Yep, Microsoft is Redesigning Notepad in Windows 11 Too

After completely screwing up Paint with a horrible Dark Mode-averse update, Microsoft is going after Notepad in Windows 11 too.

“Today we are beginning to roll out the redesigned Notepad for Windows 11 to all Windows Insiders in the Dev Channel,” Microsoft’s Dave Grochocki announced. “The redesigned Notepad for Windows 11 includes a number of changes we think the community will enjoy. You will notice a completely updated UI that aligns with the new visual design of Windows 11, including rounded corners, Mica, and more. We know how important Notepad is to so many of your daily workflows, so we designed this modern spin on the classic app to feel fresh, but familiar.”

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The new look is just fine, to be fair, and unlike with Paint, this refreshed version of Notepad supports Dark mode, an important if obvious feature. The new Notepad also features a redesigned Find and Replace experience, Grochocki notes, and it will support multi-level Undo, a top user feature request.

This first release has some known issues that will be fixed in future updates, including some Input Method Editor (IME) problems and weird SHIFT + click bugs. Performance with very large files might be lacking as well.

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Conversation 27 comments

  • navarac

    07 December, 2021 - 1:36 pm

    <p>I wait Mary Jo Foley’s take on it with baited breath.</p>

    • louvipi

      Premium Member
      07 December, 2021 - 1:40 pm

      <p>I completely agree. :-)</p><p>Will it get the MJF stamp of approval?</p>

    • pgiftos

      Premium Member
      07 December, 2021 - 1:45 pm

      <p>My first thought is MJF does not like change and therefore will not be happy with any change!</p>

    • mattbg

      Premium Member
      07 December, 2021 - 4:12 pm

      <p>Honestly, if MJF approves then Microsoft needs to include this seal on the Store page.<span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">.. or at least pin her Store review to the product page.</span></p><p><br></p><p>It is the only quality marker that matters for this app. Anyone else who can’t cope with Notepad is already using another editor.</p>

    • jchampeau

      Premium Member
      08 December, 2021 - 5:27 am

      <p>*bated</p>

      • navarac

        08 December, 2021 - 3:11 pm

        <p>Yep. Another reason for bringing back the edit function :-)</p>

    • jhlundin

      08 December, 2021 - 2:38 pm

      <p>MJF = ;-0 </p>

  • matt11to5

    Premium Member
    07 December, 2021 - 1:55 pm

    <p>Ooh. I definitely like it.</p>

  • spacein_vader

    Premium Member
    07 December, 2021 - 2:20 pm

    <p>Microsoft: if it ain’t broke we’ll fix it anyway. </p>

    • max daru

      07 December, 2021 - 7:12 pm

      <p><s style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">Microsoft</s><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"> Every software vendor: if it ain’t broke we’ll fix it anyway.</span></p>

  • lvthunder

    Premium Member
    07 December, 2021 - 2:24 pm

    <p>Paul should update his notepad version to look like this. It would be interesting to see how easy it is to get an existing app to look more modern like this.</p>

    • Paul Thurrott

      Premium Member
      07 December, 2021 - 3:51 pm

      Definitely thinking about this.

  • winner

    07 December, 2021 - 2:37 pm

    <p>How is Mary Jo going to feel about the inking, telemetry, and prompts to switch to Edge?</p>

  • Philotech Mueller

    07 December, 2021 - 2:43 pm

    <p>Don’t know what all the fuss is about :). I have been using Metapad pretty much since its release (in 1999!), and it’s the perfect Notepad replacement for Notepad lovers. Works exactly the same way, but has a few treats such as a secondary font (e.g. for fixed-width needs), free choice of font, lots of text conversion tools (to caps, to tabified), menus with lists of favorites and recent documents, fast-close with a press of just ESC, and more.</p><p>And it’s less than 250k in size (I agree you wouldn’t care today, but think 1999!). OK the icon ever was and still is ugly, but that’s really my only complaint… ;-).</p><p>It was last updated in 2011, so I keep a copy at a safe place to always have access in case the website just closes down.</p>

    • behindmyscreen

      08 December, 2021 - 8:27 am

      <p>Sounds like Notepad++ but no longer maintained and with no programming language support.</p>

  • bbold

    07 December, 2021 - 4:08 pm

    <p>I’m fine with it. Looks good. That app needed an update!</p>

  • rm

    07 December, 2021 - 4:16 pm

    <p>Looks great, I use dark mode (easier on the eyes), so I have been hoping for that. Only concern is performance of large files.</p>

  • JustinMSalvato

    07 December, 2021 - 5:41 pm

    <p>My knee jerk reaction is to freak out on Twitter but these are some welcome changes. </p>

  • echo64

    07 December, 2021 - 9:16 pm

    <p>I just got the update, works great so far. The settings cog off by itself on the right side seems kind of unnecessary since there are only two options – theme and font – but more might be added in the future. </p><p><br></p><p>Other than the visual changes everything else seem pretty much the same, at least to me anyway (never been a huge notepad user except for editing config files).</p>

  • zhackwyatt

    Premium Member
    07 December, 2021 - 9:42 pm

    <p>Am I the only one that searched for "<span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">Grochocki notes" to figure out what kind of note taking feature that is. </span></p><p><br></p><p><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">No? How embarrassing</span></p>

    • stephenf

      07 December, 2021 - 11:18 pm

      <p>I wondered too. Never heard of it before. And the answer is (drumroll please)? </p>

    • eric_rasmussen

      Premium Member
      08 December, 2021 - 11:34 am

      <p>I did too. Then I re-read the paragraph after learning that Dave Grochocki is the program manager over tools like notepad. Now it makes sense and I’m kind of embarrassed too. ?</p>

  • lilmoe

    07 December, 2021 - 9:57 pm

    <p>Is it as snappy as notepad classic? Like, does it open instantaneously? Types with 0 lag? Does the new look, along with the new UI API bog it down? </p><p><br></p><p>I always fire up a notepad window for quick notes, simple replace and more complex copy/paste stuff. Especially when my system is slowed down doing stuff, notepad makes life less stressful with its simplicity and snappiness. If that’s gone, then NO.</p>

  • gregsedwards

    Premium Member
    07 December, 2021 - 10:46 pm

    <p>Speaking of which, where’s that Thurrott.com dark theme? ?</p>

    • bluesman57

      08 December, 2021 - 9:24 am

      <p>Yes, really. I need sunglasses to read this site.</p>

  • sentinel6671

    Premium Member
    08 December, 2021 - 1:44 am

    <p>I cannot wait for Windows Weekly this week :)</p>

  • testthurrottacct

    09 December, 2021 - 8:04 am

    <p>still running Notepad++</p>

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