Notepad, the classic text editor bundled with Windows since 1985, has received significant upgrades in Windows 11 that most users overlook. While it maintains its minimalist appearance, Microsoft has quietly packed it with powerful new capabilities that transform this simple tool into a surprisingly capable productivity assistant.

1. Dark Mode and Modern UI

Windows 11 finally brought Notepad into the modern era with a complete visual overhaul. Beyond the obvious dark theme (enable via Settings > Appearance > Theme), Notepad now features:

  • Fluent Design elements including rounded corners
  • Proper high-DPI scaling
  • Tabbed interface (open multiple files in one window)
  • Persistent window size and position memory

Pro Tip: Use Ctrl+Tab to cycle through open tabs just like your web browser.

2. Advanced Find and Replace

The new Find/Replace dialog (Ctrl+F) includes powerful enhancements:

Match case
Match whole word
Wrap around
Search direction (Up/Down)

But the real game-changer is regular expression support (enable via the 'Use Regular Expressions' checkbox). This allows for pattern-based searches like:

  • ^\s+ to find all lines starting with whitespace
  • \b\d{3}-\d{2}-\d{4}\b for Social Security numbers

3. Line Operations and Editing Shortcuts

Notepad now includes programmer-friendly line operations:

  • Ctrl+Shift+L: Select current line
  • Alt+Shift+Arrow Keys: Column/block selection
  • Ctrl+Shift+Up/Down: Duplicate current line
  • Ctrl+] / Ctrl+[: Increase/decrease indent

These make Notepad surprisingly capable for quick code edits without launching an IDE.

4. File Format Conversion

Hidden in the File > Save As dialog is format conversion capability:

  • Convert between ANSI, UTF-8, UTF-16 (LE/BE)
  • Preserve original formatting when saving
  • Automatic encoding detection on open

This is invaluable when dealing with files from different systems or legacy applications.

5. Integrated with Windows 11 Features

Notepad now properly integrates with modern Windows features:

  • Windows Terminal integration (right-click > Open in Terminal)
  • Snap Layouts support
  • Cloud clipboard integration (Ctrl+V from clipboard history)
  • Search in File Explorer previews content

Bonus: Undo History

Unlike previous versions limited to a single undo, Windows 11 Notepad maintains full undo history (Ctrl+Z) even after saving the file.

Why These Features Matter

While dedicated text editors exist, Notepad's advantages are:

  • Instant launch time
  • Zero configuration
  • Guaranteed availability on all Windows machines
  • Minimal resource usage

These hidden features make it perfect for:

  • Quick notes
  • Config file edits
  • Data cleaning
  • Regex testing
  • Teaching programming basics

Microsoft has indicated more Notepad updates are coming, including:

  • Syntax highlighting
  • Plugin support
  • Cloud sync capabilities

For now, these hidden features already transform Notepad from a basic tool into a surprisingly capable text editor worthy of keeping pinned to your taskbar.