SQL*Plus and spool command

With apologies in advance if this is a repeat question (I haven't been able to track down the solution elsewhere).
Environment: Windows 2000 SP2, Oracle 8i.

If I log in to SQL*Plus and write:

SQL> SPOOL myfile.txt;

...then any subsequent operations are mirrored out to 'myfile.txt'.
If I invoke the Editor (I'm using Notepad) and write:

SPOOL myfile.txt;
SELECT *
FROM mytable;
SPOOL OFF;
...and then use '/' when returned to the command line I get a message:

"ERROR at line 1:
ORA-00900: invalid SQL statement"

I've browsed various newsgroup messages that mention Spooling issues (with different people suggesting the removal or a different orientation of semi-colons), and I've tried several variations on that basis - but I get the same error message every time. I suspect that the problem might be a product of some fundamental misunderstanding I'm having about SQL*Plus here, but I can't work out what it might be. Any help appreciated

Kind regards

Mikael Horseman Received on Sat Feb 09 2002 - 16:12:41 CST