How to Edit in WordPad

By Eric Hammer

Editing a document in WordPad is possible if the document is in a format that WordPad is capable of reading. Generally, this includes Rich Text Format (.rtf) files and .txt files. WordPad for Windows 7 also allows you to read the .docx format, which was introduced with Office 2007, and the .odt file format, which is commonly used by OpenOffice and a number of other open-source word processors.

Right-click the file you wish to open.

Select "Open with." A dialog box opens asking you with which program you would like to edit the document. If you do not wish to use WordPad all the time to edit documents like this, be sure that the "Use this program for all files of this type" box is unchecked.

Select "WordPad." Click "OK." The document opens in WordPad. You can now edit the document in the same way that you would with any other word processor. When you are finished, click "File" and "Save." In Windows 7 WordPad, click the disk icon.

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