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RIP Microsoft WordPad

gizmodo.com

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Re: RIP Microsoft WordPad

#71

Post by redeeman »

tvb12 wrote: post #68

This is such an annoying change. I work in a production facility and I don't get to choose what is installed on the computers. It's either WordPad, notepad, or open a browser for Word. WordPad is obviously a step up over notepad if you need any sort of formatting. Now imagine a machine is malfunctioning and you need to look up the last known "good" settings to see if anything changed. First open a browser, then go to…

the last known good settings needs to be stored in a format with clip-art, headlines, bold letters and embedded images? :)

Re: RIP Microsoft WordPad

#72

Post by canucker2016 »

BarbaryCoast wrote: post #45

Wordpad was essentially just the Text Edit control, wrapped in some GUI cheese. Unless they plan to remove that control, it's trivial to re-constitute the program. When I took a Windows programming course, this was actually one of the homework assignments.

It used the Rich text edit control, introduced in win95.

They've upgraded the multi-tabbed notepad to use the Rich text edit control these days (win11)

Re: RIP Microsoft WordPad

#74

Post by procarch2019 »

tvb12 wrote: post #68

This is such an annoying change. I work in a production facility and I don't get to choose what is installed on the computers. It's either WordPad, notepad, or open a browser for Word. WordPad is obviously a step up over notepad if you need any sort of formatting. Now imagine a machine is malfunctioning and you need to look up the last known "good" settings to see if anything changed. First open a browser, then go to…

Yes, in the automation world living on level 2/2.5 wordpad is great for doing things like taking screenshots too. In a GMP facility it could take some significant effort to get a screenshot tool or a rich text editor installed. Also, taking pictures with a phone is usually a huge no no.

Occasionally, you have to document something with…screenshots. Now, some versions of Windows Server come with snipping tool, which lets you save a screen shot. Others you still have to use the print screen key. Then what… well, you open wordpad and paste.

Luckily most of the systems we interact with now we get to install Office when the system is being qualified. Could be a huge PIA though otherwise.

edit: level 2/2.5 means no internet connection and therefore no browser based editors.

Re: RIP Microsoft WordPad

#75

Post by [deleted] »

procarch2019 wrote: post #74
tvb12 wrote: post #68

This is such an annoying change. I work in a production facility and I don't get to choose what is installed on the computers. It's either WordPad, notepad, or open a browser for Word. WordPad is obviously a step up over notepad if you need any sort of formatting. Now imagine a machine is malfunctioning and you need to look up the last known "good" settings to see if anything changed. First open a browser, then go to…

Yes, in the automation world living on level 2/2.5 wordpad is great for doing things like taking screenshots too. In a GMP facility it could take some significant effort to get a screenshot tool or a rich text editor installed. Also, taking pictures with a phone is usually a huge no no. Occasionally, you have to document something with…screenshots. Now, some versions of Windows Server come with snipping tool, which l…

[deleted]

Re: RIP Microsoft WordPad

#76

Post by tvb12 »

redeeman wrote: post #71
tvb12 wrote: post #68

This is such an annoying change. I work in a production facility and I don't get to choose what is installed on the computers. It's either WordPad, notepad, or open a browser for Word. WordPad is obviously a step up over notepad if you need any sort of formatting. Now imagine a machine is malfunctioning and you need to look up the last known "good" settings to see if anything changed. First open a browser, then go to…

the last known good settings needs to be stored in a format with clip-art, headlines, bold letters and embedded images? :)

Most of the machines have hundreds of settings divided across a dozen different sections. Simple things like bold and underline make it much easier to visually parse the sections.

Re: RIP Microsoft WordPad

#77

Post by GuB-42 »

z_open wrote: post #3

Man people are nostalgic about the most bizarre things sometimes. My experience with WordPad was accidently opening something with it and having to change the default app for some extension.

It is not just nostalgia. Windows used to have a built-in word processor. Not anymore. If I wanted to write a letter on a Windows computer I was unfamiliar with, I could use WordPad, I knew it was there, like Notepad and the calculator. WordPad is not the best word processor, by far, but it was there.

Now, there is no word processor I know is there. There is that useless trial version of Office 365, or maybe the real one. Or LibreOffice, that I am not very comfortable with. Or one of the webapps like Google Docs, but then I need an account, and internet access (not guaranteed).

Re: RIP Microsoft WordPad

#78

Post by _nivlac_ »

lotsofpizza wrote: post #18

This is slightly off topic but might be helpful to some people who use both Notepad on Windows and TextEdit on Mac but are tired of the open document screen that starts by default when opening TextEdit. For example, I take calls while at my Windows based workstation. When I'm starting a phone call, I instinctively open notepad and jot down notes while on the phone. I don't usually save the file but I will complete th…

I use this workflow on my Mac all the time and don't remember having to change this setting. Could it be because I don't have iCloud set up?

Re: RIP Microsoft WordPad

#79

Post by ClassyJacket »

philipwhiuk wrote: post #57

I liked WordPad. It was a nice middle ground. Word is so bloated and feature rich that getting started was a faff. WordPad had enough formatting to be useful. A bit like the Markdown of it's time.

I agree. It has less UI in the way and doesn't take as long to startup, but can still bold and underline. I use it every day for notes at work.

At least it's easily replaced. I assume...

Re: RIP Microsoft WordPad

#80

Post by g-b-r »

Daneel_ wrote: post #70
g-b-r wrote: post #61

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Just keep in mind that at least in the old versions it had bugs that lead to occasional loss of all the autosaved files. I don't know if they fixed them since, I haven't used it in three or four years.

This situation happened to me, and just in case it helps someone I thought I’d mention that the files are all saved on the disk - just go into settings and look up the location of the temporary save directory. Open that in explorer and you’ll have all the temporary files available.

No, I meant that the "temporary" files themselves got deleted!!

There were different bugs, some deleted session.xml and some the files themselves.

I had actually found the reasons and prepared bug reports, but then had some life messes and lost the reports themselves.

Maybe I'll try to see if I can find the code again (it was plain calls to "deletefile" or something like that ended up being called by an error handler, if I'm not mistaken - it was so reckless code that I moved away from Notepad++)

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