Notepad

Notepad
	Component of Microsoft Windows
	Refreshed Notepad in Windows 11 2022 Update
Type	Text editing program
Included in	Windows 1.0 and later

Notepad is the default text editor of Microsoft Windows. Since the app's debut appearance in Windows 1.0, it became a part of the Windows Accessories.

An app with a nearly identical name is included in early versions of macOS. However, it is more similar to Sticky Notes.

History[edit | edit source]

Windows 10[edit | edit source]

The Windows 10 October 2018 Update included the first updates to Notepad, which added Bing search integration, zoom functionality, and the Ctrl+← Backspace keyboard shortcut (which deletes the previous word).

May 2019 Update build 18298 added an asterisk (*) to title bar to show whether changes to the document had been saved or not:

When an asterisk is shown, the changes have not been saved yet.
When it has been gone, the changes have been saved.

Cobalt build 21337 and later would come with the Microsoft Store version of Notepad pre-installed, which moved it out of the "Windows Accessories" folder and into the main app list in Start.

Windows 11[edit | edit source]

Around the time Windows 11 was officially released, Microsoft had teased a visual refresh for Notepad. It would later be released to Windows Insiders on the Dev Channel on 7 December 2021, followed by a public release on 16 February 2022. Notable change to new version of Notepad include:

An XAML-based user interface, which aligns with the Fluent design language of Windows 11
Support for dark mode
Redesigned find and replace interface
New Settings page for changing themes and fonts
Support for files up to 1 GB in size.

On 19 January 2023, Microsoft began rolling out an update to Windows Insiders which added tab support to the application. It would officially be released on 28 February 2023, alongside the Moment 2 update of Windows 11 2022 Update.