Microsoft WordPad, the simple text editor that has been included in every version of Windows since Windows 95, is no more. The company announced that it will discontinue the program as of February 1, 2024, citing low usage and high maintenance costs.
WordPad was originally designed as a replacement for the old Notepad, which lacked basic formatting features such as fonts, colors and bullets. WordPad offered a more user-friendly interface and a richer set of options for creating and editing documents. It was also compatible with Microsoft Word, the industry-standard word processor.
Over the years, however, WordPad became obsolete as more powerful and versatile alternatives emerged. Microsoft itself launched several competing products, such as Office Online, OneNote and the free version of Word. These programs offered cloud storage, collaboration tools and advanced editing features that WordPad lacked. Users also had access to other popular options, such as Google Docs, LibreOffice and Notepad++.
According to Microsoft, WordPad had less than 1% market share among text editors in 2023, and most of its users were either unaware of the new options or reluctant to switch out of habit or nostalgia. The company said that maintaining WordPad was no longer feasible or profitable and that it would rather focus on developing and improving its other products.
Microsoft assured that existing WordPad users will not lose their documents or data once the program is discontinued. They will be able to access their files through other programs that support the .rtf format, such as Word or Notepad. Microsoft also said it will provide guidance and support for users who want to migrate to other platforms.
The demise of WordPad marks the end of an era for many PC users who grew up with the program and used it for everything from schoolwork to personal journals. While some may mourn its loss, others may see it as an opportunity to embrace newer and better technologies. Either way, WordPad will always have a place in the history of computing and in the memory of its users.
WordPad, the Windows rich editing application that has been a key part of the platform since Windows 95, is on its way out. Microsoft has marked it for deprecation, a death knell that indicates it will be removed in a future release.
BleepingComputer was the first to notice the change, which was made official in Microsoft’s Windows Deprecated Features list in September 2023.
And now the axe has started to fall. One of the changes being made in the latest version of the Windows 11 Canary Channel is the removal of WordPad from new builds of Windows 11: if you perform a clean install, WordPad will no longer be included. While it’s unclear how many users actually craved (and used) WordPad and its RTF file format, it does deprive Windows 11 of a native rich text editor. Free alternatives include LibreOffice, the open source alternative that is still going strong.
“WordPad is no longer being updated and will be removed in a future version of Windows,” Microsoft said. “We recommend Microsoft Word for rich text documents such as .doc and .rtf and Windows Notepad for plain text documents such as .txt.”
According to Wikipedia, Microsoft Wordpad was first introduced in Windows 95, replacing Microsoft Write. It’s not hard to see why Wordpad was chosen to go to the slaughterhouse, however: while Microsoft has released new features for Notepad, Wordpad has been largely ignored. The idea of a “rich text editor” may also be outdated, since there are text editors like Notepad or Notepad++, and word processors like Microsoft Word, and, well, there’s not much need for anything in between.
