4 ms·

I don’t see why people are complaining. If you use notepad for txt files, nothing changes.

SamuelAdams 8mo ago
The concern is that more features introduces more risk. See CVE-2026-20841 for a recent example. If the application remained a simple text editor, it is unlikely exploits like this would be possible. https://msrc.microsoft.com/update-guide/vulnerability/CVE-2026-20841 https://msrc.microsoft.com/update-guide/vulnerability/CVE-20...
- jajuuka 8mo ago
  That's a false sense of security. We have a LONG list of vulnerabilities in open source software that were "simple" programs for decades. The house of cards approach to security is just not it.
  - sunaookami 8mo ago
    More code = more vulnerabilites. It's a simple fact. Complexity kills.
    - dangus 8mo ago
      Sell your computer. Now you have perfect security! Fun fact: you can uninstall Notepad if you don’t like it.
      - sunaookami 8mo ago
        Congrats for completely missing the point.
        dangus 8mo ago
        I got the point. I just disagree with the merit of the point. Microsoft decided that additional complexity for the notepad application is worth the tradeoffs. I tend to agree with them: Notepad is traditionally most heavily used to peruse readme files, which today are primarily written in Markdown. Therefore, having Markdown support as a first-class feature makes good sense. Furthermore, I point out that it is an optional application that can be uninstalled.
- john_strinlai 8mo ago
  true! more features is more risk. but i dont think most people here are complaining because of security risk... otherwise they wouldnt be recommending things like notepad++, other obscure editors, or editors with way larger code bases.
- dangus 8mo ago
  Did Microsoft ban you from using something else? Fun fact: you can uninstall Notepad! The truth is, unless Notepad got some kind of makeover, it was a useless vestige. It obviously wasn’t a good text editor for plain monospaced text. Having basically zero features didn’t serve anyone - why not use Notepad++ or vim in that case? I think the most popular use of notepad is to read text files quickly and these days that often includes Markdown files. It makes perfect sense for Notepad to evolve into something that’s actually useful for lightly formatted text formats.
whynotmaybe 8mo ago
Because we collectively used to make fun of users that were complaining whenever an icon moved 42 pixel to the right and now we're them. But we think we're right and still we thought they were wrong. If we were in a PHP forum, this would be my signature: I'm getting too old for this shit.
- deleted 8mo ago
  [deleted]
jajuuka 8mo ago
It's fashionable to hate on anything Windows. Especially in tech circles.
- pipeline_peak 8mo ago
  Oh I’m well aware, I just think this reaction is ridiculous. Just make your own damn notepad if it bothers you lol.
  - JohnFen 8mo ago
    > Just make your own damn notepad if it bothers you lol. If you use many different machines throughout your workday, this means you have to carry a copy of your bespoke solution with you on a memory stick or something, and hope that the machine you want to use it on allows the use of memory sticks or unapproved software. It's far better to use an application that you can count on already existing on the machines.
    - tracker1 8mo ago
      TBF, a lot of people used to keep portable apps like this... then IT started locking down even being able to mount a USB storage device. I used to do this for my email and mail profile with a portable Thunderbird. I even worked on an app in a relatively secure environment where the work around for an early SPA and IE6-8 company wide, was for the systems analysts using our app to use a portable firefox browser on the user desktop. IE6-8 in particular were really bad when you had an SPA as you had events tied to dom elements across the COM bridge that wouldn't release unless all dom and script references were freed up. jQuery actually did this, if you managed everything through it, but our app was an early version of extjs... so after 3-4 hours it would just run out of memory and die.
  - bigstrat2003 8mo ago
    We used to have a perfectly good application that came with the OS. Then Microsoft ruined it. Yes I can make my own Notepad, but I shouldn't have to. If Microsoft really wanted a built-in text editor that had features Notepad didn't, they should've made a second application rather than ruining the minimalist one.
encom 8mo ago
Today Markdown. Tomorrow WordArt (but with AI probably).
EvanAnderson 8mo ago
The ergonomics of the new version are slightly different. The default behavior of opening tabs with previously-open files is jarring to me. I just remove it (Powershell command line in another comment) and the original "Notepad.exe" takes over. I've spent a long time building up my muscle memory. I don't want my tools changing out from under me. If they wanted to ship an "enhanced" notepad they should have called its something else.

