Windows Notepad Returns to Microsoft Store With New Features

Microsoft has added its ultra-simple Notepad app to Microsoft Store with new features and a new logo. Interestingly, the app is dubbed as Windows Notepad instead of Notepad. Until now, the text editing app that has been a part of the Windows platform since 1985, was pre-installed on Windows computers. The new app, however, can only be downloaded on systems running Windows 10 version 19541.0 or higher. It is also important to note that the new Windows Notepad app does not update the existing Notepad in the system, but is a new app altogether with new features.

Coming to the features, Microsoft in the official description of the new app highlights that the new Notepad lets "users edit text-based files and source code instantly." It also states that "multiple encodings including UTF-8, UTF-16, and ANSI" can now be saved via the new app. We can also expect the new Windows Notepad to include an improved find/replace option and Text Zooming feature that was previously rolled out on Windows 10 Insider Preview Build 17713.

To recall, the zooming feature that is currently limited to Windows Insider builds allows users to enlarge or reduce the size of the text by using combinations such as Control + Plus or Control + Minus. Users can also use Ctrl + 0 to restore the zoom level to the default size. Similarly, we can also expect the new Windows Notepad to show the line and column numbers in the status bar that was also added in the updated Notepad in the build 17713.

As mentioned earlier, the new Windows Notepad app will only work on Windows 10 version 19541.0 or higher.

The development was first spotted by Beta News. This isn't the first time Notepad appeared in the Microsoft Store. The app was released in Microsoft Store for Windows Insider build users in August last year, but it was then removed in December.