How to Open WordPad in Windows 10

Last Updated: October 25, 2022 References

WordPad is a free and simple word processing application that was introduced in Windows 95 and is still around in Windows 10. It is not as simple as Notepad nor advanced as Microsoft Word, and it is somewhat limited.^{[1]
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Research source}^{[2]
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Research source} This wikiHow will show you all the methods of opening WordPad on Windows 10 devices.

Things You Should Know

WordPad is an alternative program to Notepad and Microsoft Word.
WordPad can easily and quickly be opened with Windows Search.
You can use a variety of methods to open WordPad in Windows 10.

Method 1

Method 1 of 6:

Using Windows Search

This is the quickest method.

1
Click the search bar/icon on the taskbar. If it's missing, then click on the Start
button.
2
Type wordpad.

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3
Hit the ↵ Enter key or select the matching result.

Method 2

Method 2 of 6:

Accessing through "All Apps" List in the Start Menu

The Start menu contains a list of all software installed on your PC. WordPad is hidden under the "Windows Accessories" folder of the list.

1
Click on the Start
button.
2
Open the All apps list from the left of the Start menu. You can also scroll if you've configured it to show on the tiles page.
3
Click the "Windows Accessories" folder.
4
Choose "WordPad".

Method 3

Method 3 of 6:

Running through the Dialog Window

1
Press the ⊞ Win+R keyboard keys at the same time.
2
Type write, wordpad, or %SystemDrive%/Program Files/Windows NT/Accessories/WordPad.exe.
3
Hit the ↵ Enter key or click OK.

Method 4

Method 4 of 6:

Searching with File Explorer

This is the built-in file management app that also stores system files, including WordPad.

1
Open File Explorer. You can do this quickly by clicking the taskbar icon
or pressing ⊞ Win+E.
2
Type %SystemDrive%/Program Files/Windows NT/Accessories. Hit ↵ Enter or click the right arrow →.
- You can also manually navigate to the folder, replacing "%SystemDrive%" with your drive letter (usually C:).
3
Open the "wordpad" executable file. It might have ".exe" at the end of the name depending on your file viewing settings.

Method 5

Method 5 of 6:

Using the Command Prompt

1
Open the Command Prompt. One way is to right-click the Start
button and click Command Prompt.^{[3]
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2
Type write or wordpad.exe.
3
Hit ↵ Enter.

Method 6

Method 6 of 6:

Opening with Windows PowerShell

WordPad can be opened through PowerShell, which is an alternative to Command Prompt.^{[4]
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1
Run Powershell. Type powershell into the taskbar search bar (or launch the Start
menu and type if the bar is missing).
2
Select "Windows PowerShell". Ignore any advanced results that may appear (such as "PowerShell ISE" and "PowerShell (x86)").^{[5]
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3
Wait until you see the Microsoft copyright info at the top. Depending on your computer, there might be a delay of up to 5 seconds until this appears.
4
Type write.exe.
5
Hit ↵ Enter.

Community Q&A

Question

How do I change the margins in WordPad for Windows 10?

Community Answer

Clicking Page Setup from the File tab will open the Page Setup dialog. In the bottom-right corner of the dialog, you will see the margin settings in millimeters. Simply adjust these values, then click OK.
Question

When I save something in WordPad on Windows 10, it won't reopen in WordPad?

Top Source

Community Answer

After creating your file, take care save your file with .doc so it will open always.
Question

I recently installed Windows 10 and have had problems ever since with words that have double letters when using either Notepad or Wordpad. Example installed, it will; only puts one "l" in the word.

Sajeel Rajput

Community Answer

It may be a keyboard fault. If so, the best way to resolve this error reinstall Notepad in Windows 10.