Windows Notepad Gets Microsoft Copilot Integration

[btarunr]

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.



View at TechPowerUp Main Site

 

[Alan Smithee]

(checks date) Nope it's not quite April 1

 

[Calmmo]

lmao, even notepad became bloatware.

 

[TheDeeGee]

First they remove WordPad (i know can be restored) and the last remaining option Notepad get's shit on as well... awesome...

 

[InVasMani]

You can always use Notepad++ if it bothers you.

 

[b1k3rdude]

You can remove it via RevoUninstaller and install the classic version or better still use notepadd++

 

[InVasMani]

notepad++ gang knows...open sauce options prevail

 

[Shou Miko]

No MS what are you doing, I could agree that the smaller changes last time was great but not copilot

 

[b1k3rdude]

I guess the next thing will be to look for ways to remove/block/disable all the "Ai" related crap in 24H2 onwards, or if that fails, Sever 2025 or Windows 11 LTSC.

 

[Aquilino]

Microsoft will do anything but fix the UI / UX of Windows 11.

 

[Chrispy_]

They have no idea what they're doing, do they!

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.

 

[RejZoR]

All I ever wanted from Notepad was to just be the fastest, most basic text editor. And now it's full of stupid functions no one asked for. Like, why? Why Microsoft? Are you stupid? Even tabs in default configuration are stupid because they keep retaining text in it even though I don't need or want it to so I need to disable that BS every time I install Windows now.

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.

 

[mb194dc]

Clippy 2.0 looking well worth the $200bn! MS have spent on it.

 

[Chaitanya]

Stupid is what stupid does.

 

[Aleksandar_038]

Yes they have time to "improve" notepad, yet they do not have time to fix onedrive folder sharing for personal accounts for more than a year...

 

[R0H1T]

Just ditch notepad, not that hard you know!

https://alternativeto.net/software/notepad/?platform=windows&sort=altrank

 

[Shihab]

Cool! Your personal notes can now be more tortuous with unnecessary elaboration and thrice the amount of BS and made up "facts!"

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>

 

[Chrispy_]

Just ditch notepad, not that hard you know!

https://alternativeto.net/software/notepad/?platform=windows&sort=altrank

Some of us use notepad because we interact with fresh installs on a regular basis. There are hundreds of alternatives but when you arrive at a stock install that's not yours to change, notepad being just notepad, and not Bing, Cortana, Copilot, or ChatGPT is important to people.

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 profitable helpful 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.

 

[DaemonForce]

The only assistance I want on Notepad is window size+position memory when opening whatever recent .txt on this system.
Somehow, some incomprehensibly stupid way, Microsoft could not be bothered to do this for MULTIPLE iterations.

 

[Shihab]

What's next

Windows Calculator.
1 + 1 = 3
The training material said so.

 

[micropage7]

we all need some basic app then M$ coming with great idea, integrate it with Copilot. why don't they add copilot with canva style like to Ms Office that makes more sense

 

[R0H1T]

Some of us use notepad because we interact with fresh installs on a regular basis. There are hundreds of alternatives but when you arrive at a stock install that's not yours to change, notepad being just notepad, and not Bing, Cortana, Copilot, or ChatGPT is important to people.

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 profitable helpful 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.

It is what it is, nothing will remain stagnant/unchanged for this long even though this wasn't really needed. Take Mac OS for example, admittedly I'm not a regular user but Apple's changed it radically over the years as well & pretty sure removed useful feature/software over the course of ~4 decades or 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.

 

[GerKNG]

i am incredibly sick of this ******* company.

 

[Chrispy_]

It is what it is, nothing will remain stagnant/unchanged for this long even though this wasn't really needed. Take Mac OS for example, admittedly I'm not a regular user but Apple's changed it radically over the years as well & pretty sure removed useful feature/software over the course of ~4 decades or 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.

If you have the time and permissions to customise, you have the time and permissions to install and run the classic offline notepad, or one of the many alternatives.

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.

 

[Macro Device]

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.

A billion times this. Forcing us to install 3rd party software is a massive red flag. M$ aren't good enough at killing themselves though because their competition is, y'know, Linux. Hard to outsuicide it.