Windows 11 Notepad Upgrade

In recent years, Microsoft has been steadily enhancing its native Notepad app on Windows 11.

The latest addition, found in a Canary channel test version of Windows 11, introduces a character count feature. Similar to Microsoft Word's word count, this feature is displayed at the bottom.

The Windows Insider team at Microsoft explains, “When text is selected, the status bar shows the character count for both the selected text and the entire document.

If no text is selected, the character count for the entire document is displayed, ensuring you always have a clear view of your document’s length.”

This character count addition follows a series of changes to Notepad, including a recent autosave option, tabs, dark mode, and even a virtual fidget spinner to enhance user experience.

In parallel with the Notepad updates in this Windows 11 test build, improvements are also being made to the widgets section of the OS.

Users will soon have the option to show only widgets and hide the feed of news and articles within the widgets screen, offering a more personalized experience.

This is a welcome change, considering that the feed often contains low-quality news articles and irrelevant content.

As with any features in testing, Microsoft may make adjustments, but these changes are expected to roll out for all Windows 11 users in early 2024.