What is WordPad?
WordPad is a simple word processing application developed by Microsoft and included with Microsoft Windows operating systems. It serves as a free, lightweight alternative to Microsoft Word for basic word processing tasks.
Some key features of WordPad include:
- Basic text formatting like fonts, sizes, colors, bold, italic, underline
- Paragraph alignment and indentation
- Bulleted and numbered lists
- Simple tables
- Basic image insertion
- Print and print preview
- Spell checker
- Support for opening and saving Word documents (.doc, .docx)
However, compared to full-featured word processors like Microsoft Word, WordPad lacks more advanced features like citations, reviewing, change tracking, mail merge, complex tables and charts, collaboration tools, macros/automation, and more.
Overall, WordPad meets the needs for very simple documents like letters, lists, and short reports. Power users who need tools for long/complex documents, formatting control, references, and collaboration would need a software like Microsoft Word.