can always be edited. You can edit the page name and/or the page content and store the page again. Pages can also always be deleted. To delete a page, click the page name to view it on the NotePad, scroll down to the bottom of the screen, check the box and click the Delete button.

To prepare for a free or a lower-level paid membership before your current paid membership expires, delete any extra Notepad pages above the number allotted at the new level. Before deleting, save the content of the extra pages elsewhere if desired. For more information, see "When Your Paid Membership Expires" .

Recommended Reading

Free and Paid Membership Benefits

Footnotes
1  Updated by northernwrites; written by Diane