Microsoft is ramping up the action with fresh preview builds for Windows 11 and Windows 10 Insiders on the Release Preview Channel today.

Let’s dive into the details and see what’s new.

For those of you testing Windows 11, there are two noteworthy builds: the 22H2 build 22621.3951 and the 23H2 build 22631.3951.

These updates include various improvements that enhance the user experience, particularly within File Explorer, the Start Menu, and Windows Share.

Highlights for Windows 11 Insiders:

• File Explorer Enhancements: One of the standout features is the introduction of Duplicate File Explorer tabs. When you right-click on a File Explorer tab, you’ll see a brand-new option to duplicate it. This small but mighty addition can significantly streamline your workflow, allowing for quicker navigation and multitasking within File Explorer.
• Start Menu Tweaks: Microsoft has also made pining apps to your taskbar more intuitive. You can drag apps directly from the Pinned section of the Start Menu and drop them onto the taskbar. This improvement simplifies the process and enhances the customization of your workspace.
• Nearby Sharing Notifications (China-specific): Another interesting update caters to our users in China. If Wi-Fi and Bluetooth are turned off when you enable Nearby Sharing, Windows 11 will now prompt you to turn these features on. This ensures a seamless sharing experience without diving into settings manually.

Windows 10 Updates:

Let’s not forget about our Windows 10 Insiders. Microsoft is also flighting the Windows 10 22H2 build 19045.4713 to Insiders on the Release Preview and Beta Channels.

This build is particularly exciting for those who recently joined the Windows 10 Beta Channel, as it invites you to toggle on new features early via Windows Update.

• Taskbar Fix: One of the key fixes in today’s build addresses an issue with the taskbar on secondary monitors. When the search box setting is enabled, it will now display correctly on secondary monitors, enhancing usability and consistency across multiple displays.
• Bug Fixes: In addition to the taskbar fix, this build includes several bug fixes for Insiders on both the Beta and Release Preview Channels. Although not all the fixes are worth detailing, it’s important to note that Microsoft has resolved issues affecting Windows Backup and Universal Print clients, ensuring smoother operation in these areas.

Additional News:

If you missed it, yesterday also saw a noteworthy release. Microsoft rolled out Windows 11 build 26252 for Insiders on the Canary Channel.

This build brings a fresh design for lock screen widgets and introduces new energy recommendations specifically for devices with HDR displays. These updates are part of Microsoft’s ongoing effort to refine and enhance the user experience.

These latest builds showcase Microsoft’s commitment to continuously improving and evolving the Windows ecosystem. Whether you’re a Windows 11 or Windows 10 Insider, there are plenty of exciting updates to explore and provide feedback on. Stay tuned to The Redmond Cloud for more updates and insights into Microsoft’s latest developments.

Happy testing!

Not too long ago, Microsoft bluntly offered a few tips for gamers to turn off some Windows 11 features to gain some extra performance. As we just found out, they did. But now, the company is back with more on this.

Or, rather, with tips on how to use the Search feature in the OS.

Windows 11 build 25236 is available for Insiders in the Dev channel of the preview program. It includes the usual changes, fixes, improvements, and a few known issues. In between all of this, Microsoft has snuck in a neat little feature.

As the announcement post makes clear, this is pretty much the only new addition.

It involves trying different ways to provide tips on using Windows Search via the taskbar. The company says this improves the value of Search shortcuts while also reducing friction in the broader Windows Search experience.

This is how this classic way of showing tooltips, which was so popular in the Windows XP days, now looks:

Redmond notes that only some English-speaking Windows Insiders in the US will see this, which makes sense since this is just the company trying things out to gather feedback.

If you do get in, be sure to provide via the Feedback Hub.

Other than that, this build has the usual splattering of bug fixes, including one in Narrator, where an issue was causing natural voices like Guy or Jenny to not even speak. Plenty of changes for the Taskbar and System Tray are also included for the File Explorer and Settings.

Please keep in mind that Windows 11 build 25236 is still version 22H2 since Sun Valley 3 development has seemingly been canceled in favor of releasing a major new version of the OS every three years.

This version will probably launch as Windows 11 23H2 later next year.

With tips, tips, everywhere!

Microsoft recounts these changes in the announcement post in elaborate detail.

As you can see, this build does not contain anything new, but it contains a bunch of other changes and improvements, many of which we have seen before in other releases and even leaks and rumors.

For starters, we have the tablet-optimized taskbar that Redmond began rolling out with build 25197. It is now available to all Insiders in the Dev channel of the preview program. Accompanying this are the very welcome System Tray improvements, including drag-and-drop, that first arrived with build 25211.

We also have the cloud suggestion feature for the Simplified Chinese IME, which began rolling out with build 25217 and is now available for all Insiders in the Dev channel.

Other changes include the improvement to the spelling dictionary that began rolling out with build 25179. It now uses a language-neutral word list and syncs across all devices that use the same Windows account.

