Microsoft's plain text editor gets fancy as Notepad gains formatting options
- Reference: 1748870771
- News link: https://www.theregister.co.uk/2025/06/02/microsofts_plain_text_editor_notepad_gets_formatting/
- Source link:
I do not understand why Microsoft cannot leave well enough alone and just let Notepad be a very lightweight and streamlined note taking app
Windows used to have an editor with formatting functionality, an application called "WordPad" that was ejected from the operating system [1]in 2024 . It had a predecessor called "Write," which could also do some rudimentary formatting, but Notepad has always been about editing plain text. Until it wasn't.
The update that landed at the end of last month adds some toolbar options to Notepad and supports bold and italic styling, hyperlinks, and support for simple lists and headings.
The changes are currently rolling out to Windows Insiders in the Dev and Canary channels, so there is a chance Microsoft might have a change of heart before inflicting it on ordinary users. However, we won't be holding our breath.
[2]According to Microsoft, "The experience supports Markdown style input and files for users who prefer to work directly with the lightweight markup language.
[3]
"You can switch between formatted Markdown and Markdown syntax views in the view menu or by selecting the toggle button in the status bar at the bottom of the window.
[4]
[5]
"If you prefer, you can disable support for formatting entirely in app settings."
Users can get the plain text experience by clearing all formatting from the formatting toolbar or from the edit menu.
Microsoft pulls the plug on WordPad, the world's least favorite text editor [6]FROM THE ARCHIVES
The update is another nail in the coffin for users with a workflow that included pasting text into Notepad to strip formatting. Now, an extra click could well be required.
We asked Microsoft for an indication of how many users were crying out for this update, and if it is possible to permanently disable the company's changes to get back the original Notepad experience. Microsoft has yet to reply.
[7]
The reaction on social media is [8]mixed . Notepad was a fixed point in a changing world. It dates back to the very early days of Windows, and the recent updates are seen by some as unnecessary.
[9]Microsoft dumps AI into Notepad as 'Copilot all the things' mania takes hold in Redmond
[10]Microsoft revives DOS-era Edit in a modern shell
[11]Open source text editor poisoned with malware to target Uyghur users
[12]Essential FOSS tools to make macOS suck less
Longtime Notepad devotee and Directions on Microsoft Editor in Chief Mary Jo Foley, told El Reg : "I do not understand why Microsoft cannot leave well enough alone and just let Notepad be a very lightweight and streamlined note taking app. My guess is they are adding some of these new features, like formatting, to make up for killing off Wordpad. But in doing this, they are taking away the core value proposition of Notepad."
Pondering what the future might hold, Foley said, "I'm scared to guess because maybe they'll take it as a suggestion and muck up a good thing even further. The best thing about some of the new features - like the ridiculous addition of Copilot - is they can be turned off."
Microsoft has not replied to a request for comment.
There are [13]various workarounds to resurrect the Notepad experience, and there are plenty of alternative text editors available if all a user wants is something with which to bash out text without adornment. Microsoft recently [14]announced an open-source Edit application for users who need to scratch the plain text itch.
[15]
It's unclear why Microsoft decided against updating WordPad and leaving Notepad to do what it did best. Instead, it killed off the former and has loaded the latter up with AI and formatting.
