Close both Internet Explorer and Notepad to simulate what it will be like when you leave your machine and come back at a later time.
The BEST WAY to edit an existing file is to OPEN NOTEPAD FIRST.
Then . . . use the File / Open command in Notepad. When you do this, Notepad will only display files that have been saved with a .txt extension. To see web pages that you have created and saved properly with the .html extension, in the Open dialog box, you will have to drop down the list arrow for “Files of Type” and choose “All files.” Pages that you have saved as web pages should then display also.
Troubleshooting:
While observing students who are new to creating code for web pages, I have seen that many people are used to using Windows Explorer or My Computer to find files they want to open. If you use Windows Explorer or My Computer to locate a file you have created and you double-click on the name of the file to open the file, it will automatically open in browser view rather than code view in Internet Explorer.
It is possible to make a web page file open in code view from Windows Explorer or My Computer. Instead of double-clicking on the filename, RIGHT-click. From the pop-up menu, choose: Open With / Notepad. This should open the code view of the file in Notepad for editing.
Even more information about viewing and editing the source code of web pages . . .
When you are viewing a page in browser view in Internet Explorer, you can use the View menu / Source command to see a COPY of the code for the page. If you make editing changes to this copy of your code, it is IMPORTANT to be very careful when you are ready to save the file. By default, Internet Explorer may save the file to a new storage location and with a different name than your original file. (This will create a NEW file instead of just editing an existing file.) If you edit a copy of your code in the browser be sure to use the FILE menu / SAVE AS command. DO NOT use the SAVE toolbar button or the SAVE command. Using SAVE AS takes you to the dialog box to be sure the storage location and the name of the file is what you want it to be. When you save an edited copy of a file by using the same file name and storage location as the original code, the original code will be overwritten by the new edited version of the code.