Windows 11 Preview Build Removes WordPad

[Deleted member 57642]

Notepad & Notepad++ are usually enough. Also have LibreOffice just in case...

So don't think i'll miss it. If it wasn't for this topic - would relate to it only as a past thing, something i used mostly back with Windows XP.

 

[lexluthermiester]

Also have LibreOffice just in case...

This! I also have Open Office as it loads faster.

 

[Wirko]

WordPad was also the default editor for the RTF file format. My colleague made and maintained an application that was doing some parsing and modifying of RTF files, and I sometimes helped him examine their contents. Files saved by WordPad had a clean and simple structure, understandable by a human (they are text files, not binary). But those that Word exported were bloated with a lot of stuff such as "styles" including unused markup, and the cleaning procedure involved opening them and saving them with WordPad.

 

[ThrashZone]

I use it all the time. This irritates me..

Hi,
I don't see it anywhere so maybe I did remove word pad
It's a windows tool ?

 

[Minus Infinity]

Maybe they should replace turdpad with say Abiword, just like notepad should have been jettisoned years ago for notepad++.

 

[Macro Device]

Notepad & Notepad++ are usually enough. Also have LibreOffice just in case...

View attachment 332236

So don't think i'll miss it. If it wasn't for this topic - would relate to it only as a past thing, something i used mostly back with Windows XP.

The very fact you need the third party software makes this update a very bad piece of news.

In the ideal world, updates lean to improved experience with built-in software. Meaning if M$ did everything right we'd see people actually use IE/Edge not only to download Opera/Chrome/Firefox/etc, we'd see people only downloading some Notepad++ and Photoshops in extreme cases, and so on.

Now, people are forced to search for solutions on the outside. Almost nothing provided by M$ works quite right (I'm not talking DLC kinda software like M$ Office, I'm only talking tools already existing inside a freshly installed Windows OS) and they are about to remove one of the very few things that do work quite right.

They have already been on my "you'd better yohoho their stuff" list but I now ultimately put them on "you gotta be insane not to yohoho their stuff" list.

 

[ThrashZone]

Hi,
I just save firefox installer to flash drive and never have to open edge at all.

 

[chrcoluk]

Ok, honestly, who used it? It was either Notepad or full Office package (or non-MS office one). It's very outdated, even Notepad has changed a lot now.

Yeah I dont see this getting the same opposition as paint had.

 

[lexluthermiester]

Hi,
I don't see it anywhere so maybe I did remove word pad
It's a windows tool ?

Yup, that's where's it's at.

 

[Dr. Dro]

Literally the dumbest OS company.

How windows f_ed up and became the dominant desktop is a wonder.

When Windows became dominant, Microsoft wasn't run by software developers that would rather sip their soy lattes and collect on the benefits of the cozy Seattle life than actually write ingenious, genuinely useful software.

After Windows Vista (in hindsight, a thoughtful, excellent operating system whose reputation was marred by the extremely poor state of hardware in the average home computer at the time, and OEMs releasing seriously underpowered hardware that was barely capable of running Windows XP with Service Pack 3 decently as "Vista Capable"), and this includes the universally well-received and commercially successful Windows 7, Microsoft has repeatedly failed to focus, and has only dumbed down the operating system and reduced its quality ever since.

Watch this video. He's pretty much it got it down to a T.

 

[xorbe]

They just recently updated it to have tabs.

It [notepad] still has the "final newline" bug though. I reported it a long time ago.

 

[lilunxm12]

the windows bundled eula is "C:\Windows\System32\license.rtf", how am I supposed to read that without wordpad on a fresh install....

 

[R-T-B]

It [notepad] still has the "final newline" bug though. I reported it a long time ago.

What bug is that exactly? If you are talking about it inserting a CRLF at the end of every document, it's done that since forever AFAIK. I guess you could consider it a bug sure, but by now I think it's more expected behavior.

the windows bundled eula is "C:\Windows\System32\license.rtf", how am I supposed to read that without wordpad on a fresh install....

Download LibreOffice, lol. Or seriously, read it in the installer.

 

[lilunxm12]

Download LibreOffice, lol. Or seriously, read it in the installer.

