Table of Contents
- Why Is Windows 11 Notepad Getting Messy? The Truth About Microsoft’s Changes
- What Went Wrong With Notepad’s Menu?
- How Microsoft Plans to Fix This Problem
- Top Row Changes
- Bottom Section
- The Good and Bad News About These Updates
- What’s Better
- What’s Still Annoying
- Notepad’s New Text Formatting Powers
- Will These Changes Actually Help?
Why Is Windows 11 Notepad Getting Messy? The Truth About Microsoft’s Changes
Microsoft made Notepad way more complicated than it needed to be. What used to be a simple text editor now has so many options that finding basic things like cut and paste became hard work. The company added AI features everywhere, making the right-click menu huge and confusing.
What Went Wrong With Notepad’s Menu?
The old right-click menu was a mess. It got really tall with tons of choices you probably don’t need. Microsoft stuffed in things like:
- Define with Bing
- Write and rewrite options
- Text summary tools
- Spelling checkers
- Unicode display options
These extras pushed the basic tools (cut, copy, paste) way down the menu. On small screens, this made Notepad feel slow and clunky. The menu even got bigger than the actual Notepad window when you made it small.
How Microsoft Plans to Fix This Problem
Microsoft finally realized they messed up. They’re testing a new menu design that looks more like File Explorer. Here’s what’s changing:
Top Row Changes
- Cut, copy, paste, select all, undo, and delete now sit at the top
- Each action gets a big, clear icon
- A line separates common actions from extra features
Bottom Section
- Less common tools like Bing searches stay below the divider
- AI writing tools remain but don’t get in your way
- Everything has clear text labels for people who need them
The new design makes the menu smaller and easier to use. You can find what you need faster without scrolling through stuff you don’t want.
The Good and Bad News About These Updates
What’s Better
- Faster access to basic editing tools
- Cleaner look that matches Windows 11 style
- Icons help you understand what each button does
- Still works for people who need accessibility features
What’s Still Annoying
- You can’t remove Bing completely (Microsoft makes money from it)
- AI features stay built-in whether you want them or not
- Some people just want the old simple Notepad back
Notepad’s New Text Formatting Powers
Microsoft also added something called markdown support to Notepad. This lets you make text bold, create bullet points, and add links – kind of like a basic version of Word.
What You Can Do Now:
- Make headings and subheadings
- Create numbered and bullet lists
- Add bold and italic text
- Insert clickable web links
- Switch between formatted view and code view
The best part? You can turn all this formatting stuff off if you don’t want it. Microsoft learned that some people love Notepad because it’s simple, so they made the new features optional.
Will These Changes Actually Help?
The menu redesign should make Notepad easier to use for most people. Moving basic tools to the top makes sense. But Microsoft still pushes AI and Bing integration that many users find annoying.
The markdown features are actually pretty smart. They give people who want more power the tools they need, while keeping things simple for everyone else. You get the choice to use advanced features or stick with plain text.
These updates show Microsoft trying to fix problems they created. The new menu design should help, but the company still hasn’t figured out how to add modern features without making simple apps feel bloated and complicated.