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Microsoft is Updating Windows Notepad Application For the First Time in Years (theverge.com)

Posted by msmash on from the about-time dept.

Microsoft is giving its Notepad app for Windows a surprising amount of new features. From a report: You'll soon be able to do wrap around find and replace alongside the ability to zoom into text by holding down the ctrl key and using the mouse wheel to zoom in and out. Microsoft is also adding in extended line ending support so that Unix/Linux line endings (LF) and Macintosh line endings (CR) are supported in Notepad. The status bar will now be enabled by default in Notepad, and it includes the ability to display line and column numbers when word-wrap is enabled.

131 of 248 comments (clear)

  1. Repeat by dhaen · · Score: 3, Informative

    Didn't I read about it last month? No maybe the month before

    1. Re:Repeat by Fly+Swatter · · Score: 2

      Yep, although that was just flaunting the unix line endings

    2. Re: Repeat by Z00L00K · · Score: 1

      Vim is the editor for all hardcore editor fans.

      --
      If builders built buildings the way programmers wrote programs, then the first woodpecker would destroy civilization.
  2. Zooming into the future by AlexanKulbashian · · Score: 5, Funny

    jumping from 1991 to 2002 in a single version update

    1. Re:Zooming into the future by jonadab · · Score: 1

      By 1991 (let alone 2002), text editors were expected to be able to open arbitrarily large text files and support basic features like syntax highlighting, syntax-based automatic indentation, and grouping symbol matching. Really good ones could already open and edit remote files and send them back to the remote system whenever you hit save. (In 1991 this worked via ftp; by 2002, ssh was supported.) Among other things.

      --
      Cut that out, or I will ship you to Norilsk in a box.
  3. It's about time! by ScentCone · · Score: 4, Funny

    Did this happen during the last administration? I don't think so. Now that the Notepad Tax has been reduced, this is exactly the sort of reinvestment we should expect.

    --
    Don't disappoint your bird dog. Go to the range.
  4. It's about damn time! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    LF and CR support is definitely the biggest plus for me. What took them so long!?

    1. Re:It's about damn time! by sexconker · · Score: 3, Interesting

      Dunno what took so long, but I love both this and the line number / character count with word wrap enabled.

    2. Re:It's about damn time! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      and suddenly it takes 20 seconds to load

    3. Re:It's about damn time! by linear+a · · Score: 2

      Takes a while for all the telemetry info to go to MS campus.

  5. No one cares... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    ...because they use Notepad++ or Textpad or basically anything else.

    1. Re:No one cares... by sexconker · · Score: 2

      I care. Notepad is just so lightweight and instant that it's still my go-to for simple text files, scripts, etc. on Windows.
      Another plus is that it's a lazy little slut so you can open up multiple copies of the same file as it's being written. It doesn't care about locks or anything. It'll just read what it can see and display it for you. This does have the drawback of potential confusion over which version is the latest one or which is the one that matches what's on disk. (The solution to that is to open it again in another window.)

    2. Re:No one cares... by Gilgaron · · Score: 1, Insightful

      Never underestimate the usefulness of Windows built-in crapware when making do on a super locked down machine!

    3. Re:No one cares... by ctilsie242 · · Score: 2

      It also can open binary files, and I have encountered cases where being able to edit a binary in a locked down environment was very useful (corrupted application had a specific log format, and if it wasn't perfectly intact, the program would just exit without any warnings.)

    4. Re:No one cares... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      Notepad is just so lightweight and instant that it's still my go-to for simple text files, scripts, etc. on Windows.

      What makes you think this won't be a UWP update? Like how Calculator was? It's the perfect opportunity for them to push their UWP platform, and I doubt half of their programmers were even around Microsoft when Notepad was originally written, much less are familiar with it's source code.

      You'd better backup Notepad.exe just in case.

    5. Re:No one cares... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Notepad is probably one of very few apps that is used constantly, in the manner you described. It's familiar, quick, convienent and in many cases totally sufficient for the things you use it for. This hasn't gone unnoticed by Microsoft.

      All the telemetry collected by Windows is telling them there's an application that they haven't properly monetized. There are ads in Minesweeper and Solitaire, but Notepad is far more useful and you spend more time looking at it. And they know. The telemetry tells them what apps are running and for how long.

      They are 'updating' the Notepad application to include hooks to their advertising framework. It's no use displaying ads in places people aren't looking, and you're looking at Notepad. And they know, and soon you'll be looking at advertisments, jammed into whatever "helpful" widget is added to "help" you. Because it looks like you need help, and you're going to get it, whether you like it or not.

    6. Re: No one cares... by xxxJonBoyxxx · · Score: 4, Insightful

      ^^^ This. My favorite locked-down machine trick is one where they "only" let you have admin access to Notepad, which is plenty of access once you open up Notepad's "file open" dialog and essentially get to have admin access to File Explorer.

    7. Re: No one cares... by Gilgaron · · Score: 3

      Indeed! I once had some corrupt files that would hang Explorer when it tried to read their metadata... Notepad's file open dialog didn't have any trouble deleting them and that was that.

