Microsoft Ends WordPad After Three Decades: Factors Influencing the Choice

Microsoft Ends WordPad After Three Decades: Factors Influencing the Choice

Microsoft Ends WordPad After Three Decades: Factors Influencing the Choice


subscription platform referred to as Microsoft 365. However, commencing with the launch of Windows 95 in the mid-1990s, Microsoft recognized the necessity to provide a complimentary word processor for the more casual user demographic. This led to the introduction of WordPad. Positioned between the basic text editor Windows Notepad and the more sophisticated Microsoft Word, WordPad served as a streamlined word processor that was included in Windows 11.

At least until the rollout of Windows 11 24H2, at which point Microsoft classified WordPad as a Deprecated Feature. Many users were taken aback by WordPad’s removal, expressing their dissatisfaction on official Microsoft forums. The software giant has not officially disclosed the reasons behind discontinuing support for WordPad, but many believe it is related to security issues. Microsoft now suggests using Word for rich text documents such as .doc and .rtf and Notepad for any plain text files.

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