You probably don't think much of Notepad in Windows. Compared to tools like Microsoft Word and third-party text editors and IDEs, it doesn't really shine for any particular purpose. But that doesn't mean it's useless!

In fact, with a little bit of old-school code in VBScript or even DOS/shell commands, you can write some fun mini-programs. Let's take a quick look at three of the more interesting ones.

Notepad Trick: Enter the Matrix

Want a budget re-creation of effects from The Matrix on your PC? You can do it with just a few lines. Open up a new Notepad document, then paste in the following code:

            @echo off
color 02
:tricks
echo %random%%random%%random%%random%%random%%random%%random%%random%
goto tricks

    

Save the file as Matrix.bat. The name isn't important -- just make sure you save it as a BAT batch file. Then double-click on it wherever you've saved it, and you'll ascend to elite hacker status.

Notepad Trick: Your Computer Talks!

Nowadays, it's nothing out of the ordinary to hear your PC talk thanks to Cortana and similar tools. But when Windows was new, it was crazy to hear "speech" from your computer. You can relive those moments with Notepad. First, open a new Notepad document and paste this code in:

            Dim Message, Speak
Message=InputBox("Enter text","Speak")
Set Speak=CreateObject("sapi.spvoice")
Speak.Speak Message

    

Save it as Talking.vbs, although the name can be whatever you want. Just make sure it ends in VBS. Double-click on this file and enter some text -- you'll gasp in wonder when your PC speaks it to you!

Notepad Trick: Generate a New PIN

We recommend using a password manager, because keeping unique passwords for every site is tough. But if you still don't want to use a tool like LastPass, you can have Windows generate a new code for you.

Unfortunately, this trick only generates a random four or five-digit number. So it's more suitable for a bank PIN or something of that nature. Paste the following code into a fresh Notepad file:

            @echo off
:Start2
cls
goto Start
:Start
title Password Generator
echo I will make you a new password. 
echo Please write the password down somewhere in case you forget it. 
echo ----------------------------------------¬-----------------------
echo 1) 1 Random Password
echo 2) 5 Random Passwords
echo 3) 10 Random Passwords
echo Input your choice
set input=
set /p input= Choice: 
if %input%==1 goto A if NOT goto Start2
if %input%==2 goto B if NOT goto Start2
if %input%==3 goto C if NOT goto Start2
:A
cls
echo Your password is %random%
echo Now choose what you want to do. 
echo 1) Go back to the beginning
echo 2) Exit
set input=
set /p input= Choice: 
if %input%==1 goto Start2 if NOT goto Start 2
if %input%==2 goto Exit if NOT goto Start 2
:Exit
exit
:B
cls
echo Your 5 passwords are %random%, %random%, %random%, %random%, %random%.
echo Now choose what you want to do. 
echo 1) Go back to the beginning
echo 2) Exit
set input=
set /p input= Choice: 
if %input%==1 goto Start2 if NOT goto Start 2
if %input%==2 goto Exit if NOT goto Start 2
:C
cls
echo Your 10 Passwords are %random%, %random%, %random%, %random%, %random%, %random%, %random%, %random%, %random%, %random%
echo Now choose what you want to do. 
echo 1) Go back to the beginning
echo 2) Exit
set input=
set /p input= Choice: 
if %input%==1 goto Start2 if NOT goto Start 2
if %input%==2 goto Exit if NOT goto Start 2

    

Save it as Generator.bat. It's the same deal as before -- the name doesn't matter as long as it ends in BAT. Double-click it to open, and you'll see a simple menu. You can choose whether to create one, five, or ten passwords.

Did you enjoy these Notepad tricks? What other types of mini-programs have you created with VBS or BAT files? Share with us in the comments!