Moving on, this build includes a small array of fixes, the details of which you can check at the link above. The same goes for the known issues that have been discovered.

Microsoft does state that even though some of these fixes are rolling out in the Dev channel initially, they may make their way into the servicing updates for the released version of Windows 11.

You know, new options like the tabbed File Explorer, Taskbar overflow, and a whole lot more.

Attention has now shifted to the Moment 2 release, which is tracking for arrival sometime early next year. Just like the first such release, this second one is expected to be packed with new additions.

What they are exactly remains a mystery for now, as these features are not fully confirmed yet.

But as luck would have it, Microsoft showcased one such addition in a video that demonstrates what appears to be a new feature in the Windows 11 22H2 Moment 2 update.

This is from the preview build number 23003, in case you are wondering. And this is a build that Microsoft seems be using and testing internally. And one that the company was confident enough to show off during a special livestream.

This video was streamed earlier today on the 8^th Anniversary webcast on the Windows Insider Program’s official YouTube channel.

The pre-recorded demo video shows the touch-optimized tablet taskbar, with Microsoft explaining how the taskbar goes from its normal 48-pixel height to an even taller height for user interfaces meant for touch usage.

You can catch it in action at the 33:55 mark.

Of course, keener minds among you may already be aware that this is the second time that references to the Moment 2 update have surfaced.

The previous instance was back in early September when an internal build numbered 22940 was the one where things first popped up. Shows that Redmond has churned through quite a few development builds in this time span.

Rounded corners were also a part of what seemed to be a redesign.

It was quickly shot down by Microsoft, who disappointingly termed this just as a bug.

Well, it looks like the bug is back!

For those of you who liked that design, there still may be a little hope that Microsoft is exploring something like that. While we may not get an indication from the company, it certainly seems to be trying out this radical shell redesign internally.

During its annual Ignite 2022 conference, the software titan showed off a screenshot of Windows 11 that was a complete departure from how things currently are in the operating system.

See:

The taskbar here is floating and has rounded corners, while all the indicators from the notification area reside at the top of the screen instead of the bottom-right corner. A search bar and a weather widget also sit at the top, leaving a whole lot of blank space to the left and right of the taskbar.

This definitely is a strange-looking user interface, and it begs the question of why exactly Microsoft would create such a thing and showcase it at such a high-profile event.

Something must be cooking!

Sure, it may be a teaser of the upcoming changes, or it could just be one of the many UI prototypes floating inside the Redmond labs.

Even if this turns Windows 11 into an Ubuntu clone.

This particular version is still 22H2, as the Sun Valley 3 development that was destined to become Windows 11 23H2 has seemingly been canceled in favor of launching a major new version of the OS every three years.

For this reason, the Dev channel is sticking with version 22H2, which may eventually take shape as the feature update release for 2023.

As Microsoft notes, build 25217 is primarily about taking care of a number of bugs. A few remain open, but the company has gotten around to fixing many of these issues reported in recent weeks.

The bug fixes section highlights these fixes, which will only show up if the tablet-optimized taskbar is enabled on your device. This feature is still rolling out to Windows Insiders, and not everyone has access to this UI improvement.

At least four such problems have been reported in this build, related to issues where the taskbar sometimes collapsed when it should expand and instances where it crashed explorer.exe while switching apps.

In other news, Microsoft has given the green signal for developers to start building third-party widgets that are now supported on Windows 11. The company even put together a bunch of articles to guide developers through the basics.

To that end, the WinAppSDK 1.2 preview 2 release is in town that will allow developers to create widgets for their packaged Win32 software and test them locally on the Windows 11 Widgets board.

Redmond is also trying out some changes that enable users to easily type fresh, hot, and popular words in Simplified Chinese. Improved cloud suggestions and integrated search suggestions are to thank for this welcome new addition.

Finally, be sure to glance at the known issues section, which is rather short this time around, before you install this build on your test system.

In other words, don’t be surprised to see certain newer additions in the older, vanilla version of the OS.

This is being suggested by leaksters and users alike after discovering new features in their current 21H2 builds.

A feature that you may be familiar with is one of the first ones to make the apparent jump. I’m talking about the new Search button styles in the Taskbar that Microsoft added to the platform back in July with the arrival of build 25158 in the Dev channel of its preview program.

As can be seen below, this particular feature has shown up all of a sudden in a 21H2 build:

I suddenly received the new search button in the taskbar on Windows 11 21H2 pic.twitter.com/mbxtLWTzWA

— Mauro Huculak (@Pureinfotech) October 4, 2022

This news spread like wildfire, and other leaksters picked up on it, including one that goes by the cool as ice alias of PhantomOcean3, who found out that Microsoft had indeed brought in under-the-hood changes like these to Windows 11 22H2.

