{"id":26647,"date":"2022-05-07T09:49:36","date_gmt":"2022-05-07T04:19:36","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/198.58.113.91\/blog\/?p=26647"},"modified":"2024-04-15T18:38:24","modified_gmt":"2024-04-15T13:08:24","slug":"restore-old-classic-notepad-windows","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/restore-old-classic-notepad-windows\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Restore Old Classic Notepad in Windows 11"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Windows 11 comes with the modern Notepad app that automatically replaces the old\/classic Notepad program. The new Notepad UWP app supports color emojis, dark mode, RichEdit editing enhancements, <code>Ctrl<\/code>+<code>}<\/code> for toggling between matching brackets\/parentheses, multilevel undo, drag &amp; drop, and automatic URL detection.<!--more--><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-26650\" src=\"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/notepad-uwp-icon.png\" alt=\"new notepad icon\" width=\"192\" height=\"192\" \/><\/p>\n<p>However, many users prefer classic\/win32 apps instead of modern Store apps. The classic Notepad is exceptionally lightweight and has always been my favorite.<\/p>\n<p>This article tells you how to get back the old Notepad after installing or uninstalling the modern Store app in Windows 10\/11.<\/p>\n<div class=\"rp\"><strong>RELATED:<\/strong> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/replace-notepad-text-editor-notepad-plus-association\/\">How to Replace Notepad With Notepad++ or Other Editor<\/a><\/div>\n<h2>How to Restore the Old\/Classic Notepad in Windows 11<\/h2>\n<p>Follow one of these methods to restore the classic Notepad program in Windows 11\/10:<\/p>\n<p><em>(You should be able to run the modern Notepad and traditional Notepad programs simultaneously\/side by side after following the methods below.)<\/em><\/p>\n<h3>Method 1: Disable the Notepad App execution alias<\/h3>\n<p>The modern Notepad overrides the old Notepad via the &#8220;App Paths&#8221; registry key so that the new Notepad launches when launching Notepad.exe. By disabling this alias via the Settings app, you should be able to run the classic Notepad.<\/p>\n<ol>\n<li>Open Settings \u2192 Apps.<\/li>\n<li>Expand &#8220;More settings&#8221; and click &#8220;App execution aliases.&#8221;<\/li>\n<li>Disable the &#8220;Notepad&#8221; alias by turning off the radio button.<br \/>\n<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-26667\" src=\"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/w11-notepad-alias.png\" alt=\"notepad app paths alias\" width=\"730\" height=\"477\" \/><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p>That&#8217;s it! When you double-click on a text file or run Notepad.exe manually, the classic Notepad will now open.<\/p>\n<div class=\"qt\">You can still launch the new\/modern Notepad via the Start menu or Taskbar shortcut or by launching the executable file directly.<\/p>\n<pre>Example:\nC:\\Program Files\\WindowsApps\\Microsoft.WindowsNotepad_11.2203.10.0_x64__8wekyb3d8bbwe\\Notepad\\Notepad.exe<\/pre>\n<\/div>\n<h4>Install the classic Notepad program via Optional features<\/h4>\n<p>The classic Notepad is located in the following locations:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>c:\\windows\\notepad.exe<\/li>\n<li>c:\\windows\\system32\\notepad.exe<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>If the above files are missing, then you need to install Notepad via optional features.<\/p>\n<ol>\n<li>Open Settings \u2192 System \u2192 Optional features \u2192 View features<\/li>\n<li>Type notepad.<\/li>\n<li>Select Notepad (system) from the list, and click Next.<br \/>\n<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/install-notepad-optional-features.png\" alt=\"install notepad optional features in windows 11\" width=\"759\" height=\"405\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-71362\" \/><\/li>\n<li>Click Install.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<div class=\"qt\">\n<h4>Using the DISM command-line to install Notepad<\/h4>\n<p>Alternatively, run the following DISM command to install the classic Notepad application in <strong>Windows 11<\/strong>:<\/p>\n<pre class=\"cmd\">dism \/Online \/add-Capability \/CapabilityName:Microsoft.Windows.Notepad.System~~~~0.0.1.0<\/pre>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/notepad-install-dism-windows-11.png\" alt=\"install notepad using dism in windows 11\" width=\"750\" height=\"247\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-71364\" \/><\/p>\n<p><em><strong>RELATED:<\/strong> For Windows 10 instructions, see the article <a href=\"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/notepad-does-not-open-in-windows-10-reinstall\/\">Install Notepad via Optional features or using the DISM command-line<\/a><\/em>\n<\/div>\n<p><em><strong>Note:<\/strong> However, this method doesn&#8217;t restore the classic Notepad in the Open with dialog. Also, it can&#8217;t fix the &#8220;Cannot associate file type with this program&#8221; error discussed in the next paragraph.<\/em><\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<div class=\"qt\">Disabling the Notepad alias (as above) or\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/windows-10-store-apps-uninstaller-preinstalled-apps\/\">uninstalling the modern Notepad app<\/a> via Settings \u2192 Apps &amp; Features would enable you to launch the classic Notepad successfully. However, the classic Notepad would still be missing in the Open with dialog and Open with menu due to specific registry settings. Attempting to browse and select <code>notepad.exe<\/code> in the Open with dialog would cause the following error:<br \/>\n<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-26648\" src=\"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/notepad-err-w11.png\" alt=\"notepad missing open with in windows 11\" width=\"592\" height=\"164\" \/><\/p>\n<pre class=\"err\">Cannot associate file type with this program\n\nThe program you have selected cannot be associated with this file type. Please choose another program.<\/pre>\n<p><em>You&#8217;ll need to follow &#8220;Method 2&#8221; \u2193 to fix this issue.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<hr \/>\n<h3>Method 2: Restore Classic Notepad via the registry<\/h3>\n<p>This method restores the classic Notepad and also makes it available in the Open with dialog\/menu.