Microsoft has unveiled an exciting new feature for its Windows 11 Notepad application, introducing text formatting capabilities that embrace Markdown-style input. This enhancement comes a year after the company phased out the WordPad application, which had provided basic word processing features. The rollout is part of the Windows 11 24H2 update for Insiders in the Release Preview Channel.
Dave Grochocki, Principal Product Manager Lead at Microsoft, shared insights on this update: “With this update, we are introducing lightweight formatting in Notepad, providing additional flexibility in how you structure content across your files.” The new functionality allows users to apply various formatting options as they type or to selected text. This includes bold and italic styles, hyperlinks, and the ability to create simple lists and headings.
For those who prefer a more straightforward approach, Notepad offers the option to revert to plain text easily. Users can quickly remove formatting via the toolbar or the edit menu. Additionally, toggling between formatted Markdown and its syntax view is seamless, accessible through the view menu or the status bar. If text formatting is not a necessity for certain tasks, users can disable this feature in the app settings.
This innovative capability is currently being rolled out to all Windows Insiders in the Canary and Dev Channels who have updated to version 11.2504.50.0 of the app.
Stream of new Notepad features
The introduction of text formatting is part of a broader initiative to modernize the Notepad application, which began in December 2021 with a comprehensive redesign, marking 38 years since the original program’s debut in 1983. Following this, Microsoft initiated testing for multiple tabs and incorporated a built-in character counter, addressing a long-standing gap that led many users to seek third-party alternatives like Notepad++ or Notepad2.
In July 2024, Notepad saw the addition of spell check and autocorrect features, enhancing the user experience by automatically correcting spelling mistakes as users type. More recently, since the beginning of 2025, Microsoft has introduced AI-powered text summarization and generation features for Windows 11 Insiders in the Canary and Dev Channels. These features require subscriptions to Microsoft 365 Personal, Family, or Copilot Pro.
For those who prefer to avoid the new AI functionalities, the app settings allow users to disable these options or uninstall the Notepad app entirely, reverting to the classic Windows built-in notepad.exe program.
