SOFTWARE giant Microsoft is set to shut down long-running nostalgic app after 30 years.
The tech giant revealed he has stopped updating one of their old apps.
APThe software giant has ended one of its old apps[/caption]
Microsoft Wordpad is set to disappear
The demise of WordPad was announced on the official Microsoft website on September 1, 2023.
A document listed a series of changes on several software features of Windows 11 and Windows 10.
The statement read: “WordPad is no longer being updated and will be removed in a future release of Windows.
“We recommend Microsoft Word for rich text documents like .doc and .rtf and Windows Notepad for plain text documents like .txt.”
The free basic word processor was introduced in 1995 offering basic text editing functions and the ability to add images and Excel graphic sheets.
It was automatically installed on the Windows 95 system when it was first released.
Users can open the app on various file formats including .doc – but it can’t be saved into that format.
The tech corporation didn’t comment on the reason behind the move but experts said it could be due to its limitations compared to newer apps.
The program lacks checkers for spelling and a function for word count.
Users also experienced several difficulties when trying to add tables or material from other formats.
WordPad was updated with Windows 7 after a redesign but the forgotten program hasn’t had any more additions in the last decade.
Since then, the program has been offered as an optional Windows feature after the Windows 10 Insider Build 19551 release in February 2020.
However, the company is finally killing the app and now suggests Microsoft Word as a replacement app for the now demised WordPad.
The demise came as a shock to nostalgic users who had processed their old text on the program.
One user sobbed: “This is actually a big deal for me. I’ve been using wordpad for many years, I have several hundred notes saved in .rtf format.”
But other tech enthusiasts were less impressed and claimed “it was about time”.
User @ObtimizedAir said: “Finally, I forgot Wordpad even exists. Notepad and Notepad++ all day.”
Another added: “It’s like someone woke up finally and decided to get florid of all the junk no one uses. First visual studio for Mac and then wordpad.”
Other tech experts weighted in and recommended cheaper alternatives to replace the word processor.
@CaosFenix said: “I would recommend everyone just switch to Libreoffice. It is free and much better than Wordpad anyway.
“In most scenarios it is at least as good as word with the only caviat being if you are a corporation and need more niche integrations.
“If you just need a good office suite though it does the trick for free.”
It comes as Microsoft recovered from a huge outage which blocked Outlook users from logging into their emails.
The tech company fixed its Microsoft 365 services, after apps such as chat platform Teams inaccessible for some.