Microsoft is ushering in a new era for its Windows Notepad app, enhancing its functionality with a suite of text formatting options that were previously absent. This update, currently available to testers in the Canary and Dev Channels on Windows 11, introduces bold and italic styling, hyperlinks, lists, and even Markdown support, transforming the humble text editor into a more versatile tool.
The revamped Notepad now features a formatting toolbar prominently positioned at the top of the application, complementing the traditional File, Edit, and View menus. This new toolbar provides users with easy access to bold, italic, and hyperlink functionalities, as well as options for creating lists and headings. According to Dave Grochocki, principal product manager lead for Microsoft’s Windows inbox apps, “The experience supports Markdown style input and files for users who prefer to work directly with the lightweight markup language.” Users can seamlessly toggle between formatted Markdown and Markdown syntax views through the view menu or a convenient button located in the status bar at the bottom of the window.
For those who prefer the simplicity of plain text, Notepad retains its core functionality. Users can easily clear all formatting via the formatting toolbar or the edit menu. Additionally, if the new lightweight formatting options do not align with a user’s preferences, they can opt to disable this feature entirely within the Notepad app settings.
This update follows closely on the heels of another innovative feature introduced by Microsoft: the AI-powered Write function. This capability allows users to generate text based on prompts, further blurring the lines between Notepad and more advanced word processing applications like Microsoft Word. As noted in a recent Notepad newsletter, it’s remarkable to witness the evolution of Notepad from a basic log file reader to a more sophisticated writing tool, especially after decades of minimal updates. The surge in new features comes in the wake of Microsoft’s decision to retire WordPad from Windows, marking a significant shift in the company’s approach to text editing tools.
