Whether we like it or not, the paradigm of operating systems is changing and the cloud seems to be the destiny that sooner or later awaits us computer users. As part of that idea, Microsoft decided to discontinue the free word processor that came with Windows and replace it with a series of web applications that are part of the free version of its Microsoft 365 cloud office suite. That gives us a good excuse to analyze alternatives. to WordPad for Windows and Ubuntu.
Of course, many of you will consider that the obvious option is LibreOffice, in fact, on the social networks of this office suite they mentioned it. However, I believe that WordPad users do not need a full office suite if they only use the word processor.
Alternatives to WordPad for Windows and Ubuntu
En page where the features that will disappear from new versions of Windows are listed you can read:
WordPad is no longer updated and will be removed in a future version of Windows. We recommend Microsoft Word for rich text documents such as .doc and .rtf and Windows Notepad for plain text documents such as .txt.
Since version 1.0 of Windows, a word processor called Write was included that had more editing capabilities than a notepad. In the case of WordPad, it debuted with Windows 95 with the ability to read TXT and RTF formats. For a time it had support for the .DOC format but was removed for compatibility reasons. With Windows XP it brought the possibility of editing texts in multiple languages and voice recognition. In 2007 its interface was updated with the new ribbon one.
We can replace WordPad with the following programs:
- Abiword: It is a word processor that is part of the GNOME project and in addition to having all the usual functions, its functionality is expanded through plugins. The Debian derivative repositories include plugins for collaborative work and export to LibreOffice formats. It can also be installed in format flat pack. For Windows it can be downloaded from here
- FocusWriter: It is a word processor designed to write without distractions since the interface hides when we do not need it so you can see the text in full screen and there will be no need to look for where we are since it remembers the position of the text. Compatible with LibreOffice Writer formats, it allows you to customize the work environment using predefined themes or by modifying the typography, colors and background image. We can also see real-time statistics of our performance and add the sound of a typewriter. We also have a spell checker. It is in the repositories and can be found at flat hub. For Windows, download from la web of the project.
- Calligra Words: Like Abiword, Calligra Words is an independent program, but in this case it is part of the KDE project's efforts to create its own office suite. It allows you to easily incorporate graphics, images and multimedia content by dragging it onto the screen. Although it can open Microsoft Office document formats, it can only save them in the ODF format (LibreOffice). Otherwise, apart from the top interface, it has one on the side that allows you to customize features. It can be installed from the repositories.
- CherryTree: It's technically a hierarchical notes blog, but it includes enough editing features to merit being on this list. It works in a rich text format that also allows you to incorporate images, tables, internal and external links as well as code fragments. The export of content is in plain text, HTML and PDF format, while the storage is in XML format or in the SQLITE database. It also has spelling correction tools and generation of tables of contents. It can be downloaded from the repositories and from flat hub. The Windows version is available by downloading it from here