So it's unreadable post installation without obtaining other software... not sure whether that's legal

 

[close]

Literally the dumbest OS company.

How windows f_ed up and became the dominant desktop is a wonder.

These mouth breathes couldn't pour piss from a boot with instructions on the heal.

It is only a matter of time before IBM, Oracle or Google make a serious effort to turn WINE into something useful.

It already happened with IBM Symphony paving the way for Libre Office to devastate MS Office.

Not really an OS company (anymore?) though. Windows is not a money maker for MS, just what draws people to the ecosystem, particularly funneling users to enterprises. Now they're a cloud company so they funnel everything to the cloud. Google does it with their ecosystem, to the point where the relatively popular Chromebooks rely on the cloud for everything and people still think "yay Chromebooks".

MS takes notes from everyone else and following in their tracks mainly because in the past few decades they haven't been in the innovator/driver position. They can see the writing on the wall, people use big machines less and less often in favor of phones and tablets where MS is absent, and when they use big machines they're more and more likely to be Linux which is ever so slowly gaining adoption. The moment Linux really manages to get out if own way and becomes a completely transparent layer between the user and what the user needs to do, the usage will only go up. Gaming is a big driver in OS choice and recently Linux is becoming an option.

MS aren't dumb, they're just capitalizing while there's something left to capitalize, and doing it to the advantage of the business which is more likely to survive long term and bring profit, the cloud. Windows has a shaky outlook but still somewhat solid today, they'll benefit from it while they still can.

 

[Deleted member 57642]

The very fact you need the third party software makes this update a very bad piece of news.

In the ideal world, updates lean to improved experience with built-in software. Meaning if M$ did everything right we'd see people actually use IE/Edge not only to download Opera/Chrome/Firefox/etc, we'd see people only downloading some Notepad++ and Photoshops in extreme cases, and so on.

Now, people are forced to search for solutions on the outside. Almost nothing provided by M$ works quite right (I'm not talking DLC kinda software like M$ Office, I'm only talking tools already existing inside a freshly installed Windows OS) and they are about to remove one of the very few things that do work quite right.

They have already been on my "you'd better yohoho their stuff" list but I now ultimately put them on "you gotta be insane not to yohoho their stuff" list.

Faulty logic.

Software developing wise - Microsoft is known/famous/popular - for Windows (as an Operating System) and DirectX (as a primary feature), Microsoft Office (as an optional "commercial" feature - for office), Visual Studio and .NET Framework. (also optional features - for development).

As an Operating System Windows also comes with some "BASIC" tools - for image viewing or editing (Paint and Photos - but only more recently - comes with some basic editing options), a Video/Music Player (Windows Media Player), a video editor (Windows Movie Maker - or more recently ClipChamp as an optional commercial video editor), a basic text editor like Notepad - but also, kinda... Wordpad - which profit wise was a mistake (enough for many people not to bother win Microsoft Office).

Anyway, my point is... this basic integrated tools - were never meant to compete with 3rd party tools - which have a dedicated team behind them, or even a passion project - as it's the case with some of the Free or Open Source projects. This detail is particularly true for Wordpad (never intend to standout) - since even Microsoft has a dedicated team working on an extensive alternative (Microsoft Office) - while all the "basic tools" are more like - side projects with limited teams and resources - where keeping them at a basic level - even seems to be a goal (rarely raising the bar on this projects). And thus... both on a professional level but also for personal use - it's the 3rd party tools - who became famous while proving to be far superior from any point of view. The gap is so huge that it's not even worth comparing any of this 3rd party apps with some basic tools from Windows - be it Photoshop or Gimp vs... Paint...

Edge Browser on the other hand - WAS/IS intended to compete with all the other major browsers. It's not like Internet Explorer - which was more useful/profitable for corporate apps - than as an internet browser (yet still widely use - simply because it came with Windows). Internet Browsers - were simply not that profitable in the past (a lesson learned the hard way by Opera - which used to be commercial once upon a time). While now... it's a billion $ business - and Microsoft wants in (even the biggest piece of the pie - if possible). Thus Edge browser - actually has a serious team behind it with serious financial resources. Which is clearly noticeable in terms of development and what it has to offer this days (far from being basic - even striving to offer more than any other competitor).

