Metapad is an open-source text editor for Microsoft Windows 9x/NT/XP/Vista/7, developed by Alexander Davidson since 1999. The aim of Metapad is to provide a near drop-in replacement of Notepad in Windows. Metapad was distributed as freeware for the first ten years of its existence. On March 20, 2009, the 10th anniversary of its initial release, the Metapad source code was released under GPL-3.0-or-later. Some of its key features include: Metapad is programmed in pure ANSI C with the Win32 API. There are two versions of Metapad: a full and LE (light edition) version. The full version uses the RichEdit control which boasts more features, while the LE version uses the faster Edit control.

Reception

Metapad received 3.5/5 score in a 2013 PCWorld review.