WordPad is dead. Long live WordPad? ®
Get our [16]Tech Resources
[1] https://www.theregister.com/2024/01/05/wordpad_off_windows_11/
[2] https://blogs.windows.com/windows-insider/2025/05/30/text-formatting-in-notepad-begin-rolling-out-to-windows-insiders/
[3] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_software/oses&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=2&c=2aD3Kkx3ezlDjyunEIgjfVQAAAAs&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D2%26raptor%3Dcondor%26pos%3Dtop%26test%3D0
[4] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_software/oses&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44aD3Kkx3ezlDjyunEIgjfVQAAAAs&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[5] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_software/oses&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=3&c=33aD3Kkx3ezlDjyunEIgjfVQAAAAs&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D3%26raptor%3Deagle%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[6] https://www.theregister.com/2024/01/05/wordpad_off_windows_11/
[7] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_software/oses&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44aD3Kkx3ezlDjyunEIgjfVQAAAAs&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[8] https://bsky.app/profile/eljefe.social/post/3lqg6bg2qys2h
[9] https://www.theregister.com/2025/05/23/microsoft_ai_notepad/
[10] https://www.theregister.com/2025/05/20/microsoft_edit_revived/
[11] https://www.theregister.com/2025/04/29/citizen_lab_uyghur_phishing_malware/
[12] https://www.theregister.com/2025/03/07/fosss_to_tame_macos/
[13] https://oofhours.com/2025/05/29/an-easy-trick-to-get-the-old-notepad-exe-back/
[14] https://www.theregister.com/2025/05/20/microsoft_edit_revived/
[15] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_software/oses&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=3&c=33aD3Kkx3ezlDjyunEIgjfVQAAAAs&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D3%26raptor%3Deagle%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[16] https://whitepapers.theregister.com/
Re: Wordpad
There is a name in medicine for abnormal growth without reason or goal, they call it "cancer"...
One can assume that Notepad is affected by "functionality cancer". I expect it will grow some video editing functions shortly.
Re: Wordpad
I can't stress enough how badly I want Copilot integrated into my Notepad. Oh and the clippy!
If they also added ability to insert images that would completely mix up formatting and delete text at random - that would chef's kiss!
Notepad++
It's the only answer.
It works. It works well, and it handles any file size without phoning home to Redmond. It has options that Redmond can't even think of. Try it and you'll never go back.
And no, I do not have shares. Notepad++ is free as in Beer.
TEXT EDITOR Microsoft, TEXT EDITOR, don't you guys GET IT?!?!
It's ree damn diculous, it's like Microsoft FORGOT what a "TEXT Editor" IS. Nothing but a bunch of buffoons! Their STUPIDITY will never cease to amaze me.
Re: TEXT EDITOR Microsoft, TEXT EDITOR, don't you guys GET IT?!?!
Whilst at the same time providing a simple command line text editor. It's as if no one part of Microsoft ever talks to any other parts of Microsoft (or the users).
Correction
> The update is another nail in the coffin for users with a workflow that included pasting text into Notepad to strip formatting.
The update is another nail in the coffin for users insisting on using anything Microsoft to do actual work. Fixed it for you.
Notepad++
Title says it all.
Beer for the writer of said exceptionally nice text editor.
Well I mean I use notepad to copy-paste html and stuff into text..
which given with the enforced windows 11 "notepad" AI that reads all your text et cetera simply points me further down the path of linux. Endeavour OS should be good for gaming I hear.
Slightly sad to move off from windows long-term, however forcing AI stuff on people, reading your screen all the time and more, plus making notepad pointless, is just too muchl.
Embrace, Extend, Extinguish
1. Hate for decades, try to kill off for decades, fail for decades.
2. Change of tactic:
a) Embrace: yay, we're keeping it folks, we hear you!
b) Extend: yay, we're making it even better - with the formatting that you all miss from Worpad, plus the latest buzzword blockchain I mean AI! .
c) Extinguish: yay, to give you an even better experience we're adding virtual colored pencils to the plain-text view, so you can still see that lovely markdown and highlight it while sharing your page on Teams. What? And we've made both OneNote and SharePoint 100% compatible* with the new version! What's that? Did we omit to mention that /editing/ in the plain-text view has disappeared? Look, if you're that hardcore, we've given you Edit on the command line, so everybody's got what we they wanted. Yay!
* Except where they aren't and never will be
Smart Quotes
Is it also going to screw up quotes like Word does and replace " with “ ?
Microsoft - we're all about "could've", not "should've"
The Windows dev team at Microsoft must be working together to figure out exactly which parts of Windows still work and that people actually like. And then they work non-stop to destroy those things completely. Just grind it into dust under their heel because... because "fuck the users" I guess?
Re: Microsoft - we're all about "could've", not "should've"
" figure out exactly which parts of Windows still work "
Might be a big ask as I am not sure that even the BSOD still works.
The could've should've and MS in general reminded me of a [1]mug emblazoned with the distinctions between the likes of you're and your that were crudely stated but being a Chinese knock off had a typo thier for their and mixed up one of the definitions but to their credit not one f*cking was omitted; The latter trait one suspects is shared with corporate MS.
