The popular writing program will no longer be updated, to make room for new software based on artificial intelligence
Microsoft has announced that WordPad will no longer receive updates and will be phased out altogether in a future version of Windows. Launched for the first time with Windows 95, the program for writing simple texts is in the memories of anyone who has used a PC, but will soon become a thing of the past. The company recommends users use Microsoft Word, its paid word processor, which has always offered far more features than the basic WordPad app. In the support note released on Friday, Microsoft said: “WordPad is no longer receiving updates and will be removed in a future version of Windows. We recommend Microsoft Word for creating rich text documents such as .doc and .rtf, and Windows Notepad for documents plain text files such as .txt”. WordPad has not undergone significant updates since the Windows 8 era, and this decision marks the definitive abandonment of the program.
The news of WordPad’s removal comes shortly after Microsoft announced major improvements to Notepad, including autosave and restoring open tabs. Microsoft had already updated the Windows Notepad app in 2018, after years of stagnation, and has continued to add features, including tabs, in the Windows 11 version. In contrast, WordPad has not received the same attention in recent years. Although it has been updated with the introduction of the Ribbon interface in Windows 7, its functionality has remained largely unchanged. Microsoft has now decided to phase it out entirely in a “future version of Windows,” presumably the upcoming Windows 12, expected in 2024 and expected to feature numerous AI-enhanced features.
Source-www.adnkronos.com