For decades Notepad has been an essential but incredibly basic text editor available in every copy of Windows. Well, it’s about to get a little more useful with the inclusion of spellcheck and autocorrect in Windows 11. These new features will begin to roll out to users participating in the Windows Insiders program as part of the Beta and Release Preview Channels.
Microsoft says that misspelled words will be automatically highlighted with a red underline. Users will be able click, tap, or type Shift + F10 on their keyboard to bring up a list of suggestions to fix the potentially misspelled word. It’s also possible to ignore a word highlighted by Notepad and add it to a dictionary so that it’s no longer flagged as a misspelling by the program. Meanwhile, autocorrect “seamlessly fixes common typing mistakes as you type.”
A lot of coders out there will probably be worried by these changes, as some use Notepad for the bulk of their programming projects. Microsoft made a smart move by only enabling these new features by default with certain file types. The company says that spellcheck and autocorrect are “off by default in log files and other file types typically associated with coding.” Users will also be able to fine tune what kinds of file types end up using the features by visiting the app’s settings.
The company has most likely held off this long on adding these kinds of features because it relies on Microsoft Office, which includes Microsoft Word, to be a strong driver of revenue. So, it’s highly unlikely that an even more robust set of features will make their way to Notepad.
Microsoft hasn’t set a date for when spellcheck and autocorrect for Notepad will roll out to the wider use base, only stating that it plans to “monitor feedback and see how it lands before pushing it out to everyone.”