Microsoft updates Notepad app with new features after decades

After years of remaining a plain text editor, Microsoft's decades-old Notepad application is receiving a significant update, with a suite of new formatting capabilities. This aims to provide users greater flexibility in structuring their content, moving beyond its traditional minimalist approach.

In a blog post, senior executive at Windows Inbox Apps Dave Grochocki said that Notepad will now have "lightweight formatting," which includes support for Markdown-style input. Users will now find a new formatting toolbar allowing them to easily apply bold and italic styling, create hyperlinks, and incorporate simple lists and headings directly within their files. This update caters particularly to those who prefer working with lightweight markup languages.

Users who wish to revert to the simple Notepad can avail options to clear all formatting. The update also allows switching between formatted Markdown and Markdown syntax views, offering control over content display. For those who prefer the classic, unformatted Notepad, the formatting support can be entirely disabled within the app settings.

Notepad was launched in 1983, not as a standalone Windows app, but as "Multi-Tool Notepad". Richard Brodie created it as a stripped-down version of Microsoft's Multi-Tool Word. Its primary purpose at the time was to help commercialise the newly introduced Microsoft Mouse in MS-DOS environments. It was bundled with the mouse, often alongside Word.

It started in MS-DOS but became an integral part of Windows from its early versions, including Windows 1.0 (released in 1985). For decades, Notepad was defined by its commitment to plain text.