Microsoft Depreciates WordPad in Latest Windows 11 Canary Build
The end of WordPad is closer than you think.
Microsoft has gone on record describing WordPad as a “depreciated feature” indicating it is no longer in development. Microsoft, in its latest Windows 11 Canary Build has removed the decades old word processor for good. The Windows 11 Canary Build is available for download only for Windows Insiders but, it reflects upcoming changes aimed at the stable build of Windows.
Microsoft has explained the reason for removing WordPad saying, “Starting with this build, the WordPad and People apps will no longer be installed after doing a clean install of the OS. In a future flight, WordPad will be removed in an upgrade. WordPad will not be reinstallable. WordPad is a deprecated Windows feature”.
The Windows Insider Preview Build 26020 will also be removing Cortana, unsurprising considering Microsoft is pushing Windows Co-Pilot to be more than just an assistant, making it necessary for keyboard manufactures to have a Co-Pilot key. This key will be included in the company’s new lineup of peripherals.
For many years, WordPad has been the go-to free word processor, dating back to the era of Windows 95. It is preferred by many to create or edit simple rich text documents. Microsoft has now recommended Microsoft Word for rich text documents like .doc and .rft and Windows Notepad for plain text documents like .txt.
