In Microsoft Windows, the file notepad.exe is the executable computer file for the Windows Notepad application.
While Notepad has been around for decades, it's the same old program for general text editing. It was used by folks who needed to write scripts and who didn't know how to do so using a DOS window (in the earlier iterations). As a full-time author, I use general text programs all the time to write scenes. It clears away all of the formatting and pretty stuff that folks are used to with a document tool and allows me to focus on getting words from my brain to the computer.
Since Windows 7, however, I've switched to a third-party tool called Notepad++. It gives the ability to have multiple files open at one time using a tab system at the top. As I'm writing this, I have 351 file tabs open on it. The information ranges from outlines for short stories, novels, and even snippets of dialogue.
You can make a shortcut to open notepad.exe on your desktop. Makes things easier if you use it as often as I do. The only difference is my operating system now believes the notepad++.exe file is the default text editor.
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