Microsoft is getting rid of its WordPad application, which has been a staple of every Windows operating system released since 1995. Not only is the Satya Nadella-led company planning to remove the WordPad app from newer builds of Windows, but the app will no longer be reinstallable.
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The news was first revealed via the Widows Insider blog for the latest Windows 11 Canary Channel build. The blog post, while addressing the removal of WordPad, noted, “Starting with this build, the WordPad and People apps will no longer be installed after doing a clean install of the OS. In a future flight, WordPad will be removed on upgrade. WordPad will not be reinstallable. WordPad is a deprecated Windows feature.”
However, the good news for WordPad fans is that the MS Word alternative has not yet been removed from the stable version of Windows 11, and the new changes have gone through the beta and developer channels first.
According to a report from Gizmodo, WordPad was a successor to Microsoft Write and was initially positioned in two key ways: a text editor with some MS Word functionality and a more advanced version of the Notepad app. While the WordPad app is set to depart Windows 11, Notepad appears to be safe for now.
While the news that Microsoft is removing WordPad from Windows 11 may come as a shock to many, the Redmond-based company seems to have been planning the move for some time, with a recent GeekWire report noting that WordPad had also not received the dark mode that the Notepad app received.
Moreover, Microsoft had listed WordPad as a ‘deprecated’ app since September 2023. The company now recommends using other WordPad alternatives like MS Word and Notepad. A Microsoft blogpost on Deprecated features noted, “We recommend Microsoft Word for rich text documents like .doc and .rtf and Windows Notepad for plain text documents like .txt.”
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Michael Johnson is a tech enthusiast with a passion for all things digital. His articles cover the latest technological innovations, from artificial intelligence to consumer gadgets, providing readers with a glimpse into the future of technology.