    8. Re:No one cares... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Interesting

      "All the telemetry collected by Windows is telling them there's an application that they haven't properly monetized"
      Can you, or anyone for that matter, back up this declaration? People are constantly making statements such as this with absolutely no proof. Telemetry is not all bad. And MS has publicly stated that any telemetry data they may collect is anonymized and nobody has ever proved that statement false. I know accusations have replaced facts and reason in today's fractious and increasingly belligerent society but unlike the political and societal malcontents technology can be studied and pulled apart to either prove or disprove any accusation. Until people realize that opinions and unsubstantiated accusations are just speeding up the decline of western society we are well and truly fucked. People born today are facing a future where arguing over global warming, LGBT rights, illegal immigration, and government surveillance will seem silly.

    9. Re:No one cares... by jandrese · · Score: 1

      The big problem with Notepad++ is that it is not installed by default. I'm not downloading a package on someone else's machine just so I can edit a file. Updates to the default apps are a big deal for me, because I often don't have anything else.

      --

      I read the internet for the articles.
    10. Re:No one cares... by jandrese · · Score: 1

      I like how Wordpad never comes up in this discussion. In theory it can do everything notepad can do but even better, but it has one deadly misfeature that prevents me from using it regularly. In notepad when you drag a file onto the window it opens the file. In Wordpad it embeds a link to the file in your document, a feature that nobody has ever found useful. It means you need to use the File->Open dialog and navigate to your file, which is much clunkier than dragging and dropping it into the window, so we continue to use notepad even though it isn't very good.

      --

      I read the internet for the articles.
    11. Re: No one cares... by LinuxIsGarbage · · Score: 1

      ^^^ This. My favorite locked-down machine trick is one where they "only" let you have admin access to Notepad, which is plenty of access once you open up Notepad's "file open" dialog and essentially get to have admin access to File Explorer.

      Also a trick when you boot from a windows install DVD, and drop to command prompt (shift+F10). You can open Notepad, and use file-open as a rudimentary file manager. It's actually embarrassing that the recovery environment doesn't give you normal windows explorer window.

    12. Re:No one cares... by LinuxIsGarbage · · Score: 2

      If you drag a file to the toolbar (ribbon) in Wordpad, it will open instead of linking / embedding.

    13. Re:No one cares... by another_twilight · · Score: 2

      Telemetry is not all bad

      Straw man. No-one claims it is 'all' bad. And if it were opt-in like so many 'would you like to send anonymised data so we can improve product X' then there would be no outcry. It's the fact that not only is it not opt-in, it's a constant effort to remain opt-out.

      has publicly stated that any telemetry data they may collect is anonymized

      Corporations make statements all the time. Some are even true when they make them. A change of 'direction' and whatever promise or guarantee that was made may change. Without notice. Given that Microsoft has a history of 'changing direction', dropping things they promised or doing things they said they wouldn't I have no idea why you'd even consider this statement with anything other than suspicion. But let's assume a neutral stance. Microsoft claims no foul. Where's the proof? Where's the independent audit? Where's the option to say 'no thanks?'.

      The burden of proof is not on those saying that there is a risk of foul play or even just negligence. The burden is on those giving the guarantee that this data (of ours) is safe with them and will be used only for good.

      either prove or disprove any accusation

      No problem. I look forward to your proof that the collection of my data has no negative impact for me, now or in the future. That's the direction the burden points. It's not on me to prove foul play or negligence. In the absence of proof, I would like to choose not to trust my data to someone. Being unable to do that is a problem for some people, even if you have different priorities.

      Until people realize that opinions and unsubstantiated accusations are just speeding up the decline of western society we are well and truly fucked

      You are guilty of the very thing you are decrying. Clearly this isn't something that concerns you. Your inability to understand, on a nerd site no less, that this is of significant concern to a number of people is a symptom of the very fractiousness you accuse others of.

      Please. Log. Eye.

    14. Re:No one cares... by ayesnymous · · Score: 1

      Yeah Notepad is really fast to load, but desperately needs an auto-save. How much information have I lost due to crashes and reboots on auto-updates?

    15. Re:No one cares... by Waccoon · · Score: 1

      Anyone who's used a computer for 20 years could tell Microsoft that Notepad is useful, yet abysmally out of date.

      They needed their spyware to collect telemetry for years before they would acknowledge what people have been talking about for decades. Sounds perfectly reasonable that they don't give a crap about the quality of the product or what their customers think, and it's all about fine-tuning the marketing and exploitation strategy.

      Telemetry fucking sucks. If you NEED it to know what your customers want, you're either not paying attention or you don't care. Microsoft is too large and profitable to fall into the 1st category.

    16. Re:No one cares... by thegarbz · · Score: 1

      They are 'updating' the Notepad application to include hooks to their advertising framework.

      You're another one of those people who looked at a youtube video and made your tinfoil hat out of aluminium right? That was wrong. They need to be made out of tin to keep the government out of your brain.

