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by Jan Johannsen
Microsoft's text editor Notepad will soon display headings, lists and links
3.6.2025
Translation: machine translated
The Windows veteran Notepad appears as a test version with options for text formatting. Among other things, bold print and italics are possible.
Notepad (in German-speaking installations: Editor) has been part of the Windows installation since 1983 and for decades could do nothing other than process plain text. However, Microsoft has been adding new functions to the software granddaddy since 2023. The latest coup: simple text formatting and Markdown.
The new functions were first announced by Microsoft as part of the Windows Insider programme. The new version of Notepad allows you to format headings and links, create lists and use bold and italics. This reminds older students like me of early HTML documents - only without colour options.
Notepad has a new toolbar for formatting without markup. It will be integrated into the existing top bar. Redmond has not announced when (and if) the change will leave the test programme and appear on your regular Windows interface.
Source: Microsoft
Does anyone need formatting in Notepad?
According to Microsoft, the new formatting should help you to structure your document more clearly. The question is whether anyone actually uses Notepad to write more complex texts. For decades, Notepad has served many people as a cache for ephemeral notes, for removing text formatting or for a quick look at a php file. Despite its simplicity, the programme has advantages: It opens quickly, runs stably, shows no adverts, doesn't overwhelm you with an unnecessarily bloated interface and requires hardly any resources.
If you don't want formatting in Wordpad, you can switch between formatted view and markup text using a button, according to Microsoft. Formatting that has already been applied can also be removed again.
Notepad versus Wordpad
The upgrade from plain text editor to markdown editor is interesting in the context of the removal of Wordpad from Windows installations. Between 1995 and 2024, Wordpad was a middle ground between Notepad and comprehensive editors such as Word. The program could process both plain text and rich text and allowed text formatting including fonts and colours.
In 2023, Microsoft announced that Wordpad would be removed from Windows. Wordpad has no longer been included in Windows 11 since version 24H2 (from October 2024). Notepad is now apparently allowed to partially close the resulting gap.
More recent Notepad changes
Since 2023, Windows automatically saves changes made to your texts. When you start Notepad, the last opened tabs are also reopened. In July 2024, Notepad received autocorrect and spell check.
Since the end of 2024, Microsoft has been experimenting with AI features for Notepad via Windows Insider builds: Initially the programme reformulated text for you. In a version from May 2025, Microsoft introduced a generative text AI. After prompting, Notepad writes the text directly to your desktop
What do you think of Microsoft's new update for Notepad?
Header image: Debora Pape
Feels just as comfortable in front of a gaming PC as she does in a hammock in the garden. Likes the Roman Empire, container ships and science fiction books. Focuses mostly on unearthing news stories about IT and smart products.
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