Notepad will now tell you all the ways Microsoft has enshittified it
- Reference: 1769090147
- News link: https://www.theregister.co.uk/2026/01/22/microsoft_notepad_update/
- Source link:
The "What's New" first-run experience will appear during startup to guide users through the app's latest features. [1]According to Microsoft, "this dialog provides a quick overview of what's possible in Notepad and serves as a helpful starting point for both new and returning users." It can be closed and reopened by clicking a megaphone icon in the top-right of the toolbar.
As for "What's New" in version 11.2512.10.0, there are some more formatting options and the inevitable AI updates. Markdown support in the editor arrived [2]last June , and Microsoft added tables in [3]November 2025 . This time around, the company has shoehorned in more markdown features, including strikethrough formatting and nested lists.
[4]
Support for AI streaming features is also expanded in the latest Notepad release. Microsoft wrote: "Whether generated locally or in the cloud, results for Write, Rewrite, and Summarize will start to appear quicker without the need to wait for the full response, providing a preview sooner that you can interact with."
[5]The Notepad that knew too much: Humble text editor gets unnecessary AI infusion
[6]Windows 11, not AI, kick-started the PC upgrade cycle
[7]Developer writes script to throw AI out of Windows
[8]Microsoft dumps AI into Notepad as 'Copilot all the things' mania takes hold in Redmond
Assuming, of course, you've signed in with a Microsoft account.
The Register asked Microsoft if it could share the user feedback that had demanded these enhancements to its text editor. A spokesperson told us that they would reply if there was anything to share. They did not.
[9]
The company has also continued to add tweaks to its former simple bitmap editor, Paint. One, "Coloring book," is an AI feature that turns the user's text into a coloring book page (we can't imagine it being used to produce a picture of "a user faced with relentless AI slop" for a crayon-wielding toddler to improve). The other is a tolerance slider for the fill tool.
The Coloring book option applies only to Copilot+ PCs and requires a user to sign in with a Microsoft account.
[10]
Both Notepad and Paint have evolved far beyond their simple origins, but in doing so, have become intermediate tools that leave behind users who just want to edit text or flip a few pixels without add-ons getting in the way.
Still, as users reflect glumly on the latest set of bugs afflicting Windows following an update, it's good to know that Microsoft has found time to add more AI features to Notepad. ®
Get our [11]Tech Resources
[1] https://blogs.windows.com/windows-insider/2026/01/21/notepad-and-paint-updates-begin-rolling-out-to-windows-insiders/
[2] https://www.theregister.com/2025/06/02/microsofts_plain_text_editor_notepad_gets_formatting/
[3] https://www.theregister.com/2025/11/24/notepad_tables_support/
[4] 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=2aXJXwFep7AKPD7pP5gcvzQAAABY&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D2%26raptor%3Dcondor%26pos%3Dtop%26test%3D0
[5] https://www.theregister.com/2025/09/18/got_a_copilot_pc_now/
[6] https://www.theregister.com/2026/01/20/windows_11_pc_refresh/
[7] https://www.theregister.com/2026/01/13/script_removes_ai_from_windows/
[8] https://www.theregister.com/2025/05/23/microsoft_ai_notepad/
[9] 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=44aXJXwFep7AKPD7pP5gcvzQAAABY&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[10] 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=44aXJXwFep7AKPD7pP5gcvzQAAABY&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[11] https://whitepapers.theregister.com/
Notepad has been consistent and simple for a VERY long time. It had its flaws, but they were few and far between. It was small and just worked.
Now, if I do not run it as Admin, I cannot save to anything outside of Documents folder which is ridiculous. "Security" restrictions forces me to run it in Admin mode regardless of what I need to edit, which reduces overall security.
Great
I for one think it's a great idea ... I really love pointless bloat and AI in all my systems. I may even buy a new Co-Pilot PC to enjoy it's irrelevant features.
Did that sound overly sarcastic?
Re: Great
> Did that sound overly sarcastic?
Yes. Well done!
Re: Great
Nooooooo.... not at allllll...
Re: Great
In this scenario, I don't think being overly sarcastic is actually possible.
Although I'm sure Microsoft would happily include an AI feature to help you do so.
Answers on a postcard to,...
