For years, writers and casual users alike have begged for one crucial feature in Windows‘ built-in Notepad app – spellcheck. The humble text editor, a mainstay on Microsoft‘s operating systems since the 90s, has long lacked this basic writing aid despite its widespread use for everything from jotting down notes to drafting articles. But no more. Microsoft is finally granting this oft-requested wish by rolling out spellcheck capabilities to Notepad in Windows 11.

The new functionality, now available to Windows Insiders in the latest test builds, operates much like spellcheck in Microsoft Word or web browsers. Misspelled words get underlined in red, surfacing potential corrections with a simple right-click. Notepad will even autocorrect common mistakes as you type, further streamlining the writing process.

But the additions don’t stop there. Notepad’s spellcheck supports multiple languages, letting users compose in their native tongue. An ignore functionality allows writers to skip over specialized terms, proper nouns, and the like. Particularly handy for coders, spellcheck can also be disabled entirely for file types associated with programming to avoid unintended corrections of variables and function names.

“This feature is enabled by default for some file types but is off by default in log files and other file types typically associated with coding,” explained Dave Grochocki, principal product manager lead for Windows Inbox Apps at Microsoft. “You can toggle this setting on or off globally or for certain file types in Notepad app settings or temporarily for the current file in the context menu.”

The long-awaited spellcheck rounds out a series of notable enhancements for the once-barebones Notepad over the past year. Last December, Microsoft revealed plans to add a character count feature, building on a then-new autosave option negating prompts to save changes when exiting. Notepad has also gained a dark mode, tabbed interface, integration with Microsoft’s Copilot AI assistant, and even a virtual fidget spinner easter egg.

While relatively minor, these quality-of-life upgrades have rejuvenated an app many considered antiquated in the modern computing era. As Universal Windows Platform (UWP) apps and cloud-based solutions increasingly become the norm, Notepad’s very existence seemed uncertain just a few years ago. But Microsoft’s commitment to modernizing the utilitarian text editor shows it still sees value in keeping the aging app around, much to the delight of its dedicated user base.

For the company’s leger army of note-takers, writers, and coders who swear by Notepad’s simplicity, the humble text pad’s long-overdue spellcheck legitimizes it as a first-class writing tool on Windows 11. After literal decades of waiting, that dream has finally become a reality.