Here we can see, “What’s the Difference Between Notepad and WordPad in Windows?”
Although Microsoft Word is the app of choice when it involves viewing and writing documents, Windows 10 ships with Notepad and WordPad, which, while not as powerful because the Office app, will be helpful in many scenarios.
However, they will only be helpful in their category because they both have different purposes, although their names are similar. As an example, WordPad may be a data processing application that supports formatting and several other rich-text features. At the same time, Notepad may be a text editor meant only to write down plain text.
Notepad
Notepad has been around for quite 30 years, and it is a simple text editor that gives a bare canvas to write down plain text.
Although you’ll use the app to write down any quiet text, separate paragraphs, and alter the font settings, it doesn’t provide any rich-text formatting tools or change visual elements. As an example, you will not find options to customize text, insert pictures, and paragraph settings that you come to expect from data processing applications.
However, even with the shortage of data processing functionalities, it’s still a strong tool. Once you create a straightforward document, Notepad will usually save the content employing a “.txt” extension, which may be a container that does not include any style, tags, links, or special characters, making it one among the most straightforward options to look at and write code, like HTML, batch files, and little programs.
It’s also a superb option to modify configuration files required for the operation of Windows 10 or applications, as employing a word processing system can break the content structure and insert unwanted formatting that would potentially render the system or app unusable.
In addition, since Notepad became an open-source project and available through the Microsoft Store, the corporate has been adding many latest features to form the app more fitted to developers and anyone who likes the simplicity of a text editor. Several which include the power to save lots of files in UTF-8 without a Byte Order Mark, marker within the title bar to point unsaved content, support for Unix/Linux line endings (LF) and Macintosh line endings (CR), and it now ships with improved search and replace feature, additional keyboard shortcuts, and more.
When to use Notepad?
Usually, due to its simplicity and text-only nature, Notepad may be a well-suited application to write down scripts. For example, batch files that you can run in prompt or more complex hands that you can run on PowerShell.
Also, it is a useful gizmo to look at and write programming code as well as create HTML files, edit configuration files, and review log files. And it is a good solution for anyone who needs an easy canvas to write down text.
Of course, many tools are designed to form programming more straightforward, but Notepad works well.
WordPad
WordPad has also been around for several years (since Windows 95), but unlike Notepad, this is often a data processing application that’s more capable than a text editor like NotePad.
You can consider WordPad may be a very stripped down version of Microsoft Word. Using this app, you’ll view and make files using the Rich Text Format (.rtf). You get some rich-text editing tools, like font options (like bold, italic, colour, etc.), paragraph settings (such as indent, bullets, text alignment, etc.), and therefore the ability to insert pictures and objects. However, you will not get more advanced features, like the power to make tables, complex formatting, design, spell checking. Therefore the many other features you come to expect from Microsoft Word and other applications.
You can also view and edit Microsoft Word documents using the “.docx” extension. However, it isn’t recommended, as if you are trying to open a document, many of the features will be missing or won’t display correctly. But, you’ll create a document and reserve it employing a “.docx” extension, or as “.rtf,” “.odt,” and even “.txt” document.
When to use WordPad?
WordPad may be an excellent selection to make documents with actual content with paragraphs, listings, and pictures, or print documents with specific formats once you do not have another word processing system installed on your computer. Also, you’ll use it to open unformatted text documents or “.rtf” files.
However, there are much more advanced alternatives once you do not have the suite of Office applications to open documents, like the online version of Microsoft Word and Google Docs — to call a couple of.
The app works well to render and edit simple text files, but you will find that Notepad works best for these sorts of files because WordPad, like other data processing apps, can save unwanted formats.
Also, consider that albeit WordPad remains available on Windows 10, starting with version 2004, the app becomes an optional feature that you can remove from your installation using the Settings app, suggesting that the tool could eventually be deprecated as there are much better alternatives that do not even require installation.
If you are looking for the most straightforward data processing application, we recommend Microsoft Word, which comes bundled with an Office 365 subscription. Additionally, with the subscription, you will get access to the opposite popular apps like Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, and lots of other benefits, like sharing the apps with up to 6 people and 1TB of OneDrive storage.
Difference Between Notepad and WordPad in Table
| NotePad | WordPad |
|---|---|
| It is a simple and easy tool for basic plain text entry | It is simple and easier than MS Word |
| It can be used for doing a couple of different ways | It is an easy tool for doing simple tasks |
| It is made for to create the documents only | It is made for formatting and printing the documents |
| It is a text editor program | It is a word processor program |
| It is just a simple text editor that does not include any formatting options into it. | It helps in creating the documents which include graphics and various text formatting options into it |
| It is a text editor that is included with the windows operating system | It is also a text editor which is included with the windows operating system. |
| It was launched by Microsoft in the year 1983 | It was launched by Microsoft along with Windows 95 |
| Notepad is a text editor | WordPad is a basic word processor. |
| Notepad can only save text as it is better for creating webpages | It helps in saving the text with the basic formatting like font styles and sizes etc. |
| It can only save documents as .txt files only | It can be saved as .txt and .rtf Rich Text Format files both |
| Images and other graphics options are not added to this | Images and other graphic options can be added to this. |
| The files like Rich text formats Wordpad are cannot be opened into it | Any notepad file can be opened with this |
| It includes the options like files, edit, view, format, and helps options only into it | It includes more options which are easily available in it |
| It does not include any formatting options as no formatting of the text is done into it. It only focuses on creating the text files only. | It includes the formatting options into it like italic, bold, font style and size, etc. |
| It is a good choice for creating webpages or HTML documents and writing the basic computer programs also | It is a good choice for writing papers or creating documents that you want to print |
| It is also helpful for removing formatting from the text which is copied and which you wanted to paste somewhere else as a plain text | As it supports the bullets into it which is helpful for making lists |
| Just paste the text into Notepad, copy it again from Notepad, and you have completely unformatted text | You can use WordPad to open an unformatted text document and add whatever formatting you want |
Conclusion
I hope you found this helpful guide. If you’ve got any questions or comments, don’t hesitate to use the shape below.
User Questions:
- Is WordPad equivalent to Notepad?
WordPad also can save documents as plain-text files (. txt), but the specialized type formatting is lost. On the other hand, Notepad may be a more straightforward text editor without any formatting options.
- Is WordPad or Notepad better?
There is a marginal difference between Notepad and Wordpad. … Notepad may be a basic text-editing program that permits computer users to make documents. Whereas WordPad may be a program that you can use to create documents like letters, notes, etc., with better formatting features.
- Are Notepad files safe?
If the file may be a “true plain text” file, it cannot execute an epidemic. However, a . txt file is often disguised as an executable (containing malicious code) designed to trick users into opening a file type that may execute that malicious code.
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