NotepadWithoutDevChannel

If we were to look at the Windows 11 Dev channel, Notepad is one of the latest tools to enjoy the new Fluent Design. The news has stirred up a lot of curiosity among users, especially since the new Notepad comes with dark mode, an updated look and rearranged features.

In case you do want to skip installing an unstable Windows 11 build, but are curious to check out the new Notepad looks and feels, then you should consider using NotepadWithoutDevChannel.

First off, take note that the aforementioned is not an app per se, but rather a package that you can use to enable the new Notepad on your current Windows 11 build. For that you need to toggle on the Developer Mode from the Privacy & security feature and then use the Add-AppxPackage command in PowerShell.

The full command is Add-AppxPackage - Path Filepath, where the latter is the path of the file that you can copy via the context menu. According to the developer, if all steps are taken correctly, then Notepad should install and you can access it from the Start Menu.

By far the biggest change to Notepad is that it supports dark mode. Even though the app takes the general users' system theme preferences, you can now change that from the Settings along with other font options.

Granted, Notepad is not exactly an application that needs a lot of changes. Nevertheless, Microsoft decided that it’s about time the tool got a fresh, but familiar look. If you can’t wait until the official release on Windows 11, then download the NotepadWithoutDevChannel package and follow the above instructions to try it out on your current build.