Please post your suggestions for a new name for Notepad. (BloatPad? AITookAShitPad?) Really get creative with it!
Re: Answers on a postcard to,...
" new name for Notepad " — Bumswipe ?
Re: Answers on a postcard to,...
Slop-roll?
Re: Answers on a postcard to,...
Noteslop V 99.99999
a snip at $19.99 per month
Re: Answers on a postcard to,...
Not-pAId
Or bloatpAId, as a variant on the original suggestion.
Re: Answers on a postcard to,...
WeForgotThePurposeOfThisTool.exe
Re: Answers on a postcard to,...
>Please post your suggestions for a new name for Notepad.
PoopPad?
Re: Answers on a postcard to,...
Notepad --
Meanwhile
[1]Notepad, Snipping Tool, other apps broken by new bug in Windows 11
What could possibly go wrong with a vibe-coded operating system?
[1] https://www.neowin.net/news/notepad-snipping-tool-other-apps-broken-by-new-bug-in-windows-11/
They are basically . . .
waving their genitals in your faces at this point.
Re: They are basically . . .
" waving their genitals in your faces at this point. " — a tad risky in my case… I still have my teeth… and am not afraid to use them. :)
Like an old war horse with the bit between the teeth and tearing into it.
Edit.com
Come back Edit.com. All is forgiven.
Re: Edit.com
Edlin, please
Re: Edit.com
I always found edlin overly complicated..
Re: Edit.com
It's already back. No idea when, but the other day I, for reasons I forget, idley typed "edit file" into the Terminal app in Windows 11 24H2 and poof! Edit opened, editing "file".
And no AI in sight. Woohoo!
Re: Edit.com
No no... that's just Copilot creating an editor on the fly to make you think you have some kind of control over your machine
It will even create mistakes in your code for you using the latest AI
Re: Edit.com
On this Win11 PC, I just fired up a Command Prompt Terminal session and typed edit . Very surprised to find the text mode editor started and worked well. With that success, I thought I'd try
Re: Edit.com
Jeepers, I had no idea Edit.com was back! Well, as Morgan from The Walking Dead would say, "Everything gets a return..." Not that I'm loopy enough to get a Windows 11 machine just to be reacquainted with it.
There is over a dozen good Notepad replacements, most are free or FOSS. Paint? You can make Windows 7 paint work on Windows 11.
Heck both old Notepad and old versions of Paint work fine on Wine.
Blatent plug for a FREE decent text editor...
Notepad++
It's free, it has parsing/display markups for just about every programming language in use (and scripting, too!) and speling (via an add-in) and a boat load of other nifty features.
notepad-plus-plus.org
Re: Blatent plug for a FREE decent text editor...
"speling" - now that's ironical
Microsoft Recruiting Now - Professional Fuckit Uppers
I am sure others have encountered this :
A task is given to someone, and they fuck it up so badly, that never in a month of Sundays, you could never find someone paid to fuck it up as badly as someone has done it, so naturally.
Microsoft are employing all those people.
Every Cloud
Has a silver lining. Especially when you have to use Office 365, and today is another day it's keeled over.
So, maybe Microsoft are just making sure you have something more than just a text editor to write documents.
A friend called me this morning about the outage, as it was stuck in an install loop. Sent him link to download LibreOffice
Re: Every Cloud
... has a silver lining, which might be the freezer back they are suffocating you with.
(BOFH, sorry, cannot say which story)
By 2030, Notepad.exe will be 1.5GB in size, require 8GB just to load and have a menu with so many options you'll need an ultra-ultra-ultrawide monitor to see them all
Well, it now needs Windows 11, so if we count that dependency...
I wonder if that explains why it suddenly stopped working on two of my machines yesterday? Wouldn't open and gave a file system error. Tried to tell me I wasn't signed in. I had to delete and reinstall it to get it working again. Thanks MS. That really is an improvement.
Everything I ever wanted out of Notepad can be found on Notepad++
code tagging and paragraphing, hexadecimal tinkering...
Either that or it runs out of a raw prompt.
I was hoping for those "innovations".
I wonder whether any one particular user asked for a great green-crayon option to be added? Best addition to an MS app ever!
P.S. can we please have bold/italic/underline etc added to the text editor, and font-size, bullet points, and indents, margins, page feeds ...
In a word ...