Microsoft is now testing an AI-powered text summarization feature in Notepad and a Snipping Tool “Draw & Hold” feature that helps draw perfect shapes.
Dubbed “Summarize,” the new and highly-requested Notepad tool is rolling out today to Windows 11 Insiders in the Canary and Dev Channels on Windows 11, who have upgraded to Notepad version 11.2501.29.0.
“To get started, select the text you want to summarize, then right-click and choose Summarize, select Summarize from the Copilot menu, or use the Ctrl + M keyboard shortcut,” said Dave Grochocki, Principal Group Product Manager for Windows Inbox Apps.
“Notepad will generate a summary of the selected text, providing a quick way to condense content. You can experiment with different summary lengths to refine the output.”
Those who don’t want Notepad’s AI options to appear anywhere in the interface can disable them from the app’s settings.
Grochocki added that you must sign in to your Microsoft personal account to use the new Summarize tool, which will use the AI credits linked to your Microsoft 365 Personal, Family, and Copilot Pro subscription.
The company also started testing a new “Recent Files” option that can be accessed from the Edit menu, letting you reopen recently closed documents directly within Notepad.
If you don’t want a history of closed files, you can also clear the list of recent files at any time or disable the features from settings.
Today, it also added a “Draw & Hold” feature in Snipping Tool version 11.2502.18.0 to help users draw lines, arrows, rectangles, or ovals more precisely using the built-in pen tool.
“These features in Snipping Tool and Notepad are beginning to rollout in these updates, so it may not be available to all Insiders in the Canary and Dev Channels just yet as we plan to monitor feedback and see how it lands before pushing them out to everyone,” Grochocki added.
This is part of a broader push to include AI features in the Windows 11 Notepad text editing application. For instance, in November, Microsoft also added a text rewriting tool to Notepad 11.2410.15.0, dubbed “Rewrite,” which was previously known as CoWriter.
Just as its name says, Rewrite helps automatically rewrite content using generative AI, which includes rephrasing sentences, adjusting the tone, and modifying the length of your content.
Previously, Microsoft also added a built-in character counter in December 2023, and a spell check and autocorrect feature for all Windows 11 users in July 2024.