(The mug in the linked image isn't so affected.)
[1] https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/71Alsx1NhFS.__AC_SX300_SY300_QL70_ML2_.jpg
Micros~1: We're adding 'dark mode' and multi-level undo to Notepad.
OK, that's nice? I guess?
Micros~1: We're adding tabs to Notepad.
Mmmmkayyy... Could be handy. Should anyone need it...
Micros~1: We're adding spell checking to Notepad.
Errr... Why?
Micros~1: We're adding AI to Notepad.
NO! ARE YOU FSCKING INSANE? BAD MICROS~1!
Micros~1: We're adding formatting options to Notepad.
AW, FSCK OFF! Just resurrect Wordpad and leave the poor little tool alone!
By the way, I decided to use their new edit.exe to make a first draft for this comment (and check it to see if it can be a useful tool in these crAIzy times) and when I tried to copy/paste it seems that it doesn't play well (read: at all) with the clipboard. At least in Win10.
Some change is OK
I'm not against all changes, so long as it improves it as a basic text editor. For example, the ability to manage line endings or file encoding is fine. These are partially supported already. At a push, I wouldn't mind marking spelling errors - optionally!
I don't want it to be an advanced text editor. There is already plenty of choice for that, including from Micros~1.
Always installed and simple means it can always be relied upon.
Markdown is already a confusing mess of different versions and implementations. Microsoft is wasting its time if it thinks it can bugger up another standard
I use an editor named Typora. It is a markdown editor, and liaises with pandoc to import and export Word files. The MS-enhanced-notepad seems to be doing something similar.
I find it useful for cleaning up a Word document without losing italics, headings, etc.
But Typora uses one specific markdown. It may crumble if presented with markdown from direct use of pandoc or elsewhere.
Pointless
As has been said, should have just kept wordpad AND (a proper basic version) notepad.
Notepad is handy due to ability to strip formatting (too many windows apps (esp MS ones) when you paste something in, retain any existing formatting which is often inappropriate) so an oft used intermediate on copy and paste actions. *
Wordpad was fine for basic formatted documents, & vaguely useful as it supported a simple RTF format (which was occasionally useful as used to be a few C# visual components that supported RTF to allow text with a bit of basic layout such as mix of bold, italic & normal text in "one textbox" (may still be that functionality present, a long time since I did a Windows GUI app))
* Windows is work use, not home use.
Re: Pointless
" ... when you paste something in, retain any existing formatting which is often almost always inappropriate ... "
Fixed that, I think. Okay, some MS (and other) stuffs do at least implement Ctrl-Shift-V for unformatted paste (which should, of course, be the default).
They might as well buy Typora
it does markdown which has a surprising number of variants reasonably well and even plain text all in a whizzy-wiggy way beloved of MS.
Re: They might as well buy Typora
Yes. Then they will screw that up too. It sends the MS mission to destroy every last piece of useful productive software and replace it with AI.......
Excellent
Not enough to contend with the stupid EOL CR/LF in notepad, now we're having to deal with bold and italics. And that dumb " nonsense where it looks the same but isn't.
I suppose they'll say use that new edit replacement if you want a super basic text editor. Then they'll bugger that up too.
Bah Microsoft. Notepad++ for me!
Really pissed off with MS
They ruin Notepad by making it odd, they remove Wordpad which was great for very simple documents, Word is now weird and not windows menu compliant.
Is it any wonder I gave MS the boot at home?
Notepad is for reading logs, and simple text files, or for pasting code into before running FF aginst the two files.
I only really use it because I have set Notepad++ up with all whitespace characters visible, so is a bit slower to read.
> The update is another nail in the coffin for users with a workflow that included pasting text into Notepad to strip formatting. Now, an extra click could well be required
... but then Copilot will jump in and decide you need lots of automatic formatting anyway, followed by Recall that can take copies of your little note every few seconds even if you didn't need to save it.
Wordpad
They get rid of WordPad to make Notepad into Wordpad
do they not understand that people want a v simple text editor, aka notepad