Microsoft Releases New Notepad Design For Windows 11

A few weeks ago it was leaked that Microsoft was working on a redesigned, revised Notepad for Windows 11. Now the new version starts – but initially only for Windows 11 insiders in the dev channel.

Microsoft has announced an update for the Insider Program. From now on, all-volunteer testers in the Dev channel will get the new Notepad app for testing. The app has been fundamentally redesigned to adapt the design to Windows 11. The application now has a fluent design, a dark mode, and many design elements from Windows 11. Microsoft is now revealing details on this in the Windows blog.

The company wrote, “We know how important Notepad is to so many of your daily workflows, so we’ve designed this modern twist on the classic app to feel fresh but familiar.”

Select Manually

The new dark mode will be selected automatically depending on the operating system settings. But you can also manually switch from light to dark in the app settings, regardless of the Windows 11 setting. The Windows team has now also put some work into the functions. There is a revised search and replace function to make working with notepads easier. The new app is not quite finished yet, further innovations are still to come.

However, this first preview in the Insider Program has its pitfalls – there are a number of known problems.

known issues

• Problems using keyboard access keys when switching between different input languages ​​when using the Japanese IME
• Under certain circumstances, you may experience unexpected behavior when you Shift-click to select text or when you scroll.

Microsoft also states that it optimizes Notepad’s performance for “very large files”. The company has asked users to provide feedback and report additional issues in the Feedback Hub (under Apps> Notepad). The update is now gradually being released for the insiders.