You will no longer be able to use WordPad on Windows, here’s why

Microsoft has announced that the WordPad app will stop receiving updates and will subsequently be removed from all future Windows versions. The company also recommended using Microsoft Word, a far more feature-rich text formatting and editing app, compared to the free WordPad app.

Text editors on Windows: Key differences explained

WordPad has been included with every version of Windows since Windows 95. It offers the ability to format and edit text, as well as insert any relevant images and objects, create numbered lists, and adjust indentation. Microsoft Word, on the other hand, is far more feature-rich, and allows one to format and edit text, insert tables, hyperlinks, numbered lists, images, and references, run grammar checks, and a lot more.

However, WordPad and Microsoft Word aren’t the only two text editors offered with Windows systems. Microsoft also offers to users the NotePad app, which is useful for plain text documents in .txt format. However, it only allows for basic text editing, and not much else. On Thursday though, Microsoft announced that its Notepad app will receive more features such as autosave and automatic restoration of tabs in the app, in a bid for it to stay relevant.

ALSO READ: Windows 11 may soon work better on older desktops and laptops

WordPad, last saw a major overhaul with the Windows 7 ribbon UI. However, barring a few minor changes in the Windows 8 version, it has remained largely unchanged over the years.

Earlier this year, Microsoft also announced that support for its digital voice assistant, Cortana, would be removed on iOS and Android as well as Windows 11. However, Cortana will continue to be supported on Microsoft Teams for mobile, as well as Teams display and Teams Rooms until 2023.

Microsoft is believed to already be working on its next version of Windows, Windows 12, which is expected to be released sometime in 2024. The operating system is expected to include a slew of AI-powered features as well.