    17. Re:No one cares... by Pascoea · · Score: 1

      How much information have I lost due to crashes and reboots on auto-updates?

      Hopefully none. I can count the use cases on one hand where using notepad to open/edit something that would be bad if something happened before I saved. Notepad's only useful because it's fast and dumb. Its only legitimate use is as an intermediary to paste random strings of text either for extremely temporary safe keeping or to remove the cancerous formatting that Word tries to strong arm. The only use I can think of outside of that is to edit a config file on a Windows server that doesn't have a real text editor installed.

      I mean, I understand that everyone has their opinion, I'm just expressing mine. Sometimes things work well the way they are.

    18. Re:No one cares... by Tony+Isaac · · Score: 1

      Notepad is only lightweight and instant if you use it for small files. Anything bigger than about a megabyte, and it starts to choke.

      What I hate most, and why I use Notepad++ for everything, is its limitations with search and replace. This little update to Notepad isn't going to be enough to win me back.

    19. Re: No one cares... by proibido · · Score: 1

      It's anonymous if you discard completely the IP address when storing Notepad telemetry. Which I'm not totally sure is what's M$ is doing.

    20. Re:No one cares... by another_twilight · · Score: 1

      A little late, but;

      Some software asks to send anonymised data about crashes to the devs so they can work on bugs. That's 'good telemetry' IMHO. It's opt-in. It states up front what it's for and if you don't trust that, you don't have to participate (although if you don't trust that, why are you running the software?)

      If MS made Windows 10 telemetry opt-in, explained what it was used for and then stuck by your choice not to participate (rather than resetting your choices every time you upgrade) ... then it would go some way to answering the criticism it rightly receives.

  6. Notepad++ by Oswald+McWeany · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Sounds like it will still be behind Notepad++ or even Textpad in functionality.

    --
    "That's the way to do it" - Punch
    1. Re:Notepad++ by Drethon · · Score: 4, Insightful

      I do like how lightweight the Notepad app is relative to Notepad++. I'd prefer they keep Nodepad very simple, though the line endings update is a good idea.

    2. Re:Notepad++ by hcs_$reboot · · Score: 1

      And even 'ed' (try a regex in notepad..)

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      Slashdot, fix the reply notifications... You won't get away with it...
    3. Re:Notepad++ by smooth+wombat · · Score: 1

      So what? It's a simple text editor. It does exactly what is needed.

      It doesn't need bloat or "features". It allows one to get things done quickly without having to worry about this or that.

      If you need functionality, use Notepad++. That's what it's there for. For the rest of us who want speed and ease of use, Notepad all the way.

      --
      We will bankrupt ourselves in the vain search for absolute security. -- Dwight D. Eisenhower
    4. Re:Notepad++ by Oswald+McWeany · · Score: 4, Informative

      So what? It's a simple text editor. It does exactly what is needed.

      It doesn't need bloat or "features". It allows one to get things done quickly without having to worry about this or that.

      If you need functionality, use Notepad++. That's what it's there for. For the rest of us who want speed and ease of use, Notepad all the way.

      Notepad++ is just as quick and easy as regular notepad. You can use it for simple things just like Notepad. The advanced features may take a little more knowledge- but the basics that notepad has are in the exact same place on Notepad++. No learning curve needed, and it opens just as quick.

      --
      "That's the way to do it" - Punch
    5. Re:Notepad++ by forkfail · · Score: 1

      Sounds like it will still be behind pico or even nano in functionality.

      FTFY

      --
      Check your premises.
    6. Re:Notepad++ by nine-times · · Score: 2

      My immediate thought when I read this story was, "Why didn't they make a fast/stripped-down/lightweight version of Visual Studio Code instead?" Like... strip out the GIT support and in-app terminal and all that stuff, but keep things like syntax highlighting and comparing two files. I mean, they already have an open source text editor that's much more useful, so why not reuse some of that code?

      I suppose there's some value in a text editor that literally just edits text without anything as fancy as syntax highlighting, but... there's not a lot of value in it. Oh well, at least they're finally support CR and LF line breaks.

    7. Re:Notepad++ by Oswald+McWeany · · Score: 1

      Just as a follow up... (feel free to retest my experiment on your own PCs)... I completely unscientifically ran a test on my PC.

      I put both Notepad and Notepad++ on my PC taskbar and tried to open them. Whereas they both open almost instantaneously- I think Notepad++ actually loads quicker than Notepad on my PC.

      So, if you're trying to shave 0.05 seconds of waiting off your day, Notepad++ is for you.

      --
      "That's the way to do it" - Punch
    8. Re: Notepad++ by TuringTest · · Score: 1

      Fast to open, my ass. Virtually every time I reopen Notepad++ it complaints about having to update all the plugins and the dialog blocks the app, forcing a decision which potentially had to update the whole application.

      If I want a reliable, instant plain-text empty buffer for pasting or typing, MS Notepad is the way to go. I hope this update doesn't screw it.

