The other day, Windows released Insider Preview Build 26020 to kick off the new year with a handful of new features and capabilities. However, this update also removed some features with the official running of WordPad, which will no longer be installable in a fresh installation of the operating system. Additionally, in an upcoming update, WordPad will be globally removed from Windows installations.
Technically speaking, WordPad was announced as obsolete on September 1, 2023, according to Microsoft documentation, after 30 years of use. However, the company appears to be about to retire the Notepad alternative for the Old Yeller treatment. As noted, WordPad will no longer be available during Windows installation and will also be removed in a future update. It’s sad to see the more feature-rich and faster text editor disappear, but Microsoft now recommends using Notepad for .txt files and Word for everything else.
Of course, Word and Notepad aren’t the best for everything, especially when it comes to speed with the former and formatting with the latter. Fortunately, there are a few alternatives that may have contributed to WordPad’s downfall. The first is Notepad++, a free Notepad replacement that’s pretty impressive overall, supporting formatting for various programming languages or other text formats.
Alternatively, Sublime is another good option that you can install on more than just Windows so you can enjoy the same environment on different devices. Sublime seems to be more feature-rich than Notepad++, which can be a blessing and a curse, depending on who you are. Either way, it’s a great option to replace WordPad if you’re a regular user.
Finally, if you’re a bit of a masochist, you can always install Vim on Windows. The interface is significantly simpler, but with this almost everything is done more easily via the command line and keyboard commands. It’s also faster if you navigate your files via the command line, but it can be more complicated if you use Windows Explorer like a plebian or have never used Vim.
Either way, the end of WordPad isn’t the end of the world, as there are plenty of great alternatives that can let you change those configuration files on the fly or whatever you do. If you like any of our recommendations or have a better one, let us know in the comments below.
