WordPad Says Farewell
Microsoft retired WordPad after nearly 30 years
by Char Hunt | TechChurn Senior Staff Writer
January 22, 2025
The rich-text-based word processing app will no longer be available as of the Windows 11 24H2 Update
RIP WordPad 1995 - 2024
Microsoft finally pulled the plug on WordPad, the 28 year old integrated basic word processing app that has been used by generations of Window customers. The company will no longer include it with Windows 11 24H2, which started rolling out late last year. It was officially added to the ‘Deprecated Feature’ list.
Once it goes on that list it’s considered no unavailable. Initially released 28 years ago with Windows 95, WordPad offered a free rich text formatting option with no-fuss.
As with many software companies, Microsoft typically removes older features and functions to streamline an operating system and to make way for new features. Microsoft made it clear when it recommends using Microsoft Word for rich text documents like .doc and .rtf and Windows Notepad for plain text documents like .txt.
There is no integrated rich text editor from Windows 11 24H2 to take its place as of yet, meaning that, luckily, older doesn’t necessarily mean it outlived its usefulness. Which means there are ways to bring it back, as its binary files are still present in Windows 11 24H2, there is no way to make it work as a default option to open rich text formats.
If you have documents originally created with the application, one quck way to to access them is to save your files to an external drive (such as a hard drive, or a thumb drive, or perhaps a cloud-based folder.) Then, open the files on another device that still has WordPad installed, or open using another .rtf capable application.
Eventually, all of its binary files will be removed, completing the phasing-out process. You may have noticed this change during the last several weeks, and many well-known apps, such as the Windows Media Player, were also removed. Meanwhile, Notepad has received some updates this year, most notably the spellcheck feature and now the tabs option with Windows 11 24H2.
The move is leaving unhappy Microsoft users in its wake. The online version of Microsoft 365's can be used, but many users still need an offline version. In addition, not all customer want to maintain an internet connection and content with what some consider to be privacy violation put in place by the them.
Basic tools like the ability to type a simple document without having to scour the web for an alternative is arguably what most users would like to see offered. Although Microsoft is blazing a trail with its new AI offerings, some things are better left alone.
Thank you for reading!
Talk next time,
—Char