      --
      Singularity: a belief in the "God" idea with the "demiurge" relation inverted.
    9. Re:Notepad++ by EvilSS · · Score: 1

      Opening the same file in both, N++ uses 10x the RAM though. Fun.

      --
      I browse on +1 so AC's need not respond, I won't see it.
    10. Re: Notepad++ by Oswald+McWeany · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Fast to open, my ass. Virtually every time I reopen Notepad++ it complaints about having to update all the plugins and the dialog blocks the app, forcing a decision which potentially had to update the whole application.

      If I want a reliable, instant plain-text empty buffer for pasting or typing, MS Notepad is the way to go. I hope this update doesn't screw it.

      Your experience would be because you:

      a) Have lots of plugins installed.
      b) Don't even actually update anything- just skip the update everytime
      c) or only use Notepad++ once a year so get caught with the update everytime you open it.

      - I probably see a window telling me to upgrade one time out of every 2 or 3 hundred times I use Notepad++

      --
      "That's the way to do it" - Punch
    11. Re:Notepad++ by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      Many people are using Notepad++ simply because Notepad can't handle non-Windows line endings. They don't need a search feature, they just need a way to display and edit non-Windows text files.

    12. Re:Notepad++ by squiggleslash · · Score: 1

      The thing that bothers me is that there's a non-zero chance that Microsoft had the same idea.

      Hello Notepad 2 and its 250Mb footprint...

      --
      You are not alone. This is not normal. None of this is normal.
    13. Re:Notepad++ by jdavidb · · Score: 1

      I'll still use vim under cygwin for most of what I do, with Notepad++ in a few key spots. But it'll be nice to have some extra functionality out there by default on machines that I haven't been allowed to put anything on.

      --
      Secession is the right of all sentient beings.
    14. Re:Notepad++ by EndlessNameless · · Score: 4, Funny

      I would imagine that my PC would weigh just the same no matter what version of Notepad I was using.

      Well, that depends on how many 1s are in their binaries. Everybody knows it's the 1s that add weight.

      --

      ---
      According to the latest ruleset, this post should be modded as Vorpal Flamebait +5.
    15. Re:Notepad++ by EvilSS · · Score: 1

      OK, now try it with a 100KB text file. Then try it with a 10MB text file. Notepad may eventually open the file, if you're lucky.

      10MB Notepad++ is still using 200% more ram than notepad.

      --
      I browse on +1 so AC's need not respond, I won't see it.
    16. Re:Notepad++ by ebyrob · · Score: 1

      Honestly, notepad is great even for large files etc. The only application I can think of that handles large files much much better than Notepad is Fhred but that's a hex editor and it cheats by not actually opening the entire file when it's not needed.

      I just wish they'ed fix the confusing rendering bugs that occur if you save a word-wrapped file then edit the last few lines then save again. Since WIndows 2000 or XP when they broke that I only use notepad with word-wrap turned off.

    17. Re:Notepad++ by ebyrob · · Score: 1

      Happily editing a 99 meg text file created in Notepad. It does take about 20 seconds to launch notepad to open it, but otherwise it works great.

    18. Re:Notepad++ by ebyrob · · Score: 1

      Why would anyone use vim in cygwin? Just go to vim.org and get the win32 gVIm yeesh.

    19. Re: Notepad++ by rtb61 · · Score: 1

      This whole argument seems as weird as. I use notepad for temporary one page junk. I use notepad++ for editing larger unformatted text only documents. For more than that I use libreoffice https://www.libreoffice.org/. The only reason I use M$ notepad is because it is there and a decades of habit, otherwise I would use notepad++ (basic install) https://sourceforge.net/projec.... I would not bother with M$ notepad if I had to download it, just wouldn't be worth that effort.

      --
      Chaos - everything, everywhere, everywhen
    20. Re:Notepad++ by clay_buster · · Score: 1

      +1

    21. Re:Notepad++ by antdude · · Score: 1

      What's Nodepad? ;)

      --
      Ant(Dude) @ Quality Foraged Links (AQFL.net) & The Ant Farm (antfarm.ma.cx / antfarm.home.dhs.org).
    22. Re:Notepad++ by AmiMoJo · · Score: 1

      I thought you meant Notepad2 for a moment there. It has syntax highlighting and other nice features, and I'm running it now with about 3k of text open and it's using 1MB of memory.

      --
      const int one = 65536; (Silvermoon, Texture.cs)
      SJW, n: "Someone I don't like, and by the way I'm a fuckwit" - AC
    23. Re:Notepad++ by kosmosik · · Score: 1

      Visual Studio Code is based on Electron framework. It is basically Chromium browser with NodeJS backend. That always will be bloated and slow. Doesn't matter - you can strip Visual Studio Code to just a blinking pixel but being based on Electron it still will be a cow.

    24. Re: Notepad++ by pnutjam · · Score: 1

      Grab mobaxterm, it gives you an excellent bash environment in windows; vi, sed, awk, grep, etc...

      --
      Cheap storage VM.
    25. Re:Notepad++ by thegarbz · · Score: 1

      Notepad++ is majorly behind in functionality. Whenever I go to a computer I don't normally use or administer I can't even find the executable. Useless!