The screengrabs below show the three different taskbar Search styles in Windows 11 21H2 build 22000.1042 (KB5017383) alongside the winver dialog box that shows the build number.

It certainly seems like Microsoft is interested in bringing a selection of these features to older versions of the Windows 11 OS, as well. This was not always the case with the previous operating systems as almost all of the notable new changes were reserved for the latest release.

And since these additions are still being tested, they remain hidden for now.

You can enable the new Taskbar search styles on your machine in Windows 11 build 22000.142 by using the ViveTool utility. Just extract it, run Terminal with Administrator privileges, and execute the following command by navigating to the folder containing ViveTool.

vivetool /enable /id:39263329 /variant:X (1, 3 or 5)

Restart your computer, if you want, to enable your choice of Search button style in the Taskbar.

That is the ability to bring up the Task Manager with a right click.

This is one of the many features that was lost to code debt when Microsoft decided to build the Taskbar anew in Windows 11. The user base has been very vocal about bringing it back, just like it was in previous versions of the operating system, like Windows 10.

Well, as the announcement post announces, it is back!

We start with the Widgets setting first. The company has separated the widget picker and widget settings to make it easier for you to find and interact with each view. Now, the widget picker is opened by the + button, and the widget settings are opened by the Me button.

When you open Widgets settings by clicking the Me button (shown above), you will see three taskbar behaviors that you can toggle on or off.

With this behind us, we can now focus on the link to the Task Manager that is now available when right-clicking on the taskbar.

This build also includes preliminary support to rearrange system tray icons, with Microsoft promising further improvements to this experience soon. Of course, these are not available for all users just yet, but they should be soon.

There are a whole bunch of bug fixes in this build 25211, too. Most of these relate to File Explorer, Start, Taskbar, Input, Settings, the Task Manager, along with a bunch of other areas of the operating system like increased CPU usage and screens going black.

A handful of known issues, as well, that you might want to take a look.

One that the company had to remove after its initial introduction.

Yes, we are talking about that tablet-optimized taskbar that Redmond hyped up in build 22581 back in March. The feature first saw daylight in February with build 22563, but the company ultimately removed it in April due to issues that users reported.

It’s mostly to do with the inability to personalize the taskbar, move icons, and all that.

But with build 25197, the software titan is reintroducing the touch-optimized taskbar, which it says is designed to make you feel more confident and comfortable using your Windows device as a tablet.

The OS will automatically transition to this optimized version when you disconnect or fold back the keyboard on your 2-in-1 device.

The image above shows the two states of this taskbar — collapsed and expanded.

In the collapsed state, the taskbar frees up screen space by getting out of the way. At the same time, it prevents you from accidentally invoking it while you are holding your tablet. In the expanded state, the taskbar is optimized to be easier to use via touch.

You can easily switch between the two states by swiping up and down on the bottom of your device. As expected, this feature only works on tablets; it does not work on laptops or desktop PCs.

If you enable this feature, you will see a new setting at Settings > Personalization > Taskbar > Taskbar behaviors called “Optimize taskbar for touch interactions when this device is used as a tablet”.

Not a fan of these long names, but what can you do!

As with most new (and, in this case, returning) features, Microsoft has just started the rollout. This means that this new option will not be available to all Insiders right away. However, it will be pushed to everyone in due time after testing and monitoring the feedback.

In other words, it’s packed to the brim.

It’s not overflowing, but this still makes it one of the bigger new releases of recent times.

Things start with the return of the touch-optimized taskbar for tablet users, which the company has reintroduced to make users feel more confident when using their device as a slate. The taskbar has two states: collapsed or optimized.

And this is how they look:

The idea behind this feature is to ensure that the taskbar is out of your way in the collapsed state, providing you with more screen real estate while also preventing you from accidentally invoking it when you are holding your tablet. In the expanded state, the taskbar allows easier touch interactions.

We also have some welcome system tray updates that affect all types of devices in this version. In particular, you will see a rounded focus and hover treatment on all icons in the lower right.

This change does not allow you to drag and drop or rearrange your system tray icons, but Redmond promises that it has heard feedback on this and is working to address it in a future preview build.

This is, simply put, a modernization of the experience that Microsoft is currently pursuing as it streamlines and optimizes the Windows 11 user interface.

Continuing in this vein, the company has begun rolling out animated icons and illustrations in the Settings app. This may be a small cosmetic change, but the software titan describes it as a way to transform familiar interactions from purely functional to delightful.

Delightful!

Finally, Microsoft has also announced a small tweak: It has improved the key repeat rate for the traditional touch keyboard layout as well as the default keyboard layout. The new rate of 20 keys per second makes for a more responsive feeling.

There is a long list of bug fixes in this build—too many to list. Likewise, we have a fairly long list of known issues, many of which relate to the new tablet-optimized taskbar that Microsoft discovered early.

You can get an idea of what all this is in the announcement post.