MS Store Now Includes Notepad
Insiders running on the Fast Ring can now download and use Notepad from the Microsoft Store. When you visit the store, search on “Windows Notepad.” Even so, you’ll have to wade some distance through the 47 variants to find the MS version. But indeed, because MS Store now includes Notepad, you can run it as an app instead of an application. Here’s something like what you’ll see in the store for this item (it’s installed so Store no longer shows the download offer):
Here’s what the Notepad listing in Store looks like.
[Click item for full sized view.]
Why Is MS Store Now Includes Notepad a Good Thing?
Putting Notepad in the Store means MS can decouple it from Windows releases. As explained in this Windows Insider blog post “Announcing Windows 10 Insider Preview Build 18963” (8/16/2019), this confers several potential user benefits. First, it lets the company keep making improvements whenever it’s so inclined. The updates will get to users more quickly and easily through the store than through Windows Update mechanisms. This also creates a separate and independent channel for feedback on issues, and input on upgrades and enhancements. Now, in fact, users can provide this kind of information through the independent Feedback Hub channel Apps > Notepad. A quick once-over on that Feedback channels shows it to be active and interesting:
Lots of interesting input already on the Feedback Hub Notepad channel!
[Click image for full-sized view.]
The word is that the notepad.exe application may be retired when Windows 10 20H1 makes its debut next spring. Thus, it makes sense to start planning for a switchover. In another blog post, I’ll explain how to preserve the old exe version and its runtime context so you can keep using it, even if MS takes it away in a future Win10 release.