    26. Re:Notepad++ by Oswald+McWeany · · Score: 1

      Your grandchild should be able to install it for you from here:

      https://notepad-plus-plus.org/

      --
      "That's the way to do it" - Punch
    27. Re:Notepad++ by houghi · · Score: 1

      I SSH to a server that runs vim in cywin over wine.

      --
      Don't fight for your country, if your country does not fight for you.
    28. Re:Notepad++ by squiggleslash · · Score: 1

      Thinking about it, I should have picked another name rather than Notepad 2, which isn't Microsoftish enough. What about "Microsoft Notepad 2018 Professional Edition for Windows"?

      --
      You are not alone. This is not normal. None of this is normal.
    29. Re:Notepad++ by thegarbz · · Score: 1

      Sorry I can't get to the link, network is down. I need to edit text files to get it going so in the mean time I asked someone to download a copy and send it to me via carrier pigeon. Thanks though you have been a real help.

      And since you fundamentally missed my point I feel obligated to now state obvious things: The above was sarcasm.

    30. Re:Notepad++ by jdavidb · · Score: 1

      I use cygwin for nearly everything.

      --
      Secession is the right of all sentient beings.
  7. Macintosh Line Endings? by Marillion · · Score: 5, Informative

    Does anyone at Microsoft understand that Macintosh line endings haven't been CR for over 15 years? Macintosh is now Unix. Has been since 2001. Please inform the Excel team too.

    --
    This is a boring sig
    1. Re:Macintosh Line Endings? by hcs_$reboot · · Score: 2

      Does anyone at Microsoft

      ...cares? No.

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      Slashdot, fix the reply notifications... You won't get away with it...
    2. Re:Macintosh Line Endings? by Provocateur · · Score: 2, Funny

      Let me use a quote from the late Phil Hartman from SNL

      Oh but hey, I'm just a caveman, been frozen for almost a thousand years, and just been all thawed out.

      Notepad has plugins now??

      Thank you, I'll be here all week.

      --
      WARNING: Smartphones have side effects--most of them undocumented.
    3. Re:Macintosh Line Endings? by Jezral · · Score: 2

      I asked them about that 2 months ago https://blogs.msdn.microsoft.c... to which the reply was "You are right but we needed to keep it simple.".

      So they know, and they forge on ahead regardless. I predict many future files will be sent to Mac users with CR EOL.

    4. Re:Macintosh Line Endings? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      Does anyone at Microsoft understand that Macintosh line endings haven't been CR for over 15 years? Macintosh is now Unix. Has been since 2001. Please inform the Excel team too.

      As confusing as you may find it, separating the two is still a defacto standard.

      "Mac" format is referring to classic MacOS, which even right now 15 years later, still uses CR.
      "unix" or "osx" refers to Mac OS X which uses unix line endings, an LF.

      Pretty much all text editors able to handle cross platform end-of-line character translation label them the exact same way.

      This includes Notepad++ on windows, as does the osx text editors BBedit, TextMate, and Brackets.

      Emacs uses "unix", "mac", and "dos" in its change EOL command:
      C-x C-m r mac

      VIM at least also uses the same labels:
      [escape] :e ++ff=mac
      or :set ff=mac

      Had Microsoft named them any differently than nearly every other text editor in existence that lets you change the EOL, you'd instead be complaining "Hur look how Microsoft can't even use the same names everyone else does! EEE!"

    5. Re:Macintosh Line Endings? by ashkante · · Score: 1

      And while you're at that, please inform the Excel team that "CSV" stands for "Comma Separated Values", not "Semicolon Separated Values", as they seem to think.

    6. Re:Macintosh Line Endings? by thegarbz · · Score: 1

      Macintosh

      I don't think I've heard the term Macintosh for 15 years, so I think they understand it quite well.

    7. Re:Macintosh Line Endings? by tepples · · Score: 2

      And that's because the official branding started to shift from Macintosh to Mac around the 10.0 era, right? 10.0 is when the line ending changed from the 0x0D inherited from ProDOS to the 0x0A used by UNIX.

  8. It needs a ribbon! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    Just the other day I was thinking, "What Notepad really needs is a ribbon, just like Microsoft Office!" I mean, how can people edit text without a ribbon? The barrier to entry is obviously too high. The absense of a ribbon probably also contributes to the gender gap. This may even be deliberate, given the well-established history of misogyny at Microsoft.

    (this post is satire)

  9. Side effect by nwaack · · Score: 1

    As a side effect, it'll probably go from opening in about .3 milliseconds to 15 seconds.

    1. Re:Side effect by hcs_$reboot · · Score: 1

      and a few GB of RAM

      --
      Slashdot, fix the reply notifications... You won't get away with it...
    2. Re: Side effect by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Funny

      And after the trial period ends, you need a Notepad 365 subscription, for $2.95 per month, which includes a cloud drive with 640k of space.

    3. Re: Side effect by Sinmalties · · Score: 1

      And who would ever need more than 640k of space?

