Microsoft Tests Notepad Text Formatting In Windows 11 (betanews.com)
- Reference: 0177873613
- News link: https://tech.slashdot.org/story/25/05/30/2138237/microsoft-tests-notepad-text-formatting-in-windows-11
- Source link: https://betanews.com/2025/05/30/microsoft-notepad-formatting-update-windows-11/
> Microsoft just can't leave well enough alone. The company is now [2]injecting formatting features into Notepad , a program that has long been appreciated for one thing -- its simplicity. You see, starting with version 11.2504.50.0, [3]this update is rolling out to Windows Insiders in the Canary and Dev Channels, and it adds bold text, italics, hyperlinks, lists, and even headers. Sadly, this isn't a joke. Notepad is actually being turned into a watered-down word processor, complete with a formatting toolbar and Markdown support. Users can even toggle between styled content and raw Markdown syntax. And while Microsoft is giving you the option to disable formatting or strip it all out, it's clear the direction of the app is changing.
[1] https://slashdot.org/~BrianFagioli
[2] https://betanews.com/2025/05/30/microsoft-notepad-formatting-update-windows-11/
[3] https://blogs.windows.com/windows-insider/2025/05/30/text-formatting-in-notepad-begin-rolling-out-to-windows-insiders/
Nope. (Score:3)
> You see, starting with version 11.2504.50.0, this update is rolling out to Windows Insiders in the Canary and Dev Channels, and it adds bold text, italics, hyperlinks, lists, and even headers.
Umm... ALL Microsoft needed to do was fix the wonky word-wrap. Did they forget about WordPad?
ClearType . (Score:1)
You see, under a microscope, in the late 1960's... the "period" was actually a Communist hammer and sickle. Do you think Variable Fonts should escape now? Or allow glyphs to execute PostScript and ANSI combinations to disable Jhadi Hebdo? GATES... GATES... DEVELOPERS...
Re: (Score:1)
> Did they forget about WordPad?
Nope, they [1]actively killed it. [microsoft.com]
But I agree, stop messing with Notepad.
[1] https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/whats-new/deprecated-features-resources#wordpad
Re: (Score:2)
Huh. According to that link they killed WordPad to sell Word.
Question- wouldn't bringing WordPad back be a lot cheaper for MS than fucking up Notepad?
Do Not Want! (Score:3)
We already had Wordpad for a watered down word processor.
I want a plain text notepad. I'm not even sure I want or need different character encodings. Just plain ASCII text is all I want or need. I want to be able to paste something into notepad and strip all formatting, hidden features, character substitutions...
But, all is not lost. I recently read that Microsoft is releasing edit.exe, which looks like a reinvention of DOS edlin. So, I'll still have a pure text editor, but it will be less convenient.
Re: (Score:2)
I've kept a copy of vile on every Windows box I've been forced to use. Any installation hassle was worth the effort to keep my fingers from having to learn a new editor.
Re: (Score:2)
That's what Notepad++ is for
Re: Do Not Want! (Score:2)
I prefer vim
Insane (Score:3)
What an unconscionably moronic decision. Have they lost track of what a text editor is?
Re: (Score:2)
They lost track of Wordpad and are trying to find it again.
Re: (Score:2)
They can't get people to use their products based on merit, so they force them to do so based on legacy and removing choice.
I already uninstalled the new Notepad for its idiotic tabs feature and opening all the crap I had open last time, which I don't want.
Luckily notepad++ exists (Score:4, Insightful)
So there is no need to use the normal notepad app. Every time I have accidentally opened the stock app, it has seemed worse than what I remembered.
Microsoft just can't leave well enough alone. (Score:2)
Man, if that ain't the thesis of the last 30 years....
And next week (Score:2)
they'll rename it Wordpad.
You know, the basic word processing program that used to come with Windows, but they killed it?
I guess they're taking lessons from Google now.
Re:And next week (Score:4, Funny)
No they wont. They'll rename it "Azure Notepad Copilot 365".
Markdown render (Score:2)
As far as I can tell, it is rendering markdown if you ask it to do so. I do not think it is a big deal if it is something limited as that.
Re: (Score:2)
It's microsoft. There's already AI in notepad, and now formatting. The *sole* point of notepad was that it was fast and didn't do jack to the content.
