Microsoft appears to be preparing another major upgrade for Notepad, continuing its quiet transformation from a bare-bones text editor into a more capable document tool. According to a report from Windows Latest, the company is testing image support for Notepad—something that was once a core feature of the now-retired WordPad.
If the feature ships, users will see a new image button in Notepad’s toolbar, allowing pictures to be inserted directly into documents as part of the app’s expanding rich-formatting toolkit. Microsoft is also expected to include a toggle in settings so users who prefer a minimalist experience can disable image support entirely.
The addition would mark another step in Microsoft’s effort to turn Notepad into a lightweight WordPad replacement after WordPad was officially discontinued in 2025. Over the past year, Microsoft has steadily added formatting tools, autosave, and even AI-related features to the once-simple editor.
For now, image support is still in early testing and limited to Windows Insider builds of Windows 11. There’s no official timeline for a wider rollout, but current testing suggests the feature could reach general users sometime in the spring if development continues smoothly.
While Notepad is unlikely to become a full-featured word processor, the steady stream of upgrades signals Microsoft’s intent to make it a more versatile default writing tool within Windows—bridging the gap between basic text editing and lightweight document creation.
