It has almost been 30 years since Microsoft rolled out WordPad, and the journey has come to an end. The tech behemoth revealed in its latest support note that WordPad will no longer get updates.
Microsoft has officially decided to discontinue WordPad, a basic text-editing application that had been hanging around for quite some time.
The announcement came recently, stating that WordPad will be deprecated, which means it will no longer receive updates and will eventually be removed in a future version of Windows. WordPad has been included by default in Windows systems since 1995, but it has been categorized as an optional feature since 2020, allowing users to uninstall it. This decision seems to align with the recent news.
Microsoft pointed out that it offers two alternative products, Microsoft Word and Windows NotePad, which can fulfill the needs of most users that WordPad previously met.
“WordPad is no longer being updated and will be removed in a future release of Windows. We recommend Microsoft Word for rich text documents like .doc and .rtf and Windows Notepad for plain text documents like .txt,” Microsoft said in the official announcement.
WordPad used to be a phenomenon in the past but lost its popularity in time
WordPad has been viewed as a Windows unnecessary function for a while now. In February 2022, it changed from being a required feature to an optional one. The declaration of its deprecation in 2023 doesn’t come as a huge shock in light of this decision and the changing environment of text editing tools.
Simple text and configuration file editing has historically been done with Notepad, a lighter-weight program. In contrast, WordPad had more sophisticated functionality, enabling users to work with formatted text, use numerous fonts, include photos, and make use of several other fundamental features. However, Microsoft deliberately constrained WordPad’s ability to create.doc and.rtf files in an effort to persuade users to upgrade to its pricey Office Word software.
Given that WordPad has been an optional feature in Windows since its debut with Windows 10 Insider Build 19551 in February 2020, the decision to deprecate it shouldn’t come as a surprise. WordPad is still pre-installed on all Windows PCs, but Microsoft allows users to remove it via the ‘Optional features’ control panel.
When Microsoft announced the deprecation and withdrawal of the original Windows Paint program, they took a similar action five years ago. That choice became official with the July 2017 release of the Windows 10 Fall Creator’s Update.
Microsoft WordPad alternatives to try
Now that Microsoft has pulled the plug and will not be releasing any more updates for WordPad, it is time to look for alternatives. Considering WordPAd is one of the oldest in the field, there are very modern and “better” alternatives that you can try. These alternatives also include more features than the old application that a generation has used for many years. HEre are some of the best WordPad alternatives that you can find right now:
- Libre Office
- Microsoft Word
- Google Docs
As an alternative to WordPad, Microsoft suggests using the Microsoft Word app, which provides a more comprehensive set of features. For users who don’t need rich text support, Notepad remains a suitable choice. However, you can try Libre Office and Google Docs are also solid alternatives.