Bad spellers rejoice, Microsoft has finally added a spellcheck function to Notepad, and it only took 41 years.
In a year that has seen ChatGPT and other super intelligent AI systems thrust into the public consciousness, it’s not until now that Microsoft has decided to add the ability to check your spelling in its plucky little note taking app. In fact, Microsoft has been adding rather a lot of new features recently, including auto save, and AI.
We explain how to get spellcheck in Notepad, and how it works, and hopefully it’ll stop you making blunders like our rather clunky headline here…
Microsoft Adds Spellcheck to Notepad
Notepad may not be the most glamourous of Microsoft’s applications, but to go so long without a basic function such as spellcheck feels almost cruel, especially when practically every other device, from your phone to your refrigerator (probably) has been able to do it for years.
Back in March, Microsoft announced that it was bringing the feature to its Insider program, and now it’s finally ready for the rest of us, being rolled out to users this week.
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How Spellcheck Works in Microsoft Notepad
Now, Microsoft Notepad will automatically enable spellcheck by default, assuming you’re running the latest version of the app in Windows 11. Offending words are underlined with the classic red squiggle that we’ve all come to love/hate.
From here, it’s a case of clicking on the word, or using the Shift + F10 keyboard shortcut to be presented with a list of alternative words. Select the one you were trying to spell, and your original word will be replaced with the correct version.
You can also choose to ignore words or add them to the dictionary, so that they won’t get flagged again. This feature is particularly useful for names or brands that might not be recognised.
If you’re someone that doesn’t care for spellcheck in Notepad – maybe you’re a coder that uses it to dump sections of code and don’t want them awash in a sea of red – you can turn the feature off in the settings menu.
Microsoft Notepad’s New Makeover
If you haven’t used Notepad in a while, you might be surprised to learn that it has taken this long for it to get spellcheck added, but that’s not all. Microsoft has been rolling out multiple quality of life features to the app for sometime now. While it doesn’t, and won’t ever, have the sort of functionality you’d expect from Microsoft Word, it’s still pretty capable.
In December last year, Notepad was granted a character counter by Microsoft, in a first for the app, meaning no more having to use a third party plugin. If that doesn’t impress you, then how about the fact that it also now has an auto-save feature? It also boasts a native dark mode, too.
Of course, much like many other Microsoft apps, Copilot has also been added to Notepad, in what must be its most impressive technological advancement to date. ‘Explain with Copilot’ allows users to analyze copy from directly within the app.