And, again, it's microsoft. I'm sure they'll find a way to have "their" markdown be yet slightly different from *every other flavors*, because that's just what they do.
What about email (Score:3)
Isn't there a trope that the late stage of any app is that is can do email?
it is a big deal (Score:1, Insightful)
Because Notepad is supposed to be idiot proof. It's not supposed to autosave, or interpret anything pasted into it. It's supposed to be a multiline edit control with a menu calling some Common Dialogs. Basically the simplest possible way to make a useful program for Windows, with all the limits that came along with such a simple design (e.g. 64k file size until Win32 made wParam 32-bits). Accordingly, if I'm using Notepad to hold some markdown, it's because it's being held in Notepad temporarily, or I want
They need to do this with wordpad (Score:1)
notepad is already unusable because it saves over edits that were not supposed to be saved.
They need to bring back wordpad and do all the hacking they want with wordpad. Notepad is supposed to be simple.
Re: (Score:2)
Microsoft keeps reinventing then uninventing, then reinventing again. Hold still, ya flea-bitten' varmint!
Movie-Maker, WordPad, Paint, PhotoViewer, and others I forgot about.
Org mode for GNU Emacs (Score:2)
[1]Org Mode: Your life in plain text [orgmode.org]
“A GNU Emacs major mode for keeping notes, authoring documents, computational notebooks, literate programming, maintaining to-do lists, planning projects, and more — in a fast and effective plain text system.”
[1] https://orgmode.org/
Then why did they kill Wordpad? (Score:1)
Microsoft spent years developing Wordpad, killed Wordpad, and is now adding Wordpad features to Notepad. The stupidity never stops in Windows world.
Did they forget about (Score:2)
Wordpad? It's probably some Microsoft PHB that can't find wordpad and wanted to add those features to notepad
Ah yes Microsoft (Score:2)
As if they don't just bring back wordpad, now they have to break notepad. Who the hell is in charge of that clown show? Can't wait for GIMP-3.2 to drop so more people can abandon the slow moving car wreck that is Windows.
At least there is npp (Score:2)
The only thing I had wanted "fixed" in notepad is for selection and (shift) tab to change indent level rather than delete the selection.
You would think there would at least be something they wouldn't bother to fuck up... I mean who used notepad anyway? There was always wordpad to do this shit to. Now I hear notepad is full of AI shit. Wouldn't surprise me if there are some nasty excuses baked in to justify uploading everything to Microsoft.
Re: (Score:2)
> I mean who used notepad anyway?
I do. The only time I ever need a text editor on my PC is to save product keys and to edit the occasional .ini or .cfg file for an old game. It also makes for a useful scratchpad for Klingon translations but that's because - unlike TextEdit.app - it's monospace by default.
> The only thing I had wanted "fixed" in notepad is for selection and (shift) tab to change indent level rather than delete the selection.
It's supposed to be plaintext editor, not a coding tool; overwriting the selected text with a tab character is exactly what I'd expect it to do. Frankly I'm more annoyed that they even added fonts to it, much less a "Send Feedback" option
Probably theonly thing they can still touch (Score:2)
Without the whole house of cards they have built comming crashing down.
As someone that collects text editors... (Score:2)
Any time I provision a new windows machine for myself, I install maybe a half dozen text editors as part of the process because they all have their strengths and weaknesses. Even though I have text editors that pamper me, I still use notepad more often than anything else. Certainly not for anything major, but it was never intended for that. It's right there in the name, and that's perhaps what they're getting at with this change. It's *notepad* not *simple text file editor*. I think I'm okay with them makin
Notepad appreciated? (Score:2)
I'm wondering how many people use Notepad. I've been using Notepad++ for a long while, and haven't touched Notepad.
Personally I like the idea of markdown support. A lightweight word processor that saves results as raw text would be quite appealing over saving as RTF or DOCX or another such format.
COPY CON (Score:3)
I wonder if COPY CON MSSUCKS.TXT still works at the command prompt?
Re: (Score:2)
> I wonder if COPY CON MSSUCKS.TXT still works at the command prompt?
Try it with an emoji.
Re: (Score:2)
Ah, so that's what the poop emoji was made for.
Re: (Score:2)
C:\> COPY CON MSSUCKS.TXT
The system cannot find the file specified.
C:\>