Microsoft Unveils Updated Notepad App for Windows 11 Insiders

Microsoft continues to update and refine Windows 11 two months after its public release, and the Notepad app is the latest version of the operating system worth considering. An updated version of the Notepad app is rolling out Insiders for Windows in the Dev channel, where the company is also testing settings on the taskbar and Start menu, a new-old button for setting the default web browser, an updated Media Player app, and other changes.

The main changes look much the same as they did in leaked Notepad screenshots from early October: a new unified title bar and menu bar matched with Windows 11’s mica style, as well as dark mode support, support for switching between dark and light. mode and modernized font controls.

Microsoft has added a few unsightly features to Notepad, but for now the company is focused on making the program better for the kinds of simple text and code editing that Notepad is good for. Microsoft is not trying to make Notepad a more advanced editor or rich text editor. First, the program uses a multi-level undo feature, whereas the current Notepad application can only undo and redo the very last thing you did. There’s also a new Find and Replace dialog that takes up less space.

Microsoft says it’s working on performance improvements when opening large files and issues with selecting text while holding down the shift key, among a few other minor issues. These will presumably be resolved before the new Notepad app is distributed to more stable Windows distribution channels.