News Microsoft is killing WordPad in Windows after 28 years

[tom_mai78101]

Microsoft announced today that it will deprecate WordPad with a future Windows update as it's no longer under active development, though the company did not specify the precise timing of this change.

WordPad is a basic text-editing application that allows users to create and edit documents with formatted text and include images and links to other files.

It is automatically installed on Windows systems starting in 1995 since Windows 95 was released, providing users with a basic word processor and document editor integrated into the operating system.

The company now suggests the Microsoft Word app as a replacement for WordPad users and Notepad for those who don't need rich text support.

"WordPad is no longer being updated and will be removed in a future release of Windows," Microsoft revealed today.

"We recommend Microsoft Word for rich text documents like .doc and .rtf and Windows Notepad for plain text documents like .txt."

Microsoft is killing WordPad in Windows after 28 years

Microsoft announced today that it will deprecate WordPad with a future Windows update as it's no longer under active development, though the company did not specify the precise timing of this change.

www.bleepingcomputer.com

 

[The Helper]

Nothing lasts forever. RIP Word Pad I am sure there is a freeware version of you out there

 

[The Helper]

RIP Microsoft WordPad. You Will Be Missed

After around 30 years of existence, WordPad is finally saying goodbye. In the Windows 11 Build 26020 Insider Preview’s Canary Channel, Microsoft announced that WordPad will not be auto-installed after installing the new OS build and will officially be removed in the future update. It clarified that the text editor won’t be available for reinstallation. This really is goodbye, then.

WordPad has been a default Microsoft app for as long as I can remember. It was introduced in Windows 95 and is the successor to the OG Microsoft Write. WordPad was initially positioned in two ways: 1) a text editor that has some functionalities of MS Word and 2) a more advanced version of the Notepad text editor, which was released some 40 years ago in 1983.

According to a Microsoft Learn post on all the Deprecated features for Windows clients, the company says, “We recommend Microsoft Word for rich text documents like .doc and .rtf and Windows Notepad for plain text documents like .txt.” This somewhat hints at the fact that Microsoft, too, realized that WordPad is just a weird middle ground between MS Word and Notepad and can be done away with. This is mainly conjecture, though, and there’s a possibility the company had other, more solid reasons for removing the text editor.

GeekWire also points out that they recently noticed that WordPad didn’t get a dark mode update and that it should have been enough to give them an idea of its upcoming demise. It makes sense when they compare it to Notepad’s recent dark mode update and mention an upcoming update with autosave functionality that it will get soon.

RIP Microsoft WordPad. You Will Be Missed

It's truly the end of an era as we say farewell to a real one.

gizmodo.com