Microsoft has been adding more and more features to Notepad in Windows 11, perhaps in an attempt to compensate for scrapping WordPad. For whatever reason, many users are unhappy that Notepad has been turned into a more sophisticated word processor and would prefer the old, simple, and clean Notepad.
The good news is that you can easily restore Notepad to its former self as a distraction-free, plain-text editor simply by adjusting three settings from within Notepad itself.
Restore The Traditional Notepad
Setting #1: Turn formatting OFF
Many users view the lack of formatting as a huge plus, especially when using Notepad for chores such as stripping formatting from web text or compiling clean code. Toggling the formatting setting to OFF will eliminate the unwanted formatting.
Setting #2: Change Notepad’s startup behaviour
I don’t know about you, but whenever I open a new instance of Notepad, I prefer to start from a clean state. To achieve that, enable the option to Start new session and discard unsaved changes under “When Notepad Starts.
Setting #3: Disable Copilot (AI) features
I am so fed up with Microsoft’s AI (Copilot) everywhere policy; this one is a no-brainer for me. You’ll find the “Copilot” switch at the very bottom of Notepad’s settings, toggle it to OFF.
That’s it, all done. Welcome to the old Notepad.
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