Windows will no longer have an integrated basic rich-text-based word app.
Wordpad always seemed like an annoying and unnecessary half-step between notepad and word to me.
Word is now so bloated that I fear using it. It’s nice to have Wordpad.
T
Ah. Are you trying to write about Theodore Roosevelt? Bing can help!
The
Here are 10,000 links to Theodore Roosevelt
The fox…
As if Clippy wasn’t doing that 25 years ago.
Yeah but Clippy was attractive. All those curves on display.
I liked having the minimal formatting options in WordPad without the bloat of Word.
Wordpad is also able to open large text files without having a stroke. RIP
This is my most common use. It is grrat for opening large log files on servers.
I read that like you’re Tony the Tiger. “It is GRRRRRREAT for opening large log files.”
The holy spirit help you with your servers that run on windows.
I’d also suppose this update won’t affect you, cuz you’re hopefully not running latest win11 on a server.
its pretty neat if you dont have access to word, which is likely why they want to get rid of it
Doubtful. There are a myriad of free and FOSS options that are available right now to people of even limited technological skill. WordPad isn’t damaging their bottom line, but since it’s certainly not adding to it, there’s no point in maintaining it.
It was very niche, but it’s great for viewing docs or other light work on a system you don’t want to install a whole office suite onto.
You can still do that but it’s through word webview. Some people won’t like that option.
I don’t want to install “word webview” on a server in order to look at a large log file or peruse some XML.
You don’t, it’s a browser. You shouldn’t be doing anything interacting from a server anyways.
Rtf is far more lightweight than docx. It’s closer to markdown.
As others have said, fast opening quick notes with basic formatting.
For example, if I get an unexpected call I need to write down more than a call back number, Wordpad was my go to.
Well, at least when back when I used Windows regularly.
Can’t say I ever needed it in the 28 years I’ve been using Windows. I’m sure there are plenty who did, though.
Microsoft’s business model has often gotten in the way of anything they do making sense.
In other words: bloat
What, they couldn’t add AI to it?
You wouldn’t add AI to a hand bag?! You wouldn’t add AI to a car?! You wouldn’t add AI to a baby?! You wouldn’t shoot a police man?! … and then steal his helmet?! … and then add AI to it?!
Microsoft: We can’t spy on your usage when you use wordpad, use O365 instead! (guessing since MS recommends using O365 Word in its place).
TBH, I haven’t used wordpad since Windows 98. Not saying others don’t use it, but Notepad++ and a myriad of other options are better anyway.
If they just wanted telemetry they’d just “enhance it” they way they did with the monstrosity that is new Paint or AI assisted notepad.
AI assisted Notepad is a thing?
Yeah, though I don’t know if it graduated beta, because I don’t use windows 11.
TBH, I haven’t used wordpad since Windows 98
which is why they’re getting rid of it
it would probably be pretty easy to just patch telemetry into it, except nobody uses it because why would you
Does Notepad++ allow rich text?
On a default install on NP++ you can only save as rtf, but there are addable plugins that give some rtf functionality. So as a direct answer, no, it doesn’t, but it can.
WordPad 3d
WordPad AI
More brilliant decisions from Satya Nadella. 🙄
It is an obvious maneuver, to be fair to Nadella. Not only will this push more over to subscription based word processing, but it also closes one of the easier avenues useds have to avoid aggregated data farming. Their next move should be to turn Notepad into a complementary tiered program:
Tier 1) Use at no charge, but your data pays for it instead.
Tier 2) Notepad becomes an extra pay to unlock feature of 365.
Oh get fucked Microsoft. Now I have to use notepad when I put the tape measure on the spacebar so teams doesn’t change my status to idle.
Just select yourself to chat with in Teams (top option in contacts) and put a battery on the delete key like a professional…
I’m a frequent host and participant of a meeting for one.
Looped video for me
I like the cut of your jib. I’ll put a word in for you with the Bobs.

MouseJiggle.exe
And so the bloodline of windows write is extinguished
This is kinda sad that if you want to do even basic word processing with Microsoft software, your only option now is an ongoing subscription to do so.
…your only option now is an ongoing subscription to do so.
You can also still buy the Office package without subscription. The latest release is from 2024 and 2021 before that. But of course its expensive for basic stuff.
Oh I didn’t actually realise that, I thought they’d just gone full Adobe with office 365
here’s a little known fact about WordPad: It was Microsoft’s first word processing program. Originally introduced as an add-on to MS-DOS in 1981, WordPad later became a part of Windows in the 1990s after the release of Windows 95. It was designed to be simpler and more user-friendly than its more advanced counterpart, Microsoft Word.
Word pad the goat of somehow interpreting files as not UTF8
As long as you have notepad, you’re good.
Notepad++
What if I want rich text?
Markdown?
Too bad, only the poorest text for you.
*economically challenged text
Have your butler do it for you
Sad to see such a great program go…
Sad but expected. Most people are using either office or one of the free alternatives by now.
And they’re making notepad pretty unusable also
I’ve had no real issuses with the new notepad.
I just hope that they don’t continue adding too much stuff to it and it becomes the new wordpad and we don’t have a basic box to put text anymore.
One of my biggest problems with the new notepad is you’ve lost using it as a forgettable scratch space. Anything you put in the new Notepad now gets written to your drive, even if you don’t save the file.
You can’t type or copy/paste anything sensitive into notepad anymore as a temporary space even if you don’t save the file.
win + R
copy it into run box
I’ve used windows since the 90s. Not once have I intentionally used WordPad.
It did open by default for some file types for a long time (.doc), usually mangling the content cause it couldn’t actually handle them properly. I think it was also the default for .txt files at some point, causing many curse words when editing plain text files, that invisibly weren’t so plain any more after… Programs expecting a configuration fine really don’t like that sort of thing.
So: I’m very ok with this. Just install LibreOffice or something if you needa Word-like experience. Install notepad++ for anything “plain”.
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I suppose you could install Word. If you want just Word, you can jump through a few hoops to make the Office Deployment Tool install only Word.
I don’t think that is a reasonable solution for your use case, but I suspect making people use (and buy) the actual Office Suite is the motivation.
Edit: I see my point has been phrased poorly - I was trying to outline that I suspect MS’ point is making people get Word (Office) instead. Maybe I’m just plain wrong on that though.
Installing Word, on a server, running as administrator, forecefully linked to some MS account for activation… Is that really a reasonable solution in a Microsoft world? Smh.
If documentation comes as Word document there is no documentation and a huge red flag for the software.



























