Microsoft has updated the good old Notepad app in Windows 11/10. The humble Notepad in Windows is a very basic text editor you can use for simple documents. Let us take a look at the new features in Notepad.
Notepad new features
Notepad in Windows 11/10 gets the following new features. Let us take a look at them in detail.
1] Shortcut to delete previously typed word
Firstly, you can use a simple shortcut Ctrl+Backspace to delete a previous word you typed/entered.
TIP: Check this post if you are looking for a Dark Mode Black Notepad.
2] Status bar
It is visible at the bottom of the Notepad screen and displays the ending line of the text file in use. Alongside it, you can find information related to column and line number with word-wrapping and current zoom level, if enabled. The Status Bar itself is enabled by default.
3] Wrap-Around
Earlier, Notepad had certain limitations. For instance, you could only search or replace text using a single word. However, now you can find a new ‘wraparound’ option visible under ‘Find’ tool to search a fragment of a text. Also, Notepad will save previously typed values and checkboxes and automatically apply them when you reopen the ‘Find’ dialog box.
Read Notepad Tips and Tricks for Windows users.
4] Text zooming
Microsoft has also added options to quickly zoom text in Notepad. So, when you attempt to change the text layout, you can notice the zoom percentage on its status bar. You can alter this until you get the preferred zoom level.
Also, you can change Text Zoom Level by simply heading to ‘View’ option, select ‘Zoom’ and choose any of the following options,
- Zoom In (Control + Plus)
- Zoom Out (Control + Minus)
- Restore Default Zoom (Control + 0).
5] Search with Bing in Notepad
The new Notepad enables Windows 10 users to quickly find the meaning or spelling of a word within the app. There’s no need to manually open a web browser for this. It appears as a deliberate move by Microsoft to push people to use Bing. Still, it has benefits as it is easily accessible.
Manually, you can select the text and use the Ctrl+E keyboard shortcut to quickly get a Bing answer using Microsoft Edge. Sadly, there’s no option available to change the default search engine.
6] Added Support for the UNIX-style End Of Line (EOL) Characters
This new capability will enable the app to view, edit, and print files correctly. So, you could copy a file created on Linux or Mac and paste it in Notepad. The file’s current line ending format will be maintained as it was originally on Mac or Linux and not changed. Earlier, this was not the case since Notepad featured no line breaks.
Notepad in Windows 10 v1903 gets new features like Notepad gets UTF-8 Encoding, increased MAX_PATH Limit, new Keyboard Shortcuts & ability to send Feedback.
7] Encoding
The new Notepad offers slightly changed encodings. So instead of ANSI, the new default encoding is UTF-8. And the new Notepad support UTF-8 without Byte Order Marking. Also, the encoding of the document is now displayed in a new column in the status bar. UTF-8 is sort of more compatible with the web and is becoming a standard these days.
8] Send Feedback
Now you can directly send feedback about Notepad from Notepad itself. Head over to help menu and click on Send Feedback to open the feedback dialogue. This is another step towards deeper integration of Microsoft Apps.
9] MAX_PATH Limit
Notepad is now capable of opening and editing files with paths longer than the MAX_PATH limit. MAX_PATH is usually set to 260 characters on Windows and many programs are not capable of working with files with paths greater than MAX_PATH. But Notepad can now not only open these files but also save files with a longer path.
10] Keyboard Shortcuts
A wide variety of keyboard shortcuts have been added to Notepad. These shortcuts make the tool easier to use and makes the features more accessible. Here are some of the useful keyboard shortcuts added in this update:
- Ctrl+Shift+S: Open Save As window
- Ctrl+Shift+N: Opens new Notepad window
- Ctrl+W: Close current window.
TIP: If your Notepad is not working properly, this is how you can reset Notepad to default settings.
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