  10. personally I prefer notepad just as it is. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Insightful

    It's installed on every windows machine and always works and is very light. It's the one application that Microsoft really hasn't touched and guess what..it works the same as it always has.

    Now they're touching it, it'll snowball and eventually be moved into an AppX application with a tiled interface with ribbons and Cortana build into it.

    1. Re:personally I prefer notepad just as it is. by CptLoRes · · Score: 1

      That just means more people will discover notepad++ and never look back.

    2. Re:personally I prefer notepad just as it is. by Radical+Moderate · · Score: 1

      So much this. Considering how badly they borked up the new version of Sticky Notes, I shudder to think what they'll do to Notepad.

      --
      Never let a lack of data get in the way of a good rant.
    3. Re:personally I prefer notepad just as it is. by Zaiff+Urgulbunger · · Score: 1

      and eventually be moved into an AppX application with a tiled interface with ribbons and Cortana build into it.

      I only skimmed TFA, but this update *does* include Bing integration. Because, for the last 30 years, that's exactly what people have consistently been asking for!

    4. Re:personally I prefer notepad just as it is. by CaseCrash · · Score: 1

      I only skimmed TFA, but this update *does* include Bing integration. Because, for the last 30 years, that's exactly what people have consistently been asking for!

      All that means is you can highlight some text and CTRL+E or go to the Edit menu and it will open up a Bing search in your browser with that text as the search term. Nothing fancy.

      --
      No, that link you posted to a web comic we've all seen a hundred times is not "obligatory."
    5. Re:personally I prefer notepad just as it is. by thegarbz · · Score: 1

      Yeah Notepad that great application which you need to use once in a blue moon and then invariably realise the file you're opening doesn't have the right line endings.

      This change will make notepad useful instead of that muscle reaction accident that you repeat over and over again before opening wordpad.

  11. AI by 110010001000 · · Score: 2

    Hopefully it will have AI and Blockchain features.

    1. Re:AI by hcs_$reboot · · Score: 1

      This is planned. For 2038.

      --
      Slashdot, fix the reply notifications... You won't get away with it...
  12. Re:Hopefully this update will be for Windows 95 by CaptainDork · · Score: 1

    95?

    There's a 95???

    Goddam, I'm using 3.1.

    3.0 had this aggravating shit in File Mangler where it refreshed every time I switched into a new folder.

    3.1 fixed that.

    Maybe /. will post a story on how to migrate from 3.1 to 95.

    I'm pumped.

    --
    It little behooves the best of us to comment on the rest of us.
  13. Notepad3D? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    Just wait until they add 3D support to compliment Paint3D!

    Yay for 90s 3D text effects!!! They know we need it!

  14. Bury it by Artem+S.+Tashkinov · · Score: 3, Interesting

    How is this even a news on ./ front page?

    A modern minimalistic graphical text editor should be able to:

    • Support color schemes or at least allow to edit background/text colors.
    • Have syntax highlighting for major formats like HTML, XML, JS, JSON, INI.
    • Show line numbers (in a separate column).
    • Have infinite number of undo's/redo's.
    • Allow to configure Tab size and behaviour (real tabs or spaces).
    • Have a tabbed interface.
    • Find and replace (case sensitive or not) in either the current open file, or selection or all open files.
    • Safely edit files: e.g. you add and remove just one symbol and nothing else in the file changes, including its size - Notepad often doesn't work like that.

    Now what about this new Notepad?

    1. Re:Bury it by thegarbz · · Score: 1

      A modern minimalistic graphical text editor should be able to:

      Support color schemes or at least allow to edit background/text colors.

      Okay fail. A modern minimalistic graphical text editor should display text, give the option of word wrap, and have a search.

      What you're describing is some personal wish list for a more advanced text editor to suit your use case.

  15. I Use Notepad++ by maxbuzz · · Score: 1

    Notepad++ has MS notepad beat hands down.

  16. Doesn't need to be Notepad++ by iampiti · · Score: 1

    While I welcome these essential additions I don't agree with those who say it should be as good as Notepad++: This is a basic tool included in an OS. It's there for when you don't have anything else. If you want something better just install it.
    That said, with what they've done to basic apps in Windows 10 (Solitaire having to be downloaded from the Windows Store and having ads anyone?) (and general user hostile changes through Win 10) I don't trust Microsoft to not fuck up Notepad. If those will be the only aditions I'll be happy.

  17. Remember PFE ... by CaptainDork · · Score: 2

    ...? I used the hell out of it.

    As Windows matured, I moved further and further away from the OS, but DOS and PFE did some very neat shit for me back in the day.

    Note: Although other good free editors probably exist now,
    I've left this review here to possibly use as a comparison test,
    or in case someone might still be interested in finding an editor
    for older (Win9x?) 32-bit machines; probably with little memory.

    Don't let the title fool you! This editor is not just for programmers.

    It has all the standard functions that any good text editor should have and a whole lot more! This excellent program is free for any use!