<\/p>\n<p><em>(Note: Additionally, this method should enable you to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/replace-notepad-text-editor-notepad-plus-association\/\">replace Notepad with Notepad++<\/a> or any other editor if required.)<\/em><\/p>\n<ol>\n<li>Copy the following lines to Notepad.\n<pre>Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00\n\n;Restore Old Classic Notepad on Windows 11\n;Created by Ramesh Srinivasan for Winhelponline.com\n;Created on May 6, 2022; Revised on May 12, 2022.\n\n[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\\Applications\\notepad.exe]\n\"NoOpenWith\"=-\n\n[-HKEY_CURRENT_USER\\Software\\Microsoft\\Windows\\CurrentVersion\\App Paths\\notepad.exe]\n\n[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\\txtfilelegacy\\DefaultIcon]\n@=\"imageres.dll,-102\"\n\n[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\\txtfilelegacy\\shell\\open\\command]\n@=\"C:\\\\Windows\\\\System32\\\\notepad.exe \\\"%1\\\"\"\n\n[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\\SOFTWARE\\Microsoft\\Windows NT\\CurrentVersion\\Image File Execution Options\\notepad.exe]\n\"UseFilter\"=dword:00000000<\/pre>\n<\/li>\n<li>Save the file with a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/how-to-use-reg-files-registration-entries-windows\/\">.reg extension<\/a> &#8212; e.g., <code>restore_classic_notepad.reg<\/code><\/li>\n<li>Close Notepad.<\/li>\n<li>Double-click <code>restore_classic_notepad.reg<\/code> to apply the settings to the registry.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p><em>You&#8217;ve now restored the functionality of the old classic Notepad program!<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em><strong>Download:<\/strong> If you wish to download the registry file (instead of making one of your own), download <a href=\"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/restore-classic-notepad.zip\">restore-classic-notepad.zip<\/a>, unzip and run the appropriate registry file. It also has the <code>undo.reg<\/code> file which reverses the above registry settings to Windows default.<\/em><\/p>\n<p>Here you go! The Open with dialog will now list both versions of Notepad, easily distinguishable from the respective icons.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_26651\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-26651\" style=\"width: 460px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-26651 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/notepad-classic-openwith.png\" alt=\"old Notepad missing in open with dialog\" width=\"470\" height=\"579\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-26651\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Old Notepad listed in Open with dialog.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<div class=\"rp\"><strong>RELATED:<\/strong> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/get-windows-10-classic-paint-in-windows-11\/\">How to Get Windows 10 Classic Paint in Windows 11<\/a><\/div>\n<p>Here&#8217;s the comparison of the old and new Notepad UI. The old Notepad shows a notification bar that says, &#8220;A new version of Notepad is available&#8221;. However, once you close the banner, it shouldn&#8217;t prompt you the next time onwards.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-26649\" src=\"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/notepad-uwp-classic.png\" alt=\"new and old classic notepad\" width=\"701\" height=\"328\" \/><\/p>\n<p>After restoring the old Notepad, you may run it alongside the modern Notepad app. Or you may uninstall the modern Notepad app if you don&#8217;t plan to use it.<\/p>\n<div class=\"rp\"><strong>RELATED:<\/strong> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/get-old-classic-calculator-windows-10\/\">Get Old Classic Calculator in Windows 10<\/a><\/div>\n<h3>Editor&#8217;s note<\/h3>\n<p>The registry method in this article has been tested on Windows 11 Version 21H2 OS Build 22000.613. In the future, if Microsoft eradicates the old Notepad binaries, we should be resorting to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/get-classic-sticky-notes-windows-10-anniversary\/\">other methods<\/a> (copying\u00a0 <code>Notepad.exe<\/code> and <code>Notepad.exe.mui<\/code> from earlier builds of Windows 10\/11) to restore the classic Notepad.<\/p>\n<p><em><strong>Drawbacks of the modern Notepad app:<\/strong> The modern Notepad app in Windows 11 hides classic Notepad&#8217;s entry points (e.g., Open with menu\/dialog and Default Apps) so that users can&#8217;t launch the classic version. Attempting to run <code>c:\\windows\\notepad.exe<\/code> would redirect you to the Notepad store app instead. This redirection is due to the &#8220;<code>AppExecutionAliasRedirect<\/code>&#8221; registry setting. Also, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/replace-notepad-text-editor-notepad-plus-association\/\">replacing Notepad with Notepad++<\/a> using the IFEO &#8220;debugger&#8221; registry value would stop working (by default) if modern Notepad is installed on the computer.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Windows 11 comes with the modern Notepad app that automatically replaces the old\/classic Notepad program. The new Notepad UWP app supports color emojis, dark mode, RichEdit editing enhancements, Ctrl+} for toggling between matching brackets\/parentheses, multilevel undo, drag &amp; drop, and automatic URL detection.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[869],"tags":[874,339,441],"class_list":["post-26647","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-windows-11","tag-classic","tag-notepad","tag-registry"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":23607,"url":"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/notepad-does-not-open-in-windows-10-reinstall\/","url_meta":{"origin":26647,"position":0},"title":"[Fix] Notepad is missing or does not open in Windows 10","author":"Ramesh","date":"April 14, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"On a Windows 10 computer, when you attempt to launch Notepad by running Notepad.exe or clicking on the taskbar shortcut, nothing may happen. In some cases, you'll see one of the following errors: Windows cannot find 'notepad.exe'. Make sure you typed the name correctly, and then try again. The item\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Windows 10&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Windows 10","link":"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/category\/microsoft\/windows\/windows-10\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"notepad does not open - uninstall and reinstall notepad","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/notepad-missing-shortuct-target.