Microsoft Reportedly Bringing Tabs to Notepad App

It looks like Microsoft is bringing tabs to the Notepad app on Windows 11 per a leaked screenshot of an internal version of Notepad seen by(Opens in a new window) WindowsCentral.

The screenshot was visible in an accidentally posted and swiftly deleted tweet by a Microsoft employee which allegedly read “Notepad in Windows 11 now has tabs!” XDA-Developers reports(Opens in a new window). 

According to WindowsCentral, the screenshot, which shows a version of Notepad, had a warning along the top which read “Don’t discuss features or take screenshots.” That rule was clearly not entirely followed.

The tabs reportedly appear along the top of the app and permit the user to open multiple .txt files in the same window. 

The leaked screenshot showing the new tabs feature on Notepad.
(Credit: Windows Central)

Microsoft added tabs to the File Explorer on Windows 11 earlier this year, a highly anticipated feature which had been much-delayed. Alongside allowing users to operate multiple tabs in one window, the update included a “Suggested Actions” function, which Microsoft said was designed to anticipate needs and displays an action you can take with the click of a mouse.

It’s not yet clear when Microsoft will officially roll out the new Notepad app, though WindowsCentral say it’s likely it will be announced in preview in the “next handful of weeks” for the company’s open software testing program, Windows Insiders. When contacted for comment Microsoft did not immediately respond.

In PCMag’s review of Windows 11, we noted its “radically modernized, more consistent design belies what is really more of an evolutionary update to the world’s most popular desktop operating system.”