Notepad gets bold, italics, and Markdown support in latest update

Recap: Since Windows 11 launched in 2021, Notepad has received some of the most significant updates in its 42-year history. While the plaintext editor has traditionally served as a lightweight alternative to Microsoft Word for coding and simple note-taking, recent additions are making it increasingly resemble a traditional word processor.

Windows Insiders can now access a formatting toolbar in Notepad to apply text styling. This feature is currently available in the Canary and Dev channels, and past update patterns suggest it will eventually roll out to all Windows 11 users.

Insiders can apply bold, italic, and Markdown-style formatting to distinguish regular text from headers. Notepad also now supports hyperlinks and bullet-point lists.

A toggle button in the status bar at the bottom of the window allows users to switch between formatted Markdown and raw Markdown syntax. Additionally, users who prefer traditional plaintext editing can completely disable formatting in the settings ...