All Windows versions since Windows XP have had Notepad and Wordpad applications baked into the operating system. Most Window users have already gotten used to the powerful Microsoft Word and ignored these two applications.
Notepad is the simplest form of text editor you’ll see on a Windows computer. Notepad was built into the first release of Windows in 1985. It has not evolved much since. It’s still a simple note taking app. Programmers use it to write html and javascript code.
Wordpad a more robust text editor and processor started appearing in Windows 95. Superior to Notepad but inferior to Word. Wordpad can manipulate text and insert shapes and images into documents. It also comes bundled together with your copy of Windows.
But are they completely useless? The answer is a huge No. Wordpad and Notepad are still very useful applications. In this article, I will discuss the importance of the two applications and how they can be useful to you.
The first thing you need to look at is cost. Microsoft Word is a paid application. It’s the most powerful text editor and processor for Windows computers. But it comes at a cost. You’ll have to part with around $30 for the Microsoft office suit. Wordpad and Notepad are free and come pre-installed in your copy of Windows.
Secondly, Microsoft word comes as part of the Microsoft office suit which contains other programs like Excel, Powerpoint, Publisher e.t.c. This means that the office suit is heavier on system resources like memory and CPU. Wordpad and Notepad are light weight applications. If you have simple text editing and processing tasks that don’t need all the extra features in Word, you can comfortably work with Wordpad.
I don’t think we have seen the last of Wordpad features. I think it’s a pretty decent word processing application that can come in handy. But Microsoft, being the creators of both Wordpad and Word, would not add any more features to Wordpad that would jeopardize the sales of Microsoft word.
Your Microsoft office suit could be missing. Either because you formatted your computer or it just crushed or got corrupted. Wordpad and Notepad can step in to do some simple word processing for you. You will not do everything you could have done with word, but you’ll get somewhere.