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":5732,"url":"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/replace-notepad-text-editor-notepad-plus-association\/","url_meta":{"origin":26647,"position":1},"title":"How to Replace Notepad With Notepad++ or Other Editor","author":"Ramesh","date":"November 2, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"If you\u2019re looking at how to replace Notepad with Notepad++ or any third-party editor, this post explains how to do it. Notepad++ is a free source code editor and Notepad replacement that supports several languages. Let\u2019s see how you can replace Notepad with Notepad++ without replacing any system files. Notepad\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Utilities&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Utilities","link":"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/category\/utilities\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"notepad plus replace debugger notepad.exe","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/debugger-notepad-plus-switch.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/debugger-notepad-plus-switch.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/debugger-notepad-plus-switch.png?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/debugger-notepad-plus-switch.png?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":3220,"url":"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/reset-wordpad-notepad-settings-defaults\/","url_meta":{"origin":26647,"position":2},"title":"How to Reset Notepad and WordPad to Default","author":"Ramesh","date":"June 7, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"If you've changed the default font settings and other options in WordPad or Notepad and want to revert back to Windows default values, this post tells you how to do that. Reset Notepad settings If you've altered the default Notepad font or encoding (using the iDefaultEncoding registry value), the margin,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Windows&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Windows","link":"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/category\/microsoft\/windows\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"reset notepad store app","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/notepad-uwp-app-reset.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":67047,"url":"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/notepad-opens-recent-files-everytime\/","url_meta":{"origin":26647,"position":3},"title":"Notepad Opens Recent Text Files Everytime in Windows 11","author":"Ramesh","date":"December 5, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"When you open a .txt file using Notepad, it may automatically open all the recent text files you have opened -- e.g., files opened yesterday or the day before. When you close all the open files and open Notepad again, it also opens the most recent .txt file. This behavior\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Windows 11&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Windows 11","link":"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/category\/microsoft\/windows\/windows-11\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"notepad open recent text files automatically","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/notepad-previous-session-open.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/notepad-previous-session-open.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/notepad-previous-session-open.png?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":28858,"url":"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/restore-legacy-print-dialog-windows-11\/","url_meta":{"origin":26647,"position":4},"title":"Restore the Legacy Print Dialog in Windows 11 22H2","author":"Ramesh","date":"September 30, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"In Windows 11 22H2, Microsoft has replaced the legacy Print Dialog for all classic (win32) apps, e.g., Notepad, WordPad, Notepad++, etc., with a new dialog. Earlier, this dialog was available only for UWP apps (aka Store apps). Also, there is a new Print Queue dialog introduced in this version. However,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Windows 11&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Windows 11","link":"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/category\/microsoft\/windows\/windows-11\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"get back legacy print dialog in windows 11 22h2","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/legacy-print-dialog.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":26837,"url":"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/get-windows-10-classic-paint-in-windows-11\/","url_meta":{"origin":26647,"position":5},"title":"How to Get Windows 10 Classic Paint in Windows 11","author":"Ramesh","date":"July 11, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"Windows 11 has got the redesigned and modern (UWP) Paint app that has an updated UI that matches the new visual design of Windows 11. The modern Paint app\u2019s new design includes rounded corners, Mica, and more.\u00a0It has a new toolbar with updated icon designs, a rounded color palette, and\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Windows 11&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Windows 11","link":"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/category\/microsoft\/windows\/windows-11\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Classic Windows 10 Paint listed in Default Apps Windows 11","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/w11-mspaint-classic-default-apps.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/w11-mspaint-classic-default-apps.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/w11-mspaint-classic-default-apps.png?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26647","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=26647"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26647\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=26647"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=26647"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=26647"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}