Microsoft has officially started testing tabs in Notepad in Windows 11. After File Explorer a few months ago, the tech giant now wants to expand this feature to other software.
We’ve known for a few days that Microsoft is preparing to make a big change to the Notepad app in Windows 11. On Twitter, a Microsoft employee shared a screenshot of a hidden version of Notepad, showing a new tabbed interface.
Now Microsoft has finally made this feature official. The company has started testing Notepad tabs with Windows Insiders in a new update (version 25281) on the Dev channel.
Notepad gets a new, more useful design
Microsoft said that the tabs in Notepad are a “highly requested feature by the community.” Tabs are automatically named according to the content they contain, so you can easily identify them when you switch tabs.
This feature offers much more possibilities than meets the eye. The app now supports dragging a tab into a separate window, and a new setting lets users choose whether files open in a new tab or a new window by default.
But for now, Microsoft warns that there may be some bugs in this new draft version of Notepad, including keyboard shortcuts and performance issues. The company says it plans to fix these issues in the coming weeks before the official launch of this app’s redesign for the rest of the world. As usual, while Microsoft’s teams have managed to fix all bugs reported by Insiders, it’s expected not to be available to everyone for at least a few months.
Another major change in build 25281 for Dev Channel Insiders is a redesigned graphics settings page that better fits the overall design of the operating system. Microsoft also redesigned the printer icon in the system tray to make it more consistent with other Windows 11 icons.