WordPad Is Still An Option

WordPad from Windows 10 can often be copied to Windows 11 and still run, even though Microsoft officially deprecated and removed it in newer builds.

What usually works:
• Copy these files from a Windows 10 machine:
  • "C:\Program Files\Windows NT\Accessories\wordpad.exe"
  • "C:\Program Files\Windows NT\Accessories\en-US\wordpad.exe.mui" (or your language folder)
• Paste them into a folder on your Windows 11 machine (e.g., C:\Tools\WordPad)
• Run wordpad.exe directly from there

Caveats

It won't re-register itself with file types unless you manually associate them.