In an ideal world... Windows would be Open Source and all the competition - would be purely intellectual and philanthropic. A world without money - where everyone strive to be the best one can be - just the sake of reaching a higher potential. A world where the governmental system is not self-serving - but supportive of all people. But this type of Utopian fantasies - don't have their place in the real world - not to mention a topic related to Microsoft.

 

[Macro Device]

Faulty logic.

No, it's not. Wordpad is not some weird thing laying around, it's a part of the whole Windows ecosystem. It is a defining part of it and because of effectively being abandonware for a long time it was screaming "M$ want you to pay more."

Okay, we will pay more IF they deliver. Yet they anti-deliver: they removed one of the tools that still are useful for many people. Nothing but "you should use M$ Office instead" has come after that. This makes you get less for the money you paid for their software.

To do something that Wordpad can but Notepad can't you don't need to pay for M$ Office either. Freeware alternatives exist. This doesn't help M$ Office sales at all. A solid chunk of non-corporate users will also yohoho the said M$ Office because they are mad and rightfully so. Some people will switch to Linux.

Every Rome can fall. And by ripping your customers off you become closer to being that Rome.

 

[iameatingjam]

Ok, honestly, who used it?

Me....

 

[Aretak]

To people complaining you are actually using this?

Yes, I use WordPad quite regularly. It's very handy when I want a formatted text document with multiple font sizes and such. Sure, there are plenty of alternatives, but all the ones I've tried come with a ton of additional bloat and extra features that I'll never use. WordPad is simple, fast, no-nonsense and there by default. Fortunately, I use Windows 10 IoT Enterprise LTSC, so Microsoft won't be able to take it away from me. It's just another entry on the long list of reasons not to "upgrade" to Windows 11.

 

[Deleted member 57642]

All this drama over a basic app - which was moved to legacy software (not actively developed - nor do they intend to release any further updates for it). Didn't check the forums when that happened - so, where there any people who also cried over Windows Media Player when was removed?! Even foreseen Window's downfall for removing their favorite video player?

Anyway, as it happened with Windows Media Player - Wordpad too is still available as an Optional Feature. Here, rejoice...

 

[Dr. Dro]

All this drama over a basic app - which was moved to legacy software (not actively developed - nor do they intend to release any further updates for it). Didn't check the forums when that happened - so, where there any people who also cried over Windows Media Player when was removed?! Even foreseen Window's downfall for removing their favorite video player?

Anyway, as it happened with Windows Media Player - Wordpad too is still available as an Optional Feature. Here, rejoice...

View attachment 332303

Ah, WMP. The prime example of Microsoft's decadence, now that I think of it. It clearly peaked with 9 Series and was still quite usable by 11, but 12 introduced with Windows 7 was clearly an afterthought. Then they took down the Windows Media online services and the online radio browser, and it was increasingly forgotten as VLC and the Media Player Classic project rose to take its place.

MPC, to this day in its most popular and maintained forks, essentially retaining the Windows Media Player 6.4 interface. Probably the most powerful yet unassuming piece of software of its time.

WMP 12 is so bad that it's behind the Jobs-forsaken iTunes for Windows and even QuickTime which Apple stopped maintaining and hadn't updated since the Mac OS X Tiger days.

 

[R-T-B]

So it's unreadable post installation without obtaining other software... not sure whether that's legal

It's absolutely legal if you were presented the eula at install.

 

[Deleted member 57642]

No, it's not. Wordpad is not some weird thing laying around, it's a part of the whole Windows ecosystem. It is a defining part of it and because of effectively being abandonware for a long time it was screaming "M$ want you to pay more."

Okay, we will pay more IF they deliver. Yet they anti-deliver: they removed one of the tools that still are useful for many people. Nothing but "you should use M$ Office instead" has come after that. This makes you get less for the money you paid for their software.

To do something that Wordpad can but Notepad can't you don't need to pay for M$ Office either. Freeware alternatives exist. This doesn't help M$ Office sales at all. A solid chunk of non-corporate users will also yohoho the said M$ Office because they are mad and rightfully so. Some people will switch to Linux.

