Windows 11 Sneak Peek: AI in Notepad, Sharper Snipping Tool

Microsoft is showing new features for Windows 11, with a focus on Notepad. Last year, the business began integrating artificial intelligence (AI) capabilities into the Windows operating system. On Windows 11, Copilot is a chatbot with unique functionality within apps such as Paint, Photos, Clipchamp, and others. Notepad has been added to the list of Windows apps that will receive new AI capabilities. The Snipping Tool is also getting a modest bump.

The new Windows 11 features

Dave Grochocki, Microsoft's Principal Product Manager Lead for Windows Inbox Apps, highlighted the new Windows 11 features on a Windows Insider blog. The lightweight Notepad programme (version 11.2401.25.0) is getting a new feature called Explain with Copilot, which will assist users grasp the contents of a file. To access this function, users must highlight a piece of the app's text and right-click to enter the settings menu. When you pick something, it summarises and explains the highlighted log files, code segments, or other selected stuff. Users can also use the keyboard shortcut Ctrl + E to launch Copilot rapidly.

"This feature is available on devices that have Copilot in Windows, but there is a known issue where some users might not see this new feature in Notepad right away," Grochocki noted, urging users to give comments via the WIN + F keyboard shortcut.

The Snipping Tool: Windows 11

The Snipping Tool already includes AI capabilities. Users can use it to remove sensitive text from screenshot photographs automatically. However, it now has the option to add shapes to screenshots. After capturing a picture, users can use the toolbar's new shapes button to select the desired shape from the image. Users can highlight and annotate text or parts of images using rectangles, ovals, lines, and arrows. The shapes can be scaled, manipulated, and coloured. These features are available to Windows Insiders in the Canary and Dev Channels for Windows 11.

The tech behemoth revealed that Windows 11 24H2 will be the next big feature update released this year. The next version is intended to incorporate a more advanced Copilot. Microsoft could include its DLSS (Deep Learning Super Sampling)-like Super Resolution technology in the future Windows 11 24H2 upgrade to increase gaming performance. The technology uses artificial intelligence to ensure compatible games operate smoothly and at higher framerates.