    --
    It little behooves the best of us to comment on the rest of us.
  18. Re:Too little, too late by kaka.mala.vachva · · Score: 1

    Whaat? You moved from Windows to Linux because of Notepad?! That's just ... silly.

  19. Re:Standard MSFT Logic by amicusNYCL · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Is this where I point out that people have wanted Notepad to handle different line endings correctly for a long, long time?

    --
    "Our two-party system is like a bowl of shit looking at itself in a mirror." - Lewis Black
  20. Line endings by genfail · · Score: 1

    If it didn't use (LF) or (CR) what the hell did it use?

    1. Re:Line endings by SixMinutes · · Score: 1

      Both of course! CR followed by LF has been the Microsoft line ending style since DOS at least. The convention dates to the teletype era, where moving the print head to a new line required a carriage return command (to send the print head back to the left) and a line feed command (to step the paper up one line).

  21. Re:Hopefully this update will be for Windows 95 by DeBaas · · Score: 1

    Don't skip 3.11 ! You'll miss out on all the nice networking stuff.

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  22. it better be win32 or least keep the old one aroun by Joe_Dragon · · Score: 1

    it better be win32 or least keep the old one around.

    there needs to be an basic text editor that does not need the store framework.

  23. Wasn't this called WordPad? by thunderclees · · Score: 1

    It looked like WordPad was the replacement for Notepad but Notepad did not pollute files the way WordPad does so it lived on.

  24. Wow. by recrudescence · · Score: 1

    This must be the year of the Windows Desktop!

  25. Re:NotePad still exists? by recrudescence · · Score: 1

    Boy are you gonna be surprised by this then

  26. Thanks by MBGMorden · · Score: 1

    These seem like minor changes but they are the most important ones. First thing I install on any computer I use regularly is win32pad which is old itself but is what Notepad should have been.

    Unix land ending support and displaying the line #'s/cursor position are must haves in a text editor.

    --
    "People who think they know everything are very annoying to those of us who do."-Mark Twain
  27. I don't care what anyone says by Kulahan · · Score: 2

    I love notepad. Opens in an absolute flash, I can type something super quick, and save it for later. No stupid modules to load, never had an error or crash, it just does *exactly* what it's supposed to - it's a quick place to jot down a note. I love the program. I use it all the time.

    1. Re:I don't care what anyone says by pr0fessor · · Score: 1

      Quick place to jot down a note, batch file, registry fix, vb script, etc... I use it almost everyday sometimes many times a day.

  28. Re:Standard MSFT Logic by Megane · · Score: 1

    Long enough that the "Mac" line ending (CR only, which was also the TRS-80 line ending before it) has been obsolete for almost two decades. I'm certainly not going to install Windows 10 for it.

    --
    #naabhaprzrag, #sverubfr-000, #agi-fcbafberq, negvpyr[pynff*=' negvpyr-ary-'] { qvfcynl: abar !vzcbegnag; }
  29. Oy! Nifty feature but Notepad now has to... by rnturn · · Score: 1

    ... interpret keyboard/mouse events to zoom the displayed text? I'd think that would be better done by the OS+windowing system and made available to all applications (it would be a boon for the sight-impaired, no?). MS would rather this have this re-implemented in every application? This seems to go back to the days when each and every Windows application had to re-invent printing. Having problems printing from WordPerfect? Did you configure the print settings? Trouble printing from that whiz-bang graphics software? Did you configure the application to be able to print to your particular printer? Big step backwards. But that's just my HO. (But, in the end, I couldn't care less as I don't use Windows any more.)

    --
    CUR ALLOC 20195.....5804M
  30. Re: Hopefully this update will be for Windows 95 by Zero__Kelvin · · Score: 1

    Ah yes... Good old "Windows for Warehouses" ... which, let's face it, is where Windows belongs.

    --
    Guns don't kill people; Physics kills people! - John Lithgow as Dick Solomon on Third Rock From The Sun
  31. Re: Standard MSFT Logic by phishybongwaters · · Score: 1

    Is where I point out neither Notepad++ nor Textpad? are shipped native with windows. I suppose plugging flash keys into fresh servers or going on the internet to download them is fine in your environment right? Why sideload 3rd party apps that constantly update and in some cases actually open up vulnerabilities, when you can rely on a native application that gets it's updates through the os and is already fully integrated. P.S. you are still free to use whatever you want, if you don't use notepad this literally does not affect you.

  32. Re:Too little, too late by phishybongwaters · · Score: 1

    fanboys will be fanboys

  33. Re:Hopefully this update will be for Windows 95 by Darinbob · · Score: 1

    Windows for Work Groups!

  34. Still no spellcheck? by damn_registrars · · Score: 1

    There are free text editors available for windows that have spell check built in to them (and have for many years). I know it's not necessarily the driving point of notepad but it can be useful.

    --
    Damn_registrars has no butt-hole. Damn_registrars has no use for a butt-hole.
  35. If I want VIm by zwarte+piet · · Score: 1

    I'll use vim thanks. Now put it back the way it was and give me the old mspaint as well. No need to annoyify the hand full of useful application windows still had.

