Microsoft Adds New Features to Notepad: Yes, Notepad
Microsoft is dusting off some classic Windows apps and giving them a much-needed makeover. While much of the recent attention has been on the MS Paint and Photos apps getting new AI capabilities in Copilot Plus PCs, the humble Notepad text editor is suddenly stepping up with new spellcheck and autocorrect features joining other recent updates.
Yes, you're not reading that wrong. Notepad was launched in 1983 and has only now, in 2024, added a spellcheck feature. It was floated as a beta update in March but has now rolled out to all Windows users. The same goes for autocorrect, which will make simple changes on the fly as you type, much as it does in Microsoft Word (and Word itself added spellcheck in 1985.)
Spellcheck in Notepad will automatically underline misspelled words in red, similar to how most modern word processors work. In the Notepad settings menu, there are options for turning spellcheck off completely, or just turning it off for certain file types, like .lic files (for licensing info) or .srt files (for video subtitles). And yes, you can add words to the custom dictionary so they won't get flagged in the future. The Autocorrect feature has a simple on/off switch to correct typos automatically.
Despite being built into every Windows PC since the early '80s, Notepad has largely remained unchanged for decades, and only a couple of years ago finally added features like dark mode support and tabbed viewing. Even though many PC users have access to Office 365 and Word, and Microsoft makes the online versions of those tools free to use, I still call up Notepad occasionally when I have some quick notes to jot down, need to cut and paste some HTML code, or to create easy to find text files to store things like product activation codes.
While welcome, these new features do add complexity to what was for the longest time an incredibly simple, stripped-down tool. At the same time, WordPad, the long-standing halfway point between Notepad and Word, is being pulled from future releases of Windows, with Microsoft recently stating: "WordPad will be removed from all editions of Windows starting in Windows 11, version 24H2 and Windows Server 2025."
@danacknyc Notepad gets some attention from Microsoft, with spellcheck and autocorrect. More at microcenter.news
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Do you still use Notepad in Windows? If so, share what you use it for in the comments.
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Micro Center Editor-in-Chief Dan Ackerman is a veteran tech reporter and has served as Editor-in-Chief of Gizmodo and Editorial Director at CNET. He's been testing and reviewing laptops and other consumer tech for almost 20 years and is the author of The Tetris Effect, a Cold War history of the world's most influential video game. Contact Dan at dackerman@microcenter.com.
