WordPad vs. WordPal

Post n° 13

In the video reported below this article, I demonstrate the problem with WordPad (in Windows 10 IoT Ent. LTSC 21H2). When opened, it slows down significantly as it waits for a hypothetical printer connection, which never happens because the printer is turned off. This is due to a conflict with the default printer settings, a conflict that Microsoft engineers have not resolved. I tried WordPal (as an alternative), but when inserting a link, this software proves to be outdated (and slow). Not only does it not recognize the link on the fly (like WordPad does), but it still requires the old Ctrl+Click method, whereas in WordPad, the link is immediately activated and clickable without any key combination. This is why I still love WordPad: Fast, Lightweight, and Instantly Active on web links.

For Microsoft technicians: If I change the default printer settings (in the Windows default printer settings), the problem in WordPad goes away, but then, to print something, I have to wait several seconds for the program I'm currently printing from to recognize the printer. There's a noticeable lag between turning the printer on and its recognition (in Windows), but this could be due to many factors, as my printer is wireless and I'm using a rather old modem/router. The problem could also be related to the ADSL speed, which is significantly slow.

As for WordPal, it's a nice little program, but it's already too heavy and crammed with features (some of which are useless) compared to WordPad. Furthermore, WordPal isn't available in Italian. Additionally, WordPal doesn't retain the original formatting during copying and pasting. This complicates and slows down the process of transcribing text into WordPal (input) and pasting text into other sites from WordPal (output).

Pubblicazione: Domenica,10 Maggio 2026