A lot changed in the Windows operating system over the past few decades, but Notepad has only had the odd tweak here and there. That changes for Windows 11, though.
Posting on the Windows Insider Blog, Dave Grochocki, Principal Program Manager Lead has announced some major changes to the Notepad text editor. Top of the list is a completely updated user interface, which now "aligns with the new visual design of Windows 11." It means Notepad has adopted rounded corners and the Mica material style.
Microsoft also decided to introduce a dark mode, which is optional, but this new version of Notepad adapts to the Windows 11 theme you are using, so it may appear by default. You can, however, toggle it on or off in another updated feature: the settings page. From there, you can also select between different fonts to use.
As for text editing features, Notepad is introducing multi-level undo and a redesigned find and replace experience.
For now, only Windows Insiders have access to the new Notepad app and Microsoft admits there's a number of bugs it still needs to fix. Long-time Notepad users may panic at the thought of Notepad changing and losing that focus on simple text editing. It seems like Microsoft has managed to retain that focus with these changes, but only just. I wonder if the cool Notepad programming tricks will still work?