New Delhi

Microsoft has stopped updating WordPad and the company said that it will now eliminate its basic word processor from a forthcoming release of the Windows. 

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Instead, the company will suggest Microsoft Word, its comprehensive paid word processing software, over the basic WordPad application that has been included with Windows since Windows 95. Microsoft's plan is to completely eliminate WordPad in a "future release of Windows," which is likely to be Windows 12, expected in 2024.

The next Windows release is expected to feature numerous AI-powered features.

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According to a support note published by Microsoft, "WordPad is no longer being updated and will be removed in a future release of Windows. We recommend Microsoft Word for rich text documents like .doc and .rtf and Windows Notepad for plain text documents like .txt."

The development follows shortly after Microsoft announced improvements to Notepad, including features like autosave and automatic tab restoration. 

Microsoft had previously updated its Windows Notepad application in 2018, introducing tabs in the Windows 11 version.

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Was WordPad less popular?

Yes, mostly because of its formatting issues. 

While pasting into WordPad from an HTML document, the text automatically converts most or all of it to Rich Text Format. WordPad is suited to taking notes; writing letters and stories; and use on various tablets, PCs, and smartphones. 

It is unsuitable for work that relies heavily on graphics and typesetting, such as most publishing-industry requirements for rendering the final hard copy.

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And this is because, at its core, WordPad is the basic word processor. While it was included in all versions of Microsoft Windows from Windows 95 onwards, Microsoft used to describe it as more advanced than Windows Notepad, and simpler than Microsoft Word and Microsoft Works. 

WordPad replaced Microsoft Write.

WordPad, however, received less attention over the years from the users. 

While it received an update with the Ribbon UI in Windows 7, it has not seen significant enhancements since a minor redesign for Windows 8. 

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