The concern is that more features introduces more risk. See CVE-2026-20841 for a recent example. If the application remained a simple text editor, it is unlikely exploits like this would be possible. https://msrc.microsoft.com/update-guide/vulnerability/CVE-2026-20841 https://msrc.microsoft.com/update-guide/vulnerability/CVE-20...

jajuuka 8mo ago
That's a false sense of security. We have a LONG list of vulnerabilities in open source software that were "simple" programs for decades. The house of cards approach to security is just not it.
- sunaookami 8mo ago
  More code = more vulnerabilites. It's a simple fact. Complexity kills.
  - dangus 8mo ago
    Sell your computer. Now you have perfect security! Fun fact: you can uninstall Notepad if you don’t like it.
    - sunaookami 8mo ago
      Congrats for completely missing the point.
      - dangus 8mo ago
        I got the point. I just disagree with the merit of the point. Microsoft decided that additional complexity for the notepad application is worth the tradeoffs. I tend to agree with them: Notepad is traditionally most heavily used to peruse readme files, which today are primarily written in Markdown. Therefore, having Markdown support as a first-class feature makes good sense. Furthermore, I point out that it is an optional application that can be uninstalled.
john_strinlai 8mo ago
true! more features is more risk. but i dont think most people here are complaining because of security risk... otherwise they wouldnt be recommending things like notepad++, other obscure editors, or editors with way larger code bases.
dangus 8mo ago
Did Microsoft ban you from using something else? Fun fact: you can uninstall Notepad! The truth is, unless Notepad got some kind of makeover, it was a useless vestige. It obviously wasn’t a good text editor for plain monospaced text. Having basically zero features didn’t serve anyone - why not use Notepad++ or vim in that case? I think the most popular use of notepad is to read text files quickly and these days that often includes Markdown files. It makes perfect sense for Notepad to evolve into something that’s actually useful for lightly formatted text formats.

whynotmaybe 8mo ago

Because we collectively used to make fun of users that were complaining whenever an icon moved 42 pixel to the right and now we're them. But we think we're right and still we thought they were wrong. If we were in a PHP forum, this would be my signature: I'm getting too old for this shit.

deleted 8mo ago
[deleted]

jajuuka 8mo ago

It's fashionable to hate on anything Windows. Especially in tech circles.

pipeline_peak 8mo ago
Oh I’m well aware, I just think this reaction is ridiculous. Just make your own damn notepad if it bothers you lol.
- JohnFen 8mo ago
  > Just make your own damn notepad if it bothers you lol. If you use many different machines throughout your workday, this means you have to carry a copy of your bespoke solution with you on a memory stick or something, and hope that the machine you want to use it on allows the use of memory sticks or unapproved software. It's far better to use an application that you can count on already existing on the machines.
  - tracker1 8mo ago
    TBF, a lot of people used to keep portable apps like this... then IT started locking down even being able to mount a USB storage device. I used to do this for my email and mail profile with a portable Thunderbird. I even worked on an app in a relatively secure environment where the work around for an early SPA and IE6-8 company wide, was for the systems analysts using our app to use a portable firefox browser on the user desktop. IE6-8 in particular were really bad when you had an SPA as you had events tied to dom elements across the COM bridge that wouldn't release unless all dom and script references were freed up. jQuery actually did this, if you managed everything through it, but our app was an early version of extjs... so after 3-4 hours it would just run out of memory and die.
- bigstrat2003 8mo ago
  We used to have a perfectly good application that came with the OS. Then Microsoft ruined it. Yes I can make my own Notepad, but I shouldn't have to. If Microsoft really wanted a built-in text editor that had features Notepad didn't, they should've made a second application rather than ruining the minimalist one.

encom 8mo ago

Today Markdown. Tomorrow WordArt (but with AI probably).

EvanAnderson 8mo ago

The ergonomics of the new version are slightly different. The default behavior of opening tabs with previously-open files is jarring to me. I just remove it (Powershell command line in another comment) and the original "Notepad.exe" takes over. I've spent a long time building up my muscle memory. I don't want my tools changing out from under me. If they wanted to ship an "enhanced" notepad they should have called its something else.