Taking leave of WordPad

R.I.P. © iStock.

After 28 years of dedicated service, WordPad is on its way out. While Microsoft recently freshened up many Windows utilities such as Calculator, Media Player and Paint, the WordPad text editor was clearly snubbed. Included in every version since Windows 95, it is an application that has not been substantially updated since Windows 7. Still available in Windows 11, the application, which can save and read .rtf, .docx, .odt and .txt files, is more versatile than Notepad. According to Microsoft’s deprecated features page for Windows, it appears that WordPad will never get that same overhaul as other utility applications. The app is “no longer being updated,” and though it remains available for now, it “will be removed in a future release of Windows.” Microsoft does not specify whether it will be removed in a Windows 11 update or in a future major version of Windows. It also doesn’t appear that Microsoft plans to introduce another type of rich text editor for Windows.

⇨ Ars Technica, Andrew Cunningham, “For the first time in 40 years, Windows will ship without built-in word processor.”

2023-09-05