Microsoft updates Windows Notepad with text formatting, Markdown, and AI writing features

Microsoft has introduced a significant update to its Windows Notepad app, currently available to Canary and Dev Channel testers on Windows 11. This update brings new text formatting capabilities such as bold and italic styling, support for hyperlinks, lists, and Markdown. A new formatting toolbar has been added alongside the traditional File, Edit, and View menus, allowing users to easily apply these styles. Notepad now supports Markdown input and files, enabling users to toggle between formatted views and raw Markdown syntax. Users can clear formatting or disable the new features entirely through the app settings. This update follows closely after Microsoft began testing an AI-powered ‘Write’ feature in Notepad, which assists users by generating text drafts based on prompts. These enhancements mark a major evolution for Notepad, transforming it from a simple plain text editor into a more versatile writing tool with features that resemble those of Microsoft Word. This development comes after Microsoft’s decision to remove WordPad from Windows after nearly 30 years, indicating a renewed focus on improving lightweight text editing tools within the operating system.