A few weeks ago, I published a video about Microsoft’s recognition about how bloated Windows has become. You don’t have to look much further than the current status of the Notepad app to see that bloat in action.
In my latest video, we take a look at Notepad.exe’s feature creep and how you can download a free alternative that brings the simple version we have all come to know and love back.
Upon opening Notepad now, the software automatically loads every document previously accessed, syncing them across a Microsoft account and putting each one in its own tab. It includes formatting options, a tabbed interface, and even integrated AI tools like Copilot.
This shift moves away from the utility’s original purpose. When I first used Notepad on Windows 3.1 in the early 1990s, it was a straightforward tool for taking quick notes. It handled one document at a time, requiring the user to close one file before opening another. This simplicity remained largely unchanged through several iterations of the operating system, from the original Windows 1.0 through Windows 10. The utility functioned effectively for decades because it remained focused on basic text entry without additional overhead.
The technical demands of the current version are also notable. In my recent observations, running four small text files in the updated Notepad consumed roughly 87 megabytes of RAM. This footprint appeared to grow the longer the application remained open, adding 10 megabytes during my testing period without opening any additional files, which may suggest background telemetry or memory management issues. To put this in perspective, the entire computer system I used in 1992 operated on only 4 megabytes of total memory. While some users might find the added features beneficial, the increased resource consumption seems high for a simple text editor – especially as Microsoft’s more robust text editor, WordPad, has been removed with its features now added to Notepad.
For those seeking a return to a more minimalist experience, an alternative has emerged from the open-source community. Dave Plummer, a retired Microsoft software engineer, has developed an application called RetroPad. It is designed to function like the classic version of the software, prioritizing speed and a minimal footprint. In a direct comparison, RetroPad used approximately 1.7 megabytes of memory to handle the same text that required nearly 88 megabytes in the official Microsoft version.
The application is currently available via GitHub, where the executable can be downloaded from the project’s binaries folder. Plummer is also developing a version in assembly language to further reduce the executable size, but I noticed its memory footprint was significantly larger than the other version.
For users who find the modern updates to be an unnecessary complication, this project offers a functional way to return to a simpler workflow.