Microsoft announces redesigned Notepad for Windows 11 now in Beta Channel

Back in October, we learned that Microsoft was busy working on a redesigned, revamped Notepad for Windows 11. And a month ago, the company publicly announced its arrival, although at the time it only became available to Windows 11 insiders in the Dev channel only. Today Microsoft has announced that it will also be rolling out to Insiders in the Beta channel, so for now still not general release for a dark mode on Windows 11.

Since the app has primarily been redesigned, the most expected and obvious change is the rounded corner style we have now become familiar with as a Windows 11 staple. There is also the addition of the Mica material theme.

The company says:

We know how important Notepad is to so many of your daily workflows, so we designed this modern spin on the classic app to feel fresh, but familiar.

Dark mode (image below on the right) has also been added and it will automatically be selected based on the system theme being used. However, it can also be set manually from the app's Settings.

A revamped Find and Replace option has also been added for improving the ease of working inside the Notepad.

Microsoft did not announce any changes from the Dec 7 release, so the new Notepad for Windows 11 still has a few known issues that it is working on. The known issues are presented below in bulleted points:

• Issues affecting keyboard access keys usage for when
  • switching between different input languages
  • while using Japanese IME
• Under certain circumstances, you may notice unexpected behavior when using shift-click to select text or when scrolling

Aside from that, Microsoft also states that it is optimizing the performance of the Notepad for "very large files". The company has urged users to provide feedback on Feedback Hub (under Apps > Notepad).

You can find the official updated press release here.