Use “Explain with Copilot” in Notepad on Windows 11

Notepad on Windows 11 has a new feature called Explain with Copilot. Starting in Notepad version 11.2401.25.0, you can use Explain with Copilot AI to understand the content you have in the text file.

With ‘Explain with Copilot‘, users can select any content from their Notepad file and ask Copilot to explain about it. This is incredibly helpful if you want to learn new things and improve your comprehension of your Copilot content.

For example, you can ask Copilot in Windows to help explain log files, code segments, or any selected content directly from within Notepad. The selected text or content is sent to the Copilot service with your consent, and then the Copilot explains what your content is all about.

Microsoft announced the feature is in beta testing and is available to Windows Insiders in the Canary and Dev Channels. We expect this feature to be made available on stable builds of Windows 11 soon. This feature is available on devices that have Copilot in Windows enabled, but there is a known issue where some users might not see this new feature in Notepad right away.

The Notepad app has been receiving a number of updates, one of which is the addition of a dark mode feature. In addition, the Snipping Tool is another app that is frequently updated with a rich set of features.

Using Explain with Copilot in Notepad

Let us look at how to utilize the Notepad app’s “explain with copilot” feature.

Step 1: Launch the Notepad app.

Step 2: Highlight any text, right-click, choose “Explain with Copilot” from the menu, or use the new Ctrl + E keyboard shortcut.

Step 3: The selected content will be sent to Microsoft Copilot. Prior to that, you will be prompted to “Send to Chat” and asked for your consent. Select Send to continue.

Step 4: The Copilot AI will explain the content that you selected. If you have asked a question, it collects the information from the web and answers it for you. The results also list the sources from which the data was gathered.

For instance, we asked the copilot a question, “Who is Prajwal Desai?” and you will be astonished at the pertinent information that the Copilot AI gave. In your case, the question could be something else, but the Copilot will provide you with the necessary information in a few seconds.

Analyze PowerShell Script with Notepad Copilot

You can also learn more about PowerShell scripts by using Notepad’s Explain with Copilot feature. If you have a PowerShell script, enter it in the notepad, highlight it and right-click and select Explain with Copilot. The Copilot AI will examine the code and provide an explanation of its purpose.

The screenshot below illustrates how PowerShell code can be analyzed and explained using Explain with Copilot in the Notepad app.

Use Explain with Copilot to understand SCCM WQL query

Let us take a look at another example to better understand the SCCM WQL query using the Explain with Copilot feature in Notepad. The WQL queries can help you create device collections in Configuration Manager.

The Copilot AI has the ability to read the WQL query and explain what it does. Anyone who is new to WQL queries and wants to learn how to write them will find this to be very helpful.

Conclusion

Explain with Copilot in Notepad is an excellent feature that can help you explain log files, code segments, or any selected content directly from within Notepad. In this guide, we have provided a few examples of how to improve your learning abilities with Notepad’s Copilot AI feature. Try out this feature and let us know how it helps you.