Windows Notepad Gets its First Update in Decades

[btarunr]

Microsoft is giving Notepad, the humble plaintext editor, its first major update in decades. The update will be shipping in the next major update to Windows 10, currently referred to as Redstone 5. To begin with, Notepad is getting an under-the-hood performance boost that will let it work with large text files more responsively. More functionality is added to the status bar (which stays hidden by default). The status bar now allows you to zoom in and out of text (this doesn't change font size, only its display). To zoom in/out, hold down ctrl, and turn the scroll wheel up or down. The status bar also displays cursor position in lines and columns, and character encoding. Notepad will also, at long last, receive support for *nix and Mac line endings. Lastly, ctrl+backspace (deleting a previous word instead of a character) will finally be supported.



View at TechPowerUp Main Site

 

[R0H1T]

Perhaps too little too late(?) btw just received RS5 yesterday as an insider.

 

[trog100]

its not had an update because its fine as it is.. lets hope they dont bugger it up..

trog

 

[bug]

I was expecting they should replace it with Notepad#

 

[rtwjunkie]

I've worked with some really big text files modding RTW to the gills, including scripts, and it's all been very responsive. I shudder to think how big are the "large" text files they are making it more responsive to.

I'm with Trog....being it's MS, and their focus is not OS anymore, added on top of their normal bungling, they are likely to bugger it all up.

 

[qubit]

This has to be the most underrated, handiest app that comes with Windows. Nice to see an update.

 

[newtekie1]

I doubt it will make me switch from Notepad++.

I've worked with some really big text files modding RTW to the gills, including scripts, and it's all been very responsive. I shudder to think how big are the "large" text files they are making it more responsive to.

I've had files that were so big Notepad would just freeze when you tried to open them, or even given me the message that the file is too big to open in Notepad. Multi-Gig log files tend to do it.

 

[Prima.Vera]

Better update Word Pad instead...

 

[ryan.voth]

its not had an update because its fine as it is.. lets hope they dont bugger it up..

trog

Agreed I like notepad the way that it is.

 

[bug]

I doubt it will make me switch from Notepad++.



I've had files that were so big Notepad would just freeze when you tried to open them, or even given me the message that the file is too big to open in Notepad. Multi-Gig log files tend to do it.

I don't think it's meant to make anyone switch. The way I look at it is: whoever needs a better text editor already has one; the rest will get a better one after this gets updated.

 

[windwhirl]

Being realistic, Notepad did get some updates since Windows 98...

On Windows XP, it can load files up to 32 MB and on Windows 8.1 it can load files up to 512 MB.

That's it.

 

[T4C Fantasy]

Being realistic, Notepad did get some updates since Windows 98...

On Windows XP, it can load files up to 32 MB and on Windows 8.1 it can load files up to 512 MB.

That's it.

theres been some bug fixes as well i just cant remember them, one is reformatting itself on a copy and paste to notepad from xp to vista i think.

 

[Keullo-e]

This has to be the most underrated, handiest app that comes with Windows. Nice to see an update.

Hard to say, is it Notepad or Paint. Still I use Paint to edit screenshots.

edit: Though I mean what I use the most.

 

[bug]

^^^ Use paint.net, it's much, much better

 

[EntropyZ]

Notepad++ and Paint.NET 'nuff said.

 

[csgabe]

Yes, I waited for this update since Windows 98.

 

[Deleted member 178884]

Use ms paint for notes

 

[GamerNerves]

Default Notepad forever!

 

[T4C Fantasy]

this is how i use notepad

 

[Mistral]

Wait, MS remembered that Notepad exists?

Notepad++ and Paint.NET 'nuff said.

Notepad++ is awesome, especially with some productivity plugins like Compare.
Paint.NET still has a long ways to go before it gets to where I need it professionally, but it's good to have an alternative like it.

 

[DeathtoGnomes]

I doubt the new Notepad will replace N++

 

[windwhirl]

I doubt the new Notepad will replace N++

That will probably never happen. Notepad++ has way more functionality.

 

[Frick]

That will probably never happen. Notepad++ has way more functionality.

The only reason I've used anything but notepad is because it can't handle large files. That's it. And no matter the system i've run, N++ have always been marginally slower to open when using a keyboard shortcut, and that is annoying. And the UI is annoying, and frankly I don't like software for simple tasks where you first have to spend ten minutes figuring out what the program can do and then disable everything they think you want (keeping tabs, create a new empty tab on launching, having tabs at all because I often have/need multiple text logs open) so it behaves like a simple text editor and not a damned browser.

It can still be refined, but Notepad has always been the perfect text viewer/editor for me (for small files, and more so now when they've added support for different line endings and larger files. The only thing I want now is for it to show the full pathname for the file open.

 

[bug]

Wait, MS remembered that Notepad exists?



Notepad++ is awesome, especially with some productivity plugins like Compare.
Paint.NET still has a long ways to go before it gets to where I need it professionally, but it's good to have an alternative like it.

Paint.net is not meant for professional use, so it will probably never be for you. It's just meant to be a not brain-dead Paint.

 

[Blueberries]

Package MS Word with Windows as the default text editor and eliminate Notepad entirely.