Notepad is getting image support on Windows 11

Microsoft adds image insertion to Notepad, alongside Markdown, formatting, and AI tools.
Notepad is evolving from a plain-text editor into a lightweight notes app.

Microsoft is adding image support to Notepad, quietly turning a simple note-taking app into something it was never meant to be.

For decades, Notepad was defined by its simplicity and the lack of features. It opened instantly, handled plain text, and stayed out of the way. It did not format content, interpret Markdown, or connect to the cloud. That simplicity made it dependable. Developers trusted it because it did almost nothing beyond displaying text.

Today, it does much more.

Over the past few years, Microsoft has added rich text formatting, Markdown support, spell check, and even AI-powered rewriting and summarizing tools. A new welcome screen highlights ongoing changes, reinforcing the idea that Notepad is no longer frozen in time. Now, with image insertion reportedly on the way (via WindowsLatest), the app is crossing into entirely new territory.

At this point, Notepad feels less like a text editor and more like a lightweight notes app. It increasingly resembles Apple Notes, which has also evolved from a simple tool into a rich content environment with formatting and media support.

The strategy makes sense for the company. Windows 11 includes OneNote, but this app is built around notebooks, sections, and deeper organization. A lot of users find it too heavy for quick notes. If Notepad can handle formatted text and images while staying fast, it can become the default scratchpad for everyday tasks.

Notepad image insert button / Image: Mauro Huculak

Still, not everyone is convinced this is progress. Some users worry the app is drifting too far from its roots. I really don’t want them to add features to Notepad because I like it remaining purely as a simple text editing program plus knowing Microsoft, they’ll bloat the [beep] out of it and make it less stable, Almartyquin
wrote on Reddit. Also, zibto added, Not having features was the main feature of Notepad. Stick to Windows 10, save yourselves.

Others, however, see the additions as practical improvements. I guess this is a hot take, but I think it’s perfectly acceptable for a note-taking app to have formatting and image embedding. These are nice to have when you’re, y’know, writing notes, said LitheBeep on Reddit. Furthermore, telos0 points out that Markdown support is genuinely useful by saying that People use Markdown files (.md) all over code projects these days, so it’s convenient to have Notepad be able to render it.

Security remains a concern. Classic Notepad had an extremely small attack surface because it rendered plain text and nothing more. As the app adds Markdown parsing, formatting engines, image handling, and AI integration, complexity increases, which turns into an increased risk. Recently, Microsoft had to patch a vulnerability that could allow attackers to take control of a Windows 11 setup when handling a Markdown file, reinforcing the argument that simplicity can make the app more resilient to attacks.

At its core, this debate is about identity. Should Notepad remain a stripped-down plain-text editor built for speed, simplicity, and power users, or should it evolve into a modern, built-in alternative to today’s note-taking apps?

Notepad is now getting image support, and the company is, without a doubt, no longer positioning the app as a barebones text utility. It’s steadily transforming into a lightweight writing and note-taking experience designed for a broader audience, similar to the Paint app.

Whether this shift represents smart, measured modernization or unnecessary feature creep ultimately depends on how you define Notepad’s original purpose and what role you believe it should play in the future of the operating system.