https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/news/microsoft/microsoft-is-killing-wordpad-in-windows-after-28-years/

Microsoft is killing WordPad in Windows after 28 years

Microsoft announced today that it will deprecate WordPad with a future Windows update as it's no longer under active development, though the company did not specify the precise timing of this change.

WordPad is a basic text-editing application that allows users to create and edit documents with formatted text and include images and links to other files.

It is automatically installed on Windows systems starting in 1995 since Windows 95 was released, providing users with a basic word processor and document editor integrated into the operating system.

The company now suggests the Microsoft Word app as a replacement for WordPad users and Notepad for those who don't need rich text support.

"WordPad is no longer being updated and will be removed in a future release of Windows," Microsoft revealed today.

"We recommend Microsoft Word for rich text documents like .doc and .rtf and Windows Notepad for plain text documents like .txt."

This doesn't come as a surprise, given that the program has been an optional Windows feature since the Windows 10 Insider Build 19551 release in February 2020.

Even though it's still being installed by default on all Windows systems, it made it possible to uninstall it using the 'Optional features' control panel.

While not tagged by Redmond as the reason for discontinuing WordPad, earlier this year, the Qbot malware operation also started infecting computers and evading detection by abusing a DLL hijacking flaw in the Windows 10 WordPad app.

Paint moved on the Microsoft Store, Cortana slowly being killed off
Five years ago, Microsoft also announced that the classic Windows Paint application would be deprecated and removed with the release of the Windows 10 Fall Creator's Update in July 2017.

However, following an outpour of love for the app, Redmond decided not to completely kill it, instead making it available through the Microsoft Store.

If enough people ask for it, maybe Microsoft will also move WordPad to its app store so that it remains available as a less feature-rich replacement to Microsoft Office and similar software.

The company also officially began killing off the Cortana voice-based assistant in Windows 11 Canary preview builds released in early August 2023.

The app's spot as a Windows digital assistant has already been filled by the AI-powered Windows Copilot unveiled during this year's Build conference.

On Sun, 3 Sep 2023 10:14:00 -0700 (PDT), Big Mongo
<bigmongo1963@gmail.com> wrote:

>https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/news/microsoft/microsoft-is-killing-wordpad-in-windows-after-28-years/
>
>Microsoft is killing WordPad in Windows after 28 years
>
>Microsoft announced today that it will deprecate WordPad with a future Windows update as it's no longer under active development, though the company did not specify the precise timing of this change.
>
>WordPad is a basic text-editing application that allows users to create and edit documents with formatted text and include images and links to other files.
>
>It is automatically installed on Windows systems starting in 1995 since Windows 95 was released, providing users with a basic word processor and document editor integrated into the operating system.
>
>The company now suggests the Microsoft Word app as a replacement for WordPad users and Notepad for those who don't need rich text support.

I use so many different computers that I tend to find ways to get stuff
done with the built-in software. It's just easier than downloading or
installing something third-party. I may possibly use Notepad more than any
other single piece of software except for Edge. Wordpad, I rarely use and
can do without. I would use it a lot more if it didn't print page numbers
by default. It's easy to turn off - four mouse movements and four left
clicks, but that defeats the purpose of it being fast and simple,
especially since Word doesn't have page numbering turned on by default,
and most computers that I print from have Word installed on them.

[snip]
>Five years ago, Microsoft also announced that the classic Windows Paint application would be deprecated and removed with the release of the Windows 10 Fall Creator's Update in July 2017.
>
>However, following an outpour of love for the app, Redmond decided not to completely kill it, instead making it available through the Microsoft Store.

Keeping in mind my bias towards using built-in software, I've always
wanted Paint to be better. I gave up a long time ago and accepted the fact
that I have to install something to do what I want.

David Carson