Windows 10: Microsoft removes WordPad from clean installs of Windows 11 Canary Builds, and you cannot...

Microsoft has begun the removal of WordPad from Windows 11 Insider Program. The app is no longer available on clean installs of the Canary Channel Builds.

This is not surprising, as the company had previously confirmed in September 2023, that the legacy rich text editor has been deemed a deprecated Windows feature.

Microsoft begins removal of WordPad from Windows 11 Insider Builds


And now it appears that the company has begun the removal of the app from test builds of Windows 11. It is not being deleted for all users immediately. Microsoft's announcement on the Insider Blog says that WordPad will no longer be installed if a user does a clean install of the OS, starting with Build 26020 in the Canary Channel. So, if you format your computer's drive, or try to install Windows 11 (Canary Builds) on a new PC, you will not be able to access the app. The Redmond company has also removed the People app from the operating system.

The announcement mentions that WordPad will be removed for all users in a future build of Windows 11. It might take a while for the app to be removed from the Dev and Beta channels, likely in the coming months, before it is deleted from the Stable version of the operating system, but it is inevitable.

You won't be able to reinstall WordPad


When Microsoft deprecates a feature from Windows, usually you can get them back by reinstalling them from the Settings app > System > Optional features. But, you won't be able to do this method to get WordPad back on your computer. Microsoft says that users WordPad cannot be reinstalled once it has been removed. It remains to be seen whether users are able to find a workaround for this restriction, for example, by copying over the binary files (EXE) from an older version of the operating system.

Neowin reports that Microsoft is also discontinuing Step Recorder, but it is not being removed from Windows 11 yet. The app displays a banner that it is no longer being actively developed.

As for moving away from WordPad, Microsoft is recommending users to switch from the app to Notepad for plain TXT files, and to Microsoft Word or Microsoft 365 for editing RTF documents. Of course, you can also use something like Google Docs or Word Online for free if you prefer a cloud-based document editor.

Notepad isn't a bad option per se. The Silicon Valley giant has been improving the app over the past few years by adding features like dark mode, multi-level undo and redo, tabs and auto-save for documents. Notepad recently gained a character count on the status bar. But it cannot handle other file types such as RTF (Rich Text Format).

If you are interested in a proper Microsoft WordPad alternative, I would suggest taking a look at Libre Office. It is a free, open source office suite that works offline, and supports a wide range of formats. You can also consider using apps like NotePad++.

Do you use WordPad? Which app do you plan to switch to?

Thank you for being a Ghacks reader. The post Microsoft removes WordPad from clean installs of Windows 11 Canary Builds, and you cannot reinstall it appeared first on gHacks Technology News.

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Windows 11 Canary 25982 Bluetooth audio broken

Thank you for sharing your experience with me. I understand your frustration, and I'm sorry to hear that the issue persists.

Given the extensive troubleshooting you've done, it's clear that this problem might be related to the Canary build itself. To escalate the issue to the team managing the Canary channel, you can submit your feedback via Feedback Hub.

By submitting your feedback through the Feedback Hub, you can bring the issue to the attention of the Microsoft team responsible for the Canary channel. They may investigate the problem and work on resolving it in future updates.

In the meantime, considering your use of this PC for school, you may want to switch to a more stable Windows Insider channel or even unsubscribe from the Insider program and switch to the Stable build.

Please note that switching from Dev or Canary to a lower version might require a clean installation of the stable version of Windows 11, as there is no direct downgrade option.

You can find clean installation instructions with a Windows 11 ISO here: https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-insid...

This will remove the Insider sync settings, and you will only receive public updates.

 

Was Wordpad removed from Win11?

Hi Mugsy'sRapSheet,

I am Dave, I will help you with this.

Wordpad was not removed from Windows 11, it should be located in this folder:

C:\Program Files\Windows NT\Accessories

If you cannot find WordPad in there, open the Settings App, then go to Apps - Optional Features.

Do you see WordPad in the list of installed Optional Features?

If not, click the option to 'Add a Feature' and install WordPad from there.

 

Microsoft removing WordPad

See Bree's suggestion for rescuing Wordpad in post #4 this thread WordPad app has been deprecated in Windows 10 and Windows 11 - ElevenForum If you look down to post #14, you'll see my own comments after testing it out - it works very well. There is an equivalent TenForums News thread. Denis