Sunday, March 30th 2025
Windows Notepad Gets Microsoft Copilot Integration
Everybody's favorite plaintext editor, Notepad, has been gathering features in the last couple of years. For over three decades, the Windows accessory could do little more than just input and save plaintext files, but Microsoft has been adding features to it. It began with the 2022 addition of tabs—the ability to have multiple text files open as tabs. This was roughly when Microsoft changed Notepad from a Win32 application to a UWP app. Then in 2024, as part of a larger care package to all Windows accessories, Microsoft added spelling and grammar checks; and now the company brought Copilot integration directly into Notepad. A dedicated Copilot button in the Notepad toolbar now shows up. It spawns a menu that lets you use Copilot to proof the text, such as rewriting it, making it longer/shorter, changing the tone of the text, or even formatting it.
74 Comments on Windows Notepad Gets Microsoft Copilot Integration
It's Notepad, its raison d'être is that is is offline, disconnected, disposable, and as plain as plaintext can be. To not understand that is so very Microsoft.
Instead of making these dumb changes, how about you finally give users ability to disable idiotic recommendations in the Start menu that is taking up 12 slots for icons that I could use otherwise? And even when Recommendations are disabled, it's just eating that space for no god damn reason by showing me a message about enabling Recommended files there to see them. WHY?!
I guess I'll check out Notepad++ or Notepad2 and replace Windows one with it. Or some other text editor that isn't crammed with crap I don't need...
EDIT:
Heh, I realized legacy Notepad is still present in Windows folder. I just eradicated the new one and returned to the old one.
alternativeto.net/software/notepad/?platform=windows&sort=altrank
At any rate, the way things are going, I think Microsoft just wasted dev hours with this. Eventually, they will have it access every text field in any UWP/.Net application to offer its "help" through the contextual menu or a flaoting button that clutters the UI, at the cost of using what's written to "improve the service." But of course, you can "opt out" if you're not comfortable with it. Your not-so-1337-hax0rz grandma and grandpa will have to get used their private interactions regurgigated to some randos killing their own braincells chatting with this crap. </hyperbole>
If Microsoft hadn't broken Notepad, it would continue to be a fine tool.
What's next, the system tray clock? Will that now be an always-on, ever-helpful AI scheduling assistant that makes
profitablehelpful suggestions depending on your location, usage history, recent purchases and information gained via eavesdropping your conversations near any device you're logged into?There's a time and a place for AI, and anytime you open notepad is not one of them, and I'll die on that hill.
Somehow, some incomprehensibly stupid way, Microsoft could not be bothered to do this for MULTIPLE iterations.
1 + 1 = 3
The training material said so.
While you can't remove it completely you can block a lot of this, MS at least gives you some options via PowerShell/registry to get rid of unwanted stuff & you can further customize windows through WinPE like no other OS out there. It's still easily the best of the "worst" in terms of OS.
Changing notepad isn't about whether the tool can be modified or changes reversed, it's about changing a default that people use because it's a default.