14 DAY TRIAL // Microsoft has announced a new Notepad app for Windows 11, and an early preview version is now available for users who are part of the Windows Insider program in the Dev channel.
The new Notepad unsurprisingly aligns with the visual refresh in Windows 11, so it features rounded corners, Mica, and everything else.
However, it also comes with a dark mode, with Microsoft explaining this has long been one of the top feature requests it received. The dark mode can be enabled manually or simply let Notepad align with the system settings – in other words, when Windows 11 uses the dark mode, Notepad switches to the visual style as well.
Microsoft has also introduced a new find and replace experience, and the company says Notepad now also features multi-level undo, another top feature request for the app.
More improvements already on their way
But of course, the software giant doesn’t want to stop here, and in the announcement shared today, it says many other big improvements are already on their way for Windows 11 users.
“Productivity, performance, and reliability are paramount in Notepad. Regardless of how you incorporate Notepad into your workflows, we will ensure that Notepad continues to excel in those areas. In the preview version we are releasing today, there are a number of known issues that we will be addressing in future updates,” the company explains.
“This includes issues affecting keyboard access keys usage for when switching between different input languages or while using Japanese IME, and under certain circumstances, you may notice unexpected behavior when using shift-click to select text or when scrolling. We are also continuing to improve performance for when opening very large files.”
Of course, there’s no currently no ETA as to when Microsoft could release the new Notepad for everybody on Windows 11.