Microsoft plans to phase out WordPad, directing users towards the feature-rich Microsoft Word and enhanced Notepad. Windows 12 might launch without the classic word processor.
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After nearly 30 years of being a staple application in the Windows environment, Microsoft has announced its plans to retire WordPad.
The basic word processing tool, which has been a part of Windows since the Windows 95 era, will no longer see updates and will eventually be removed from future Windows releases.
Moving Towards Advanced Word Processing
Microsoft has long promoted its premium word processing software, Microsoft Word, which boasts many features compared to the simpler WordPad application.
As per the support note issued by Microsoft, the company states, “WordPad is no longer being updated and will be removed in a future release of Windows. We recommend Microsoft Word for rich text documents like .doc and .rtf and Windows Notepad for plain text documents like .txt.”
Notepad Gets a Boost
The revelation about WordPad’s fate came shortly after Microsoft announced enhancements to its Notepad application.
In a progressive move, the tech giant introduced features like autosave and the automatic restoration of tabs.
The Notepad app witnessed its first significant update in 2018; tab features were subsequently added to the Windows 11 version.
WordPad’s Journey
Unlike its counterpart, WordPad has not experienced frequent revamps.
It did undergo an upgrade with Windows 7’s Ribbon UI and saw a mild redesign in Windows 8.
However, post these changes, no significant improvements were made.
Microsoft has indicated that WordPad will be phased out entirely in an upcoming Windows release.
Speculations suggest this might coincide with the launch of Windows 12 – expected in 2024 – rumored to have an array of AI-powered features.
With technological advancements and changing user needs, it seems Microsoft is streamlining its applications to offer more sophisticated and user-friendly solutions for its vast consumer base.
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