Every Rome can fall. And by ripping your customers off you become closer to being that Rome.

And the logic keeps getting faultier (objectively speaking). I'm serious, the bold part makes no sense whatsoever. It's as if they removed "Windows Taskbar" and now Windows Users are lost. Or "Task Manager" since the majority could still use Windows just fine without it - but at least that fits the description to some extent (for those who know about it and what it can be used for). Wordpad on the other hand... is just a small app - an outdated word processor as far as Microsoft is concerned - which was suppose to be replaced by Microsoft Word. Quite obvious from the OP - which included an official statement from Microsoft - an announcement made back in September, 2023: "WordPad is no longer being updated and will be removed in a future release of Windows," the post reads. "We recommend Microsoft Word for rich text documents like .doc and .rtf and Windows Notepad for plain text documents like .txt."

The only part i can agree with: yes, Microsoft is a billions of $ business who obviously - expects to milk the Windows users however they can. As a whole package, downloaded/installed on a PC... Microsoft Office (currently known as 365) - is still rather expensive for most users. And thus, they included a monthly subscription plan (which is... more affordable, i guess... ) - but also - the option to use it freely Online. If you actually tried it, you'd know this...

Even more than that - Wordpad is still available as a legacy tool. Tho, since it's not updated to modern standards - there's room for failure - while displaying content that wasn't written using Wordpad:

So... NO, nobody's actually missing out. Especially while taking into account - all the free alternatives. That being said... "while being SO PRIVILEGED (with so many free options - even alternatives which offer premium quality)" - how high can one's level of entitlement be to complain in that matter?!

 

[lexluthermiester]

Not really an OS company (anymore?) though.

Moose Muffins. If they make an OS, they're an OS company. Windows may not be their primary product anymore, but that does change the fact that they make a series of OSes.

Windows is not a money maker for MS

Also moose muffins. Windows most definitely makes microsoft money. Not as much as in years past, but it's still very profitable.

It's absolutely legal if you were presented the eula at install.

Statutes and case law define that ANY contract required or agreed upon must be available for examination at ALL times by all parties while the terms of such are in effect. If microsoft removes the ability for users to read(examine) the EULA post install without replacing it with another method, then yes, they are in factual violation of the law and the EULA technically becomes unenforceable, possibly in whole, but at least in part, by virtue of technicality.

So... NO, nobody's actually missing out. Especially while taking into account - all the free alternatives. That being said... "while being SO PRIVILEGED (with so many free options - even alternatives which offer premium quality)" - how high can one's level of entitlement be to complain in that matter?!

This statement proves you are missing context and failing to understand a big-picture problem. And no, I'm not going to explain it.

 

[Deleted member 57642]

Ah, WMP. The prime example of Microsoft's decadence, now that I think of it. It clearly peaked with 9 Series and was still quite usable by 11, but 12 introduced with Windows 7 was clearly an afterthought. Then they took down the Windows Media online services and the online radio browser, and it was increasingly forgotten as VLC and the Media Player Classic project rose to take its place.

MPC, to this day in its most popular and maintained forks, essentially retaining the Windows Media Player 6.4 interface. Probably the most powerful yet unassuming piece of software of its time.

WMP 12 is so bad that it's behind the Jobs-forsaken iTunes for Windows and even QuickTime which Apple stopped maintaining and hadn't updated since the Mac OS X Tiger days.

Oh, so you're saying... WMP is not the reason - why some refuse to upgrade beyond Windows 7?! My previous message about WMP was meant to be more or less sarcastic - while taking into account all the free and superior options (at least a dozen - whom are actually popular at this point). I should know better cause i used/tried them all. In past 10 years - switched from MPC to MPC-HC, to MPC-BE, to KMPlayer, to Potplayer - while Videolan was always installed as it is to this day - but for most part only used it for radio. While more recently (for past 5 years) - became a fan of MPV (trully lite - since most settings are managed from a text file - tho, quite powerfull - offering so many ways to fine tune the quality). Still, not for everyone.