Microsoft rolls out tables in Notepad for all Windows 11 users, though I'd feel happier about this if I knew this was the final addition to my favorite little app

Once the forgotten child of Windows' armoury of native applications, Notepad has enjoyed a revival in the past few years. Since 2022, it's gained spell checking, a dark mode, tabbed windows, state preservation, and even basic formatting. With the latest update, tables have joined the feature set, which feels useful, along with AI text streaming, which feels decidedly less useful.

As I use Notepad daily, I was already aware of the new additions, but it's thanks to Windows Latest that I know everyone using Windows 11 should see them, too. Well, perhaps not the AI text streaming, because that's apparently still only for Copilot+ PCs (ones with a CPU that has a 40+ TOPS NPU in them), though Microsoft says it will eventually roll it out to all Windows 11 systems.

The table function is blessedly simple in form and function, and if you're already familiar with tables in Microsoft Word, you'll have no problems using this one. You start by clicking on the icon in the menu bar, then dragging out the initial table you want to use. Adding or removing elements can be done through the same button, but it's easier to just right-click and edit everything from there.

If you're a Notepad purist, you can remove the option to use tables by clicking on the cog icon in the top-right corner and switching off formatting. However, this will also remove the option to use headings, lists, bold and italic text, and so on.

As for the AI text streaming, Copilot has been a feature in Notepad for a while now, but what the new feature does is generate responses more quickly on screen. So instead of waiting for your entire report to appear, the one you forgot to hand in on time and now have to churn out in a matter of seconds, you'll see it appear in smaller chunks. So you can spot the gibberish it makes sooner, of course.

Just as with formatting, you can nix Copilot in the settings menu. Though every time Notepad gets updated, it always seems to re-enable itself on my main PC, for some hard-to-fathom reason.

Anyway, as much as I appreciate Microsoft giving Notepad the attention it so deserves, I do feel that the feature set is more than enough now. In other words, I don't want anything more added to Notepad. If I need to use something more potent, I fire up Notepad++ or use a more dedicated word processing application, such as Word or Google Docs.

I use Windows Notepad all the time because of its simplicity and basic feature set, not in spite of them. Logging benchmark results? Notepad. Jotting down thoughts for an article? Notepad. Keeping a record of calculations? Notepad to the rescue every time.

Notepad has everything I need right now, and I fear that it will continue to expand more and more until it becomes bloated with options. Please, just stop now. Leave it alone. You've done a great job getting it to this point, Microsoft, but the four-decade-old program is as good as it needs to be.

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