  36. Unix line endings as standard by jez9999 · · Score: 1

    Can we now get to a world where everyone uses Unix line endings? Where we can get rid of the reams of stupid code everywhere to deal with differing line endings? Where we stop wasting thousands of man-hours on line endings issues? Please god can we do this now?

    --
    == Jez ==
    Do you miss Firefox? Try Pale Moon.
    1. Re:Unix line endings as standard by TeknoHog · · Score: 1

      Yeah, it's ridiculous. We need one line-ending standard that covers everyone's use cases.

      --
      Escher was the first MC and Giger invented the HR department.
  37. now with ads! by originalGMC · · Score: 1

    Notepad now reads your notes to feed the microsoft AI ... its hungry ... and serves you relevant ads based on your notes. Now 9000% slower to open.

  38. Re: Standard MSFT Logic by amicusNYCL · · Score: 1

    You can do whatever you want, it doesn't change the fact that OP's bullshit about "crap nobody asked us for" and "unsolicited changes" and whatever else is full of shit. If you'd like to move the goal posts though, go right ahead.

    --
    "Our two-party system is like a bowl of shit looking at itself in a mirror." - Lewis Black
  39. EMCAS key binding support? by 140Mandak262Jamuna · · Score: 1

    Will it also support my .emacsrc ?

    --
    sed -e 's/Chuck Norris/Rajnikant/g' joke > fact
  40. E-mail by PPH · · Score: 1

    Zawinski's Law demands it.

    --
    Have gnu, will travel.
  41. Bloat by TJHook3r · · Score: 1

    For anyone who wants a complicated version there is Notepad ++ Most people will want an actual notepad-like app, with tiny footprint, if they are using the default Notepad. Stop the bloat!

  42. edlin by KiloByte · · Score: 1

    Well, don't forget Microsoft's take on ed. If you don't have any Windoze at hand, here's my packaging of FreeDOS' remake.

    --
    The creatures outside looked from Alt-Right to Antifa; but already it was impossible to say which was which.
  43. Re: Standard MSFT Logic by pr0fessor · · Score: 1

    Textpad is paid software and notepad++ has syntax highlighting neither are really in the same class as ms notepad but you are not wrong a good basic text editor that's not third party wouldn't be bad. I imagine MS hasn't updated it because there were so many other options available and it wasn't and still isn't a selling point for MS Windows.
     

  44. The last and best application to ruin... by gestalt_n_pepper · · Score: 1

    I still use it regularly. Or I did. Oh well.

    --
    Please do not read this sig. Thank you.
  45. Re:Wow! by pr0fessor · · Score: 1

    And once they get to highlighting, plugin support, multi-file support and macros,

    They will call it Visual Studio Code which has most of that and some other stuff you didn't mention. There would be no point for them to put all that in notepad it's supposed to be a basic text editor; compilers, debugging, intellisense, extensions doesn't sound very basic and it's available in another ms app.

  46. Re: Hopefully this update will be for Windows 95 by Z00L00K · · Score: 1

    X11 with fvwm as window manager and I'm good.

    --
    If builders built buildings the way programmers wrote programs, then the first woodpecker would destroy civilization.
  47. Re:Hopefully this update will be for Windows 95 by rogoshen1 · · Score: 1

    From chaos into a beautiful disaster. Should just sever TBH.

  48. Re:What?!?! by LinuxIsGarbage · · Score: 1

    How will that work when the Magnifier is used? It better not interfere with the Accessibility options. There is no better way to piss off visually impaired users than to fuck with their tools....

    A Lot of applications already use ctrl+scrollwheel for zoom control.

  49. So Microsoft has finally by BrookSmith · · Score: 1

    So Microsoft has finally employed a developer who is capable of writing code, rather than re-skinning the same old crap.

  50. Still no autosave? by ayesnymous · · Score: 1

    Countless data has been lost on BSODs and auto-update reboots.

  51. Re:Wow! by Opportunist · · Score: 1

    I'm supposed to install some bloated IDE just for syntax highlighting? Sorry, no sale.

    --
    We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.
  52. Re:Wow! by pr0fessor · · Score: 1

    I haven't used notepad++ in years it was unstable when I tried it but I imagine that's probably not the case now.

    Visual Studio Code is lightweight compared to Visual Studio 2017 maybe not notepad++ but the question is do you want intellisense for it's smart auto complete.

  53. Good enough to replace Notepad++ by rhyous · · Score: 1

    It has to have a plan to be good enough to replace Notepad++ or it is a waste of time.

  54. Why not just use WordPad? by martinfb · · Score: 1

    Why not just use WordPad?
    It already does all of that stuff, and more.

    --


    Self-importance and self-indulgence is the root of ALL evil.
  55. Macintosh line endings by flargleblarg · · Score: 1

    and pre-OS X Macintosh line endings (CR)

    FTFY.

    CR (ASCII 13) has not been the Mac line ending character since the 20th century. It's been LF (ASCII 10, same as UNIX) for almost 20 years now.